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Reports on road schemes in England and Wales which have been submitted by the Landscape Advisory Committee are already made available, on request, to any member of the public following the announcement of the preferred route for the scheme.
Barge, Hallsands
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will arrange for the barge scuttled at Hallsands, south Devon to be removed as a danger to shipping ; and if he will make a statement as to the circumstances in which the barge was sunk and the application of the Oslo convention to the sinking.
Mr. Norris : I understand that the barge in question was being used in connection with coast protection works being undertaken for the National Rivers Authority. It has been moved from where it first sank, and subsequently scuttled nearby. It is an offence under the Coast Protection Act 1949 to deposit any object on the seabed so that obstruction or danger to navigation is caused, without the consent in writing of tho ask the National Rivers Authority to ensure that this unauthorised danger is cleared as a matter of urgency. International agreements regulating scuttling have been implemented through the Food and Environment Protection Act 1973, administered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It, too, is considering appropriate action in this case.
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Supply Vessels
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the percentage of supply vessels operating in the British sector of the North sea which were foreign flagged (a) in 1982 and (b) in 1992.
Mr. Norris : The Department does not collect details of supply vessels operating in the North sea, but I have obtained from other sources the following figures for June of each year : (a) 51 per cent. (b) 45 per cent.
Harbours (Speed Limits)
Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what proposals he has received from Poole harbour commissioners to make byelaws relating to speed limits of vessels; and what was the outcome;
(2) if he will list those harbours on the English south coast that do not have speed restrictions in place;
(3) what consultations his Department has had on the environmental implications of vessel speed in the Poole harbour site of special scientific interest.
Mr. Norris : Poole harbour commissioners' proposed amendments to the harbour byelaws, for confirmation by the Secretary of State, to allow a speed limit of 10 knots to be imposed on power driven vessels, to enable water ski-ing and aquaplaning to be restricted to specified zones, and to exclude boardsailing from the main navigation channel. The last of these did not prove to be contentious and that amendment has been confirmed. The proposed speed and zoning restrictions, however, attracted a large number of objections. The commissioners have now produced a considered response to these, upon which the objectors have been given an opportunity to comment. The Secretary of State will then proceed to a decision as soon and possible. The local Act empowering the commissioners to make byelaws does not provide for any public inquiry into objections to proposed amendments and written representations have therefore been relied on.
The Department does not have a readily available record of speed limit byelaws by all harbour authorities. The commissioners' response refers to 25 harbour authorities on the south coast which have such limits. Poole already has one of 6 knots for the little channel, Poole quay channel and Holes bay. The commissioners have not proposed the amendments to their byelaws primarily on environmental grounds, but they have drawn attention to such considerations in their report.
Passenger Vessels
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to ensure the full compliance with the regulations on passenger vessels ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : All passenger vessels operating to and from United Kingdom ports must comply with national and international requirements. An inspection programme is in place to ensure that these ships meet those requirements.
North Sea Pollution
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information has been reported to Her Majesty's Government under the Polrep reporting system
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of the 1983 Bonn agreement on co-operation in dealing with pollution of the North sea ; and what incidents have been reported by contracting parties on radioactive releases under the Bonn agreement.Mr. Norris : I will write to the hon. Member.
East London River Crossing
Ms Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 7 July, Official Report , columns 158-59 , if he will ensure that any new proposals in respect of the east London river crossing will not run through, over or under any part of Oxleas wood ; if new proposals in respect of the east London river crossing will be the subject of a full environmental impact assessment in accordance with the terms of EC directive 85/337/EEC, section 105A of the Highways Act 1980 and the Highways (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988, and that there will be a public inquiry ; and if in bringing forward new proposals, he will consider alternatives to a road link.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 26 July 1993] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) on Monday 26 July 1993, at column 584 .
WALES
Orange Badges
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to issue new guidelines to local authorities in Wales concerning (a) the allocation of parking spaces to orange badge holders within (i) new car parking facilities and (ii) existing car parking facilities and (b) the accessibility of car park ticket machines.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The Government encourage local authorities to provide extra parking facilities wherever possible by designating special bays at convenient locations both on-street and in off-street car parks. Orange badge laws do not extend to off-street car parks, whether local authority or privately owned.
The accessibility of car park ticket machines is for the operator of the car park to determine. Current British standards for pay and display machines include requirements regarding the height of the display and coin slots, and the dimensions, of any plinth upon which the machines may be mounted. These requirements should facilitate access by wheelchair users.
Schools (Disabled Access)
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to place a duty on local authorities to publish annually details of the proportion of local authority schools which are accessible to disabled people.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I have no plans to introduce such a duty. It is for each local education authority to decide what measures are required to fulfil its statutory obligations to ensure access to disabled people in schools. In addition, individual schools can publish details about their access facilities for disabled people in their prospectuses.
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Small Businesses
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the achievements of (a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months ; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.
Mr. Redwood : The Government continue to help small businesses through improvements to the business climate, through deregulation and through specific programmes of support and assistance. Measures operated by my Department to assist small businesses include :
Enterprise Promotion
There are now seven training and enterprise councils (TECs) providing business counselling and support for small businesses across Wales. During 1992-93, TECs received 42,843 inquiries and provided 13,903 counselling sessions. In the same year, TECs also provided business start-up funding totalling £1.919 million ; 2,077 businesses were using the business start-up scheme at the end of March 1993.
In addition to the work of the TECs, local enterprise agencies provide a range of support services to new and growing businesses. There are now 22 local enterprise agencies in Wales, including four merged to form two new agencies in 1991. The 22nd agency commenced operations on 2 July 1993. Enterprise and small business growth are also promoted under the Enterprise Wales scheme. Since its launch in 1988, more than 6,500 companies have applied for consultancy advice provided through this initiative.
Grant Support
Small businesses continue to take advantage of help available under regional selective assistance. During the year ending 30 June 1993, 120 firms employing under 200 accepted offers of regional selective assistance totalling £22.463 million, an increase of almost 17 per cent. on the previous year. A further 163 small firms--i.e., those with fewer than 25 employees for investment grant and fewer than 50 for innovation grant-- accepted offers of regional enterprise grant totalling £2.469 million, an increase of 38 per cent. over the same period.
In addition, the Welsh Development Agency made 80 loans during 1992-93 with a value of £0.631 million from its small loans scheme. The Development Board for Rural Wales offered £2.8 million mid-Wales development grant assistance to 36 projects helping to generate private sector investment of £22 million and creating or safeguarding 1,172 job opportunities.
The small firms merit award for research and technology (SMART) continues to be very popular. In the previous two years, Welsh industry has gained 16 of the awards, 9 per cent. of the United Kingdom total. Under the support for products under research scheme (SPUR), grant support awarded to companies in Wales rose from £0.75 million in 1991 to £0.96 million in 1992, a percentage increase of 28 per cent.
Deregulation
The Welsh Office is contributing fully to the Government's deregulation initiative to lift the burden of Government regulations on business. No Wales-only regulations have been identified as placing a burden on business, but a consultation exercise is being carried out to assess the impact of United Kingdom-wide regulations on Welsh firms.
Primary School Assistant Teachers
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the average amount spent by local education authorities in Wales in advertising each assistant teacher vacancy within the primary school sector.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The information requested is not held centrally.
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Aerospace Industry
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to respond to job losses in the aerospace industry in Clwyd ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : I am sorry about the job losses announced in Clwyd. The Welsh Office and other Government agencies already operate a wide range of measures aimed at increasing employment opportunities throughout Wales. All these bodies will continue to look for and respond swiftly to opportunities that arise which have the potential to increase employment prospects. Of course, we stand ready to help, within our powers, where we can in these difficult cases.
Beaches (Pollution)
Mr.Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the beaches tested for entero-viruses in Wales in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992 ;
(2) how many tests for salmonella were conducted on each beach in Wales in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The number of samples analysed by the National Rivers Authority for entero-viruses and for salmonella from EC identified bathing waters in Wales were published in the 1991 and 1992 volumes of "Bathing Water Quality in England and Wales", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Defence Job Losses
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant) on 19 July, Official Report, column 7, what was the source of the estimate of job losses in the defence sector to which he refers.
Mr. Redwood : The source was Conservative central office.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the public bodies for which he is responsible hold meetings in public ; and if he will list them.
Mr. Redwood : The information is not held centrally.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 6 July, Official Report, column 64, whether a register of the interests declared by members of non-departmental public bodies available for public inspection, is maintained by his Department or at the main offices of the various bodies.
Mr. Redwood : No central register is maintained. It is the practice of some bodies to publish such information in their annual report and accounts.
GP Fund Holders
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if a decision has been made regarding the final allocation of resources for 1993-94 to family health services authorities in respect of general practitioner practice expenses and support costs for general practitioner fund holders.
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Mr. Gwilym Jones : On Thursday 4 March, Official Report , columns 255-61 , in announcing the cash allocation for 1993-94 for health authorities, my right hon. Friend indicated that further resources would be made available to family health services authorities in respect of GP fund holders' support costs. He explained also that £867,000 held back from the initial allocation to the authorities of funding for GP cash-limited expenses would be distributed following the outcome of a consultation.
The authorities will be responsible for 71 operational and 31 preparatory GP fund holders in Wales in 1993-94. In recognition of the enhanced practice management computer systems required by fund holders, funding of up to £7,000 to meet the full computer maintenance costs of each operational fund holding practice and up to £22,000 to meet the additional computer hardware and software costs involved in preparing for fund holding will be available. Allocations to authorities will be in line with the numbers of operational and preparatory fund holders in each area.
Separate funding is provided to authorities in respect of their expenditure on GPs' practice premises, practice support staff and practice computerisation--distinct from that for fund-holding practices. Prior to this year, the shares of the total annual funding for this purpose were determined largely by the extent of past investment decisions by GPs.
The period immediately before the introduction of the revised GP contract in April 1990 saw substantial growth in committed expenditure on practice premises improvement. In addition, the revised contract stimulated increased investment in practice support staff. During the period 1989-90 to 1993-94, the resources for expenditure on GP practice expenses in Wales increased by 67 per cent. in real terms.
In April, 1993, all health authorities and community health councils in Wales, plus GP professional interests, represented by the General Medical Services Committee (Wales) and, at the local level, by individual local medical committees, were consulted on proposals to allocate this funding with effect from 1993-94 on the basis of a weighted capitation formula. Copies of the consultation document are in the Library of the House.
This formula produces for each family health services authority a target share of the total resource available for Wales for GP practice premises, support staff and practice computerisation. The starting point for the formula is the resident population of each district, taken from the population estimates based on the 1991 census. This is weighted for age and sex, by GP consultation rates for Wales and by the standardised mortality ratios for the area. In recognition of the heavier costs involved in providing additional surgeries to ensure reasonable access for patients in rural areas, the formula includes a rurality component based on comparative road lengths. This component is given a 15 per cent. weighting in the formula.
It is our view that this formula meets the essential criteria for a capitation-based approach to the allocation of health care resources. In addition, the population basis of the formula is consistent with the features of the GP contract whereby age-banded capitation lists comprise the major fees mechanism in remunerating and partially reimbursing GPs, and a special subvention is given in recognition of the specific problems of rural areas.
A change of this order in any resource allocation process cannot take place overnight. It is our intention
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that authorities' progression, from their historical shares of funding for this expenditure to their target shares based on the weighted capitation formula, will be phased over the period from the present financial year to 2002-03. This will take place against a planning framework which recognises continued real terms growth throughout the period. The span of this transitional period should ensure that those authorities with a reducing share of the total funding will be able to plan an orderly realignment of their expenditure plans ; and those with increasing shares of the total resources will be able to utilise the extra funds as effectively as possible. In both cases, the availability of resources for reinvestment--as existing cost rent schemes mature--coupled with the beneficial effect on allocations of the reduction in interest rates, should, with good management, ensure continued development of GP support staffing and facilities throughout Wales over this period. Whilst I remain convinced that the services provided by family doctors in rural parts of Wales require a recognition of unavoidable additional costs, I am open to further suggestions on how best to do this. Therefore, during this year, there will be further consultations to discuss this aspect of the formula. During the course of the transitional period to 2002-03, the Welsh Office will remain open to opportunities and proposals for improving the formula.As I have indicated, pending the outcome of the consultation exercise, £867,000 was held back from the initial allocations for 1993-94 for expenditure on GPs' practice premises, practice support staff and practice computerisation. We propose to use this to initiate the progression from historical shares of funding for this expenditure, to target shares, as indicated by the weighted capitation formula. The £867,000 will be divided equally between Clwyd, Mid Glamorgan and West Glamorgan, which are at present below their target shares. Taking account of this, the intended final revenue allocations for 1993-94 for this purpose are shown in table 1, together with the capital allocations. Table 2 shows each authority's percentage share of the total revenue funding for 1993-94 for this purpose, as a consequence of these final allocations, compared with the target share to be attained by 2002-03. I envisage that the progression to target shares over the 10-year span to 2002-03 will be effected in two ways : first, by directing available growth funding each year to those authorities remaining below their target shares, pro rata with their respective distance from their target shares ; and, secondly, for those authorities above their target shares,
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there will be three years of marking time-- no growth funding but also no reduction in funding--followed in subsequent years by a series of annual percentage reductions in their shares. The funding thereby released will be added to available growth funding and allocated to below-target authorities. On this basis and, I must stress, for planning purposes only, the percentage changes in annual revenue funding for this purpose that authorities in Wales might anticipate over the next 10 years are shown in table 3.For the sake of completeness, table 4 shows the final allocations incorporating funding for the additional costs of computer support for GP fund holders. As fund holding has progressed at markedly different rates in different parts of Wales, this funding element is not included in the formula shares. Authorities will also be able to draw from Welsh Office funds relating to GP fund holder management allowances within the prescribed limits.
Table 1
1993-94 final allocations to family health
services authorities for
cash limited expenditure on GPs practice
premises, practice support
staff and practice computerisation
(excluding GP fund holder support)
|Revenue|Capital|Total
|£000's |£000's |£000's
------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |4,956 |101 |5,057
Dyfed |5,029 |103 |5,132
Gwent |5,897 |120 |6,017
Gwynedd |3,802 |78 |3,880
Mid Glamorgan |6,236 |127 |6,363
Powys |2,182 |45 |2,227
South Glamorgan |4,628 |94 |4,722
West Glamorgan |4,045 |83 |4,128
Wales |36,775 |751 |37,526
Table 2
Percentage Share of Revenue Funding
Family Health |1993-94 |Formula share
Services Authority
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |13.48 |14.21
Dyfed |13.68 |13.57
Gwent |16.03 |14.89
Gwynedd |10.34 |9.04
Mid Glamorgan |16.96 |18.65
Powys |5.93 |5.77
South Glamorgan |12.58 |11.98
West Glamorgan |11.00 |11.89
Wales |100.00 |100.00
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Table 3 Annual Change in Funding as a Percentage of Previous Year's Allocation at Constant Prices Family Health |1994-95 |1995-96 |1996-97 |1997-98 |1998-99 |1999-00 |2000-01 |2001-02 |2002-03 Services Authority ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clwyd |0.83 |0.84 |1.71 |1.38 |1.36 |1.30 |0.99 |0.91 |0.52 Dyfed |0.00 |0.00 |0.08 |0.25 |0.47 |0.70 |0.77 |0.95 |0.51 Gwent |0.00 |0.00 |-1.00 |-1.01 |-1.00 |-0.99 |0.00 |0.50 |0.60 Gwynedd |0.00 |0.00 |-1.49 |-1.52 |-1.49 |-1.51 |-1.48 |-1.50 |0.06 Mid Glamorgan |1.51 |1.47 |2.82 |2.14 |1.93 |1.72 |1.12 |0.87 |0.55 Powys |0.00 |0.00 |-0.99 |0.00 |0.00 |0.50 |0.77 |0.85 |0.58 South Glamorgan |0.00 |0.01 |-1.02 |0.00 |0.00 |0.00 |0.00 |0.00 |0.60 West Glamorgan |1.21 |1.22 |2.36 |1.82 |1.70 |1.54 |1.08 |0.87 |0.56
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Table 4 1993-94 Final allocations to family health services authorities for cash limited expenditure on GPs practice premises, practice support staff and practice computerisation (including GP fund-holder computer support) FHSA |Revenue £000's|Capital £000's|Total £000's ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clwyd |5,075 |145 |5,220 Dyfed |5,071 |279 |5,350 Gwent |5,988 |186 |6,174 Gwynedd |3,809 |188 |3,997 Mid Glamorgan |6,285 |149 |6,434 Powys |2,217 |89 |2,306 South Glamorgan |4,656 |270 |4,926 West Glamorgan |4,171 |127 |4,298 Wales |37,272 |1,433 |38,705
Construction Contracts
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received about the proposal that construction contracts worth over £1 million should continue to be subject to compulsory competitive tendering during the period of local government reorganisation in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : I have received a number of representations, including some from the private sector.
In the light of those representations, I have decided that it would be appropriate to continue to require competition for construction contracts worth over £500,000. This change will enhance the opportunities of private sector firms to compete for work from local authorities during the period of local government reorganisation.
Trauma
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many major trauma units are in operation in Wales ; and what is the projected budget for trauma in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : I refer the hon. Lady to my answer to the hon. Member for Ynys Mo n (Mr. Jones), on 26 January 1993, Official Report, column 671.
Projected budgets for trauma are not available. Individual health authorities are funded on the basis of their resident populations and it is a matter for them to determine the level of funding needed to secure a comprehensive range of health services, including the treatment of trauma, for their residents.
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) orthopaedic trauma operations and (b) trauma operations were performed in Wales in each year since 1990.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information is not immediately available. I will write to the hon. Lady and place a copy of the reply in the Library of the House.
NHS Provider Units
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place a copy in the Library of the guidelines of March 1993 on the pricing and costing of services by provider units within the NHS to purchasers.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The guidance issued in March 1993 related to the costing of specific service targets within
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contracts to be let by Welsh health authorities in 1993-94. Earlier this month, more general guidance on costing for contracting in future years was issued by the Welsh Office following work undertaken in England. Copies of both documents have now been placed in the Library of the House.Incontinence Aids
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place a copy in the Library of the guidance on the free supply of incontinence aids by health authorities on a non-discriminatory basis.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Annex C of Welsh Office circular 27/93 provides guidance on the supply of incontinence aids for people living in the community.
A copy of this circular has been placed in the Library of the House.
Educational Qualifications
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many, and what percentage, of (a) women and (b) men in Wales have (a) university degrees, (b) higher technician diplomas, (c) craft/lower technical diplomas and (d) no vocational qualifications at the latest available date ;
(2) how many, and what percentage, of those working in Wales have (a) university degrees, (b) higher technician diplomas, (c) craft/lower technical diplomas and (d) no vocational qualifications at the latest available date.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I will write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.
Forestry
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list, by county, those forest areas in Wales currently available for sale to the private sector.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I will write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many grant -maintained schools there are in Wales; what are the rules about the personal responsibility of members of their governing bodies; whether members are required to declare interests; what statutory provision is made for public access to information about a school and the governors' proceedings; what charter provision applies to their activities; and whether they are subject to performance indicators.
Sir Wyn Roberts : There are seven grant-maintained schools operating in Wales with a further three approved.
Generally, liability rests with the governing body rather than individual members. Individual members may however, be held liable in certain circumstances and schools are advised to take out insurance against these contingencies.
The instrument of government sets out in detail the circumstances in which members of the governing body should declare an interest and may be required to leave a
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meeting or will not be permitted to take part in a discussion or vote. The general principle is that no one should be involved in a decision where his or her own personal interests conflict with those of the school.The article of government render a grant-maintained school accountable to the community it serves. It is required to publish a prospectus and annual report, hold an annual parents meeting, and make available non-confidential details of governors' meetings. Grant-maintained schools are subject to the same citizens charter provisions and are required to provide the same performance data as their local education authority counterparts.
Orthopaedic Consultancies
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are his estimates for the number of orthopaedic consultant posts that will be required in Wales i-3XZ Teacher Training
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the intake at each teacher training establishment in Wales for each year since 1990 together with the numbers who qualified as teachers from each establishment during the same period.
Sir Wyn Roberts [holding answer 14 July 1993] : As this information will be available shortly, I will write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is to take to protect the interests of local government staff in the run up to local government reorganisation in Wales.
Mr. Redwood [pursuant to his reply, 8 June 1993, c. 218-19] : The chairman and members of the advisory committee on the staffing implications of local government reorganisation are to be : Sir Richard Lloyd Jones KCB (Chairman)
Peter Anthony Bennett
David Hughes Davies DL
Michael Roger Towers
The appointments will take effect from 1 September 1993. The members of the committee will be able to bring to bear their extensive experience of management and personnel issues, which has been gained at senior level in both tiers of local government and in the public and private sectors. I look forward to receiving their advice.
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about his proposals to delegate power to area committees as part of the reorganisation of local government in Wales ; and to which areas of Wales it will apply.
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