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Mr. Stewart : I shall write to the hon. Member and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will estimate the cost to each regional, district and island authority of the task of local government reorganisation ; (2) if he will publish details of the specific criteria used to determine the boundaries of each of the proposed new single-tier authorities ; and if he will list the key criteria for each individual authority ;
(3) what is his estimate of (a) the number of anticipated redundancies and (b) the cost of redundancy payments resulting from the anticipated job losses associated with his local government reorganisation proposals ; and if he will break these figures down for each regional, district and island authority ;
(4) if he will meet the regional council directors of education to discuss the implications for the provision of education services arising out of the reorganisation of Scottish local government ; and if he will make a statement ;
(5) what steps he is taking to minimise disruption arising from the reorganisation of Scottish local government to the provision of (a) transport services, (b) police and fire services, (c) social work services and (d) education services ; and if he will make a statement ;
(6) if he will give details of his Department's estimate of savings resulting from the reorganisation of Scottish local government for each regional, district and island authority ;
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(7) if he will meet the regional council directors of roads services to discuss the implications for roads services arising from the reorganisation of Scottish local government ; and if he will make a statement ;(8) if he will publish details of which local authority boundaries were recommended to be coterminous with which health board or local enterprise boundary ; and if he will identify the respondents making such recommendations ;
(9) if he will meet the regional council directors of social work to discuss the implications for social work services arising out of the reorganisation of Scottish local government ; and if he will make a statement ;
(10) if he will list the names of those respondents expressing concern about the possibility of local government reorganisation jeopardising future funding for voluntary organisations ; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ;
(11) if he will produce a list of the organisations referred to by those respondents referring to links with other bodies and identify which respondents referred to links with which body ; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ;
(12) if he will publish a list of the names of those respondents who criticised the short-term costs of the reform of Scottish local government reorganisation ; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ;
(13) if he will publish a list of the names of those respondents who welcomed reform of Scottish local government as representing long-term savings ; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ;
(14) if he will list the names of those respondents who commented on the transitional arrangements to be made for (a) local authority property, (b) local authority information technology, (c) local authority compulsory competitive tendering and (d) local authority staff in their submissions to the consultation paper "Shaping the New Councils" ; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ; (15) if he will list the names of those respondents to the consultation paper "Shaping the New Councils" who were not supportive of local government reorganisation ; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ;
(16) if he will list the names of those respondents to the consultation paper "Shaping the New Councils" who were not supportive of the proposal to reorganise Scottish local government into single-tier authorities ; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ;
(17) if he will list the names of those organisations whose submissions to the consultation paper "Shaping the New Councils" whose preferred local government structure for Scotland as a whole was to retain the regions ; and if will provide a breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ; (18) if he will list the names of those respondents to the consultation paper "Shaping the New Councils" who commented on community councils ; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ;
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(19) if he will list the names of those respondents who recommended that local authority boundaries should be coterminous with health board or local enterprise company boundaries in their submissions to the consultation paper "Shaping the New Councils" ; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of this information by regional, district and island authority area ;(20) if he will list the names of those respondents who referred to the costs of reform in their submissions to the consultation paper "Shaping the New Councils".
Mr. Stewart : I shall write to the hon. Member and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what representations he has had from foreign owned water companies in response to the consultation paper "Investing in Our Future" during the recent consultation exercise and since the publication of "Shaping the Future--The New Councils" ;
(2) if he will list the organisations which supported option (d) in the consultation paper "Investing in Our Future" during the recent consultation exercise ;
(3) what role the local authority ombudsman will have within the new councils in Scotland ;
(4) if he will list the individuals or organisations who expressed a preference for three-yearly local government elections in the course of the recent consultation exercise on local government reform ;
(5) what approval a council will need to change its name after the new local authority structure has been established; and what statutory construction exercise with the public will be expected; (6) what is the expected increase in water charges as a result of investment in water and sewerage services in the next five years; (7) when he expects to publish fuller details of his plans for the water and sewerage services in Scotland;
(8) what meetings he has had with representatives from Milngavie district council and Eastwood district council since the publication of "Shaping the Future--The New Councils" to discuss the new council structure;
(9) if he will publish the names of individuals or organisations who supported the view that there should be multi-member divisions in the course of the recent consultation exercise on local government reform;
(10) if he will publish the names of those organisations or individuals that made representations supporting (a) Westhill belong included within Aberdeen city council and (b) the creation of North Lanarkshire council during the recent consultation exercise on local government reform;
(11) what representations he received from individuals and organisations that there should be separate water authorities for each island authority during the recent consultation exercise; (12) what representations were received supporting the formation of a national service for the reporter to children's hearings during the recent consultation exercise on local government reform; and if he will list the individuals and organisations;
(13) when the Local Government Boundary Commission will conduct a review of boundaries after the new councils have been created in Scotland ;
(14) when the elections for the shadow authorities will be held in 1995 ; and if there are any plans to change the traditional arrangements ;
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(15) when he intends to consult further regarding the future of water and sewerage services in Scotland ; and what form this consultation will take ;(16) which private companies and organisations have made representations to be involved in the provision of water and sewerage services during the recent consultation exercise on local government reform ;
(17) what plans he has to meet the present regional and district councils in Scotland to discuss transitional arrangements regarding the formation of the new councils ;
(18) if he will list the posts the holders of which will not be eligible to stand for election for the new councils ;
(19) what representations he received from islands authorities that the elections to the three islands councils should be held in 1994 and subsequently delayed until 1999 during the recent consultation exercise on local government reform ;
(20) if he will publish details of the representations he has received from organisations and individuals that the new water authorities should have the power to disconnect water supplies during the recent consultation exercise ;
Mr. Stewart : I shall write to the hon. Member and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he intends to make available to the proposed new local government authorities a general power of competency enabling them to do anything they think necessary for the benefit of the people they serve ;
(2) what plans he has to prescribe by law minimum standards for services provided by local authorities ;
(3) what representations he has received in the course of consultation on local government reorganisation concerning the national road network and the future role of local authorities as road authorities ;
(4) what has been the cost to date of the consultation process for local government reform in Scotland ;
(5) whether he intends to bring forward proposals to require elections for membership of the proposed new water authorities ; (6) how many copies of the two consultation documents on local government reorganisation and the White Paper, "Shaping the Future--the New Councils" were published ; what proportion of them were sold to the public ; and how many further copies of the White Paper he intends to make available to the public ;
(7) what regulatory and financial controls he intends to implement with regard to the proposed new water authorities ;
(8) whether members of the proposed new water authorities must be elected local government councillors ;
(9) what plans he has to change the electoral system used in district and regional council elections;
(10) Whether he has considered in terms of annex B paragraph 4 of the White Paper on local government reorganisation, the financial or manpower consequences of the establishment of joint boards in estimating a reduction in council staffing levels of between 700 and 2,200 employees;
(11) whether he intends to make changes to the current role of the Commission for Local Authority Accounts in Scotland in local government reorganisation;
(12) how many representations he has received in favour of (a) an electoral system based on proportional
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representation and (b) specifically the single transferable vote electoral system, in connection with his proposals to reorganise local government in Scotland;(13) what criteria he has taken into account in proposing a Lothians council which is not geographically contiguous;
(14) how many of his Department's officials were involved in the drafting of the two consultation documents on local government reorganisation and the White Paper, "Shaping the Future--the New Councils";
(15) which interested persons he intends to consult in terms of paragraph 6.4 of the White Paper on local government reorganisation; (16) what regard he had to the pre-1974 council boundaries in drawing up the proposed council boundaries as contained in the White Paper on local government reorganisation;
(17) if he will explain for what reasons in terms of paragraph 3.4 of the white paper on local government reorganisation, he proposes a power allowing the Secretary of State to approve joint boards for council co- operation ; and what representations advocating such an approach he has received.
Mr. Lang : I shall write to the hon. Member and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Training Schemes
Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each local enterprise company in Scotland its youth training performance in 1992-93 showing (a) the cost per output points and (b) the number of national vocational qualifications per 100 leavers, together with the latest information he has for 1993-94 and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart : I shall write to the hon. Member and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each LEC in Scotland their employment training performance in 1992 -93 showing (a) the cost per output point, (b) the number of NVQs per 100 leavers and (c) the number of positive outcomes per 100 leavers, together with the latest information he has for 1993-94 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart : In Scotland the responsibility for monitoring local enterprise company performance on employment training, and on its successor training for work, rests with Scottish Enterprise and with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I have therefore asked the chairmen of these bodies to write to the hon. Member.
Small Businesses
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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.
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Mr. Stewart : The Government continue to place a high priority on helping small businesses, through improvements to the busniness climate, through deregulation and through specific programmes of support and assistance.
Small businesses are of crucial importance to the Scottish economy and are continuing to benefit from the comprehensive schemes of support which the Government have introduced. My Department has overall responsibility for assisting small firms in Scotland while specific schemes are delivered mainly through Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the network of 22 local enterprise companies. In addition to providing services specific to Scotland, these bodies also have responsibility for the delivery and monitoring in Scotland of United Kingdom services on behalf of other Departments including the Department of Trade and Industry. Measures operated directly by my Department to assist small business include the regional enterprise grant for investment, regional enterprise grant for innovation and regional selective assistance.
For the period 1992-93, my Department made 102 offers of regional selective assistance to the value of over £18.2 million to small companies-- those employing fewer than 200. This contributed to the creation of 2,320 planned new jobs and the safeguarding of 480 existing jobs. Under both the investment and innovation elements of the regional enterprise grant scheme, 272 offers to the value of £3.5 million were made in Scotland in 1992- 93 to companies employing under 25 people, contributing to the creation of 1,060 planned new jobs and the safeguarding of 940 existing jobs.
The success of these and other Government policies is demonstrated by statistics for VAT registration. A total of 9,800 additional companies registered for VAT in 1980. In 1991, the comparable figure was 13,900, an increase of 42 per cent. At the end of 1991, the total number of VAT- registered businesses in Scotland was 118,000 an increase of 24,600 or 26 per cent. on the comparable figure for 1979.
Empty Housing
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local authority-owned houses were empty at the last date for which figures were available ; what information he has on the length of time they had been vacant ; what is his estimate of the rent forgone for each local authority during the last year for which figures are available ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Details of the numbers of vacant local authority dwellings at 31 March 1992, together with information on the length of time which they had been vacant, are shown at table 17 of the Scottish Office Statistical Bulletin (Housing Series) No. Hsg/1992/8. Rental income lost by each local authority because of unlet dwellings in 1992-93 is shown in table 7 of the
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Scottish Office Statistical Bulletin (Housing Series) No. Hsg/1993/5. Both bulletins are available in the House of Commons Library.Computer Consultancies
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all the computer consultancies employed by his Department and agencies, since November 1991, the tasks for which they were engaged, and the total cost to his Department.
Mr. Lang : I shall write to the hon. Member and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Blind and Partially Sighted People
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what arrangements his Department makes to ensure that blind and partially sighted people have access to information produced by his Department where it has not been published in alternative media such as Braille, large print or tape ;
(2) what is his Department's policy on which information produced by his Department is published in alternative media to standard print such as Braille, tape or large print.
Mr. Stewart : The Scottish Office targets information in an appropriate manner to those who have an interest. Each constituent Department within the Scottish Office determines how best to publish and disseminate the information which it produces. Consideration is consistently given to whether a need exists for a publication to be reproduced in Braille or tape format.
Mr. Kynoch : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were registered blind and partially sighted in each year since 1985 ; and what figures are projected for registrations in (a) five and (b) 10 years time.
Mr. Stewart : The number of people reported by local authorities as registered blind and partially sighted at 31March of each year is as follows :
H Year |Blind |Partially sighted ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1985 |12,738 |3,586 1986 |13,710 |4,008 1987 |13,678 |4,479 1988 |13,760 |4,651 1989 |14,088 |4,834 1990 |14,120 |5,012 1991 |14,552 |5,237 1992 |19,506 |6,210
The increase between 1991 and 1992 is due to revised figures received from Strathclyde region. It is not possible to project future registrations in (a) five and (b) 10 years time.
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Blind and Partially Sighted at 31 March by Year and Region
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data Processing
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the numbers of staff by grade that are employed in his Department and agencies in the automatic data processing functional specialism.
Mr. Lang : There is no automatic data processing functional specialism in the Scottish Office and its agencies, but the numbers of staff by grade at 30 June 1993 in receipt of an ADP allowance are listed in the following table :
Grade |Number
-------------------------------------------
AA (Data Processor) |73
AO (Senior Data Processor) |28
EO |68
HEO |78
SEO |29
|-------
Total |276
Contracting Out
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all those services or functions contracted out in his Department and Agencies, since November 1991, in which the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 were not applied.
Mr. Lang : Whether or not the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 apply in any particular case will depend on the nature of the work awarded and the contractors' own proposals for carrying out the work. Since publication of the "Competing for Quality" White Paper, the Scottish Office's market testing programme has included the activities listed which have been contracted out under contractual arrangements which did not incorporate the TUPE regulations.
Functions contracted out by the Scottish Office and Scottish Office agencies
Property management at the Scottish Police College
Toll collection at the Erskine Bridge
Maintenance and management of Court Houses (five contracts) Building and Planned Maintenance for the Scottish Fire Service Training School
Property management at the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen
Audit of two national health service bonds
Audit of three national health service trusts
Professional services relating to the Secretary of State's
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trunk road programme and the capital building program- mes, of the Scottish Prison ServiceScottish Agricultural Science Agency, Animal House
Information on services and functions contracted out since November 1991 but not included in the market testing programme could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ophthalmic Out-patients
Mr. Kynoch : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average cost of a visit to a hospital ophthalmic out-patient department.
Mr. Stewart : This information is not held centrally. In 1992-93, the average cost of a visit to an out-patient department in an acute hospital was £27.
Rent Arrears
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by local authority the rent arrears owed by local authority tenants for the last year for which figures are available and the total rent owing.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Informais shown in the table. The total rent arrears written off as irrecoverable by local authorities in Scotland during 1992-93 is estimated to have been £6.25 million.
|£
----------------------------------------------
Berwickshire |39,721
Ettrick and Lauderdale |67,482
Roxburgh |27,392
Tweeddale |23,221
Clackmannan |453,115
Falkirk |814,783
Stirling |1,016,998
Annandale and Eskdale |122,911
Nithsdale |318,211
Stewartry |56,008
Wigtown |160,935
Dunfermline |559,961
Kirkcaldy |746,420
North East Fife |131,136
Aberdeen |1,476,770
Banff and Buchan |292,617
Gordon |83,046
Kincardine and Deeside |75,562
Moray |61,152
Badenoch and Strathspey |18,000
Caithness |84,606
Inverness |115,578
Lochaber |81,203
Nairn |13,304
Ross and Cromarty |199,304
Skye and Lochalsh |19,935
Sutherland |14,157
East Lothian |681,815
Edinburgh |2,013,333
Midlothian |230,960
West Lothian |441,324
Argyll and Bute |141,923
Bearsden and Milngavie |59,935
Clydebank |728,694
Clydesdale |454,758
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth |369,450
Cumnock and Doon Valley |354,792
Cunninghame |582,078
Dumbarton |838,160
East Kilbride |47,218
Eastwood |31,277
Glasgow |12,726,402
Hamilton |757,260
Inverclyde |930,352
Kilmarnock and Loudoun |293,435
Kyle and Carrick |611,616
Monklands |829,249
Motherwell |884,199
Renfrew |2,137,488
Strathkelvin |614,339
Angus |101,368
Dundee |1,256,271
Perth and Kinross |140,682
Orkney Islands |54,573
Shetland Islands |156,964
Western Isles |332,250
------- |-------
Total |35,875,693
Dounreay
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the radiological consequences of the spillage of plutonium at the AEA Technology plant at Dounreay on 29 June ; and when his Department first learned of the incident.
Mr. Stewart : On the morning of 30 June the Atomic Energy Authority reported to my Department that two workers at Dounreay had been contaminated following the opening of a drum which contained centrifuge filter bodies in sealed bags. Subsequent reports indicated that detailed checks had been carried out to determine whether there had been any intake of material by personnel either directly involved in the operation or nearby. As a result, early analysis suggested that one worker would be subject to further checks in order to determine the precise level of material ingested. Two other workers were confirmed as having received significantly less exposure. The cause of the incident is being investigated by the Atomic Energy Authority and the nuclear installations inspectorate.
Sight Tests
Mr. Kynoch : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the estimated savings made in 1992-93 in Scotland as a result of the introduction of a charge for sight tests.
Mr. Stewart : We estimate that the savings made in 1992-93 as a result of the restriction of the categories of people eligible for an NHS sight test in 1989 were of the order of £9 million.
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