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Leasing Funds
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria were used in the decision to allocate £150 million of leasing funds to British Rail ; and what were the reasons that the money was allocated to Network SouthEast.
Mr. Freeman : The purpose of the £150 million leasing concession was to encourage the development of a leasing market for passenger trains. The decision to lease trains for Network SouthEast was made by British Rail on the ground that the business case for doing so was superior to that for trains for the west coast main line.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what plans he has for any further financing or leasing deals for British Rail similar to that recently awarded to Network Southeast ;
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(2) if he will permit British Rail to seek private financing for the leasing of rolling stock for the west coast main line.Mr. Freeman : I will support further leasing proposals for the west coast main line, or any other route, provided they meet the Treasury's criteria for classification as an operating lease and they are good value for money.
West Coast Main Line
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what steps he will be taking, in conjunction with British Rail, to improve services on the west coast main line ; and what plans he has for the modernisation of track and signalling on that route ;
(2) if he will guarantee the future of the west coast main line as a high- speed route between London, Warrington and Glasgow.
Mr. Freeman : The Government fully appreciate the importance of modernising the west coast main line. British Rail has set aside funds for design work to renew the infrastructure. From April next year, following our reform of the railways, responsibility for infrastructure will pass to Railtrack. In the meantime, the Government have taken the initiative in appointing Hambros bank to devise proposals for a joint venture to renew the infrastructure on the west coast main line. This is a new departure in the private finance initiative for railways. Instead of waiting for the private sector to come forward with proposals which may or may not be acceptable to the Government, Hambros has been tasked to find a solution which meets the Government's guidelines and will be attractive to the private sector. Hambros will be reporting later in the autumn.
Toll Roads
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will issue guidelines for the development of toll road proposals.
Mr. Key : Privately financed toll roads can be provided only in accordance with the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, or by individual legislation. Guidelines on the Act were contained in a circular that was issued to local authorities by the Department of Transport and the Welsh Office in March 1992. Evaluation of a prospective concessionaire's proposals will be a matter for the highway authority, but under the 1991 Act, a statement must be published with a draft toll order, setting out the key points of a concession agreement.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that toll road proposals are subject to adequate consultations on and evaluation at all key stages.
Mr. Key : Under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 the procedures for authorisation of a toll road are similar to those of the Highways Act 1980 that apply to publicly financed roads ; there will therefore be a similar approach to public consultation and public inquiry. Any scheme which is taken forward by means of individual legislation would be subject to detailed scrutiny by Parliament.
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Birmingham North Relief Road
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to publish the results of the public consultation undertaken by Midland Expressway Ltd. in respect of the Birmingham north relief road.
Mr. Key : The results of the official public consultation exercise held in autumn 1991 are contained in the preferred route statement which was published on 3 March 1992, at the same time as the announcement of the signing of the concession agreement between the Secretary of State for Transport and Midland Expressway Ltd. The results of subsequent consultations with local authorities and other interested groups were included in the environmental statement which was published in June 1993.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation he proposes with Staffordshire local authorities in respect of those parts of the concession relating to the Birmingham north relief road agreement which deal with non-tolling matters.
Mr. Key : As with all major highway schemes there has been and will continue to be regular consultation with all affected local authorities throughout the development of the scheme.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to ensure that the Birmingham north relief road would be available free of charge for traffic diverted to it.
Mr. Key : I have no such proposals. I see no possibility of road users being compelled to use the Birmingham northern relief road rather than the various alternative routes with which it will compete.
Disposable Nappies
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to encourage parents to dispose hygienically of disposable nappies at lay-bys or motorway stops.
Mr. Key : My Department co-operates with the Tidy Britain Group in publicity to encourage the safe disposal of litter of all kinds.
South Coast Road Expenditure
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent over the last 10 years on maintenance and improvement of the A26 between Lewes and Newhaven, the A27 between Lewes and Polegate and the A259 between Newhaven and Seaford.
Mr. Key : Definitive figures for some elements of expenditure in the earlier part of the period in question cannot now be provided without substantial research of archived files. However, our records indicate that about £0.4 million was spent on maintenance and £0.3 million on improvement of this length of the A26. For the A27 trunk road between Lewes and Polegate, the figures are about £5.5 million for maintenance and £2.3 million for improvement. The A259 between Newhaven and Seaford is not a trunk road, and responsibility for it rests with East Sussex county council.
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Motorway Surfaces
Mr. Page : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what have been the results of studies into the effectiveness of porous asphalt for motorway surfaces.
Mr. Key : Compared with other road surfacings currently in use, porous asphalt offers lower traffic noise and less spray from vehicles in wet conditions. The material has not so far proved as durable as conventional surfacings, there is an increased maintenance requirement and at present its use on roads carrying large numbers of heavy lorries is not advised.
Vehicle Safety
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what circumstances it is the policy of traffic examiners not to issue prohibition notices on vehicles with only one defect ; and what is the rationale for this policy.
Mr. Key : The vehicle inspectorate (VI) is responsible for enforcing roadworthiness standards. Prohibitions are issued by VI examiners in accordance with a published categorisation of defects guide. There is no VI policy to waive a prohibition where only one defect has been found during an examination.
National Travel Survey
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to include journeys of one mile or under within the national travel survey.
Mr. Key : Information on journeys of under one mile have been collected on national travel surveys since they began in 1965. Only a few tables in the 1989-91 report exclude such journeys.
Goods Vehicles
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the number of heavy goods vehicles currently licensed in the 1.5 to 6 tonne range.
Mr. Key : For the purpose of vehicle excise duty (VED), a heavy goods vehicle is regarded as being a vehicle weighing more than 3.5 tonnes, VED rates for heavy goods vehicles are set in bands relating to the vehicle weight and axle configuration with the lowest band covering vehicles between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes. At the time of the last vehicle census, in December 1992, there were 146,507 vehicles licensed in this band.
A1, Northumberland
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on the progress of his plans to upgrade the A1 road in Northumberland to dual carriageway standard, giving the timetable for dualling each section, and the target date for completion of dualling the English section ;
(2) if he will make a statement on further schemes for dualling or improving overtaking opportunities on the A1 road north of Morpeth.
Mr. Key : Two sections of dual carriageway have been completed and opened to traffic at Marshall Meadows and Brownieside this year. Two schemes to complete the
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dualling of the Alnwick bypass are in preparation and a scheme to complete the continuous dualling between Newcastle and north of Alnwick is in the road programme.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport announced a review of the road programme in August. Further progress on the upgrading of the A1 will depend on potential schemes meeting environmental, economic and safety objectives, the overall availability of resources, and the relative claims of potential schemes elsewhere in the county.
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding has been allocated to date in upgrading the A1 in Northumberland ; and if he will make a statement on the progress.
Mr. Key : Since 1970, in excess of £60 million at current prices has been spent on a comprehensive programme of upgrading the A1 in Northumberland. Currently there are three schemes in the programme valued at £25 million to complete the continuous dualling between Newcastle and north of Alnwick.
In addition two sections of dual carriageway have been completed and opened to traffic at Marshall Meadows and Brownieside this year.
Vehicle Inspectorate
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details and amounts of money paid by the DVLA to the vehicle inspectorate.
Mr. Key : In financial year 1992-93 DVLA paid £4,976 to the vehicle inspectorate, for inspections of vehicles involved in applications to transfer cherished vehicle registration marks.
Overseas Staff and Premises
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the cost for the current financial year of his Department having (a) premises and (b) personnel overseas ; and what were the comparable figures for (a) 12, (b) 24, (c) 36 and (d) 48 months ago.
Mr. Norris : The information requested is not readily available in respect of personnel overseas before 1991-92 due to changes in the Department's accounting arrangements. The latest available figures are as follows :
Costs arising from premises overseas Year |£ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1989-90 |75,000 1990-91 |73,000 1991-92 |79,000 1992-93 |84,000 |1993-94 outturn to September 1993|47,000
Costs arising from personnel overseas Year |£ --------------------------------------------------1991-92 |421,700 1992-93 |463,700 1993-94 outturn to September 1993 |256,000
In addition, some Department of Transport staff are on loan to the FCO to serve overseas, but the costs are borne by the FCO : others are seconded to overseas Governments, but the costs are covered by those Governments.
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Rail Privatisation
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what forecast he has made of how many passenger operating companies will operate, under his proposals for the privatisation of British Rail, through Brixton, Loughborough Junction, Herne Hill, West Norwood, Tulse Hill and Gipsy Hill.
Mr. Freeman : Each of these stations will be served by one franchisee, except for Herne Hill and Tulse Hill which will be served by two.
Lewes Link Lines
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on maintenance and improvement over the last 10 years on the Lewes to London, Lewes to Seaford and Lewes to Eastbourne railway lines.
Mr. Freeman : It is for British Rail to decide priorities for expenditure on maintenance and improvements to the network. In addition to routine maintenance, in April 1991 re-signalling and track improvements were carried out around Eastbourne station at a cost of £2 million, and the station refurbished at a cost of £840, 000. Other major projects on the Sussex coast line in the last 10 years have included the renovation of the preserved station buildings at Lewes at a cost of £245,000, which is nearing completion ; the recently completed installation of a new electrical control room at Brighton at a cost of £342,000 ; and the relaying of track lost in a landslide at Glynde in April 1991 at a cost of £10,000.
Bicycles (Carriage on Trains)
Mr. Bates : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has about the numbers of cycles carried by regional railways following the introduction of the £3 cycle fee.
Mr. Freeman : None. My Department does not hold detailed information of this nature.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Mining Industry
Mr. Allen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how soon after the closure of the consultation period on the future of the mineworkers' pension scheme he will make a public statement as to that future ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : The Government will give very careful consideration to all responses received on the consultation paper on British Coal pensions after privatisation. It is too early to say how soon conclusions will be reached but Parliament will of course be informed as soon as possible of the Government's proposals.
Nuclear Power Industry
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the timetable and terms of reference for the Government's review of policy for the future of the nuclear power industry ; which Department will take the lead in this review ; and what will be the role of the Scottish Office.
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Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on Wednesday 20 October to the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill) at column 245.
Opencast Coal
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the total amount of coal available for opencasting in Northumberland and Durham.
Mr. Eggar : British Coal has informed me that, as at March 1993, total reserves of coal estimated to remain unworked in approved opencast sites in Northumberland, Durham and Tyne and Wear were 16, 696 million tonnes.
Nuclear Power Stations
Mr. Dafis : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to require the nuclear installations inspectorate to publish full safety reports upon the Bradwell, Hinkley A, Dungeness A and Sizewell A power stations.
Mr. Eggar : The Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate's findings on the long-term safety reviews for Bradwell, Hinkley Point A, Berkeley, Hunterston A, Calder Hall, and Chapelcross have already been published. Reports of the principal findings of the LTSRs for the remaining Magnox power stations will be published in due course. The NII also intends to publish a report on the generic issues arising out of the LTSRs early in 1994.
Coal Investment
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what amount of the £20 billion authorised investment by the Government in the coal industry since 1979 was invested in collieries which have since been closed or which are under threat of closure.
Mr. Eggar : The figure of £20 billion funding referred to represents deficiency and social grants to British Coal and payments under the redundant mineworkers payments scheme. The Government have authorised British Coal to spend nearly £8 billion on capital investment over the same period.
Investment at individual collieries is normally a matter for British Coal although grant approval is needed where capital expenditure exceeds £50 million on a single project. In the period concerned the only projects which came into this category were Selby--capital expenditure to date is about £1,500 million--and Asfordby--capital expenditure to date is about £250 million.
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what amount has been invested since 1979 in the collieries at (a) Taf Merthyr, (b) Deep Navigation, (c) Merthyr Vale, (d) Trelewis Drift and (e) Betws.
Mr. Eggar : Investment in individual collieries is a matter for British Coal.
Civil Servants
Mr. Byers : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many civil servants are working at the offices of his Department in Victoria street, London.
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Mr. Eggar : My Department has 2,215 civil servants working at our offices in Victoria street.
Conversion Loans
Mr. Jonathan Evans : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the continued appropriateness of his Department's covering of the exchange risks of companies that take European Coal and Steel Community conversion loans in foreign currencies rather than sterling.
Mr. Sainsbury : I have, in conjunction with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales, thoroughly reviewed the exchange risk guarantee scheme, which is run jointly by my Department, the Scottish Office and the Welsh Office. This review has been based on the findings of independent evaluators who assessed the extent to which the scheme achieved its objectives at an acceptable cost. The evaluators found in the scheme no substantial benefits to set against its cost. The DTI, the Scottish Office and the Welsh Office will therefore cease to offer exchange risk cover on any new global loans made by the Commission to United Kingdom financial intermediaries from today.
Termination of the exchange risk guarantee scheme will not affect the availability of the ECSC conversion loans themselves, nor of the associated interest rate rebates related to job creation. The loans will continue to be available to United Kingdom firms, either in foreign currency at their own exchange risk or in sterling on similar terms. Existing global loans will continue to be eligible for cover to the extent that they are drawn down in foreign currencies. I have today placed in the Library of the House copies of the independent evaluators' reports on the scheme.
South Africa
Mr. Jonathan Evans : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the future of the EC code of conduct for companies with interests in South Africa.
Mr. Needham : The EC Foreign Affairs Council announced on 4 October that the requirement for companies to report under the code has been discontinued. EC heads of mission will, however, be required to report annually on developments in the area of labour conditions with particular attention to equality of opportunity.
British Coal (Redundancies)
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to extend the present enhanced redundancy arrangements for British Coal employees beyond 31 December 1993.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 20 October 1993 : I announced on 20 October that the Government had informed British Coal that they were prepared to extend its funding for the current redundancy terms for miners until 30 April 1994.
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Nuclear Accidents
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps Her Majesty's Government have taken to establish an Anglo-Irish bilateral agreement with the Irish Republic for the transmission of information subsequent to a nuclear accident as proposed by European Commission opinion of 30 April 1992 on the thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield, as published in the Official Journal of the European Communities No. L138, 36-37, 21 May 1992.
Mr. Yeo : I have been asked to reply.
In addition to existing nuclear incident notification arrangements with the Irish authorities, a more formal bilateral agreement is being explored at regular meetings of United Kingdom and Irish officials.
EDUCATION
Outdoor Education Centres
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from the Central Council of Physical Recreation on the impact of education reforms on local education authority outdoor education centres.
Schools
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils are now being educated in grant-maintained schools ; what is the number of grant-maintained schools in England and Wales ; what is the percentage of secondary schools in England and Wales that are grant- maintained ; and how many applications for grant-maintained status are outstanding and being considered by his Department.
Mr. Robin Squire : Grant-maintained schools in Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. The figures in this answer relate to England only.
About 480,000 pupils are now being educated in 693 self-governing (GM) schools. Fourteen per cent. of secondary schools are now self-governing. A further 61 schools have been approved for self-governing status but are not yet operating.
One hundred and thirty-six applications for self-governing status are under consideration in the Department, and proposals are awaited from a further 31 schools who have voted yes to self-governing status.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is (a) the total number of schools, (b) the number of county schools, (c) the number of voluntary-aided schools, (d) the number of grant-maintained schools which were formerly county schools and (e) the number of grant- maintained schools which were formerly voluntary-aided schools within the (i) primary and (ii) secondary sectors in each local education authority area.
Mr. Robin Squire [holding answer 21 October 1993] : The latest information on the status of maintained primary and secondary schools in each local education authority in England is shown in the table.
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Maintained schools in each local education authority in England October 1993 Primary schools Secondary schools Self-governing Self-governing Local education |All schools<1> |County schools |Voluntary aided |Formerly county |Formerly voluntary|All schools<1> |County schools |Voluntary aided |Formerly county |Formerly voluntary authority |schools |aided |schools |aided ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Corporation of London |1 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 Camden |41 |20 |21 |0 |0 |12 |5 |5 |0 |2 Greenwich |79 |62 |17 |0 |0 |15 |10 |4 |0 |0 Hackney |70 |54 |16 |0 |0 |10 |6 |4 |0 |0 Hammersmith |39 |25 |14 |0 |0 |10 |4 |5 |0 |1 Islington |57 |41 |16 |0 |0 |9 |6 |3 |0 |0 Kensington and Chelsea |27 |12 |15 |0 |0 |5 |1 |2 |0 |1 Lambeth |77 |55 |21 |0 |1 |10 |4 |0 |1 |4 Lewisham |72 |50 |21 |1 |0 |14 |8 |4 |0 |0 Southwark |76 |52 |23 |0 |1 |14 |7 |3 |1 |3 Tower Hamlets |74 |53 |21 |0 |0 |15 |9 |3 |0 |1 Wandsworth |72 |51 |19 |2 |0 |11 |4 |1 |4 |2 Westminster |42 |15 |27 |0 |0 |8 |3 |4 |0 |0 Barking |55 |49 |6 |0 |0 |8 |7 |1 |0 |0 Barnet |89 |58 |29 |2 |0 |21 |10 |4 |4 |3 Bexley |65 |51 |10 |2 |0 |17 |12 |1 |1 |3 Brent |65 |45 |19 |1 |0 |14 |6 |0 |5 |1 Bromley |78 |61 |10 |1 |1 |17 |6 |0 |9 |2 Croydon |98 |80 |13 |0 |0 |22 |13 |5 |2 |2 Ealing |92 |78 |12 |2 |0 |13 |6 |2 |5 |0 Enfield |70 |52 |18 |0 |0 |17 |9 |3 |2 |2 Haringey |77 |56 |20 |0 |0 |9 |7 |2 |0 |0 Harrow |54 |46 |8 |0 |0 |11 |8 |2 |0 |1 Havering |74 |64 |9 |0 |0 |20 |12 |4 |2 |2 Hillingdon |74 |54 |10 |7 |2 |17 |5 |1 |10 |1 Hounslow |63 |54 |9 |0 |0 |14 |9 |1 |0 |2 Kingston upon Thames |36 |21 |14 |0 |0 |10 |6 |0 |1 |1 Merton |49 |39 |10 |0 |0 |12 |7 |3 |0 |0 Newham |67 |56 |9 |0 |0 |15 |11 |3 |1 |0 Redbridge |56 |47 |9 |0 |0 |14 |11 |1 |1 |0 Richmond upon Thames |39 |24 |15 |0 |0 |8 |7 |1 |0 |0 Sutton |43 |34 |8 |0 |1 |14 |6 |0 |5 |3 Waltham Forest |61 |51 |8 |0 |0 |18 |15 |1 |2 |0 Birmingham |336 |251 |68 |0 |2 |84 |56 |10 |6 |6 Coventry |111 |81 |25 |0 |0 |19 |15 |3 |0 |0 Dudley |83 |64 |11 |1 |0 |23 |14 |2 |5 |1 Sandwell |112 |94 |13 |0 |0 |21 |18 |1 |1 |0 Solihull |70 |46 |19 |1 |0 |14 |12 |2 |0 |0 Walsall |106 |83 |13 |0 |0 |21 |13 |2 |3 |3 Wolverhampton |101 |71 |14 |0 |0 |20 |15 |3 |2 |0 Knowsley |68 |32 |35 |0 |0 |11 |7 |3 |0 |1 Liverpool |198 |105 |84 |0 |0 |37 |17 |18 |0 |2 St. Helens |73 |31 |33 |0 |0 |13 |8 |4 |0 |0 Sefton |94 |43 |45 |0 |0 |23 |16 |5 |0 |0 Wirral |106 |74 |27 |0 |0 |23 |18 |3 |2 |0 Bolton |105 |55 |38 |1 |0 |18 |11 |3 |1 |1 Bury |71 |34 |24 |0 |0 |15 |11 |4 |0 |0 Manchester |175 |103 |54 |0 |0 |31 |19 |11 |0 |0 Oldham |104 |62 |34 |0 |0 |16 |12 |4 |0 |0 Rochdale |76 |40 |22 |2 |0 |14 |10 |3 |1 |0 Salford |88 |44 |29 |0 |0 |21 |14 |6 |0 |0 Stockport |110 |81 |20 |0 |0 |18 |14 |3 |0 |0 Tameside |82 |50 |22 |0 |0 |20 |14 |3 |3 |0 Trafford |78 |54 |23 |0 |0 |16 |11 |1 |3 |0 Wigan |125 |38 |74 |0 |0 |23 |14 |6 |0 |0 Barnsley |96 |73 |15 |0 |0 |15 |13 |0 |0 |0 Doncaster |128 |106 |17 |0 |0 |34 |32 |2 |0 |0 Rotherham |115 |96 |16 |0 |0 |19 |16 |1 |0 |0 Sheffield |165 |141 |19 |0 |1 |32 |30 |0 |0 |2 Bradford |167 |117 |32 |1 |0 |88 |72 |8 |5 |1 Calderdale |92 |61 |22 |1 |0 |16 |11 |1 |1 |1 Kirklees |160 |104 |23 |0 |0 |38 |31 |1 |2 |0 Leeds |249 |178 |49 |0 |1 |47 |38 |8 |0 |1 Wakefield |130 |102 |17 |0 |0 |39 |32 |3 |0 |0 Gateshead |82 |62 |19 |0 |0 |13 |11 |2 |0 |0 Newcastle upon Tyne |82 |59 |23 |0 |0 |22 |19 |3 |0 |0 North Tyneside |61 |47 |14 |0 |0 |27 |26 |1 |0 |0 South Tyneside |59 |40 |12 |0 |0 |11 |9 |2 |0 |0 Sunderland |106 |87 |18 |0 |0 |17 |14 |3 |0 |0 Isles of Scilly |4 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |1 |0 |0 |0 Avon |368 |234 |42 |0 |0 |61 |50 |5 |2 |0 Bedfordshire |218 |168 |28 |1 |2 |72 |54 |6 |8 |0 Berkshire |275 |172 |42 |4 |1 |59 |39 |6 |9 |0 Buckinghamshire |290 |203 |33 |6 |0 |45 |29 |2 |7 |0 Cambridgeshire |267 |182 |30 |6 |0 |46 |26 |1 |13 |2 Cheshire |455 |291 |106 |1 |0 |72 |56 |10 |3 |0 Cleveland |203 |148 |47 |0 |0 |53 |40 |11 |0 |0 Cornwall |249 |199 |41 |0 |0 |31 |31 |0 |0 |0 Cumbria |311 |158 |81 |3 |2 |44 |27 |3 |5 |2 Derbyshire |451 |309 |54 |5 |1 |61 |39 |5 |11 |0 Devon |443 |292 |75 |0 |0 |65 |55 |4 |4 |1 Dorset |201 |97 |59 |0 |1 |56 |31 |5 |8 |1 Durham |298 |223 |52 |0 |0 |44 |39 |5 |0 |0 East Sussex |221 |130 |42 |0 |0 |38 |34 |3 |0 |0 Essex |582 |401 |83 |20 |7 |108 |46 |7 |48 |2 Gloucestershire |264 |140 |49 |3 |1 |43 |19 |1 |16 |2 Hampshire |584 |430 |57 |6 |3 |109 |86 |6 |12 |2 Hereford and Worcester |288 |140 |64 |0 |0 |81 |58 |5 |1 |4 Hertfordshire |433 |308 |85 |1 |4 |94 |62 |11 |11 |5 Humberside |354 |259 |29 |1 |0 |64 |55 |5 |0 |0 Isle of Wight |46 |25 |9 |0 |0 |21 |17 |2 |0 |0 Kent |578 |361 |77 |5 |4 |151 |78 |8 |39 |8 Lancashire |605 |242 |300 |0 |1 |111 |69 |20 |2 |4 Leicestershire |335 |210 |42 |0 |0 |83 |69 |4 |5 |0 Lincolnshire |299 |159 |37 |9 |0 |67 |35 |3 |12 |2 Norfolk |398 |256 |43 |8 |1 |54 |38 |2 |10 |0 North Yorkshire |394 |201 |58 |0 |0 |61 |49 |8 |0 |0 Northamptonshire |274 |168 |35 |7 |0 |66 |46 |7 |12 |0 Northumberland |143 |99 |34 |0 |0 |62 |52 |4 |1 |0 Nottinghamshire |426 |339 |51 |0 |0 |85 |68 |10 |3 |0 Oxfordshire |241 |98 |51 |0 |1 |44 |37 |3 |0 |0 Shropshire |215 |106 |30 |0 |0 |41 |30 |2 |4 |1 Somerset |229 |101 |38 |1 |0 |40 |31 |1 |0 |0 Staffordshire |415 |251 |74 |0 |0 |88 |69 |8 |3 |1 Suffolk |255 |153 |28 |0 |0 |77 |68 |4 |0 |0 Surrey |376 |243 |88 |6 |0 |58 |37 |6 |9 |3 Warwickshire |244 |132 |40 |0 |0 |39 |23 |6 |8 |0 West Sussex |246 |154 |44 |0 |0 |44 |31 |9 |0 |0 Wiltshire |297 |131 |61 |3 |0 |49 |31 |2 |4 |1 |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- England |18,971 |12,232 |3,740 |121 |39 |3,831 |2,688 |418 |361 |97 <1>Includes county, voluntary aided, voluntary controlled, special agreement and self-governing (GM) schools.
National Curriculum
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will give a breakdown of the membership of each of the committees which have been established to advise his Department about the national curriculum and associated matters ; and if he will indicate in each case those representatives which have been appointed to represent the primary school sector ;
(2) if he will make a statement giving details of his policy in connection with the level of representation of (a) the primary school sector and (b) the secondary school sector upon those committees which provide advice to his Department about the national curriculum and associated matters.
Mr. Robin Squire : The School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, under the chairmanship of Sir Ron Dearing, has the main responsibility for advising my right hon. Friend on the national curriculum and associated matters.
My right hon. Friend announced the authority's membership on 14 September. All 14 members have been appointed on the basis of their individual expertise and experience rather than as representatives. They include a
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teacher and a headteacher from the primary school sector, a college principal with wide experience of primary education, the headmaster of a seven to 18 school, three secondary heads and the headteacher of a special school.Older Adult Learners
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to place specific obligations upon the further education funding councils, further education colleges and local authorities concerning provision for older adult learners.
Mr. Boswell : Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, the further education funding councils and local education authorities are between them responsible for securing the provision of all kinds of further education for adults. The educational opportunities secured by the new structure of duties are available to all adult learners, including older adults, and earlier this year the Department for Education was pleased to sponsor a conference on older adults as part of Adult Learners' Week.
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Primary Schools
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that the primary school sector is fully and adequately represented on all committees established to advise his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : The main criterion for choosing the members of advisory bodies is the experience and expertise which they can contribute. When it is appropriate to do so my right hon. Friend will ensure that an advisory body includes members who have experience of primary education.
Opting Out
Mr. Don Foster : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if his Department will fund the organisation, Parents Opposed to Opting-Out ; and if he will make a statement.
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