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Wages
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average (a) public sector and (b) private sector weekly wage for each year since 1979.
Miss Widdecombe : Over this period, there have been changes in the composition of the public and private sectors due to privatisations and the contracting out of some jobs. The information available from the new earnings survey given in the table is for the sectors as constituted in April of each year.
Average gross weekly earnings of full time employees on adult
rates-
pay unaffected by absence: at April
|Public Sector £ |Private Sector £
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |90.9 |87.9
1980 |114.2 |106.8
1981 |131.7 |118.7
1982 |142.6 |131.5
1983 |154.3 |143.1
1984 |163.2 |157.0
1985 |172.1 |170.3
1986 |186.1 |183.9
1987 |197.3 |199.7
1988 |216.0 |219.5
1989 |235.6 |241.4
1990 |256.4 |265.8
1991 |283.0 |285.4
1992 |307.8 |303.3
1993 |321.0 |315.3
Source: New Earnings Survey.
Training
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make it his policy to require training and enterprise councils to set targets for training those aged over 50 years and monitor their implementation.
Miss Widdecombe : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to do so. The Government remain committed, through their contract with training and enterprise councils, to equality of opportunity for all eligible people on training and enterprise programmes.
Column 477
Pay Rates
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make it his policy to require the Employment Service to retain information on rates of pay for job vacancies.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M.E.G. Fogden to Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 25 October 1993 :
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to him about the Employment Service retaining information on rates of pay for job vacancies. This is something which falls within the responsibilities he has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
Jobcentres do have information on rates of pay in their area. This is taken from details given by employers when they notify vacancies and from vacancies advertised in local newspapers. The information, which is rather generalised in nature, is used to advise employers and jobseekers who seek guidance on prevailing pay rates in a locality.
I hope this is helpful.
As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
Wages Underpayments
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many prosecutions for underpayment of wages were made in each year since 1979 ; and what number of employees were involved.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 22 October 1993] : The information requested is provided in the table. The policy of the wages inspectorate under all Governments has been to seek compliance with wages council orders by advice and persuasion. Prosecution is usually considered only where an offence is deliberate or repeated and the evidence is considered sufficient.
Year |Number of |Number of workers
|prosecutions for |involved
|underpayment
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |9 |26
1980 |8 |43
1981 |8 |40
1982 |4 |4
1983 |2 |8
1984 |2 |5
1985 |2 |2
1986 |2 |6
1987 |4 |10
1988 |10 |23
1989 |9 |21
1990 |7 |15
1991 |15 |31
1992 |12 |41
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SCOTLAND
Parliamentary Television
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the locations of the television sets in his Department which can receive the live television feed from the Chamber of the House; and what is the total cost to his Department of this service.
Mr. Lang : Dover house, Whitehall is the only Scottish Office building which can receive the live television feed from the Chamber of the House. The total cost of the service is £17,600 per annum, including VAT and maintenance.
Toll Roads
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will issue guidelines for the development of toll road proposals.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : 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 Scottish local authorities by the Scottish Office in March 1992. Evaluation of a prospective concessionaire's proposals is a matter for the roads authority, but a statement is published with a draft toll order, under the 1991 Act, setting out the key points of an assignation agreement.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has to ensure adequate consultations on and evaluation of toll road proposals at all key stages.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 the procedures for authorisation of a toll road are similar to those of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 that apply to publicly financed roads; there is therefore a similar approach to public consultation and public inquiry. Any scheme which is taken forward by means of individual legislation is subject to detailed scrutiny by Parliament.
Justices of the Peace
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he has given to arrangements for the appointment, operation and co-ordination of justices of the peace in his plans for reorganisation of local government in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. Friend intends to maintain the present arrangements for justices of the peace in the context of any amendments to the District Courts (Scotland) Act 1975 required to transfer responsibility for the district courts to the new local authorities proposed in paragraph 3.38 of "Shaping the New Future--The new Councils" (Cm 2267, July 1993).
Transport, Stranraer
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans there are to improve transport links from Stranraer to the main road and railway routes in the vicinity of Scotland's border with England.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The recent review of Scotland's key roads confirmed that the upgrading of the
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A75, linking Stranraer to the A74, has substantially eliminated the operating difficulties on the route. However, there are minor schemes within the trunk roads programme for further improvements which emphasise safety and overtaking opportunities. The financing of these schemes will begin once projects of greater priority have been completed. With regard to rail links I understand that ScotRail and Dumfries and Galloway regional council are investigating the possibility of restoring a short section of track at Ayr to allow the Stranraer-Carlisle service to run via Mauchline. This could reduce the present journey time between Stranraer and Carlisle by around 25 minutes.Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he has given to the setting up of a staff commission and a property commission to make recommendations in relation to the transfer of staff and property to the new authorities in his local government reorganisation.
Mr. Stewart : I have already announced that an independent staff commission will be set up to oversee the transfer of staff to the new councils. The Scottish Office will shortly be consulting the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and staff representatives on the remit and membership of such a body. My right hon. Friend also proposes to take powers to enable him to establish a property commission to oversee the transfer of property to the new councils. It is intended that the need for such a body should be the subject of discussions with local government in due course.
Scottish Cancer Trials Office
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for the future of the Scottish Cancer Trials Office.
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what functions are performed by the Scottish cancer trials office ; what funding has been available since 1980 ; what funding will be available in 1994-95 ; and if he will make a statement regarding the future of the Scottish trials office.
Mr. Stewart : None. The Scottish Cancer Trials Office is an independent organisation which, faced with withdrawal of funding by the Medical Research Council, is closing in August next year. The chief scientist office of the Scottish Office is, through its Scottish cancer therapy network, in close contact with the trials office about its closure arrangements. In addition the chief scientist office itself is always prepared to consider applications for the funding of soundly based research projects in this as in other health-related subjects.
Tourism
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total value of (a) local authority and (b) other public contributions made in 1993 to (i) the East Lothian tourist board and (ii) the Scottish Borders tourist board.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The total value of contributions to be made by (a) local authorities and (b) the
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Scottish tourist board to East Lothian tourist board and Scottish Borders tourist board during 1993-94 is set out in the table.
|SBTB |East Lothian
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------
Local Authorities |204,500 |271,200
Scottish Tourist Board |85,000 |54,000
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many tourists visited (a) East Lothian and (b) Berwickshire, and how many visitor bed-nights were recorded, in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Estimates of tourism volume are available only at the Scottish regional level and relate only to overnight stays of one or more nights. The information in respect of Lothian region and Borders region is as follows :
|United Kingdom |Overseas residents
|residents
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bednights in Lothian (1992) |4,200,000 |5,500,000
Bednights in Borders (1992) |1,000,000 |300,000
Sources: The United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS) 1992.
International Passenger Survey (IPS) 1992.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in (a) the Haddington travel-to-work area and (b) Berwickshire are employed in the tourism and leisure industries ; and what proportion of the total work forces those figures represent.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Figures indicating employment in the tourism and leisure industries alone are not available. The information set out in the table incorporates the categories of tourism, leisure, distribution, hotels and catering and repairs.
TTWA |Year |Number Employed |Percentage of TTWA
|Workforce
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haddington |1991 |2,540 |22.5
Berwickshire |1991 |1,194 |23.0
Source: Census of Employment.
Travellers
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to take to review the current policy on travelling people in respect of Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The advisory committee on Scotland's travelling people will be consulted in reviewing current policy on travelling people during the course of 1994.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the target number of caravan pitches set by central Government for each local authority in
Column 481
Scotland for use by travelling people together with the number of pitches provided in each local authority area to date.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The pitch targets set for each district and the pitches provided are listed in the table.
Pitch Targets
No. of pitches
provided
Region and District |Target |Local Authority |Private
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borders
Berwickshire |15 |- |-
Ettrick and Lauderdale |6 |- |6
Roxburgh |10 |- |-
Tweeddale |10 |10 |-
Central
Clackmannan |20 |16 |-
Falkirk |28 |15 |-
Stirling |42 |*13 |-
|(temp)
Dumfries and Galloway
Annandale and Eskdale |12 |- |12
Nithsdale |18 |18 |-
Stewartry |3 |- |3
Wigtown |17 |- |3
Fife
Dunfermline |8 |- |-
Kirkcaldy |18 |- |-
North East Fife |20 |20 |-
Grampian
City of Aberdeen |36 |20 |-
Banff and Buchan |20 |20 |-
Gordon |- |- |-
Kincardine and Deeside |- |- |-
Moray |20 |20 |-
Highland
Badenoch and Strathspey |7 |- |-
Inverness |24 |24 |-
Lochaber |27 |27 |-
Nairn; Caithness Ross and
Cromarty, Skye and
Lochalsh, Sutherland |20 |- |20
Lothian
City of Edinburgh |40 |20 |-
East Lothian; Midlothian |20 |- |-
West Lothian |43 |23 |20
Strathclyde
Argyll and Bute |38 |32 |6
Cunninghame |24 |24 |-
Kilmarnock and Loudoun |12 |- |-
Kyle and Carrick |8 |8 |-
Cumnock and Doon Valley |6 |6 |-
Dumbarton |20 |20 |-
Clydebank |- |- |-
Bearsden and Milngavie |12 |- |-
Strathkelvin; Cumbernauld
and Kilsyth |20 |- |-
Glasgow |50 |30 |-
Monklands |32 |16 |-
Motherwell |56 |14 |36
Hamilton |42 |22 |20
East Kilbride |6 |6 |-
Clydesdale |15 |- |-
Eastwood |- |- |-
Renfrew |16 |16 |16
Inverclyde |- |- |-
Tayside
Angus |37 |15 |7
City of Dundee |20 |20 |-
Perth and Kinross |85 |20 |45
|------- |------- |-------
Total-Scotland |983 |495 |194
There is no identifed demand for travellers' sites in the areas of the Islands Councils.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of all pitches available to travelling people are now provided by local authorities in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Seventy-two per cent.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the current membership of the advisory committee on travelling people setting out the qualifications of each existing member ; when each member's term of service ends ; and what is the level of remuneration paid to each member who receives any remuneration.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The committee's membership and qualifications are listed in the table. Their current term of office expires on 31 December 1994. The chairman and members are unpaid but they are eligible for travel and subsistence expenses.
Mr. H. M. Garland MBE--Chairman--Retired. Former Director of Social Work, Central Regional Council.
Mr. J. E. D. Cormie OBE--Deputy Chairman--Recently retired Chief Executive, Perth and Kinross District Council.
Mrs. J. Cameron JP MBE--Councillor, Bearsden and Milngavie District Council. Former Provost.
Mr. P. Collier MBE--Retired. Former Environmental Health Adviser in the Communicable Diseases Unit at Ruchill Hospital, Glasgow. Mr. C. Douglas MBE --A founder member of the Committee in 1971 and a leader of Scotland's travelling people.
Mr. A. Harper BEM--Former manager of local authority travelling people's site at Double Dykes, Perth.
Miss M. Hendry--Project Manager of the Signpost project at Woodlands Teachers Centre, Glasgow which is involved in traveller education. Settled traveller.
Mr. R. A. J. Moodie--Recently retired Depute Director of Planning, Lothian Regional Council.
Mr. J. Pollock--Part-time Housing Consultant and former Director of Housing Services, Dumbarton District Council.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set out the statutory authority for the setting up of the advisory committee on travelling people ; and what plans he has to review its remit.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The advisory committee on Scotland's travelling people is a non-statutory body. Its remit will be reviewed before the current three-year term of office expires at the end of 1994.
Sheep
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the situation facing sheep producers who have been denied quota following the recent changes in the EC sheepmeat regime.
Sir Hector Monro : Until all the allocations of sheep annual premium quota have been completed, including those from the national reserve, I will not be in a position to say whether any producers will be left without quota. Quota is, however, transferable and it is open to sheep producers, including newcomers, to buy or lease quota within the prescribed transfer periods.
Column 483
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the size of the national sheep reserve available for distribution under the new EC sheepmeat regime.
Sir Hector Monro : The legislation provides for separate national reserves in the less-favoured and non less-favoured areas of the country. In both cases the size of the reserve depends in part on the amount of quota siphoned from sales of quota in the 1993 marketing year, since that quota is added to the respective reserve. As transfers of quota are still being processed, a final figure for the size of the reserves is not yet available.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent on official hospitality in his Department in the financial year 1992-93.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 20 October 1993] : My Department spent £94,385 on official hospitality during 1992-93. This figure includes expenditure on official hospitality in connection with events in Scotland arising from the United Kingdom presidency of the European Community.
Ambulance Service
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what was the percentage of ambulances in each service in Scotland that responded within (a) eight minutes and (b) 14 to 20 minutes to emergency calls in (i) 1992-93 and (ii) the first half of 1993-94 ; (2) what was the number of ambulance staff in Scotland employed by the NHS in each year since 1990, using whole-time equivalents.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 21 October 1993] : There is only one ambulance service for the whole of Scotland. The information is as follows :
Performance
Responses
|0-8 minutes |14-20 minutes
|Per cent |Per cent
------------------------------------------------------------------
1992-93 |51 |95
April to August 1993<1> |53 |96
Column 484
Number of staff<2>
Year |Ambulance-men/Women|Ambulance Officers |Total
|and Control
|Assistants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |1,802.7 |220.0 |2,022.7
1991 |1,963.9 |223.0 |2,186.9
1992 |2,093.6 |221.0 |2,314.6
Notes:
<1> The latest dates for which information is available.
<2> The figures exclude administrative and clerical staff and other support staff employed by the
Scottish Ambulance Service.
Plastic Cigarettes
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what policy his office has regarding the sale of simulated plastic cigarettes to children ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 21 October 1993] : It is understood that simulated plastic cigarettes are occasionally sold as novelties. Their intrinsic safety is a 1-1t DEFENCE
Menwith Hill Monitoring Station
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current arrangements with the United States National Security Agency for the operation of the Menwith Hill monitoring station in Yorkshire.
Mr. Hanley : Menwith Hill station near Harrogate is a Ministry of Defence site which has been made available to the US Department of Defence for use as a defence communications facility. It operates with the full knowledge and agreement of Her Majesty's Government.
Bergen-Hohne Firing Ranges
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the types of (a) weapon and (b) ammunition which are authorised for firing by British Army units on each of the firing ranges of the Bergen- Hohne ranges.
Mr. Hanley : The following types of weapon and ammunition are authorised for firing on each of the Bergen-Hohne ranges :
Column 483
Range |Equipment |Ammunition |Remarks
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M1A |Mortars |Illumination |Up to 120mm
1A |Guided Weapons |Swingfire TOW |Limited
|30mm Aircraft Helicopter|30mm APDS |Up to 120mm
|Milan
150C |Mortars |Up to 120mm
1C |30mm |All types
3 |30mm |All types |Arc restrictions
5A |120mm, 30mm |Practice only |No HESH
5B |120mm |Practice only
5C |120mm |No HESH
6 |120mm |No HESH
7A |120mm |All types
7B |120mm |All types |No HESH
7C |120mm |All types |Limited use
8A |120mm |All types |Limits Range 9
8B |120mm |All types
8C |30mm |APDS |Stops Range 9
9 |120mm |All types |No HESH
10 |30mm |APDS |Stops Range 9
10A
10B |Anti Tank |Practice only |Limited use
10C |Anti Tank |Live |Limited use
11 |120mm |Reduced use
11A |Hand Grenade |Limited use
11B |Rifle Range |7.62mm 5.56mm
11C
12 |120mm |No HESH
|No night fire
13 |Demolitions |PE4 ANFO |Max 30 Kgs
|Anti tank mine
19 |120mm |APFSDS |Limited use
20 |120mm MLRS |No HESH
21 |120mm |Not used
22 |7.62mm |ETR
HESH-High Explosive Squish Head.
APDS-Armour Piercing Discarded Sabot.
APFSDS-Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarded Sabot.
PE4-Plastic Explosive 4.
ANFO-Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil (plastic explosive).
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the arrangements for clearance of expended and unexploded ordnance on the Bergen-Hohne ranges.
Mr. Hanley : Clearance of expended and unexploded ordnance is the responsibility of the Bundeswehr who administer the ranges.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the types and amounts of ammunition expended by British Army units on each firing range on the Bergen-Hohne ranges in 1992.
Mr. Hanley : The types of ammunition fired by the British Army on the Bergen-Hohne training ranges are as follows :
120mm MBT ammunition
a. High Explosive Squish Head
b. Squish Head Practice
c. Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarded Sabot
d. Discarded Sabot Trace
30mm Scimitar Warrior Fox
a. Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarded Sabot
b. Practice
c. High Explosive
Miscellaneous Ammunition
a. Inert Giant Viper
b. Swingfire Anti-Tank Missile Practice
c. 7.62mm Ball and Trace
d. 81mm illuminating mortar
e. MILAN
f. 3kg Aircraft bombs
g. MLRS
h. TOW
Details of the actual quantities expended could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide figures showing the extent of use made by British Army units of the Bergen-Hohne ranges in each year since 1985.
Mr. Hanley : British Army units have made use of the Bergen-Hohne ranges as follows since 1985 :
Column 486
Year |Weeks ------------------ 1985 |8 1986 |8 1987 |4 1988 |12 1989 |9 1990 |9 1991 |10 1992 |5 1993 |<1>10 <1>Planned.
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