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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 10 December 1993
EDUCATION
Parental Choice, Wandsworth
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what plans he has to ensure that parents living within the London borough of Wandsworth will continue to have the right to choose the school of their choice for their children to attend ; and what discussions he has had with the borough about this matter ;
(2) what discussions he is having with the London Borough of Wandsworth about selective entry schools in the borough ; what plans he has to ensure that such schools will still take children of mixed ability ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : Under section 8 of the Education Act 1944, local education authorities have a duty to ensure that there are sufficient schools to provide education for all pupils in their area taking account of their age, ability and aptitude. This will continue to be the case under the Education Act 1993 until the sole responsibility for ensuring a sufficiency of schools in the primary or secondary phase, as the case may be, passes to the Funding Agency for Schools under the provisions of section 12 of that Act.
My right hon. Friend will continue to consider on their merits any proposals by Wandsworth council to implement its policy of diversity and choice in the borough's schools.
Education Authorities (Capital Assets)
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the value of capital assets held by local education authorities ; and which are held for the purposes of individual schools and which are occupied for other purposes.
Mr. Forth : The replacement capital value of local education authority school buildings in England is estimated to be £36.8 billion million. This includes the cost of furniture and equipment and building design fees. Additionally the land value of school sites is estimated to be £3.8 billion. Information is not held centrally on the extent to which schools are occupied for other purposes.
Goods and Services (VAT)
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 1 December, Official Report, column 571, if he will list the supply of goods and services incidental to the supply of education by sixth form colleges and further education colleges which are exempt from value added tax.
Mr. Boswell : Item 4 of group 6, schedule 6 to the Value Added Tax Act 1983, as amended, specifies that the supply of any goods or services incidental to the provision of any education or training provided by a college in the FEFC
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sector is exempt from VAT. Her Majesty's Customs and Excise VAT leaflet 701/30/87, which is available in the Library, gives examples of the type of incidental goods and services covered by this exemption. They include educational materials such as pens, ink and exercise books, most catering supplies and accommodation.Primary Schools (Class Sizes)
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the number of primary school children in (a) January 1992 and (b) January 1993, being taught in classes of more than 30 ; and what was the percentage change.
Mr. Robin Squire : In January 1992 there were 1,075,000 pupils in classes of more than 30 in maintained primary schools in England compared with 1,142,000--provisional--in January 1993, a rise of 6 per cent.
Nursery Education
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his latest estimate of the proportion of three-year-olds in local authority nursery education classes.
Mr. Robin Squire : Latest figures show that in England 39 per cent. of children aged three at the beginning of the 1992-93 school year were being taught in maintained--local education authority and grant-maintained- -nursery schools and nursery classes in January 1993 when the annual pupil count is conducted.
Capital Credit Approval
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what amount has been requested by way of capital credit approval for each local education authority in 1994-95.
Mr. Forth : The information requested is in the table. The figures are taken from the capital plans for 1994-95 submitted by each local education authority to the Department.
LEA |Total capital bid
|1994-95 (£000)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Barking |5,409
Barnet |11,514
Bexley |6,881
Brent |4,675
Bromley |9,937
Croydon |7,613
Ealing |40,012
Enfield |6,656
Haringey |15,688
Harrow |11,156
Havering |8,665
Hillingdon |9,349
Hounslow |11,959
Kingston |1,747
Merton |10,050
Newham |11,379
Redbridge |3,733
Richmond |4,490
Sutton |5,049
Waltham |10,085
City |0
Camden |1,544
Westminster |475
Greenwich |8,101
Hackney |8,438
Hammersmith |2,775
Islington |9,135
Kensington |2,919
Lambeth |9,703
Lewisham |23,049
Southwark |6,263
Wandsworth |11,856
Tower Hamlets |25,560
Birmingham |51,514
Coventry |4,087
Dudley |6,090
Sandwell |9,685
Solihull |5,325
Walsall |6,218
Wolverhampton |11,465
Knowsley |13,496
Liverpool |15,662
St. Helens |5,544
Sefton |3,445
Wirral |6,098
Bolton |4,180
Bury |3,536
Manchester |49,217
Oldham |7,815
Rochdale |14,464
Salford |13,104
Stockport |2,115
Tameside |11,031
Trafford |6,292
Wigan |5,055
Barnsley |4,198
Doncaster |6,178
Rotherham |2,792
Sheffield |36,617
Bradford |37,329
Calderdale |5,275
Kirklees |9,499
Leeds |26,671
Wakefield |27,991
Gateshead |5,488
Newcastle |29,483
North Tyneside |11,510
South Tyneside |7,000
Sunderland |6,373
Isles of Scilly |94
Avon |12,314
Bedfordshire |5,888
Berkshire |13,267
Buckinghamshire |14,981
Cambridgeshire |25,235
Cheshire |21,141
Cleveland |11,683
Cornwall |16,030
Cumbria |25,037
Derybshire |36,317
Devon |25,526
Dorset |22,612
Durham |53,165
East Sussex |38,458
Essex |58,195
Gloucestershire |32,281
Hampshire |50,728
Hereford and Worcester |14,432
Hertfordshire |9,806
Humberside |19,253
Isle of Wight |10,369
Kent |40,464
Lancashire |40,633
Leicestershire |11,838
Lincoln |17,278
Norfolk |12,791
North Yorkshire |17,530
Northamptonshire |14,097
Northumberland |5,996
Nottinghamshire |17,045
Oxfordshire |21,641
Shropshire |8,448
Somerset |10,090
Staffordshire |16,119
Suffolk |19,715
Surrey |25,970
Warwickshire |5,384
West Sussex |16,087
Wiltshire |13,051
|-------
Total |1,608,696
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Public Appointments
Mr. Heald : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what further progress has been made in appointing more women as members of public bodies.
Mr. Waldegrave : Women have been appointed to some 40 per cent. of all new appointments made in the last 12 months. This is a further welcome improvement and demonstrates our continuing efforts to ensure that women can play their proper part in our public life. The percentage of public appointments held by women is now 28 per cent. which is a further increase of 2 per cent. since September 1992 on top of the 3 per cent. increase in the previous year. Full details will be published in due course in the 1993 edition of "Public Bodies".
Mr. Heald : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many public appointments are currently held by members of the ethnic minorities ; and what plans the Government have to increase this number.
Mr. Waldegrave : Following the introduction last year of ethnic monitoring of public appointees, the statistics collected showed that at 1 September 1992, 2 per cent. of all appointments to public bodies were held by members of the ethnic minorities. The latest figures, full details of which will be published shortly in "Public Bodies", show that this has now increased to 2.3 per cent.
A few departments have already set their own goals for further increases but it is not practical for all departments to set such a goal. The Government aim progressively to increase the number of public appointments of members of ethnic minorities in order more closely to reflect their contribution to national life. Currently nearly 5 per cent. of the economically active population are members of the ethnic minorities.
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TRANSPORT
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the Ministers in his Department who since June 1987 have visited (a) Saudi Arabia, (b) Malaysia, (c) Singapore and (d) South Africa on official business ; and which such visits included party political activities in addition to official duties.
Mr. Norris : Since the election in April 1992, there has only been one visit by a Department of Transport Minister to the four countries named. This was by me to Singapore in October 1993. No party political activities were included in this visit. Owing to changes of Ministers and personnel, it would incur disproportionate cost to retrieve the information on visits before the last election.
Drink Driving
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the maximum legal limit on blood alcohol levels for drivers in each EC country.
Mr. Key : The information requested, in milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, is as follows :
|milligrammes
------------------------------------------
The Netherlands |50
Portugal |50
Belgium |80
Denmark |80
France |80
Germany |<1><2>80
Greece |<3>80
Italy |80
Luxembourg |80
Spain |80
United Kingdom |80
Ireland |100
<1>Germany has not adopted a common limit
after unification.
<2>(0 in the former Democratic Republic).
<3>For the general drink/drive offence
but the power exists to charge motorists
at 50 mg/ml if an accident has taken
place.
Bicycle Helmets
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to make the wearing of bicycle helmets compulsory.
Mr. Key : None. Bicycle helmets have been proven to reduce significantly both the number and the severity of head injuries. We therefore encourage cyclists, particularly children, to wear them.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Welfare Adaptations
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will give the date of receipt of an application for welfare adaptations at 17 O'Reilly park, Killeen, Newry, and the dates when the application was referred to the occupational therapist ; when an occupational therapist report was received ; when an architect was appointed ; and when work is due to be completed ;
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(2) if he will give details of the reasons for delays in processing the application for welfare adaptations for 17 O'Reilly park, Killeen, Newry.Mr. Atkins : This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive but I understand from the chief executive that a verbal application was received in early January 1993 and referred to the occupational therapist on 7 January 1993 whose report was received on 29 January 1993.
A Housing Executive architect was appointed to carry out a feasibility study on 2 February 1993 and this was completed in May 1993. The scheme was passed to a consultant architect in June 1993 for detailed plans to be drawn up. These plans required amendments to incorporate comprehensive improvements to the dwelling which were brought forward to minimise disruption to the tenants.
The detailed plans were completed on 22 November 1993 and were approved by the Housing Executive on 2 December 1993. The work is due to start in January 1994 and be completed by April 1994. The work should commence within the target timescale recently set by the Executive for carrying out major adaptations which involve an extension to a disabled person's home.
Daisy Hill Hospital
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisations have been consulted over the membership of the proposed Daisy Hill hospital trust ; and which organisations have been invited to nominate members to the trust.
Mr. Ancram : Apart from the period of public consultation on the application for trust status, my noble colleague, Lord Arran, advises me that he has not consulted on the membership of the Newry and Mourne health and social services trust, of which Daisy Hill hospital is a part.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the role of the lay helper in the creation of the Daisy Hill hospital trust.
Mr. Ancram : The position of lay helpers in any trust is formal, voluntary and unpaid. Their role is to assist in drawing up the formal application, giving potential trusts access to the types of skills and experience which non-executive members are expected to bring to the trust board, and to identify potential candidates for appointment as non- executive directors on the board of the trust.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultations have taken place with the district councils in the Southern region, with members of the Southern health and social services board, or with hon. Members with constituencies covering parts of the Southern region, regarding the membership of the Daisy Hill hospital trust.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what appointments have been made to the board of the shadow Daisy Hill hospital trust.
Mr. Ancram : Mr. John McEvoy, former lay helper, has been appointed chairman of the Newry and Mourne health and social services trust for a period of four years from 23
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November 1993. My noble colleague, Lord Arran, hopes to be able shortly to announce the names of the non-executive directors for the new trust.Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultations he or his colleagues had with the Southern health and social services board regarding the membership of the board of the proposed Daisy Hill hospital trust.
Spina Bifida
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the incidence of spina bifida among newborn infants in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Ancram : In 1992 the incidence was 0.78 per 1,000 total registered births.
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of spina bifida among newborn babies ;
(2) what information he has concerning the use of vitamin supplementation for women in their main child-bearing years as a means of reducing cases of spina bifida ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ancram : An expert advisory group report on folic acid and the prevention of neural tube defects, published in December 1992, confirmed evidence that women who increase their intake of folic acid when planning a pregnancy can significantly reduce the risk of having a baby with neural tube defect such as spina bifida. The report was immediately issued to all doctors, senior nurses, midwives and health visitors with a request that all women planning a pregnancy be advised to increase their consumption of folic acid. Health education material has been revised to incorporate this advice and a new public campaign using leaflets and posters was launched last month.
EMPLOYMENT
Training, Birmingham
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the training providers providing training for work programmes funded by Birmingham training and enterprise council.
Miss Widdecombe : I understand that the hon. Member is to meet the chief executive of the Birmingham training and enterprise council on 13 December. The TEC has agreed to supply him then with the list which he seeks.
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he takes to monitor the financial viability of training and enterprise councils ; and what contingency plans he has in the event that a training and enterprise council becomes unable to meet its contractual obligations.
Miss Widdecombe : Training and enterprise councils are contractually required to provide the Department with regular financial information. This information is carefully
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analysed by qualified staff to assess the continuing financial viability of individual TECs. The Department is in a position to make suitable alternative arrangements if a TEC ceased to be financially viable.Labour Statistics
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people became unemployed in England each month since January 1991 ; and how many were re-employed within six months.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is only available for people whose claims are processed by computer--99 per cent. of the total. It can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library. Of those becoming claimant unemployed, about two thirds leave within six months. The majority leave to go into employment.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the unemployment figures for the Tooting constituency in each of the last 10 years as of 30 November of each year.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is given in the table. The figure for November 1993 will be published on 16 December.
Claimant unemployment, on the unadjusted basis, for each November in the Tooting constituency Year |Total ------------------ 1983 |5,336 1984 |5,630 1985 |5,687 1986 |5,657 1987 |4,496 1988 |3,534 1989 |2,814 1990 |3,367 1991 |5,657 1992 |6,791
Suspension of Benefit
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria he applies in exercising his discretionary power to suspend benefit under regulation 37 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments Regulations) ; and if he will make a statement.
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 Mr. David Lidington, dated 10 December 1993 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about Regulation 37 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations.
Under Section 37(1) (c) of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations the Secretary of State may direct that payment of benefit due as a result of a decision of a Social Security Appeal Tribunal (SSAT) may be suspended if the adjudication officer considers that a further appeal to a Commissioner may be appropriate.
The power to suspend benefit is discretionary and is exercised on behalf of the Secretary of State by my officers. If, following a decision of an SSAT, the adjudication officer wishes to appeal to the Commissioner, my local office is requested not to implement the decision pending a further appeal.
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An appeal to a Commissioner can only be made on a point of law. The adjudication officer must therefore consider that the decision of the SSAT is wrong in law before making an application for leave to appeal. The most common errors of law are ; the misinterpretation of provisions of the Act or regulations ; no facts are found, or no reasons are given for the decision ; irrelevant considerations have been taken into account ; relevant evidence has been ignored ; the explanation of the decision discloses faulty reasoning.Although my officers, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, are not bound to comply with the adjudication officer's request to suspend the payment of benefit, my people in my local offices are not specifically trained to interpret Social Security law. They will, therefore, rely on the expertise of the adjudication officer where it is considered that an SSAT may have made an error in law. In practice, this means that benefit is always suspended in these cases unless there are good reasons, specific to the case, for not doing so. I hope this is helpful.
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the funding for each training and enterprise council in 1993-94, quantifying how much is to be spent on training for work, youth training, local initiative funds, administration and other projects.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Ms Short) on 3 December 1993, Official Report , column 821 . This lists the funding for each training and enterprise council, including training for work, youth training, local initiative fund, administration--management fee--and other projects.
Youth Training
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has had regarding the levels of allowance paid to those on youth training schemes ; what plans there are to alter the allowance in any way ; what prospects there are to increase the allowance or alter the payment structure ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : I have had a number of representations regarding the levels of the youth training--YT--allowance. There are no plans to increase minimum YT allowances. Minimum YT allowances are set at levels which reflect the fact that trainees are involved in the learning process and I believe current levels are sufficient to meet the normal requirements of trainees living in the parental home. Trainees who are employed are paid a wage by their employers. Employers benefit from considerable Government investment in the training of young people and are therefore encouraged to pay trainees more than the specified minimum rates of allowance wherever possible.
PRIME MINISTER
Council of Europe Delegation
Mr. Dunn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will announce the composition of the United Kingdom delegation for the 1994 ordinary session of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe.
The Prime Minister : The 1994 ordinary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will be opened in Strasbourg on 24 January 1994. The delegation
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from the United Kingdom for the session will consist of 19 members of the Conservative party, 15 members of the Labour party and two members from the minority parties.The appointments of representatives and substitutes have been made on the basis of nominations by the parties concerned, in accordance with the resolution of this House on 22 May 1992 at column 682 and of the House of Lords on 18 June 1992 at columns 290-92.
The same delegation will be representing the United Kingdom Parliament at the Assembly of the Western European Union, which next meets in Paris in June 1994.
Representatives from the Government benches will be :
My noble Friend, the Lord Finsberg--who will continue to act as leader of both delegations.
My hon. Friends the Members for :
Warwick and Leamington (Sir D. Smith)
Calder Valley (Sir D. Thompson)
Poole (Mr. J. Ward)
Ashford (Sir K. Speed)
Medway (Dame P. Fenner)
Lewis (Mr. Rathbone)
Bournemouth, East (Mr. D. Atkinson)
Ravensbourne (Sir J. Hunt)
Lord Newell
Representatives from the Labour party will be :
The hon. Members for :
Wentworth (Mr. Hardy)
Tooting (Mr. Cox)
Wansbeck (Mr. Thompson)
Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks)
Don Valley (Mr. Redmond)
Manchester, Central (Mr. Litherland)
Lord Kirkhill
The representative from the minority parties will be : The hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber (Sir R. Johnston).
The following substitutes have been appointed to act as necessary on behalf of the delegates.
From the Government Benches :
The hon. Members for :
Reading, West (Sir T. Durant)
Norfolk, North (Sir R. Howell)
Brighton, Kemptown (Mr. Bowden)
Wellingborough (Mr. Fry)
Hayes and Harlington (Mr. Dicks)
Bridlington (Mr. Townend)
Newark (Mr. Alexander)
Baroness Hooper
Earl of Dundee
From the Labour party :
The hon. Members for :
Pollok (Mr. Dunnachie)
Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman)
Newport, East (Mr. Hughes)
Easington (Mr. Cummings)
Leigh (Mr. Cunliffe)
Leicester, South (Mr. Marshall)
Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Davis)
Baroness Lockwood
From the minority parties :
The Lord Mackie of Benshie
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