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Column 499
Mr. Beith : The estimate for the provision of security services to the House of Commons in the current financial year is £9.82 million--a figure which the hon. Member will find on page 7 of the Commission's annual report, published earlier this year.
Health and Safety Training
38. Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission what representations he has received about health and safety training for staff of the House of Commons.
Mr. Beith : Since last May I have replied to five questions tabled on this and similar issues related to health and safety. I have received no other representations. A number of training schemes have been organised by House Departments or are in prospect.
European Legislation
42. Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will review the arrangements for considering EC legislation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Newton : I have no plans to do so.
Recesses
43. Mr. Barnes : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will give the figures for the total lengths of recesses in each parliamentary Session since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Newton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick). The table sets out sitting and non-sitting days since 1979.
Sitting and non-sitting days since 1979(Calendar years)
|Sitting days |Non-sitting days
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |146 |<1>107
1980 |173 |81
1981 |177 |76
1982 |175 |78
1983 |154 |<1>99
1984 |171 |83
1985 |171 |82
1986 |166 |87
1987 |150 |<1>103
1988 |173 |81
1989 |176 |77
1990 |176 |77
1991 |165 |88
1992 |148 |<1>106
1993 |165 |88
Average |166 |88
<1> General election year.
Sitting days
(By session)
|Number of days
---------------------------------------------
1979-80 |244
1980-81 |163
1981-82 |174
1982-83 |115
1983-84 |213
1984-85 |172
1985-86 |172
1986-87 |109
1987-88 |218
1988-89 |175
1989-90 |167
1990-91 |160
1991-92 |83
1992-93 |240
Average |172
Note: It is assumed that weekends and bank
holidays account for 112days each year.
Motions and Questions
44. Mr. Rooker : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will bring forward proposals to allow hon. Members to table early-day motions and written questions during the parliamentary recesses.
Mr. Newton : I have no plans to do so but the hon. Member may in the first instance wish to put his suggestions to the Procedure Committee.
Sitting Days
45. Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Lord President of the Council what is the number of days that the House sat in each parliamentary Session since 1979 ; and the number of days that the House was in recess.
Mr. Newton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick).
Mice
Mr. Gunnell : To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee how much has been spent on the attempts to eradicate the presence of mice from the public rooms of the Palace of Westminster.
Mr. Ray Powell : This is a matter for the Director of Works ; I shall ask him to write to my hon. Friend.
Chairs
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what is the cost of putting out and removing chairs within the precincts of the House of Commons ; and how many contractors there are.
Mr. Ray Powell : This is a matter for the Director of Works.
Dining Rooms (Standards of Dress)
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee what representations have been received concerning standards of dress in the Strangers' Dining Room and Churchill Room.
Mr. Colin Shepherd : Numerous complaints have been received from hon. Members concerning the standards of dress of a few users of the Strangers Dining Room and the
Column 501
Churchill Room. The Catering Committee considered this matter at its meeting on 16 June and laid down the following dress code to be observed by gentleman Members and male guests in these two dining rooms :Jackets to be worn except in unbearably hot weather.
Ties to be worn at all times.
No jeans to be worn.
Visitors' Facilities
Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he will list the facilities available to visitors to the House (a) when the House is sitting and (b) when the House is in recess ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Martin : A detailed description of the facilities available for visitors to the House on sitting and non-sitting days is contained in various leaflets issued by the Serjeant of Arms, and principally that entitled "Regulations for Visitors". These leaflets are reprinted in the Members' handbook.
Strangers Gallery
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he has plans to increase the number of seats available to members of the public in the Strangers' Gallery.
Mr. Michael J. Martin : There are no such plans at present. However, the hon. Member may wish to write to me with any specific point of concern he has about the Strangers Gallery.
Fire Certificates
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee when was the last time the Houses of Parliament received a fire certificate ; what have been the reasons for refusals since ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ray Powell : A fire certificate was last issued to the Houses of Parliament in 1969. Since then no certificate has been applied for or refused. A programme of work on fire precautionary measures is progressing in order that a new certificate may be issued in the coming year.
Value Added Tax
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Lord President of the Council what happens to the VAT reclaimed by the Fees Office on items of expenditure paid for by hon. Members from the office costs allowance.
Mr. Newton : The Fees Office do not reclaim VAT paid by hon. Members on expenditure paid by them from their office costs allowance.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement regarding the long-term future of HLCA grants.
Mr. Jack : The terms and conditions of hill livestock compensatory allowances will continue to be reviewed annually in the context of the autumn review of economic conditions in the hills and uplands.
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Badgers
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will show the number of badgers shot and gassed in each of the last three years in each county in the south-west region ; and how many of these badgers were subsequently shown to have tuberculosis.
Mr. Soames : The numbers of badgers shot in the year to date and in the previous three years in each county in the south-west of England, and the numbers of badgers that were subsequently shown to be positive for tuberculosis-- M. bovis --are as follows. Gassing has not been used as a means of controlling badgers since 1982.
1990
|Number shot |Number positive for
|M.bovis
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |55 |13
Cornwall |385 |63
Devon |188 |45
Dorset |7 |2
Gloucester |109 |27
Somerset |17 |-
Wiltshire |3 |-
|------- |-------
Totals |764 |150
|19.6 per cent.
1991
|Number shot |Number positive for
|M.bovis
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |55 |17
Cornwall |422 |75
Devon |159 |20
Dorset |49 |2
Gloucester |75 |12
Somerset |- |-
Wiltshire |178 |34
|------- |-------
Totals |938 |160
|17 per cent.
1992
|Number shot |Number positive for
|M.bovis
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |159 |38
Cornwall |470 |68
Devon |162 |35
Dorset |- |-
Gloucester |96 |38
Somerset |- |-
Wiltshire |141 |30
Totals |1,028 |209
|20.3 per cent.
1993<1>
|Number shot |Number positive for|Number of results
|M.bovis |awaited
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |118 |24 |3
Cornwall |330 |63 |22
Devon |119 |33 |29
Dorset |49 |8 |-
Gloucester |119 |31 |25
Somerset |125 |48 |5
Wiltshire |125 |28 |39
|------- |------- |-------
Totals |985 |235 |123
|23.8 per cent.
<1>1 January to 6 December 1993.
Agriculture Tenancies
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps she has to retain the 15-year minimum fixed term for agriculture tenancy ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : A statutory minimum term has never featured in our proposals for tenancy reform ; nor is it included in the common position agreed by industry organisations last week.
In the light of that agreement, we shall be going ahead with all the necessary steps so that we shall be ready to introduce legislation as soon as parliamentary time becomes available.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what spending she plans following the allocation made to her Department in the Budget directly in 1994-95 on (a) sea defence and coast protection, (b) inland drainage and flood protection and (c) supporting the common fisheries policy.
Mr. Jack : The information requested on 1994-95 spending plans is as follows :
|£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grants to the National Rivers Authority
sea defence, inland drainage and flood protection |38.4
Grants to local authorities
coast protection |26.6
sea defence, inland drainage and flood protection |2.1
Grants to Internal Drainage Boards
inland drainage and flood protection |1.0
Supporting the Common Fisheries Policy |2.0
(including market support, degressive withdrawal scheme
and flat rate aid scheme)
Forestry Commission Land
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if she will include Forestry Commission woods in Nottinghamshire in her list of commission land in England for which there is no question of privatisation ;
(2) if she will list all those Forestry Commission landholdings in England for which there will be no question of privatisation.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 25 November 1993] : Forestry Ministers have asked the forestry review group to review options for the ownership and management of
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Forestry Commission woodlands, and to make proposals for changes which would improve the effectiveness of the delivery of the Government's forestry policy objectives, having regard to the Government's other economic and envrionmental policies.We will await the advice of the review group before considering what further action, if any, should be taken in respect of the ownership and management of Forestry Commission woodlands.
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what plans she has to take into account the views of local people, organisations and local authorities in England when deciding which areas of Forestry Commission land will not be privatised ; (2) what account she takes of the views of local people when confirming that there is no question of privatising particular areas of Forestry Commission land in England.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 25 November 1993] : About 3,000 individuals and 300 organisations have already written to Ministers and the forestry review group, setting out their views. The group is taking full account of these as it prepares its report.
There will be full consultation of the general public and interested bodies on the options preferred by Ministers before matters are taken forward. The form and timing of consultation will depend on the advice which the review group offers Ministers and what conclusions Ministers draw from that advice.
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list, for each separate piece of land currently owned or leased by the Forestry Commission in Hereford and Worcester, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire (a) its name and (b) its area in hectares ; and if she will place a map in the Library which names and identifies each of these pieces of land.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 6 December 1993] : The Forestry Commission manages the following areas of land in Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire :
County |Area (hectares) ------------------------------------------------ Cheshire |948 Cumbria |26,508 Lancashire |1,816
I have made arrangements for a map showing the location of the individual areas to be placed in the Library as soon as possible. The more detailed information requested on the individual areas is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
EMPLOYMENT
Enterprise Allowances
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many enterprise allowances were granted in each training and enterprise council area and in each standard region in the 1992-93 financial year ; in how many such cases the term of the allowance was completed ; and in how many cases the enterprise allowance resulted in the continuation of a business after completion.
Column 505
Miss Widdecombe : The business start-up scheme replaced the enterprise allowance scheme in April 1991. Table 1 gives the number of business start-up scheme starts in 1992-93 for each training and enterprise council--TEC--and region in England and Wales.
Information about whether the period of allowances was completed is not held centrally.
Information on the continuation of business is not available for individual TECs, but is available regionally from special surveys. The latest figures cover starts in April and May 1991 which were still in business 18 months later in November 1992. These are shown in table 2.
Table 1
BSUS: Cumulative starts by TEC 1992-93
|Numbers
-------------------------------------------------
Hampshire |1,160
Heart of England |130
Isle of Wight |100
Kent |820
Milton Keynes |130
Surrey |270
Sussex |300
Thames Valley |450
|---
Region Total |3,370
AZTEC |340
North London |430
North West London |230
CILNTEC |440
Central London |400
London East |310
SOLOTEC |680
West London |350
South Thames |550
|---
Region Total |3,730
Bedfordshire |180
Central and South Cambridgeshire |180
Greater Peterborough |150
Suffolk |460
Norfolk and Waveney |690
Essex |380
Hertfordshire |430
|---
Region Total |2,460
Avon |320
Devon/Cornwall |1,510
Dorset |320
Gloucester |690
Somerset |200
Wiltshire |560
|---
Region Total |3,600
Birmingham |840
Central England |430
Coventry/Warwickshire |660
Dudley |210
Hereford and Worcester |350
Sandwell |210
Shropshire |280
Staffordshire |500
Walsall |140
Wolverhampton |240
|---
Region Total |3,830
North Derbyshire |290
South Derbyshire |400
Leicestershire |1,020
Lincolnshire |610
Northamptonshire |380
Greater Nottinghamshire |700
North Nottinghamshire |440
|---
Region Total |3,830
Bradford |570
Calderdale/Kirklees |380
Humberside |750
Leeds |540
Rotherham |300
Sheffield |600
Wakefield |200
Barnsley/Doncaster |780
North Yorkshire |980
|---
Region Total |5,100
Bolton/Bury |350
Rochdale |110
Stockport/High Peak |330
Wigan |300
Oldham |150
South and East Cheshire |180
Central Manchester |1,020
|---
Region Total |2,440
North Cheshire |400
Merseyside |1,140
Cumbria |350
East Lancashire |440
West Lancashire |380
CEWTEC (Cheshire/Wirral) |480
QUALITEC (St. Helens) |220
|---
Region Total |3,410
County Durham |570
Northumberland |250
Teesside |510
Tyneside |390
Wearside |170
|---
Region Total |1,890
Gwent |450
Mid. Glamorgan |370
North East Wales |170
North West Wales |400
Powys |190
South Glamorgan |300
West Wales |800
|---
Region Total |2,680
Source: TEC Operating Agreement (Annex J) and
Welsh Office MIS.
Note: The sum of TEC total will not necessarily
add up to regional totals due to independent
rounding.
Table 2
BSUS: 18 month business survival rates for starts in
April and May 1991 by region
|Survial rates<1>
|(per cent.)
-----------------------------------------------------------
South East |73
London |71
South West |70
Eastern<2> } |72
East Midlands<2> }
West Midlands |72
Yorkshire and Humberside |72
Greater Manchester |68
North West |69
Northern |76
Wales |74
<1> November 1992 survey of people who started in
April/May 1991 and were still in business 18 months later.
<2> Due to small sample sizes a combined survival rate is
given for the Eastern and East Midlands regions.
Source: The November 1992 Business Start-Up Scheme 18
MonthFollow-Up Survey.
Unemployed People (Training)
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of people unemployed for over six months each Employment Service regional office has referred to providers of training each month since January.
Column 508
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. Andrew Hunter, dated 13 December 1993.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about referrals to providers of training.
The information you requested is set out in the attached table. I should explain that people who are unemployed for six months are interviewed by a Client Adviser (and at six month intervals thereafter should they remain unemployed). At this interview their employment needs are discussed with a view to helping them back to work by agreeing a referral to a job, training or other suitable opportunity, e.g. a Jobclub.
I hope this is helpful.
Column 507
By each employment service region, percentage of people unemployed for over six months referred to training providers by month from
January to October 1993
|Northern |Yorks. and Humber.|East Midlands |London and South |South West |Wales |West Midlands |North West |Scotland
|East
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January |2.9 |3.1 |2.1 |2.0 |1.8 |3.0 |2.4 |2.9 |2.7
February |2.7 |2.6 |2.0 |1.9 |1.6 |2.6 |2.2 |2.6 |2.6
March |2.2 |2.1 |1.6 |1.5 |1.1 |1.7 |1.9 |2.0 |2.0
April |2.6 |2.4 |1.6 |1.4 |2.1 |1.9 |1.9 |1.8 |1.8
May |2.4 |2.2 |1.5 |1.5 |1.9 |1.7 |1.9 |1.7 |1.8
June |2.3 |2.2 |1.6 |1.5 |1.9 |1.7 |1.8 |2.0 |2.0
July |2.9 |2.7 |2.1 |1.8 |2.6 |2.2 |2.2 |2.4 |2.6
August |2.2 |2.3 |1.8 |1.6 |2.1 |1.7 |1.9 |2.0 |2.2
September |2.3 |2.1 |1.7 |1.5 |2.0 |2.5 |2.0 |1.9 |2.4
October |3.2 |2.0 |2.2 |2.0 |2.6 |2.2 |2.4 |2.6 |2.9
Sources: 1. Employment Service.
2. NOMIS.
Note:-Training For Work replaced Employment Training and Employment Action in April of this year. The figures for January-March 1993 are the recorded referrals to Employment Training and Employment Action.
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his policy in respect of the surplus revenue over expenditure which is being held by training and enterprise councils.
Miss Widdecombe : Training and enterprise councils--TECs--need reserves to protect the viability of their businesses. Beyond that, TECs are required to use their efficiency savings to further the objectives of their corporate plans and business plans. I know that many TECs have plans for spending their reserves effectively.
Column 508
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much funding has been made available to each training and enterprise council each year, expressed in cash and real terms using prices from the first year's funding and as a real terms percentage increase or decrease on the previous year.
Miss Widdecombe : Funding made available to each training and enterprise councf
Column 507
1991-92 1992-93 1993-94
|Cash terms |Cash terms |Real terms |Real terms +/-|Cash terms |Real terms |Real terms +/-
|£ million |£ million |£ million |Per cent. |£ million |£ million |Per cent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hampshire |32.00 |34.13 |32.87 |2.71 |35.63 |33.23 |1.11
Heart of England |10.50 |12.18 |11.73 |11.71 |11.89 |11.09 |-5.49
Isle of Wight |4.30 |4.26 |4.10 |-4.59 |4.34 |4.04 |-1.44
Kent |31.60 |35.13 |33.83 |7.06 |39.36 |36.71 |8.51
Milton Keynes/
North Buckinghamshire |7.10 |8.04 |7.74 |9.05 |10.12 |9.44 |21.96
Surrey |13.30 |13.83 |13.32 |0.14 |14.07 |13.13 |-1.44
Sussex |24.20 |27.16 |26.16 |8.08 |26.95 |25.13 |-3.91
Thames Valley Enterprise |19.60 |21.21 |20.43 |4.21 |27.45 |25.60 |25.34
AZTEC |11.10 |11.73 |11.30 |1.77 |14.45 |13.47 |19.29
CENTEC |12.70 |24.24 |23.34 |83.81 |28.58 |26.66 |14.20
CILNTEC |9.10 |22.62 |21.78 |139.38 |27.06 |25.24 |15.87
LETEC |28.70 |35.90 |34.57 |20.46 |44.42 |41.43 |19.83
North London |10.40 |18.92 |18.22 |75.20 |21.98 |20.50 |12.54
North West London |5.80 |10.03 |9.66 |66.54 |13.48 |12.57 |30.17
SOLOTEC |18.90 |20.12 |19.38 |2.52 |21.94 |20.47 |5.63
South Thames |22.10 |32.92 |31.70 |43.45 |44.06 |41.10 |29.63
West London |9.80 |17.27 |16.63 |69.71 |19.79 |18.46 |10.97
Bedfordshire |12.60 |11.72 |11.29 |-10.42 |13.40 |12.49 |10.70
Cambridgeshire |6.60 |6.37 |6.13 |-7.05 |7.87 |7.34 |19.58
Essex |28.50 |35.49 |34.18 |19.92 |35.10 |32.74 |-4.21
Greater Peterborough |8.40 |9.30 |8.96 |6.62 |11.06 |10.31 |15.17
Hertfordshire |19.20 |24.81 |23.89 |24.44 |26.16 |24.40 |2.10
Norfolk/Waveney |23.90 |22.57 |21.74 |-9.06 |25.84 |24.10 |10.90
Suffolk |14.70 |15.54 |14.97 |1.81 |16.93 |15.79 |5.49
Avon |28.60 |28.84 |27.77 |-2.89 |32.21 |30.04 |8.18
Devon/Cornwall |52.50 |52.47 |50.53 |-3.75 |59.32 |55.33 |9.50
Dorset |15.20 |16.53 |15.92 |4.73 |19.28 |17.98 |12.97
Gloucestershire |12.80 |13.92 |13.41 |4.73 |15.21 |14.19 |5.85
Somerset |12.50 |13.75 |13.24 |5.93 |14.08 |13.13 |-0.84
Wiltshire |12.30 |14.66 |14.12 |14.78 |15.90 |14.83 |5.04
Birmingham |46.70 |49.77 |47.93 |2.63 |48.99 |45.69 |-4.67
Central England |10.90 |11.71 |11.28 |3.46 |11.81 |11.01 |-2.34
Coventry/Warwickshire |26.20 |25.38 |24.44 |-6.71 |30.91 |28.83 |17.95
Dudley |11.20 |11.72 |11.29 |0.77 |12.92 |12.05 |6.77
HAWTEC |10.30 |11.81 |11.37 |10.42 |13.64 |12.72 |11.86
Sandwell |11.40 |11.99 |11.55 |1.29 |13.44 |12.53 |8.56
Shropshire |13.40 |14.68 |14.14 |5.50 |14.91 |13.91 |-1.61
Staffordshire |34.00 |35.60 |34.28 |0.83 |37.66 |35.12 |2.44
Walsall |10.60 |9.99 |9.62 |-9.24 |10.52 |9.81 |1.96
Wolverhampton |11.50 |12.12 |11.67 |1.49 |12.52 |11.68 |0.04
Greater Nottingham |20.90 |20.98 |20.20 |-3.33 |24.36 |22.72 |12.47
Leicester |25.40 |26.21 |25.24 |-0.63 |27.05 |25.23 |-0.05
Lincolnshire |19.20 |20.70 |19.93 |3.83 |26.89 |25.08 |25.80
North Derbyshire |11.20 |10.58 |10.19 |-9.03 |11.96 |11.16 |9.51
North Nottinghamshire |17.50 |17.12 |16.49 |-5.79 |17.58 |16.40 |-0.53
Northamptonshire |12.80 |13.76 |13.25 |3.53 |14.45 |13.48 |1.72
South Derbyshire |17.80 |18.33 |17.65 |-0.83 |19.20 |17.91 |1.47
Barnsley/Doncaster |27.30 |25.08 |24.15 |-11.53 |31.21 |29.11 |20.52
Bradford and District |19.20 |20.75 |19.98 |4.08 |22.21 |20.71 |3.66
Calderdale/Kirklees |21.40 |21.39 |20.60 |-3.74 |29.15 |27.19 |32.00
Humberside |37.60 |37.77 |36.77 |-3.26 |39.68 |37.01 |1.76
Leeds |22.50 |21.34 |20.55 |-8.66 |25.41 |23.70 |15.33
North Yorkshire |17.40 |17.56 |16.91 |-2.81 |18.75 |17.49 |3.42
Rotherham |12.50 |12.54 |12.08 |-3.39 |13.96 |13.02 |7.78
Sheffield |25.70 |23.38 |22.52 |-12.39 |28.77 |26.83 |19.16
Wakefield |12.60 |12.54 |12.08 |-4.16 |14.05 |13.10 |8.51
Bolton/Bury |13.50 |14.38 |13.85 |2.58 |15.89 |14.82 |7.04
Manchester |39.10 |39.31 |37.86 |-3.18 |42.58 |39.71 |4.91
METROTEC |12.00 |11.29 |10.87 |-9.39 |12.13 |11.31 |4.03
Oldham |9.10 |9.19 |8.85 |-2.74 |9.80 |9.14 |3.30
Rochdale |7.80 |8.87 |8.54 |9.51 |10.32 |9.63 |12.72
South and East Cheshire |11.10 |12.83 |12.36 |11.31 |15.27 |14.25 |15.29
Stockport |9.90 |10.47 |10.08 |1.85 |11.86 |11.06 |9.72
CEWTEC |22.30 |20.96 |20.19 |-9.48 |24.75 |23.09 |14.37
Cumbria |18.60 |17.68 |17.03 |-8.46 |18.82 |17.56 |3.11
ELTEC |18.00 |18.80 |18.10 |0.58 |21.85 |20.38 |12.58
LAWTEC |26.80 |28.35 |27.30 |1.87 |31.51 |29.39 |7.64
Merseyside |40.10 |51.00 |49.11 |22.48 |64.80 |60.44 |23.06
NORMID |11.82 |14.57 |14.03 |18.71 |16.32 |15.22 |8.48
QUALITEC |9.60 |9.83 |9.47 |-1.39 |11.89 |11.09 |17.19
Durham |34.70 |30.09 |28.98 |-16.49 |33.52 |31.27 |7.90
Northumberland |15.30 |15.28 |14.72 |-3.82 |16.72 |15.60 |5.98
Teeside |35.50 |33.48 |32.24 |-9.18 |38.19 |35.62 |10.47
Tyneside |45.80 |40.45 |38.95 |-14.95 |49.47 |46.15 |18.46
Wearside |21.40 |18.47 |17.79 |-16.88 |22.61 |21.09 |18.55
Column 510
Column 511
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria determine the amount of funding for individual training and enterprise councils.
Miss Widdecombe : A training and enterprise council--TEC--negotiates with the Employment Department for the allocation of funds for training programmes based on its business plans for the year. When allocating funds, the Department takes account of a range of factors, including the quality of training to be provided, the balance of training between occupations, the expected demand for places by unemployed people, and contributions from employers towards the cost of training. The Department will also take efficiency savings made by a TEC into account when negotiating prices for training.
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will place in the Library a list of the directors of each training and enterprise council and the companies or organisations they represent.
Miss Widdecombe : Yes. I am doing so for all training and enterprise councils--TECs--in England. Information for the TECs in Wales is for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales to supply.
Directors of TECs are chosen to represent the range and diversity of the local labour market and not a particular company or organisation.
I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as this has been done.
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total budget for training and enterprise councils in England and Wales for (a) 1992-93 and (b) 1993-94 ; and what is the planned budget for 1994-95.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The budget for training and enterprise councils--TECs--in England for 1992-93 was £1.536 million. The total budget for 1993-94 is £1.738 million, including allowance payments for training and work participants, excluded from the 1992-93 budget.
Details of TEC budgets in 1994-95 will not be known until contract negotiations with councils are finalised in the spring of 1994. Budget information relating to Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Training Allowances
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) 16-year-olds and (b) 17-year-olds in (i) Dundee and (ii) Scotland were in receipt of a bridging allowance at the latest available date and on that corresponding date in each of the previous five years.
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. John McAllion, dated 13 December 1993.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about bridging allowance.
The information you have requested, taking 16 year olds and 17 year olds together, is provided in the attached table. Unfortunately, a breakdown by age is not available, nor is the November 1988 figure for Dundee.
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Bridging Allowance can be paid to young people as long as they are registered at a Careers Office for Youth Training (YT) and have left or lost a job or YT place.It is a short-term allowance paid for up to 40 days in any 52 week period while a young person finds another job or YT place. I hope this is helpful.
Numbers in receipt of Bridging Allowance in Dundee and Scotland November 1988-November 1993 November |Dundee |Scotland ------------------------------------ 1988 |- |2,102 1989 |37 |1,157 1990 |54 |1,349 1991 |34 |1,099 1992 |34 |957 1993 |17 |553
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the training allowance paid to (a) 16-year-olds and (b) 17-year-olds on YTS and YT schemes in each of the past five years ; and what the current allowance would be if it had been uprated in line with inflation over those five years.
Miss Widdecombe : The training allowances over each of the last five years have been £29.50 per week for 16-year-olds and £35 per week for 17-year-olds. The value of these allowance if they had been uprated in line with inflation is shown in the table :
Allowance levels
Year |16-year-old|17-year-old
|£ |£
------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |29.50 |35.00
1990-91 |31.88 |37.82
1991-92 |33.90 |40.22
1992-93 |35.20 |41.76
1993-94 |36.34 |43.12
Transexuals
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 explicitly to include discrimination against transexuals ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The Government deplore all forms of discrimination. It is not persuaded, however, that the Sex Discrimination Act should be extended to cover discrimination against transexuals and has no plans to legislate in this area.
Education Allowance
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are presently on full-time vocational courses as a result of the education allowance introduced in the Budget statement of 16 March 1993, Official Report, column 193.
Miss Widdecombe : As at 11 November, the last date for which figures are available, approximately 6,200 people were participating in learning for work.
Community Action Programme
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are engaged in part-time work under the community action programme.
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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. Stephen Byers, dated 13 December 1993 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about the number of people engaged in part-time work under the Community Action programme.
It may help if I explain the background to Community Action and our plans for the provision of the announced places.
Community Action is a programme to help long-term unemployed people back into work, by providing work experience on projects of benefit to local communities. Following the Budget, a further 35,000 opportunities will be made available between now and 1995/6 in addition to the 60,000 announced last Spring.
Community Action opportunities are being delivered, in the main, by voluntary/charitable organisations and my people in the Employment Service Regional Offices are responsible for contracting with them. At 26 November, the latest date for which figures are available, 2, 876 places had been taken up by long term unemployed people and numbers are increasing steadily. The programme is planned to build to 20,000 filled places by the end of 1994.
I hope this is helpful.
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