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Mr. Sackville : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to do so shortly. The salary offered is £82,925 plus
performance-related pay, but more may be available for a candidate with exceptional qualifications or experience.
Public Meetings
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what requirements are imposed on district health authorities, regional health authorities, and health service trusts, to hold meetings in public of the main governing body, any committees, and any sub-committees ; and what rights of access the public have to agendas, minutes, and reports of such bodies, committees and sub-committees.
Dr. Mawhinney : The meetings of regional health authorities, district health authorities and family health services authorities are governed by the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960. This requires any full meeting of the authority, at which approval for a specific action is required, to be open to the public. But the public may be excluded from the whole or part of a meeting when
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confidential business is to be discussed. The provisions of the 1960 Act do not apply to committees or sub-committees of authorities, but committees comprising the full membership of the authority must meet in public unless a resolution to exclude the press and public is passed. The 1960 Act also requires authorities to supply the press, on request, with a copy of the agenda for each full meeting. National health service trusts, and their committees or sub-committees, are not subject to the 1960 Act. Trusts are required to have one public meeting per year, in accordance with the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. Many NHS trusts have developed substantial programmes of public meetings and regular meetings with community health councils.NHS trusts are required to publish annual reports, business plans and accounts. Regional health authorities, district health authorities and family health services authorities are not required to do so, but many publish annual reports, and their audited accounts are publicly available on request.
Correspondence
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of correspondence received by (a) her Department and (b) each of her Department's agencies receives (i) an
acknowledgement within five days and (ii) a substantive reply within 15 days.
Mr. Sackville : The Department and all its agencies have targets for answering all correspondence within 28 days of receipt. All letters receiving a ministerial reply are acknowledged within five days of receipt. For the period 1 January 1993 to 30 November 1993, 71.5 per cent. of such letters received a reply within the target period. More detailed information on correspondence receiving a response from officials could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asthma
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been done on the links between vehicle movements, exhaust emissions and asthma in Greater London ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 20 October, at column 236.
Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her estimate of the annual number of deaths which will result from radioactive discharges from the operation of THORP.
Column 1011
Mr. Sackville : No such estimates have been made. The National Radiological Protection Board--NRPB--has made an assessment of the collective radiation doses from discharges at Sellafield. The results of the NRPB work confirm that the discharges from the THORP plant will result in radiation doses much lower than natural background radiation levels. It has described the annual attributable risk to individuals in the world population as "vanishingly small".
Keep Warm Keep Well"
Mr. Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inquiries have been made to the "Keep Warm Keep Well" initiative so far during the current winter to date.
Mr. Bowis : Since the launch of the "Keep Warm Keep Well" campaign in mid-October 1993, the freephone telephone inquiry line has received 8,783 calls for advice or information, and 28,938 individuals and organisations have requested supplies of the "Keep Warm Keep Well" brochure, copies of which will be placed in the Library.
European Year of Older People
Mr. Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations she has received about the success of the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations ; (2) what evaluation has been made of the impact of the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations ; (3) what plans she has to work with other Government Departments to take forward programmes and ideas arising from the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations.
Mr. Bowis : The year is widely regarded as having been successful, although no formal representations on the matter have yet been received. An evaluation exercise has recently commenced to identify the key achievements of the year and its implications for future work.
Mr. Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which programmes and events for the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations she has been directly involved.
Mr. Bowis : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been directly involved in a number of initiatives, including the launch of the year in the United Kingdom at the age resource awards in London last December, in the presence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales ; an interview on BBC Television's "Primetime" in January with Lady Sally Greengross, director of Age Concern, England ; opening the European year exhibition in the House of Commons in February ; contributing to the regular news bulletin produced for the year ; providing the foreword for a publication produced by sixth form students from the Royal borough of Kingston upon Thames ; speaking at a reception hosted by Age Concern, England in October ; launching the "Aging Well" pilot programme in November.
Other Ministers have also been present at a number of events during the year and, on behalf of the Secretary of State, I thanked participants at a finale event at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on 15 December, following which I hosted the closing reception.
Column 1012
During the United Kingdom's presidency of the Council of Ministers, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State opened a major conference on health promotion and sickness prevention for older people. These issues have been taken forward during the course of the year, both at national and at European level.Mr. Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total Government expenditure on promoting the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations in the United Kingdom ; and what was Government expenditure on previous European years.
Mr. Bowis : The Department of Health has funded the operation of a secretariat for the year, based at Age Concern, England headquarters, at a total cost for the period to 31 March 1994 of £330,000, including a contribution of £79,000 from the Department of Social Security. The Departments of Health and Social Security have also provided officers on secondment to the secretariat, at an approximate cost to March 1994 of £18,000.
It is estimated that the costs of publicity for the year provided through the Department of Health information division will be in the region of £130,000.
The Department of Health set up an advisory group for the year, at an approximate total cost of £8,000. The Department has two part-time officers working exclusively in connection with the year at an aggregate annual cost of £18,500. A substantial further, unquantifiable, level of staff input is also being provided by staff in the Departments of Health and Social Security and elsewhere in Government.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health launched the United Kingdom programme for the year on 17 December 1992 in the presence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre. The Department of Health contributed approximately £14,000 to this event.
A number of other Government Departments have contributed to the promotion of the year by providing information and practical support for particular events. it is not possible to quantify the total costs.
Expenditure on previous European years is a matter for relevant Departments in each case.
Mental Health
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research or monitoring has been undertaken about the implementation of section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983, relating to aftercare for certain detained patients.
Mr. Bowis : The implementation of section 117 is monitored by the Mental Health Act Commission on its visits to hospitals and at meetings with health authorities and social services departments. In its fifth biennial report, published on 10 December, the commission notes that authorities are linking section 117 arrangements to the care programme approach. Copies of the report are available in the Library.
Section 117 requires health and local authorities to provide aftercare for patients who have been detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983. The care programme approach, which we introduced in April 1991, requires that all patients about to be discharged after in-patient
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they have been detained, should be systematically assessed in respect of their health and social care needs, have an individual care programme and be allocated a named key worker. For those patients who have been detained under the Act, the requirements of section 117 will be met by proper implementation of the care programme approach.Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the outcome of the comprehensive autumn round of monitoring by regional health authorities and the social services inspectorate of community care for the mentally ill.
Mr. Bowis : The monitoring suggested that authorities had made generally good progress in putting in place the basic structures and systems required. The national monitoring round did not look at services for specific client groups, but services for people with a mental illness under new arrangements are being examined as part of one of a range of special studies currently being carried out by the social services inspectorate and national health service management executive in a sample of authorities.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she proposes to take to respond to the criticisms of psychiatric services made in the recently published report of the Mental Health Act Commission ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be making a full response to the commission's report. This will be laid before Parliament.
Ashbourne Pharmaceuticals
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received regarding the pricing charges to the NHS for drugs of Ashbourne Pharmaceuticals.
Mr. Sackville : The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and others have made representations. We are currently carrying out an inquiry into the discounts received by dispensing doctors from their suppliers. It is hoped that the report will be available by the spring of 1994.
Nursing Staff
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nurses and (b) midwives were in training in each health region in each year since 1979.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 6 December 1993] : This information will be placed in the Library.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Information Security
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement about the operation of his Department's sensitive documents unit ; how many staff are employed in its operation ; and approximately how many documents per annum come within its purview.
Mr. Newton : The Privy Council Office does not have a sensitive documents unit.
Column 1014
Government Car Service
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the annual cost to the Department of the car service for Ministers in 1990-91 ; and how many vehicles were involved.
Mr. Newton : The cost in 1990-91 was £114,755 for two vehicles.
Advertising
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Lord President of the Council what the cost of advertising by his Department has been for each year since 1979 and for each of the last 12 months.
Mr. Newton : The Privy Council Office incurs no costs in respect of advertising.
Press Office
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Lord President of the Council how many press releases his Department has issued in each year since 1979.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Lord President of the Council how many press officers his Department has employed in each year since 1983.
European Documents
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Lord President of the Council (1) if he will tabulate in the Official Report, grouped under subject content, in respect of each of the European Community Documents of which note was taken by resolution of the House on Thursday 9 December (a) the European Council and/or Commission number, (b) the Command, House of Commons European Select Committee number, or other United Kingdom reference, (c) the title, and number of pages, (d) the purpose of the document and if it amends, or adds, to a previous related document, (e) the date first received by Her Majesty's Government, (f) the date first published by the originating or publishing body, (g) the date when placed in the Vote Office, (h) the date of ministerial signature on any explanatory, or supplementary explanatory memoranda, and the date if placed in the Vote Office more than three days after signature, (i) the date and reference numbers of published related reports of the Select Committee on European Legislation, (j) the date when any typescript report of the Select Committee on European Legislation not in (i) above was placed in the Vote Office, together with the relevant reference number of any forthcoming report, (k) the date of any debate in a European Standing Committee or the Floor of the House concerning that document and (1) the column number in the Official Report of any principal references to that document made by a Minister in the course of debate on 9 December ; and if he will state the means whereby any member of the public could be informed of the existence of any of these documents of the European Community and be informed and obtain, a copy of the related ministerial memoranda ;
(2) if he will provide details of the references and dates relating to the documents listed on the Order Paper of 9
Column 1015
December as relevant to the motion relating to European Communities, in the same manner which has been requested by the hon. Member for Newham, South in respect of the documents listed in the motion.Mr. Newton : The information requested in regard to points (a) to (j) is set out in the table, which groups together, first, the documents included in the motion for debate, the subject of the first question, and, secondly, those shown as relevant to the debate, the subject of the second question. In regard to point (k) , none of the
Column 1016
documents had been the subject of a previous debate either in European Standing Committee or on the Floor of the House. In respect of point (1), I refer the hon. Member to the Official Report. Members of the public can obtain copies of published European Community documents from the European Commission's public information services. The Government's explanatory memoranda on European Community documents are made available to a number of outside organisations and libraries and can also be obtained from the relevant Government Department.Column 1015
Documents included in the Motion for debate
[NL] | a |b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EC Budget and Finance related documents
(1) HM Treasury |14938 |Commission Recommendation |Text of |EC document |24 November |(1) HM Treasury |6 December 1993 |HC 48-ii (1993-94) |8 December
unnumbered EM of |for the broad guidelines of |Commission |10691/93 received |1993 |unnumbered EM |To be published |1993
6 December 1993 |the economic policies of the |Recommendation |13 December 1993 |with text attached
|Member States drawn up in |6 December 1993
|conformity with Article
|103(2) of the Treaty on
|European Union (informal
|EC text attached to EM,
|5 pages)
(2) COM(93)700 |14937 |Commission White Book on |Commission paper |6 December 1993 |Not formally |(2) 7 December |3 December 1993 |HC 48-ii (1993-94)
(informal text) |Growth, Competitiveness and |for discussion at |published |1993 |(HM Treasury |To be published |1993
|Employment (185 pages) |the European |yet |(informal text) |unnumbered EM)
|Council on
|10 December
|1993
(3) 7665/93 |14625 |Preliminary Draft General |Commission |15 September 1993 |15 June 1993 |(3) 15 September |15 July 1993 |HC 79-xxxvi |No MS report
(COM(93)400) |Budget of the EC for 1994 |proposal for the |(Vol. 2) |1993 (Vol. 2) |(1992-93)
|(several volumes, totalling |Community |2 July 1993 |2 July 1993 |Published on
|1,851 pages) |budget for 1994 |(other Volumes) |(other Volumes) |5 August 1993
(4) 9303/93 (Previously |14824 |Letter of Amendment No. 1 to |Commission |25 November 1993 |8 October(4) 29 November |18 October 1993 |HC 79-xxxviii |No MS report
the subject of |the Preliminary Draft Budget |amendments |1993 |1993 |(1992-93)
HM Treasury |for 1994 (33 pages) |Published
unnumbered EM of |16 November
18 October 1993) |1993
(5) 8012/93 |14760 |Draft General Budget of the |Council of |16 September 1993 |Documents |(5) 16 September |20 September 1993 |HC 79-xxxvii |No MS report
|EC for 1994 (7 volumes |Ministers' |undated |1993 |(1992-93)
|totalling 1,815 pages) |proposal for |Published
|Community |16 November
|budget for 1994 |1993
(6) 9922/93 (Previously |14886 |European Parliament's |See Column (c) |3 November 1993 |28 October |(6) 8 November |5 November 1993 |HC 48-i (1993-94) |2 December
the subject of |proposed amendments to the |1993 |1993 |(HM Treasury |To be published |1993
HM Treasury |Draft General Budget for |unnumbered EM)
unnumbered EM of |1994 (727 pages)
5 November 1993)
(7) HM Treasury |14898 |Council Decision on European |Text of proposed |Formal documents |See Column |(7) 22 November |22 November 1993 |HC 48-i (1993-94) |2 December
unnumbered EM of |Parliament's proposed |Decision |not yet received |(e) |1993 |To be published |1993
22 November 1993 |amendments and |(HM Treasury
|modifications to the Draft |unnumbered EM)
|General Budget for 1994
(8) HM Treasury |Commission proposal for a |To revise the 1994 |Formal document |See Column |(8) 2 November2 November 1993 |HC 79-xxxix |No MS report
unnumbered EM of |Revision of the Financial |expenditure |not yet received |(e) |(informal text |(1992-93)
2 November 1993 |14864 |Perspective (informal text |ceilings agreed at |attached to |Published
|(3 pages) attached to EM) |the Edinburgh |HM Treasury |8 December 1993
|European Council |unnumbered EM
|of 2 November
|1993)
(9) OJ C309 Vol. 36 |14927 |Annual Report of the |See Column (c) |22 November 1993 |16 November |(9) 22 November |1 December 1993 |HC 48-ii (1993-94) |8 December
|European Court of Auditors |1993 |1993 |To be published |1993
|together with replies from |(Date of
|the Institutions (404 pages) |OJ C309
|Vol. 36)
Subsidiarity
(10) COM(93)545 |14941 |Commission Report to the |Follow-up to the |1 December 1993 |24 November |(10) 2 December |6 December 1993 |HC 48-ii (1993-94) |8 December
|European Council on the |Commission's |193 |1993 |To be published |1993
|adaptation of Community |review of the
|legislation to the subsidiarity |compatibility of
|principle (28 pages) |EC legislation
|with subsidiarity
Internal Market
(11) 7194/93 |14654 |(i) Commission |Commission papers |25 June 1993 |2 June 1993 |(11) 14 July 1993 |14 July 1993 |HC 79-xxxvi |No MS report
(COM(93)256) |Communication to the |outlining, for |(1992-93)
|Council and the European |consultation, a |Published on
|Parliament entitled |draft strategy for |5 August 1993
|"Reinforcing the |the Single Market
|effectiveness of the Internal |post 1993
|Market" (6 pages)
|(ii) Commission Working
|Document entitled "Towards
|a strategic Programme for
|the Internal Market"
Column 1017
Documents shown as relevant to the debate
[NL] | a |b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) 6203/93 |14521 |Annual Report for the |Describes the work |7 May 1993 |20 May 1993 |(1) 12 May 1993 |20 May 1993 |HC 79-xxx |No MS report
(COM(93)141) |Commission on the fight |done and results |(1992-93)
|against fraud |achieved in 1992
|in the fight
|against Fraud
|affecting the
|Community's
|financial interests
|and the 1993
|Action
|Programme
(2) 8366/9314735 |(i) Proposal for a Council |Commission report |6 September 1993 |19 July 1993 |(2) 10 September |8 September 1993 |HC 79-xxxvii |No MS report
(COM(93)339) |Regulation (EEC) amending |including draft |1993 |(MAFF |(1992-93)
(previously the |Council Regulation (EEC) |Regulation to |unnumbered EM)
subject of |No. 386/90 on the |amend the
unnumbered EM |monitoring carried out at the |Regulation on the
submitted by the |time of export of agricultural |procedures for
MAFF on |products receiving refunds or |examining export
8 September 1993) |other amounts |refunds
(ii) Supplementary report on
|the application of Regulation
|(EEC) No. 360/90
(3) 8340/92 |13908 |Sweden-Commission |See Column (c) |26 August 1992 |7 August |(3) 16 September |FCO cover-note |HC 79-vi |No MS report
(SEC(92)582) |opinion on the application |1992 |1992 |(1992-93)
|for accession
(4) 5725/93 |14340 |Finland's application for |See Column (c) |30 November 1992 |4 November |(4) 10 February |16 February 1993 |HC 79-xx |No MS report
(SEC(92)2048) |membership-opinion of the |1992 |1993 |(1992-93)
|Commission
(5) 7839/93 |14669 |Commission opinion on |See Column (c) |22 July 1993 |30 June 1993 |(5) 26 July 1993 |16 July 1993 |HC 79-xxxvi |No MS report
(COM(93)313) |Cyprus' application for |(FCO unnumbered |(1992-93)
(previously the |membership of the EC |EM)
subject of
unnumbered EM
submitted by FCO on
16 July 1993)
(6) 7838/93 |14668 |Commission opinion on |See Column (c) |22 July 1993 |30 June 1993 |(6) 26 July 1993 |16 July 1993 |HC 79-xxxvi |No MS report
(COM(93)312) |Malta's application for |(FCO unnumbered |(1992-93)
|membership of EC |EM)
(7) 9806/93 |14899 |Communication from the |Commission paper |17 November |20 October |(7) 22 November 1993 |2 December 1993 |HC 48-ii |8 December
(SEC(93)1599) |Commission to the Council |describing |1993 |1993 |To be published |1993
|promoting economic |economic
|recovery in Europe (the |developments in
|Edinburgh Growth Initiative) |the Community
|Autumn 1993 review |since the launch
|of the Growth
|Initiative in
|December 1992
|and discusses
|possible further
|measures which
|might be taken to
|promote growth
|and employment
SCOTLAND
Departmental Offices (Heating Bills)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by location the annual fuel heating bills for each of his Department's offices for the last four years, and for this year to date.
Mr. Lang : The table gives the annual fuel heating bills since 1991- 92 for those of my Department's offices where heating costs can be isolated from other energy costs. The Property Services Agency paid for most fuel used up to and including 1990-91.
Building |1991-92 |1992-93 |1993 [NL] |£ |£ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 John's Place, Edinburgh |1,508.51 |1,501.83 |580.62 10 Keith Street, Stornoway |1,119.18 |572.70 |301.99 132 Seagate, Dundee |1,312.39 |978.43 |800.53 16-22 Picardy Place, Edinburgh |3,041.20 |1,910.10 |598.18 16 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh |11,351.37 |8,799.42 |6,153.68 161 Brooms Road, Dumfries |3,606.13 |3,013.58 |718.02 2 Greenside Lane, Edinburgh |1,767.40 |3,907.53 |1,082.93 2 St. Ninians Road, Stirling |2,064.54 |2,281.19 |739.37 25 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh |3,350.79 |4,922.63 |1,798.65 26 Victoria Road, Kirkcaldy |307.88 |104.14 |13.30 43 Jeffrey St., Edinburgh |13,323.46 |15,500.82 |9,155.41 44 York Place, Edinburgh |749.96 |177.94 |53.87 631 Paisley Road West, Glasgow |3,337.22 |4,428.16 |1,303.61 83 East High Street, Forfar |1,392.59 |1,405.63 |660.99 83 Princes Street, Edinburgh |- |- |81.94 Alhambra House, Glasgow |6,987.60 |10,569.60 |5,231.88 Atholl House, Aberdeen |6,138.56 |5,019.27 |2,056.00 Balloch Road, Keith |1,721.81 |2,731.16 |1,062.10 Bankhead Avenue, Edinburgh |932.48 |1,184.60 |465.76 Barrack Street, Hamilton |1,083.78 |1,443.51 |595.53 Bute House, Edinburgh |1,877.44 |2,133.63 |756.05 Calton House, Edinburgh |5,066.84 |10,516.72 |4,363.70 Charlotte House, Lerwick |730.74 |555.38 |244.79 Corunna House, Glasgow |10,205.82 |5,288.86 |0.00 Custom House, Stornoway |83.70 |240.70 |80.90 Dalrymple Street, Greenock |0.00 |67.96 |34.80 Dover House, London |1,508.53 |763.79 |2,008.00 Girnigoe Street, Wick |491.15 |503.34 |177.72 Governor's House, Edinburgh |1,941.49 |2,497.42 |591.91 Grange Street, Kilmarnock |355.97 |31.60 |0.00 Greyfriars House, Aberdeen |570.83 |415.59 |0.00 Gyleview House, Edinburgh |6,780.37 |7,575.00 |3,452.84 James Craig Walk, Edinburgh |18,148.61 |45,016.85 |24,133.52 Jeanfield House, Perth |2,475.62 |2,174.85 |1,004.24 Keith House, Peterhead |820.06 |1,017.64 |651.14 Longman House, Inverness |3,975.67 |4,418.46 |1,863.53 Mason Street, Motherwell |350.33 |105.79 |0.00 New St. Andrew's House, Edinburgh |210,289.05|301,815.67|167,414.58 Pentland House, Edinburgh |18,681.58 |19,679.48 |7,187.06 Playfair House, Edinburgh |3,745.62 |4,777.62 |1,514.87 Queen Street, Buckie |33.34 |167.74 |- Ruby House, Aberdeen |- |624.42 |243.59 Russell House, Ayr |2,147.88 |2,435.04 |996.96 Saughton House, Edinburgh |18,740.12 |20,878.22 |11,116.74 Scorrybreck, Portree |0.00 |285.12 |315.92 Southlands, Elgin |3,640.68 |2,373.65 |1,375.27 St. Andrew's House, Edinburgh |68,551.01 |56,703.71 |14,713.29 St. Margaret's House, Edinburgh |5,988.96 |7,597.93 |478.22 Station Street, Stranraer |2,177.67 |940.88 |48.41 Strathbeg House, Thurso |1,972.14 |2,018.05 |1,498.69 Tankerness Lane, Kirkwall |2,315.74 |2,230.96 |1,265.82 Thainstone, Inverurie |- |- |1,472.39 The Vine, Dundee |1,657.60 |628.91 |- Tormore, Dumfries |370.15 |175.33 |0.00 Tweedbank, Galashiels |4,118.98 |4,491.62 |2,427.24
Kilgarth Tip
Mr. Tom Clarke : to ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 10 December, Official Report , column 411 , if he will publish the correspondence relating to his decision about the application by City of Glasgow district council in respect of Kilgarth tip, Coatbridge.
Mr. Lang : I do not intend to publish the correspondence relating to my decision in the Kilgarth case. It is our normal practice to treat such papers as private matters involving only the parties directly concerned. After decision letters are issued it is for each party to decide whether, or to what extent, it wishes to disclose details of the case.
Cows and Ewes
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what according to (a) the most up-to-date and comprehensive data he has available and (b) the farm business survey, was the average number of (i) beef cows and (ii) ewes, carried on less-favoured areas livestock farms, by county and in Scotland.
Sir Hector Monro : The table provides information by region--county information is not readily available--on the average number of beef cows and ewes on cattle and sheep farms wholly or mainly in the less-favoured areas--LFAs--in Scotland from the agricultural census as at June 1992. As the farm accounts scheme covers only farms that are considered to be full- time commercial businesses, very small farms are excluded from the survey. The farm accounts scheme records the average number of livestock on the holding throughout the year. On LFA livestock farms, the average number of beef cows and ewes recorded by the farm accounts scheme in 1992-93 was 48 and
Column 1020
372 respectively. This compares with averages as at June of 46 and 364 respectively for similar farms from the agricultural census at June 1992.
Average number of cattle and sheep farms
wholly or mainly in the less-favoured areas
at June 1992
Region |Beef cows|Ewes
----------------------------------------------------
Islands<1> |10 |90
Highland |18 |189
Grampian |44 |128
Tayside |43 |505
Fife |44 |197
Lothian |47 |391
Borders |51 |647
Central |31 |457
Strathclyde |31 |285
Dumfries and Galloway |50 |343
Scotland |28 |239
<1>Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles.
Forest Parks
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the hectarage of each forest park in the United Kingdom.
Sir Hector Monro : The area of each national forest park in Great Britain is given in the table.
Name |Area (hectares) ------------------------------------------------ Afan |3,300 Argyll |22,100 Border |71,700 Coed y Brenin |3,100 Dean |13,700 Delamere |600 Galloway |76,100 Glenmore |2,700 Grizedale |2,400 Gwydyr |5,600 New Forest |26,700 North Riding |12,600 Queen Elizabeth |21,400 Sherwood Pines |1,000 Tay |18,200 Thetford |18,700 Whinlatter |1,200
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been sold and from which forest parks since 1981 as part of the programme to dispose of Forestry Commission land.
Sir Hector Monro : Since 1 April 1989, the Forestry Commission has sold the following areas in national forest parks :
Year |Forest park |Woodland |Area (hectares) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1990 |Thetford |12 Acre Wood (part)|0.1 1990 |Border |Stonehaugh |0.9 1992 |Border |Sleetbeck |0.6
Sales of Forestry Commission land in national forest parks were not recorded separately before 1 April 1989 and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Column 1021
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will name the forest parks which he has no plans to privatise.
Sir Hector Monro : Ministers will await the advice of the forestry review group before considering what action, if any, should be taken in respect of the ownership and management of Forestry Commission woodlands.
Farm Holdings
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average size of farm holding in the less-favoured areas as sampled by (a) the most recent farm business survey and (b) the most up-to-date and comprehensive data he has available, by country and in Scotland.
Sir Hector Monro : The table provides information by region--county information is not readily available--on the average size, in hectares, of cattle and sheep farms wholly or mainly in the less-favoured areas--LFAs-- in Scotland from the agricultural census at June 1992. As the farm accounts scheme covers only farms that are considered to be full-time commercial businesses, very small farms are excluded from the survey. The average size of livestock farms wholly or mainly in the LFA as recorded in the farm accounts scheme sample for 1992-93 is 439 hectares, compared with 393 hectares for the average of similar farms in the agricultural census at June 1992.
Average size of cattle and sheep farms wholly or mainly in the LFA
at
June 1992
Region |<1>Hectares
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Islands (Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles) |48
Highland |403
Grampian |148
Tayside |763
Fife |101
Lothian |273
Borders |380
Central |418
Strathclyde |278
Dumfries and Galloway |214
|---
Scotland |254
<1>Total area of holding
Spent Fuel Store, Torness
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to (a) make his decision on and (b) publish the report of the public local inquiry into the objections to the application to build a spent fuel store at Torness.
Mr. Stewart : My right hon. Friend expects to announce a decision in the new year. The report of the public inquiry will be made available at that time.
Correspondence
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of correspondence received by (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's agencies receives (i) an
acknowledgement within five days and (ii) a substantive reply within 15 days.
Mr. Lang : I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible. Copies of my reply will be placed in the Library of the House.
Column 1022
Scottish Transport Group
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the board members of the Scottish Transport Group as at 7 September.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish Transport Group board members at 7 September 1993 were :
Ian S. Irwin CBE (Chairman)
Ronald S. McNeill CBE
Robert S. Temple
John Stark
Archibald Douglas
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland from what source of funds the payments to former Scottish Transport Group managers, as described in a letter from Mr. A. Douglas, board member, of 7 September, are to be met.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The payments have been met from the Scottish Transport Group's cash balances.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice he took on whether there was a legal obligation to offer payments in lieu of BUPA membership to former Scottish Transport Group managers ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : This was a matter for the Scottish Transport Group. Legal advice obtained by the STG board was that contractual obligations existed in relation to BUPA membership.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many former members of Scottish Transport Group management have been sent letters from Mr. A. Douglas, board member, dated 7 September concerning payments in lieu of BUPA membership ; and how many have responded so far.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I understand that the Scottish Transport Group sent letters to 27 individuals and that all responded.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the offer of payments in lieu of BUPA membership made in a letter of 7 September by Mr. A. Douglas was available to board members of the Scottish Transport Group.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The offer of payments in lieu of BUPA membership was available to executive board members of the Scottish Transport Group.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current value of assets owned by the Scottish Transport Group.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The value is £8.7 million.
Gas Pipeline
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions have taken place with local fishermen's associations and other maritime-interest groups concerning the installation of the gas pipeline between the south of Scotland and Northern Ireland ; and if he will make a statement.
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