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Mr. Gwilym Jones : Revised guidelines were published in July last year in planning policy guidance note No. 6. These advise that the scale, type and location of out-of centre retail developments should not be such as to undermine the vitality and visibility of those town centres that would otherwise serve the community well. The guidance is being kept under review.
Statutory Sick Pay
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact of the changes to statutory sick pay provision upon his departmental budget for the financial year 1994-95.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The abolition of the 80 per cent. statutory sick pay reimbursement rate will be offset, at least in part, by a reduction in employer's national insurance contributions. Any additional costs will be absorbed within the Department's existing running costs baseline.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Swimming Pool, Kilkeel
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when funding will be provided to Newry and Mourne district council in respect of the provision of a swimming pool at Kilkeel.
Mr. Ancram : Finance for this project is not currently available. The position in future years will be determined in the light of the resources available and the priorities which need to be addressed.
Dyslexia
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what changes have taken place in teacher training to ensure that all newly qualified teachers can identify and assist children suffering from dyslexia ;
(2) how many teachers in Northern Ireland have been trained specifically to recognise or to assist children with dyslexia and other special educational needs.
Mr. Ancram : Dyslexia can describe a variety of learning difficulties experienced by children. All teachers receive, as part of their initial training, an element designed to enable them to develop the capacity to identify and deal with pupils with learning difficulties. For serving teachers, the education and library boards mount in-service courses with similar objectives, but the numbers involved are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Parole
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons were released from prison for Christmas parole ; how many returned at the required date and time ; and what was the maximum number of years of sentence for any such prisoners.
Sir John Wheeler : In December 1993, a total number of 446 prisoners were released from prison for Christmas home leave ; of these, 100 prisoners were serving indeterminate sentences. The number who returned at the required date and time was 436, including all the indeterminate sentence prisoners.
At 14 January, three prisoners were still unlawfully at large and their names have been passed to the security forces.
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why Neil Latimer was not released from prison for Christmas parole ; how many years he has been sentenced to imprisonment ; and how many of these years he has already served in prison.
Sir John Wheeler : Neil Latimer is serving a life sentence. He completed 10 years imprisonment in December 1993. To be eligible for consideration for Christmas home leave a prisoner was required to have served a minimum of 11 years in custody.
Ice Bowl
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the public inquiry was held about the next phase of the development of Dundonalds
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international ice bowl ; when a decision is to be announced ; and if he will make a statement about the efficiency of such public inquiries.Mr. Tim Smith : The public inquiry was held before the Planning Appeals Commission from 5 January until 13 January 1993. Unfortunately, as the presiding commissioner was indisposed for a period following the close of the inquiry, the commission's report is not yet with the Department. I understand that the report should be submitted to the Department next month after which a decision will issue as soon as possible.
Planning inquiries are held to ensure that all representations are fully aired and considered in an open forum before a decision is made. I am content that this system provides a fair consideration of what are often complex planning issues.
Statutory Sick Pay
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of the changes to statutory sick pay provision upon his departmental budget for the financial year 1994-95.
Sir John Wheeler : The abolition of the 80 per cent. statutory sick pay reimbursement rate will be offset, at least in part, by a reduction in employers' national insurance contributions. Any additional costs will be absorbed within the Department's existing running costs baseline.
Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the refurbishment of Parliament buildings, Stormont.
Mr. Tim Smith : A contract costing in the region of £2.5 million is to commence at Parliament buildings in February 1994. The work, which will take about a year to complete, will ensure that the building complies with health and safety and fire regulations.
Christmas Cards
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many official Christmas cards were sent in 1993 by (a) Ministers, (b) civil servants and (c) staff of Government agencies working in or to his Department ; and how much these cards cost (i) to buy, (ii) to post and (iii) in staff time to sign, address and place in envelopes.
Sir John Wheeler : This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
SCOTLAND
Fine Defaulters
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average prison sentence imposed for defaulting on a fine ; what is the average period actually spent in prison by such a defaulter in Scotland ; and what is the average cost of such a person's imprisonment.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The average sentence imposed in 1992 for defaulting on a fine was 23 days. The
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average time spent in prison by a fine defaulter was an estimated 13 days and the estimated average cost of the person's imprisonment was £970.Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were sentenced to a prison term under each offence category in the latest year for which figures are available ; and what number and percentage of the total were fine defaulters.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information is not available in the form requested. The table details the total number of receptions and the number of fine defaulter receptions to penal establishments in Scotland by classification of crime and offence for 1992.
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Receptions to Scottish Penal Establishments in 1992 by Crime and Offence
Crime/offence |Total receptions |Fine defaulter |Fine defaulter<1>
classification
|receptions |receptions as a
|percentage of
|total receptions
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total crimes & offences |19,923 |8,339 |42
Total crimes: sub total |12,388 |4,044 |33
Non-sexual crimes of violence: sub total |1,218 |66 |5
Homicide |80 |2 |3
Serious assault etc |718 |30 |4
Handling offensive weapons |31 |12 |39
Robbery |354 |15 |4
Other |35 |7 |20
Crimes of indencency: sub total |328 |158 |48
Sexual assault |70 |2 |3
Lewd & libidinous practices |81 |5 |6
Other |177 |151 |85
Crimes of dishonesty: sub total |9,020 |3,024 |34
Housebreaking |2,345 |489 |21
Theft by opening lockfast places |547 |193 |35
Theft of a motor vehicle |825 |229 |28
Other theft |3,992 |1,619 |41
Fraud |321 |143 |45
Other |990 |351 |35
Fire-raising, vandalism etc: sub total |371 |215 |58
Fire-raising |41 |7 |17
Vandalism etc |330 |208 |63
Other crimes: sub total |1,451 |581 |40
Crimes against public justice |773 |317 |41
Drugs offences |651 |262 |40
Other |27 |2 |7
Total offences: sub total |7,535 |4,295 |57
Miscellaneous offences: sub total |5,364 |2,994 |56
Petty assault |1,082 |480 |44
Breach of the peace |3,796 |2,197 |58
Drunkeness |228 |139 |61
Other |258 |178 |69
Motor vehicle offences: sub total |2,171 |1,301 |60
Reckless & careless driving |147 |88 |60
Drunk driving |390 |245 |63
Speeding |18 |15 |83
Unlawful use of vehicle |1,525 |873 |57
Vehicle defect offences |15 |15 |100
Other |76 |65 |86
Agricultural Base Areas
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the figures in hectares for (a) set- aside ; (b) pulses, (c) oilseed rape and (d) cereals for 1989, 1990 and 1991 which were used to calculate the base area in Scotland.
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(2) if he will list the June census set- aside figures for Scotland for 1989, 1990 and 1991.Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 29 November 1993] : The figures used to calculate the base areas in Scotland are as follows :--
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1989 1990 1991 3 years average
|LFA |Non-LFA |LFA |Non-LFA |LFA |Non-LFA |LFA |Non-LFA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Set-aside<1> |3,643 |7,807 |4,919 |12,949 |6,487 |15,796 |5,016 |12,184
Protein crops |526 |4,509 |358 |4,046 |353 |3,024 |412 |3,860
Oilseed rape |7,821 |28,244 |8,919 |36,276 |9,896 |39,999 |8,879 |34,840
Cereals |188,780 |319,270 |178,060 |303,383 |175,843 |292,665 |180,895 |305,106
|---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Total |200,770 |359,830 |192,256 |356,654 |192,579 |351,484 |<2>195,202|<2>355,990
<1>Figures taken from the five-year and one-year set-aside scheme returns.
<2>Before submission to the EC Commission in September 1992, these figures were adjusted by switching 34,854
hectares from less-favoured areas
to non-LFAs giving a base area of 160,348 hectares for the LFAs and 390,844 hectares for the non-LFAs. These
figures were further adjusted to reflect
the more accurate split between LFAs and non-LFA arable land established from the integrated administration and
control system returns, and a further
39,303 hectares was switched from LFAs to non-LFAs giving new base areas of 121,045 hectares for the LFAs and
430,147 for the non-LFAs. These last figures are now accepted by the EC as the Scottish base areas. Throughout,
the total base area has remained constant at 551,192 hectares.
The set-aside figures recorded in the June census for 1989 and 1990 were 29,197 and 44,465 hectares respectively. These figures partly reflect land registered for set-aside and are, therefore, higher than the area actually set aside. No specific set-aside questions were asked in 1991.
Negative Equity
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the number of households with negative equity for the third quarter of 1993 ; and what this figure represents as a proportion of total owner occupied households.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 January 1994] : We do not hold this information. However, recent studies have shown that the problem of negative equity is less pronounced in Scotland than in other regions of the United Kingdom, affecting only an estimated 1 per cent. of recent homebuyers. It is open to anyone in that position to discuss their situation with their mortgage lender.
EDUCATION
Further Education Colleges
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will list the members of the governing bodies of the new further education college corporations together with (a) their age, (b) their gender and (c) occupation ;
(2) what statistics were held on (a) the age, (b) the gender and (c) the occupations of members of further education college governing bodies prior to the passing of the Education Reform Act 1988.
Mr. Boswell : The Department does not hold records of members of further education college governing bodies prior to the passing of the Education Reform Act 1988, nor of members of further education college corporations, since in neither case was the Secretary of State the appointing authority. In the case of sixth form college corporations, my right hon. Friend was responsible for the appointment of the initial members only. Current records are not held by the Department.
Student Loans
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the usual period experienced by full-time students who have no other financial means for
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the processing of their applications for support from the access fund ; and what assistance is available to sustain them during that period.Mr. Boswell : Access funds are intended to help eligible full-time students in higher and further education who, for whatever reason, face financial difficulties. Arrangements for allocation and payment of funds to students are determined by individual institutions. Under the charters for further and higher education published by my right hon. Friend, students who apply for assistance from access funds can expect a decision normally within four weeks of applying or by a published termly date when the institution considers applications. They can also expect to be paid quickly if their application is approved. It is open to institutions to accelerate the timetable for students in exceptional circumstances.
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the usual period experienced by students between the end of entitlement to benefit on the commencement of a full-time course and the actual receipt of maintenance grant from the local education authority ; and what financial assistance is available to such students who have no other financial means to sustain them during that period.
Mr. Boswell : Most full-time students in further and higher education are ineligible for income support, unemployment benefit and housing benefit from the date of their enrolment on the course. Students formally enrol at their institution at the beginning of their first term. Local education authorities are responsible for the payment of the grants they make to students. Under the charters for further and higher education published by my right hon. Friend, students have a right to expect the payment of their grant at the start of each term, provided that they have met the authority's application deadline and given such information as the authority requires. Where payment of the full grant is delayed, authorities can make some payment on account. Institutions may use their access funds to give help to eligible students who face particular financial difficulties.
Higher Education
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what advice he has issued about responses to be made in respect of complaints concerning quality in higher education.
Mr. Boswell : As autonomous institutions, universities and higher education colleges are responsible for providing responses to complaints about the quality of what they
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provide. However, the charter for higher education published on 21 September 1993 by my right hon. Friend advises that institutions responsible for service delivery can be expected to reply to complaints within 10 working days.Assisted Places
Mr. Purchase : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what was the total cost to public funds of the assisted places scheme at the Royal school, Wolverhampton in each year since 1988-89 ; (2) how many pupils have been (a) on the roll and (b) under the assisted places scheme in each year since 1988-89 at the Royal school, Wolverhampton.
Mr. Forth : Nil. The Royal school, Wolverhampton does not participate in the assisted places scheme.
Mr. Purchase : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the average household income of children supported by the assisted places scheme in each year since 1988-89 in each English local education authority.
Mr. Forth : Information about the average household income of an assisted place holder is not collected by reference to local education authority areas. The data can be derived only at disproportionate cost. The average household income of assisted pupils in England for each year since 1988-89 is given in the table :
Financial year |Average
|household
|income of
|assisted place
|holders
|£
---------------------------------------------
1988-89 |9,105
1989-90 |9,716
1990-91 |10,457
1991-92 |10,932
1992-93 |10,982
Mr. Purchase : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many pupils have been (a) on the roll and (b) under the assisted places scheme in each year since 1988-89 at Tettenhall college, Wolverhampton ;
(2) what was the total cost to public funds of the assisted places scheme at Tettenhall college, Wolverhampton in each year since 1988-89.
Mr. Forth : Tettenhall college does not participate in the assisted places scheme.
Mr. Purchase : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total cost to public funds of the assisted places scheme ; and how many children were supported by the scheme in each year since 1988-89 in each English local education authority.
Mr. Forth : The total cost of the scheme and the number of children supported by it for each year since 1988-89 is given in the following table. The data are not available broken down by each local education authority.
H
Year |Total expenditure|Total number of
|(financial year) |assisted pupils
|£ million |(academic year)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |50.9 |27,083
1989-90 |56.5 |27,008
1990-91 |63.4 |26,740
1991-92 |75.7 |27,641
1992-93 |<1>92.8 |28,674
<1>Includes £4.9 million brought forward from financial year 1993-94.
Mr. Purchase : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the average cost to public funds of each place at non-maintained secondary schools under the assisted places scheme in each year since 1988-89 in each English local education authority.
Mr. Forth : Information about the average cost of an assisted place is not collected by reference to local education authority areas. The data can be derived only at disproportionate cost. The overall average cost to public funds of an assisted place for each year since 1988-89 is given in the table :
Academic year |Average cost of
|an assisted place
|£
------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |2,121
1989-90 |2,364
1990-91 |2,691
1991-92 |3,101
1992-93 |3,405
Mr. Purchase : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 13 December, Official Report, column 442, if he will publish the random audit surveys of income assessments made by his Department for parents of children supported by the assisted places scheme, together with other statistical information collected and referred to.
Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the average school fee paid by the parents of children who benefited under the assisted places scheme, in each year since 1990.
Mr. Forth : The information requested is given in the table :
Academic year |Average fee
|charged for
|assisted pupils
|£
------------------------------------------------
1990-91 |3,267
1991-92 |3,703
1992-93 |3,996
Mr. Jameison : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total cost of the assisted places scheme for each financial year since 1990.
Mr. Forth : The information requested is given in the table :
0
Financial year |Total cost of
|assisted places
|scheme
|£ million
------------------------------------------------
1990-91 |63.4
1991-92 |75.7
1992-93 |<1>92.8
<1> Includes £4.9 million brought forward from
financial year 1993-94.
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Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in (a) England, (b) Cornwall and (c) Devon have received funding under the assisted places scheme, in each year since 1990.Mr. Forth : The information requested is given in the table. The number of assisted pupils in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Number of assisted pupils
|(a) |(b) |(c)
Academic year |England |Cornwall |Devon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1990-91 |26,740 |174 |728
1991-92 |27,641 |178 |753
1992-93 |28,674 |179 |774
Sex Education
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans the Government have to ensure that teachers receive adequate initial and in -service training to deliver the new compulsory provision of sex education in secondary schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The new arrangements for sex education, which will come into force in September 1994, will incorporate elements which currently form part of the national curriculum requirements for science ; and many secondary schools already teach other elements of sex education too. The Department's grants for education support and training programme for 1994- 95 will assist schools in securing any additional in-service training needed to equip teachers to deal with these and other aspects of the new arrangements. My right hon. Friend's accreditation criteria for initial teacher training require that the new arrangements should be adequately covered in all relevant courses.
Surplus School Places
Dr. Spink : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the latest available statistics for surplus school places for primary schools and for secondary schools in Essex.
Mr. Robin Squire : The latest figures we have for surplus places in Essex are for 1992. In that year the local education authority estimated that there were 18,121 surplus primary and 12,600 surplus secondary places in schools maintained by the county council, representing 13 per cent. of capacity in each sector.
Capital Bids
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the purpose of his Department issuing a list of named schools following the announcement of the decisions on capital bids for local education authorities.
Mr. Forth : The schools named in the announcement are those voluntary aided and special agreement schools where central Government grant is being set aside for projects. The annual announcement of capital allocations also covers the annual capital guidelines given to local education authorities in respect of their county and voluntary controlled schools.
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Nuclear Industry
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to meet representatives of the national steering committee of the nuclear-free local authorities to discuss their report on the nuclear industry in schools, a copy of which was recently sent to him.
Mr. Robin Squire : No. How nuclear issues are handled in schools is a matter for the individual schools themselves and their local education authorities, within the law.
Student Grants
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the efficiency of payments of grants to students by local education authorities ; and if the citizens charter specifies the standard of service students are entitled to in this respect.
Mr. Boswell : Local education authorities are responsible for ensuring the prompt payment of grants to students. My right hon. Friend wrote on 8 September 1993 to the chairmen of all authorities in England and Wales to remind them that students have a right to expect the prompt payment of their grant at the start of term, provided that they have met the authority's application deadline and given such information as the authority requires. The charters for further and higher education published by my right hon. Friend on 21 September 1993 tell students about the level of service they have a right to expect from their authority. The Department is prepared to take up some complaints of significant delay with the authority concerned.
List D Schools
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement in respect of his Department's current proposals for list D schools.
Mr. Forth : There are no list D schools in England.
Market Testing
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish for each service that has been market tested in his Department in 1993 (a) the cost of the testing process, including consultancy costs, (b) the result of the test, (c) the name of the successful contractor, (d) the value and duration of the contract, (e) the number of staff involved, (f) estimated annual cost reductions and (g) whether the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 were deemed to apply.
Mr. Boswell : The Department is currently analysing the outcome of the 1992-93 Competing for Quality programme with the efficiency unit in the Cabinet Office, Much of the information requested in the question will, once it has been finalised, be published in aggregate form in the "Citizen's Charter Second Report". On an individual contract basis, much of the information is commercially confidential.
Postgraduate Students
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many postgraduate students have successfully completed their doctorates within British universities for each year over the last five years.
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Mr. Boswell : The number of students successfully completing doctorates in the former UFC-funded universities in the United Kingdom in the last five years for which information is currently available was as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1987-88 |7,552
1988-89 |7,745
1989-90 |8,380
1990-91 |8,447
1991-92 |8,878
University Academic Posts
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what data he holds on the number of academic posts existing within British universities which are (a) not wholly funded and (b) wholly funded by the institutions.
Mr. Boswell : In the academic year 1991-92, there were 31,226 full- time and 2,532 part-time academic staff wholly funded, and 19, 895 full- time and 1,778 part-time academic staff not wholly funded by their institution in the former UFC-funded universities in Great Britain.
Parents Charter
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of his Department's officials involved in the preparation of the parents charter ; how many hours this involved ; what was the total cost to the taxpayer of (a) the involvement of civil servants, (b) typesetting and printing and (c) circulation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the right hon. Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Williams) on Friday 14 January 1994 at column 280. The revised parents charter will cover many aspects of the organisation and curriculum of schools in England. The involvement of civil servants in the Department in the preparation of the text reflects their ongoing responsibilities for promoting improved educational standards, and cannot be separately quantified.
Curriculum Advisory Group
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the members of each Schools Curriculum and Assessment Authority curriculum advisory group.
Mr. Robin Squire : This is a matter for the authority. SCAA announced the members of its advisory groups on 12 January and I have arranged for a copy of its press notice to be placed in the Library.
Asthma
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what advice he has given to schools to ensure that medication for conditions like asthma are readily available for children to take when necessary ; if he will consider publishing guidelines to ensure that medication for conditions like asthma are readily available for immediate use when required ; and what representations he has received on this subject.
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Mr. Forth : General guidance on health care in schools for children with medical conditions is given in DES circular 11/90, "Staffing for Pupils with Special Educational Needs", and the October 1993 draft code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs. My right hon. Friend has recently received a letter on this subject from the National Asthma Campaign. Teachers should, in consultation with parents and with appropriate medical advice, do all that is reasonable to enable children with medical conditions to obtain maximum benefit from education and to participate as fully as possible in school life. Where possible, and particularly in cases of asthma or diabetes, it is considered good health care practice to encourage children to manage their own condition as early as is consistent with their development.
Statutory Sick Pay
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the impact of the changes to statutory sick pay provision upon his departmental budget for the financial year 1994-95.
Mr. Boswell : The abolition of the 80 per cent. statutory sick pay reimbursement rate will be offset, at least in part, by a reduction in employers' national insurance contributions. Any additional costs will be absorbed within the Department's existing running costs baseline.
School Premises Regulations 1981
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to publish the results of his Department's review of the School Premises Regulations 1981.
Mr. Forth : An announcement will be made in due course.
Christmas Cards
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many official Christmas cards were sent out in 1993 by (a) Ministers, (b) civil servants and (c) staff of Government agencies working in or to his Department ; and how much these cards cost (i) to buy, (ii) to post and (iii) in staff time to sign, address and place in envelopes.
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