| Home Page |
Column 403
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 28 January 1994
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Magistrates Court Clerks
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement concerning fixed-term contracts and performance-related pay for magistrates court clerks.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Fixed-term contracts and performance-related pay have a role to play in the effective provision of all public services, including the magistrates courts service. A number of magistrates courts committees have already chosen to introduce fixed-term contracts.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Paintings and Photographs
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consideration he has given to buying or borrowing photographs for the walls of his office ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : Most of the works of art in my office are on loan from the Government art collection, which includes 190 photographs. I considered, but did not select, a photograph from the collection's reserve to hang in my office.
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many paintings and/or photographs there are on the walls of his office.
Mr. Brooke : I have six paintings on loan from the Government art collection in my office, and one engraving of my own.
Royal Parks
Mr. Peter Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans there are to hold major events in the Royal Parks in the future.
Mr. Sproat : The Royal Parks are a very important part of the capital. Londoners and visitors alike draw huge benefit from them. Summer entertainment for the public has long been a key part of this success and forms part of the character and the tradition of all the Royal Parks. The Royal Parks will soon be unveiling its largest-ever programme of summer entertainment. To complement this, I intend to encourage medium to large- scale events that would add to the public's enjoyment of the Royal Parks, while not detracting from their unique character. The chief executive of the Royal Parks would be pleased to hear from anyone who has innovative ideas or proposals.
Column 404
Sport
Mr. Channon : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has for changes in the structures for sport at United Kingdom and home country levels.
Mr. Brooke [holding answer 27 January 1994] : I hope to be able to announce proposals for the organisation of sport at United Kingdom level and in England by Easter. The structure of sport in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the appropriate Secretaries of State.
Proscribed Organisations (Broadcasts)
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consideration he has given to the ban on broadcasting the voices of members of proscribed organisations following the Irish Government's decision not to continue to impose a ban.
Mr. Brooke : Broadcasting in the Republic of Ireland is a matter for the Irish Government. A review of the broadcasting restrictions in the United Kingdom is in progress.
EMPLOYMENT
Labour Statistics
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of those aged (a) 16 to 18 years, (b) 18 and 19 years and (c) 16 to 24 years unemployed in the London borough of Newham ; what percentages they are of the cohort ; how many people under the age of 25 years in the London borough of Newham have never worked ; and what percentage of those aged 16 years in the London borough of Newham (i) stayed on at school, (ii) went into jobs or (iii) went into youth training.
Miss Widdecombe : In October 1993 unadjusted claimant unemployment in the London borough of Newham stood at 259 16 to 18-year-olds, 575 18 and 19-year-olds and 2,252 16 to 24-year-olds.
This represents the extent of the available information.
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the most recent residence-based unemployment rates for each appropriate area of Durham constituency, giving the figures overall and broken down for male and female ; what is the change in the number of unemployed claimants in Durham for the same month in each of the last six years ; and what has been the percentage change since 1979.
Miss Widdecombe : Information on residence-based unemployment rates are available from the labour force survey, LFS, and are based on the internationally standard International Labour Organisation definition. At present, these are not available below the level of standard region except for training and enterprise councils, TECs, and local enterprise companies. The residence-based ILO unemployment rate for the County Durham TEC area in summer--June to August--1993, was 7 per cent. for all persons and 16.2 per cent. for men, not seasonally adjusted. The LFS sample size was not large enough to provide equivalent rates for women.
Column 405
Data on the numbers of unemployed claimants in the Durham local authority district are on the unadjusted basis and are not available prior to 1983. Those data are given for December of each year.
Date |Number of
|unemployed
|claimants
---------------------------------
1983 |4,248
1988 |3,215
1989 |2,571
1990 |2,764
1991 |3,238
1992 |3,590
1993 |3,467
Apprenticeships
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are his objectives for the modern apprenticeships scheme.
Miss Widdecombe : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made it clear that modern apprenticeships will
Column 406
improve our economic competitiveness by increasing the number of young people qualifying to the key technician and supervisor levels. When the scheme is fully operational, it is envisaged that up to 150, 000 young people in England will be in modern apprentice training at any one time. The Government want modern apprenticeships to increase to over 40,000 the number of young people reaching national vocational qualification level 3 through training in England each year-- roughly tripling the current number.Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide a table showing, for each TEC in Greater London, the amount of funding (a) allocated and (b) paid under each block of expenditure for 1991-92 and 1992-93 and the amounts allocated for 1993-94.
Miss Widdecombe : The table shows the amount of funding allocated and paid under each block of expenditure for training and enterprise councils in the Greater London area for the period 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94.
Column 405
Training and enterprise council budgets and outturn
London region
£ million
|AZTEC |CENTEC |CILNTEC |LETEC |NLTEC |NWLTEC |SOLOTEC |STTEC |WLTEC |RO RUN EA|Region
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 Budget
Block 1 |4.5 |3.9 |3.6 |12.6 |3.3 |2.3 |9.9 |7.0 |4.5 |- |51.6
Block 2 |3.3 |3.8 |2.6 |10.1 |3.9 |1.7 |4.3 |8.6 |2.3 |0.3 |40.9
Block 3 |1.6 |2.7 |1.5 |2.7 |1.7 |0.9 |1.8 |3.1 |1.3 |- |17.3
Block 4 |0.7 |1.1 |0.8 |1.3 |0.8 |0.3 |1.4 |1.6 |0.9 |- |8.9
Block 5 |1.0 |1.2 |0.6 |2.0 |0.7 |0.6 |1.5 |1.8 |0.8 |- |10.2
|_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____
Total |11.1 |12.7 |9.1 |28.7 |10.4 |5.8 |18.9 |22.1 |9.8 |0.3 |128.9
1991-92 Outturn
Block 1 |4.2 |3.4 |3.1 |11.5 |2.5 |2.3 |8.5 |7.6 |4.2 |- |47.3
Block 2 |2.2 |3.5 |2.0 |8.2 |3.6 |2.1 |3.6 |8.6 |2.1 |0.1 |36.2
Block 3 |1.5 |2.7 |1.5 |2.5 |1.8 |1.0 |1.7 |3.0 |1.4 |- |17.0
Block 4 |0.4 |0.7 |0.4 |0.9 |0.2 |0.2 |1.0 |0.6 |0.2 |- |4.6
Block 5 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
|_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____
Total |8.4 |10.3 |7.0 |23.1 |8.1 |5.6 |14.9 |19.9 |7.9 |0.1 |105.1
1992-93 Budget
Block 1 |5.2 |8.1 |8.9 |16.1 |6.3 |4.3 |11.2 |12.4 |9.3 |- |81.6
Block 2 |3.3 |8.4 |7.4 |13.0 |7.5 |3.5 |4.2 |12.9 |3.8 |- |64.1
Block 3 |1.7 |4.3 |2.8 |2.8 |2.4 |1.3 |2.0 |3.4 |1.9 |- |22.6
Block 4 |0.5 |0.7 |0.9 |0.8 |0.9 |0.3 |0.8 |1.4 |1.1 |- |7.6
Block 5 |1.2 |2.8 |2.2 |3.3 |2.0 |1.3 |2.0 |1.3 |2.0 |2.8 |1.9
|_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____
Total |11.9 |24.3 |22.3 |36.0 |19.1 |10.8 |20.2 |32.8 |18.0 |- |195.6
1992-93 Outturn
Block 1 |4.6 |7.2 |8.0 |15.1 |5.9 |4.2 |11.1 |10.0 |8.6 |- |74.7
Block 2 |3.1 |7.3 |7.0 |11.0 |7.3 |3.4 |3.7 |11.6 |3.5 |- |57.9
Block 3 |1.6 |4.3 |2.6 |2.7 |2.4 |1.3 |1.9 |3.2 |1.9 |- |22.0
Block 4 |0.6 |0.7 |0.9 |0.8 |0.9 |0.4 |0.6 |1.4 |0.8 |- |7.1
Block 5 |1.1 |2.7 |2.1 |3.1 |1.9 |1.2 |1.8 |2.6 |1.8 |- |18.3
|_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____
Total |11.0 |22.2 |20.6 |32.8 |18.5 |10.6 |19.1 |28.8 |16.6 |- |180.1
1993-94 Budget
Block 1 |5.4 |8.3 |9.6 |17.7 |6.1 |4.8 |10.6 |15.0 |10.2 |- |87.6
Block 2 |3.4 |8.6 |7.2 |12.5 |6.8 |3.5 |4.3 |13.4 |4.0 |- |63.7
Block 3 |1.3 |2.9 |2.1 |2.0 |2.1 |1.1 |2.3 |2.8 |1.3 |- |17.8
Block 4 |0.5 |0.8 |0.8 |0.7 |0.5 |0.5 |0.8 |0.8 |1.2 |- |6.7
Learning for Work 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.3 - 2.6
TEC Challenge 1.2 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - 1.5
Skills Choice |0.4 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |- |0.4
Open Learning Credits 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - 0.2
Out of school childcare 0.10.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 - 0.3
Block 5 |1.3 |2.7 |2.2 |3.3 |2.0 |1.3 |2.2 |3.2 |1.9 |- |20.1
|_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____ |_____
Total |13.6 |23.9 |22.6 |36.7 |17.7 |11.4 |20.4 |35.8 |18.9 |- |201.0
1. The following TECs became operational during the financial year 1991-92 and for these TECs the relevant part-year figures are given :
Operational From :
South Thames TEC--27 May 1991
West London TEC--19 August 1991
Central London TEC--16 September 1991
North London TEC--16 September 1991
North West London TEC--16 September 1991
City and Inner London North TEC--14 October 1991
2. Block 1 of the tables includes youth training including youth credits, WRFE, education business partnerships, careers libraries, careers partnerships, teacher placement services and Compacts. 3. Block 2, for 1991 -92 and 1992-93 includes employment training, employment action and higher technology national training. In 1993-94 these programmes were merged into a new programme called training for work.
4. In 1991-92 the London regional office of the Employment Department ran employment action for two TEC areas--North-West London and West London.
5. Block 3 relates to business enterprise support.
6. In 1991-92 and 1992-93 block 4 included the local initiative fund and national development projects. In 1993-94 block 4 includes the local initiative fund, gateway to learning and access to assessment. Gateway to learning and access to assessment were previously run as national development projects.
7. Block 5 relates to the management fee paid to TECs. The spend data are not available for.
8. All spend data are taken from the TEC invoice.
9. Budget data are taken from TEC planning tables. For 1993-94, budget data include additions and virements made up to 24 January 1994. They are therefore likely to be marginally different than the original budgets agreed with TECs at the beginning of the contract year.
Key to Table 1 :
Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs)
AZTEC--TEC for Kingston, Merton and Wandsworth
CENTEC--Central London TEC
CILNTEC--City and Inner London North TEC
LETEC--London East TEC
NLTEC--North London TEC
NWLTEC--North West London TEC
SOLOTEC--South London TEC
STTEC--South Thames TEC
WLTEC--West London TEC
RO Run EA--Employment Department London regional office run employment action--see footnote 4.
Youth Employment
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs are at present available for youth employment in (a) the Houghton and Washington constituency and (b) the city of Sunderland ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The Employment Department does not carry a breakdown of vacancy figures by their suitability for different age groups. Listed in the table are the total number of unfilled vacancies in the jobcentres of Houghton, Washington and Sunderland for December 1993. Nationally, jobcentre vacancies account for about a third of all vacancies in the economy as a whole.
Column 408
Jobcentre |Vacancy --------------------------------------- Houghton-le-Spring |52 Washington |149 Sunderland |284
PRIME MINISTER
Charterline Pilot Scheme
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received (a) in favour of and (b) against the Charterline pilot scheme.
The Prime Minister : I have received numerous representations on charter issues.
Advisory Panel on Environmental Policy
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister what criteria he used in choosing the members of his advisory panel on environmental policy announced on 25 January.
The Prime Minister : The members of the panel have been chosen for their wide-ranging knowledge and practical experience in matters relevant to protection of the environment and economic development.
Sustainable Development Strategy
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues prior to drafting his foreword to the report on the sustainable development strategy for the United Kingdom regarding the content of the report.
The Prime Minister : I have had full discussions with my ministerial colleagues about the content of the United Kingdom strategy for sustainable development.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Prime Minister how many visits the Prime Minister has made to Scotland since he took office ; and if he will list the dates of these visits and locations visited.
The Prime Minister : Since I took office I have made 13 visits to various locations in Scotland.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Electricity Supplies
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy on the proposal for a reduction in voltage of electricity supplies ; and what powers he has to stop it being introduced in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Eggar : All EC countries are changing their low voltage supply systems to a nominal voltage of 230/400
Column 409
volts to provide voltage harmonisation throughout the EC. My policy is to endorse this standardisation following extensive consultation. This will remove a perceived barrier to trade and so further the objectives of the single market. Consumers will have greater choice and flexibility in the purchase and use of electrical applicances. The Secretary of State will be using his powers under the Electricity Act 1989 to amend the Electricity Supply Regulations 1988 in order to effect this standardisation in the United Kingdom.Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what savings will be made on consumer costs of electricity supply from France when the agreed reduction in voltage comes into effect.
Mr. Eggar : The change in voltage to a standardised nominal low voltage of 230/400 volts throughout the EC has no relevance to the cost of electricity supplies to or from France over the sub-sea cables. The electricity exchanged with France is done at extremely high voltage direct current and the costs associated with those arrangements are not a function of consumer voltages and will not be affected by the proposed standardisation.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consultation took place with (a) industry, (b) domestic users and (c) the electricity supply industry before the reduction in voltage was accepted.
Mr. Eggar : Consultations took place with 36 different organisations representing the United Kingdom electricity companies, equipment manufacturers and consumers.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what increased costs will attend consumer costs of electricity supplies from the United Kingdom and France when the agreed reduction in voltage comes into effect.
Mr. Eggar : I do not expect that consumers of electricity will face any increases in the cost of their electricity as a result of standardisation.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what compensation will be paid to industrial users of electricity who have purchased heating equipment appropriate to their factory size and are now required to buy extra equipment to heat the same space after the reduction in voltage.
Mr. Eggar : It is not intended to pay compensation to industrial users of electricity in respect of the purchasing of additional heating equipment. The performance of some electrical appliances will be reduced in making the change to 230 volts from 240, but the effect will be minimal and will be offset by the wider benefits to consumers of standardisation.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the reduction in voltage in electricity supplies agreed with the European Community comes into effect.
Mr. Eggar : The change from a nominal supply voltage of 240 to 230 volts will come into effect on 1 January 1995. An amendment to the Electricity Supply Regulations 1988 will be needed to take effect from the same date.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what reasons underlay his decision to agree to
Column 410
reduce the voltage on electricity supplies from 400 volts to 280 volts and from 240 volts to 230 volts for domestic purposes.Mr. Eggar : In 1988, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation proposed the harmonis-ation of the existing low voltage supplies in the EC countries. In Great Britain the majority of the manufacturers consulted were strongly in favour of a move to 230 volts in order to avoid confusion within the Community, while providing the considerable advantages of single product ranges and certifying procedures for the Community as a whole.
This move is seen as a means of optimising designs leading to simpler production procedures, and uniformity of safety standards as well as reducing barriers to trade.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimates he has made of the increase in hypothermia consequent on the reduced output of heating equipment because of the reduction in voltage.
Mr. Eggar : The effect on output of electrical heating equipment in making the change to a nominal voltage of 230 volts in accordance with the time scales and tolerances required for EC voltage harmonisation will be insignificant and is therefore not a relevant consideration in the incidence of hypothermia.
Insurance Market
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made as to the solvency of the Lloyd's insurance market ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The solvency of the Lloyd's insurance market remains as described in my answer to my hon. Friend on 9 December, Official Report, column 346.
Coal Industry
Mr. Tipping : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the amount of financial subsidy he will make available to British Coal to settle extra sales of coal on top of the main contracts with the generators in the current financial year as outlined in "Prospects for Coal" ; how many tonnes of extra sales this involved ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : The amount of subsidy paid will depend on how successful British Coal and the private sector are at securing additional sales. Details of the total amount of subsidy paid will be made available to Parliament in the normal way.
Dr. Hampson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the proposed timetable for the sale of Coal Products Ltd. by British Coal ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : The future of Coal Products Ltd. is a matter for British Coal.
Shipbuilding Intervention Fund
Mr. Coe : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his Department's policy on the level of shipbuilding intervention funding during 1994.
Column 411
Mr. Sainsbury : Following a decision of the European Commission, notified to member states on 21 December 1993, I have decided that the United Kingdom's maximum level of support for large ships from 1 January 1994 should continue to be 9 per cent. This is inclusive of shipbuilder's relief at 2 per cent.
I have similarly decided that maximum support for small ships from 1 January 1994 should continue to be 4.5 per cent, inclusive of the shipbuilder's relief of 2 per cent.
These levels are at the maximum permitted by the EC shipbuilding regime. They are subject to review in the light of the outcome of the current OECD negotiations on an agreement on shipbuilding subsidies.
Structural Funds
Mr. Streeter : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he is yet able to inform the House of the final outcome of the negotiations with the European Communities on the designation under the structural funds of objective 2 and 5(b) areas.
Mr. Sainsbury [pursuant to his reply, 13 January 1994, Official Report, columns 252-54] : The Commission has now announced that it has decided to make no changes to the initial list of areas it announced on 21 December. I have placed a copy of the final list, which includes details where appropriate at ward level, in the Library of the House. It will appear in the Official Journal in due course.
The Commission has also announced that the indicative allocation to the United Kingdom for objective 2 for the period 1994-1996 is 2,142 million ecu.
I hope to be able to provide the final objective 5(b) list in the near future when it has been finally decided by the Commission.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Eel Fisheries
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the location of each eel fishery in Northern Ireland together with the rateable value of each and the body to which the rates are paid.
Mr. Tim Smith : Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Rate Collection Agency under its chief executive, Mr. D. W. Gallagher. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
| Next Section
| Home Page |