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Education Policies, Redbridge
21. Mr. Gapes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received in the last year about the education policies of the London borough of Redbridge.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend has received several representations, including from the hon. Member, about the admission of pupils to schools in Redbridge.
Religious Education
22. Mr. Enright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimates have been made of the adequacy of the supply of teachers of religious education.
Mr. Robin Squire : Our target intakes for initial teacher training provide for a 31 per cent. increase in recruitment to RE courses up to 1996 -97--well above the average for secondary subjects. We review these targets annually.
Capital Works
24. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the current estimate of outstanding capital works in schools in England.
Mr. Forth : Information from the 1991 National Audit Office report on school buildings suggests that some £2 billion, at 1990 prices, was required to deal with the outstanding capital needs of school buildings. In 1994-95, Government support for capital and repair work at maintained schools will total over £600 million, much of which will go towards improving the school stock.
Special Educational Needs
27. Mr. Pope : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to reduce the amount of time it takes local education authorities to produce statements of special educational needs.
Mr. Forth : Subject to Parliament's approval, from September this year regulations will set time limits within which statements must be made and a code of practice will provide guidance on how those limits should be met. Normally, the process should take no more than 26 weeks from start to finish.
Dearing Report
28. Mr. Congdon : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what has been the response of the teacher unions and associations following the publication of the Dearing report on the national curriculum and testing.
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Mr. Robin Squire : All the teacher unions have recognised the improvements to the national curriculum and testing embodied in the Dearing report. I welcome the subsequent action of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the National Association of
Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers in calling off their boycott of national tests. I hope that the National Union of Teachers will follow suit so that we can continue to raise standards in our schools in the interests of pupils.
Training Targets
29. Mr. Ottaway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has had from employers about national education and training targets.
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend welcomes the continuing support from employers for the national education and training targets. He shares the view expressed to him by employers that the challenge presented by the targets must be met if the country is to remain competitive in the international marketplace.
Surplus Places
Mr. Olner : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will reconsider the formulae by which he calculates surplus places in small schools in rural areas.
Mr. Robin Squire : The Department assesses surplus places in the same way for all schools based on their physical capacity. We have always made it clear, however, that whether surplus places can be removed will depend on the type of school concerned and where it is.
Further Education
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of secondary school pupils taking post-16 education remain in the same school rather than transferring to sixth-form colleges or other educational institutions.
Mr. Robin Squire : Of the 16-year-olds who remained in full-time education in 1992-93, the proportion in school was 50.5 per cent. ; 46.5 per cent. were in the same secondary school as when they were 15 years old, and 4 per cent. had transferred to another school. The proportion in sixth- form colleges was 12.2 per cent., while 37.3 per cent. went to other colleges of further education.
School Discipline
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proposals he has to (a) improve discipline in schools and (b) reduce the number of exclusions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend recently issued for consultation draft guidance on behaviour and discipline and on exclusions from school. The aim of the guidance is to help schools to improve standards of behaviour and to reduce the need to exclude pupils. Consultation lasts until 11 March, with a view to issuing guidance in final form in May.
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Fraud
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many employees were judged to be guilty of fraud in his Department in each year since 1989 ; and how many were dismissed.
Mr. Boswell : No employees of this Department have been found guilty of fraud since 1989.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his Department's policy for dealing with employees found guilty of fraud.
Mr. Boswell : The Department's policy is to dismiss any employee who is convicted by the courts of fraud.
Education Expenditure (Cornwall)
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much central Government money was spent per head of the population on education in Cornwall in each year since 1979.
Mr. Robin Squire : The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Regional Offices (Training)
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give details of the training to be given to civil servants who will staff the proposed regional offices within the Department for Education.
Mr. Boswell : With effect from 1 May 1994, a group of staff working at the Department for Education will be given specific responsibility for regional links and for ensuring proper co-ordination with those Departments represented in the Government's integrated regional offices. Staff will be provided with training as appropriate to their individual needs.
Student Publications
Mr. Wicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of his policy on student unions on the charitable work carried out by student rags.
Mr. Boswell : The Government are determined to reform student unions and to secure that the principles of choice, democracy and accountability are universally observed in their activities. It is not our intention to jeopardise student services, for which funding will remain available in institutions' budgets.
Office for Standards in Education
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the cost of the setting up of the Office for Standards in Education.
Mr. Robin Squire : When Ofsted was created on 1 September 1992, it incurred gross expenditure for the remainder of the financial year of £7.7 million.
Regional Offices
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the estimated cost of setting up regional offices within his Department.
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Mr. Boswell : The Department has no plans to set up regional offices.
Dance and Drama
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local education authorities made full discretionary awards for accredited courses for dance and drama in 1987 and in 1993 ; and if he will estimate the total population in the authorities that now make no discretionary awards at all.
Mr. Boswell : The information requested is not collected centrally.
Music and Arts Advisory Services
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education which local education authorities still have (a) a music advisory service and (b) an arts advisory service.
Mr. Robin Squire : The information on these discretionary services is not collected by the Department. It is the Government's policy that, wherever possible, decisions about the need for such services and how best to obtain them should rest with the schools. Local education authorities may provide them if there is sufficient demand locally.
SCOTLAND
Glenlight Shipping
Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the criteria used by the Scottish Office in deciding the level of subsidies to shipping companies for general cargo and timber transportation ; which Scottish companies are currently in receipt of these subsidies for general cargo and timber transportation ; how much these subsidies have amounted to during each of the last five years for (a) general cargo and (b) timber transportation ; and how much the Glenlight Shipping Company has received in respect of its transportation of timber for Caledonian Paper plc.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Each shipping operator's tariff rebate subsidy--TRS--allocation is based on the operator's estimates of traffic to be carried within the specified period and on previous years' actual traffic carried as compared with forecasts. The companies currently operating within the TRS scheme are listed in the table. All companies within the TRS scheme are eligible to receive subsidy on both general cargo and timber transportation. It is up to each individual company to decide on a commercial basis which commodities they wish to carry. Information is not available in the form requested for subsidy disaggregated between different commodities. The total amount of TRS paid during the last five years is also listed.
Companies operating within the TRS scheme : P&O Scottish Ferries Orcargo
Orkney Line Ltd.
Shetland Line Ltd.
Dennison (Shipping) Ltd.
Easdale Island Shipping Line
Gardner Shipping (Scotland) Ltd.
Glenlight Shipping Ltd.
Hay & Company (Lerwick) Ltd.
Roderick Cunningham (Scalpay) Ltd.
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8
P&O and bulk shippers' tariff rebate subsidy 1989-90 to
1993-94
|P&O |Bulk Shippers
--------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |4.3 |1.0
1990-91 |5.0 |1.6
1991-92 |4.2 |2.0
1992-93 |4.3 |2.2
<1>1993-94 |6.8 |3.1
<1>Provision.
Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what contact there has been between the Scottish Office and Caledonian Paper plc concerning the recent closure of the Glenlight Shipping Company and the implications for the operation of Caledonian Paper plc ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Glenlight Shipping Ltd. has not closed. The company is still operating, but has taken the commercial decision to discontinue bulk shipping operations in the highlands and islands area apart from the carriage of timber. The Scottish Office is continuing to provide tariff rebate subsidy to the company on the basis of eligible cargoes carried. There has been no contact between the Scottish Office and Caledonian Paper plc regarding this matter.
Timber Barges
Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the public subsidies payable by the Scottish Office to companies operating timber barges ; and if he will retain the level of subsidy at the current levels.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : There are currently 10 shipping companies operating within the tariff rebate subsidy scheme and each of them is eligible for subsidy for the transportation of timber. Currently only one company, Glenlight Shipping Ltd., operates timber barges. The bulk
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transport of timber currently attracts a TRS rate of 40 per cent. Arrangements for the operation of the TRS scheme in 1994-95 have not yet been finalised.Trunk Roads
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria he uses to determine that a trunk road should be detrunked.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Whether or not a road should cease to be a trunk road is a question of whether it should form part of a national system of routes for through traffic. Where a road ceases to fulfil a significant role in serving long-distance traffic, it will, therefore, be appropriate to detrunk it.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultation is carried out before a trunk road is detrunked.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : As a matter of practice, consultations take place with all the local authorities for the area through which a road passes prior to publication of a notice by the Secretary of State of his intention to detrunk the road.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many roads or sections of roads in north-east Fife have been detrunked in the last five years for which information is available.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : One. A Section of the A91 road at Petheram roundabout, St. Andrews was detrunked on 1 April 1993.
Mr. Menzies-Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by region the roads or sections of roads that have been detrunked in the last five years for which information is available.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is given in the table.
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Region and |Section detrunked |Date
route number
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borders
A68 |That superseded by new section north of Packman's
|bridge to north of Drygrange bridge |2 March 1989
A7 |Ladhope Vale |1 April 1991
A68 |That superseded by Newtown St. Boswells bypass |1 April 1991
A1 |That superseded by Dunglass diversion |1 April 1993
Central
A9 |That superseded by Dunblane bypass |1 April 1991
Dumfries and Galloway
A75 |That superseded by Rinford bypass |1 April 1989
A75 |That superseded by Castle Douglas bypass |1 April 1989
A75 |That superseded by Glenluce bypass |1 April 1990
A75 |That superseded by Annan bypass |1 April 1990
A701/75 |That superseded by Dumfries bypass |1 April 1991
A701 |That superseded by Ae bridge diversion |1 April 1991
A75 |That superseded by Blackcraig improvement |1 April 1992
A75 |That superseded by Carrutherston to Hetland |1 April 1992
|improvement
A74 |Small sections of slip road to Kirkpatrick Fleming
|to Gretna special road |1 April 1993
Fife
A92/987/907 |Admiralty interchange to Kirkcaldy |1 April 1991
A91 |Petheram roundabout, St. Andrews |1 April 1993
Grampian
A96 |That superseded by Forres bypass |1 April 1989
A92 |That superseded by Murcar to Balmedie |1 April 1989
|improvement
A92 |That superseded by Ellon bypass and Tipperty |1 April 1990
|diversion
A96 |That superseded by Inverurie bypass |1 April 1991
Highland
A9 |That superseded by Mound bridges, Sutherland |1 April 1989
A830 |That superseded by Lochailort to Polnish bridge |1 April 1989
|diversion
A830 |That superseded by Mallaig to Glasmacardoch Bay |1 April 1989
|diversion
A9 |That superseded by Dunbeath bridge diversion |1 April 1990
A835 |That superseded by Garve railway bridge |1 April 1990
|improvement
A9 |That superseded by Dornoch Firth crossing |1 April 1992
A87 |That superseded by Dornie bypass |1 April 1992
Lothian
M8 |Newbridge to Dechmont connecting roads |31 March 1989
A68 |That superseded by Sherriffhall roundabout |1 April 1989
A7 |That superseded by north Middleton diversion |1 April 1990
A7 |That superseded by Dalkeith western bypass |1 April 1992
Strathclyde
A82 |That superseded by Arden to Auchentulloch |1 April 1989
|diversion
A82 |That superseded by Auchendennan to Arden |1 April 1989
|bypass
A82 |That superseded by Luss to Camus nan Clais |1 April 1990
|improvement
A76 |That superseded by Cumnock and Auchinleck |1 April 1992
|bypass
A74 |That superseded by Millbank to Nether Abington |1 April 1992
|special road
A82 |That superseded by Luss bypass |1 April 1992
A77 |That superseded by Bennane Hill bypass |1 April 1992
A74 |That superseded by Elvanfoot to Paddy's Rickle |1 April 1993
|bridge special road
A80 |City of Glasgow district boundary to Crow Wood |1 April 1993
|superseded by Stepps bypass
Tayside
A972/929 |That superseded by Kingsway to Powrie |1 April 1989
|improvement
A91
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the future of the A91 road from the M90 to Cupar.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : There are at present no plans which would affect the future of the A91 from the M90 to Cupar. The question whether the whole of the A91 should be retained as a trunk road is one which we shall consider as part of an examination of the whole of the trunk and primary route network consequent upon reorganisation of local government.
Rose McCormack
Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Rose McCormack and her baby in Grangemouth.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate is fully aware of the circumstances of these tragic deaths, since their
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circumstances were reported by the police to the procurator fiscal at Falkirk, who in the normal way examined in detail what had occurred.Fraud
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many employees were judged to be guilty of fraud in his Department in each year since 1989 ; and how many were dismissed ; (2) what is his Department's policy for dealing with employees found guilty of fraud.
Mr. Lang : Staff who are involved in fraud are dealt with under departmental disciplinary proceedings. A range of disciplinary penalties is available, including dismissal. Depending on the circumstances of the case criminal proceedings may also be brought against the member of staff concerned.
The number of financial frauds which have been recorded since 1989 are as follows :
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Year |Number --------------------- 1989 |2 1990 |1 1991 |5 1992 |2 1993 |5
Eight of the cases have resulted in dismissal.
NHS Trusts (Pay)
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cars each national health service trust and health board has bought as part of a payment package for senior personnel in the last year ; and what is the average value of such cars.
Mr. Stewart : This information is not held centrally.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 24 January, Official Report, column 74, on the percentage rise of national health service trust chief executives' pay between 1992 and 1993, how many chief executives exceeded the 1.5 per cent. norm for settlements ; and by how much in each case.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 31 January 1994] : The information requested is not available centrally.
Dounreay
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has received from Atomic Energy Authority Technology in regard to its imminent plans to increase radioactive discharges from its Dounreay reprocessing plant in Caithness.
Sir Hector Monro : Following an application by AEA Technology for revised limits Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate is currently reviewing the AEA Technology authorisations to dispose of solid, liquid and gaseous wastes. The applications for revised certificates of authorisation have been placed on public registers where they are available for inspection, at the offices of the inspectorate and at the offices of Caithness district and Highland regional councils.
Public Appointments
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many appointments he has made within his responsibilities as Secretary of State for Scotland for each year since June 1987.
Mr. Lang : The information held centrally by my Department does not show the number of appointments made in any given year. The total number of appointees at 1 September 1993 to non-departmental public bodies, NHS bodies and nationalised industries which are the responsibility of my Department is shown in the summary tables in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1993", copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House. Information about the total numbers of appointees in earlier years is available in previous editions of this annual publication.
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many relatives of Conservative hon. Members have been appointed to public bodies in Scotland since 1987 ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 680
Mr. Lang : The relationship of those appointed to non-departmental bodies sponsored by my Department is neither sought nor recorded.
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all public body appointments made by him where the current annual salary is (a) over and (b) under £10,000.
Mr. Lang : The remuneration of those appointed to non-departmental public bodies sponsored by my Department is listed in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1993", copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will name the local councillors appointed to Scottish hospital trusts, giving the political affiliation in each case.
Mr. Stewart : On the basis of the information held centrally the position is as follows :--
|Party
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angus Community NHS Trust
Mr. G. Norrie |Independent
Caithness and Sutherland Hospitals NHS Trust
Rev. A. Murray |Independent
Mr. J. Rosie |Independent
Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity Hospitals
NHS Trusts
Mr. E. Gibson |SNP
Mr. G. Willacy |Labour
Dundee Healthcare NHS Trust
Mr. I. Borthwick |Independent
East and Midlothian NHS Trust
Mr. P. Fawcett |Labour
Grampian Healthcare NHS Trust
Mr. J. M. Humphrey |Conservative
Hairmyres and Stonehouse Hosptials NHS Trust
Mrs. M. Mitchell |Conservative
Perth and Kinross NHS Trust
Mr. J. Mathieson |Conservative
Renfrewshire Healthcare NHS Trust
Mr. B. Baird |Conservative
West Lothian NHS Trust
Mr. P. Johnston |SNP
Yorkhill NHS Trust
Mrs. J. E. Cameron |Conservative
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will name the members of political parties appointed by him to public bodies each year since 1987 ; and if he will give the political affiliation of each.
Mr. Lang : Appointments are made on the basis of aptitude and merit. I do not make appointments of members of political parties in that capacity and no central record is kept of the political affiliation of those appointed to public bodies.
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Scottish Homes
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if Scottish Homes is seeking revenue subsidy for housing associations from local authorities in all parts of Scotland ; and what such grants have already been made.
Mr. Lang : Scottish Homes does not seek revenue subsidy for housing association from local authorities. If associations undertake activities jointly with local authorities, the funding of such activities is for negotiation between the parties concerned.
Criminals (Employment Status)
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the employment status of persons convicted of crimes in Scotland in the last five years for which figures are available.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The only information collected centrally on the employment status of persons convicted of crime relates to crimes of homicide and can be found in the statistical bulletin, "Homicide in Scotland 1983-1992".
Highlands and Islands Objective 1 Plan
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) when he expects to announce the location of the secretariat for the administration of the highlands and islands objective 1 plan ; how many personnel he expects to be employed within the secretariat ; and when the appointment of the head of administration will be announced ;
(2) what representations his Department has received regarding the location of the secretariat for the administration of the highlands and islands objective 1 plan ; if he will give details of any submissions which have suggested locating the venture outwith Inverness district ; and if he will give details of the submissions which have suggested locating the venture on an island.
Lord James Douglas Hamilton [holding answer 28 January 1994] : As part of the process of drawing up the highlands and islands objective 1 plan, the Scottish Office has had discussions with the various agencies involved about the possibility of establishing a programme executive within the Highlands and Islands Enterprise area. Those discussions have focused on locating the executive in the Inverness area, although not necessarily within Inverness district. There have been no formal submissions on the location, but in responding to the draft plan, the following suggestions were made :
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