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Mr. Brooke : The Broadcasting Standards Council was established in May 1988. Grant-in-aid paid to the council in each year since then is as follows :
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Year |£ million ------------------------------- 1988-89 |0.465 1989-90 |1.080 1990-91 |1.272 1991-92 |1.439 1992-93 |1.275 <1>1993-94 |1.465 <1> Allocation
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Non-governmental Organisations
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what additional support he plans to provide for the long-term development work of British non-governmental organisations in 1994-95.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The Government's main channels of assistance to the long-term development work of British non-governmental organisations are the joint funding scheme and the British volunteer programme. In 1994- 95 the joint funding scheme will increase by almost 14 per cent. to £33 million and the volunteer programme by 8 per cent. to £21 million.
These substantial increases reflect the Government's high regard for the work of voluntary agencies which are helping to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged people in developing countries.
Afghanistan
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what additional assistance he is providing to alleviate the plight of those affected by the recent outbreak of fighting around Kabul, Afghanistan.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : My right hon. and noble Friend, the Minister for Overseas Development has approved a further package of assistance for Afghanistan amounting to £2.5 million. This is in addition to a total pledge of £7.5 million earlier this financial year. The new money will be provided (a) to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees-- £1 million--for the urgent needs of the newly displaced for shelter materials etc.; (b) to the International Committee of the Red Cross-- £500,000--for the maintenance of hospital supplies and convoys to Kabul ; (c) to UNICEF--£500,000--for work on water supplies and sanitation in camps and (d) to various United Kingdom
non-governmental organisations--£500,000--for a variety of projects also in the camps, providing basic assistance, for example blankets, tents, shelter materials and cooking sets.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Duchy Council
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what is the quorum for meetings of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster ;
(2) how many meetings of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster have been inquorate since 1987.
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Mr. Waldegrave : The council's function is advisory and no quorum is required.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the attendance record of each member of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster since 1987 or from the date of his appointment, if later.
Mr. Waldegrave : Members of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster are available to give advice to the Chancellor of the Duchy. The advice sought may not require the attendance of all members at any one time.
However, the record of attendance since 1987 or their later date of appointment at full meetings of the council of those who form its present membership is :
Attorney General, 100 per cent. Receiver General, 94 per cent. Vice Chancellor, 67 per cent. (otherwise in Court) : Sir Michael Bunbury Bt, 100 per cent. Professor Christopher Howes, 100 per cent. Mr. J. R. Sclater, 81 per cent.
Staff
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff are employed by the Duchy of Lancaster ; and where they are located.
Mr. Waldegrave : The average number of staff employed on the Duchy's estates outside London was 35 in 1993.
The average number of staff employed in the Duchy office engaged in the management of the Duchy's assets was 13 in 1993.
The administration of Bona Vacantia is carried out by the Duchy solicitor assisted by two members of the Duchy staff full time and three part time in 1993.
The Duchy's duties in connection with the appointment of magistrates in the County Palatine, appointments to church livings and the administration of the benevolent fund were discharged by two members of staff in 1993.
All staff members other than those employed on the estates are located in the Duchy office at Lancaster place.
Public Bodies
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he will answer the questions from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton tabled for answer on 26 January regarding the appointments he makes to public bodies.
Mr. Waldegrave : I have answered all 15 of the questions tabled to me by the hon. Member on 26 January 1994.
Magistrates
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will set out what information he has on the political allegiance of the members of the magistrates bench in (i) Oldham, (ii) Rochdale and (iii) Manchester.
Mr. Waldegrave : Candidates are asked to give their political allegiance when they apply to become magistrates. Figures available for the three benches are :
|Numbers
--------------------------------------
Oldham
Conservative |70
Labour |46
Liberal Democrat |34
Independent/Not Known |55
Rochdale
Conservative |31
Labour |41
Liberal Democrat |36
Independent/Not Known |21
Manchester
Conservative |119
Labour |113
Liberal Democrat |62
Independent/Not Known |88
Market Testing
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which departments have been subject to market testing ; in each case what percentage of contracts have been awarded (a) outside and (b) inside the department ; and what has been the cost of the process.
Mr. Waldegrave : All the main Government Departments have taken part in the "Competing for Quality programme. I expect to publish aggregate information on contract awards, and the cost of the process, in the citizens charter second report.
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what savings have been achieved by market testing after taking into account (a) the cost of redundancy payments and (b) the cost of unemployment pay and other benefits in respect of civil servants rendered unemployed.
Mr. Waldegrave : The savings figures, to be published in the citizens charter second report, take account of the cost of redundancy payments. Information on the cost of unemployment pay and other benefits in respect of civil servants rendered unemployed is not available.
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what monitoring arrangements exist in respect of outside contractors successful following market testing exercises.
Mr. Waldegrave : Guidance has been issued on the monitoring of contracts and can be found in the Government's guide to market testing, which has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in what circumstances successful bidders in market testing exercises may withdraw from contracts ; and how many have done so.
Mr. Waldegrave : Contacts generally include clauses which allow for the termination of the contract by either side, after a given period of notice. The circumstances under which this may happen will be described in the contract. Information on contracts awarded following a market testing exercise which have subsequently been terminated is not held centrally.
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many civil servants have had their terms and conditions of employment and pension rates altered following a market testing exercise.
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Mr. Waldegrave : This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many civil servants have been transferred to successful contractors following market testing exercises ; and to how many of these the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 applied.
Mr. Waldegrave : I expect to publish this information in the citizens charter second report.
EDUCATION
Adult Education (London)
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list for each year since 1990 the number of enrolments of students aged 19 years and over in adult education institutions and further education colleges maintained by the inner London boroughs or funded through Inner London education authority successor bodies.
Mr. Boswell : The number of enrolments by students aged 19 years and older on further education courses in adult education centres and further and higher education colleges in inner London which are maintained by an inner London borough or funded through an ILEA successor body are shown in the following table :
The number of enrolments as at 1 November
of the appropriate year
by students aged 19 and over on further
education courses
in adult education centres and HE and FE
colleges in inner London
Academic year |Number of
|enrolments
|(thousands)
------------------------------------------
1990-91 |233
1991-92 |212
1992-93 |217
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much (a) capital and (b) revenue money has been spent by
grant-maintained schools each year since the first grant-maintained school opened ; and how many pupils attended a grant-maintained school in each of those years.
Mr. Robin Squire : The information requested is as follows :
Financial year |(a) Capital<1>|(b) Revenue<1>|Pupil
|(£ million) |(£ million) |numbers<2>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |2 |16 |15,100
1990-91 |7 |63 |38,100
1991-92 |10 |182 |109,000
1992-93 |28 |479 |236,000
<1> The information on capital and revenue expenditure has been
compiled from returns made by the schools, and includes expenditure
financed from income other than grant.
<2> Pupil numbers have been derived from the Department's annual
January census, for the schools which were self-governing by the end
of each financial year. The totals therefore include some pupils whose
schools were self-governing for only part of the financial year.
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School Numbers
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many primary and secondary pupils are in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in the last year for which figures are available and five, 10, 15 and 20 years ago ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : The numbers of pupils in maintained primary and secondary schools in England in January of each year are shown in the table.
,
Pupils in maintained primary and secondary
schools in England
|Primary |Secondary
|(millions)|(millions)
--------------------------------------------
1973 |4.90 |3.16
1978 |4.64 |3.85
1983 |3.84 |3.74
1988 |3.84 |3.07
1993 |4.17 |2.96
Nursery Schools
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to increase the number of nursery places in voluntary-aided schools.
Mr. Robin Squire : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Mid- Worcestershire (Mr. Forth) to my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Sir D. Knox) on 1 February, Official Report, col. 726.
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many new nursery projects have been approved by his Department in each year since 1989 in (a) voluntary-aided schools and (b) grant-maintained schools.
Mr. Robin Squire : Numbers of proposals published under section 13 of the Education Act 1980 by the governing bodies of voluntary-aided schools for a significant change of character by the addition of a nursery which have been approved are as follows :
|Number
------------------------
1989 |14
1990 |15
1991 |20
1992 |17
1993 |26
1994 |<1>2
|-------
Total |94
<1> To date.
No statutory proposals have been approved for the addition of nurseries to grant-maintained schools.
Grant Aid
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will set out the criteria used by his Department in assessing priorities for grant aid for major projects at (a) voluntary-aided and (b) grant- maintained schools for 1994-95 ;
(2) if he will list (a) the schools and (b) the amounts awarded in grant aid for major projects at (i) voluntary-aided and (ii) grant-maintained schools in each education authority in England in 1994-95.
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Mr. Forth : The following criteria were applied in determining how capital resources should be allocated for major projects at voluntary-aided and grant-maintained schools in 1994-95 :
Voluntary-aided schools
Commitments arising from projects allowed for in previous capital allocations ;
New projects to provide additional school places in areas of population growth (basic need) ;
New projects to implement cost-effective schemes to remove surplus places ; and
Improvement work to the extent that the remaining resources allowed.
Grant-maintained schools
Commitments arising from projects allowed for in previous capital allocations ;
Major repairs and other work required on priority health and safety grounds ;
Bids for projects involving work required to implement the national curriculum ;
New projects to provide additional school places in areas of population growth (basic need) ;
Work involving access for the disabled.
The amounts awarded in grant aid for major projects to voluntary aided and self-governing schools in each education authority are set out in press notices 427/93 dated 17 December 1993 and 425/93 dated 16 December 1993 respectively. Copies of these notices have been placed in the Library.
An announcement about those schools which became self-governing between October 1993 and January 1994 will be made during March 1994.
Chief Inspectors of Schools
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education which of Her Majesty's chief inspectors of schools--England--who have been in office since 1979 have had no experience (a) professionally in a primary or secondary school or (b) in another professional post in education ; and what requirements he is making in respect of both the above in the appointment of the chief inspector due to take office on 1 September.
Mr. Robin Squire : Between 1979 and 31 August 1992 when HMI were part of this Department, three people--Sheila Browne, Professor Eric Bolton and Dr. Terence Melia--held the post of senior chief inspector (England). The Education (Schools) Act 1992 created a new statutory office-holder, Her Majesty's chief inspector of Schools (England) and Professor Stewart Sutherland was appointed to head his own department, the Office for Standards in Education, which opened on 1 September 1992.
All four had held professional posts in higher or further education. Professor Bolton had held a teaching post in a secondary school.
Professor Sutherland has given notice of his intention to resign from 1 September 1994. The public advertisement for the post states that Professor Sutherland's successor will be expected to have a good understanding of developments in education but experience of working in education is not a necessary requirement.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will state the names, current positions and the relevant experience of the panel of persons, or the person, who will make a final recommendation concerning (a) the short list and (b) the appointment of the next chief inspector of schools--England.
Mr. Robin Squire : A selection board will meet shortly to draw up a shortlist and interview candidates for the post
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of Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools in England with a view to making a recommendation to my right hon. Friend. The appointment is made by Her Majesty in Council.The board will consist of :
Mrs. A. E. Bowtell, First Civil Service Commissioner
Sir Timothy Lankester, KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
Sir Ron Dearing, CBE, Chairman, School Curriculum and Assessment Authority
Mr. S. Kalms, Chairman, Dixons Group plc and Chairman of the Trust of Dixons CTC in Bradford
Mr. J. C. Hedger, Deputy Secretary, Department for Education
ENVIRONMENT
Hazardous Wastes
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Evans) on 12 January, Official Report, columns 200-1, (1) which hazardous waste shipments to developing countries have been prohibited on the grounds that they are not moving towards environmentally sound recovery operations ; who is responsible for deciding which shipments to prohibit ; and what information is taken into account in making the decision to prohibit a shipment ; (2) what steps he has taken to ensure that lead battery recycling operations in Brazil are environmentally sound ;
(3) what criteria he uses to decide whether lead battery recycling operations are environmentally sound in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) non- OECD countries ;
(4) when he was informed to which Brazilian battery recycling facility the consignment of battery wastes which were prevented from loading on the container ship Brazil Express, at Tilbury docks on 10 February, was destined ; whether he considers this facility to be environmentally sound ; if he will prohibit this consignment from shipment to a facility whose environmental standards he has not investigated ; and what steps he will take to ensure that this consignment moves towards environmentally sound recovery.
Mr. Atkins : There are no powers under the Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste Regulations 1988 to prohibit shipments of non-ferrous metals destined for recovery operations. The operation of the 1988 regulations is normally a matter for the waste regulation authorities. However, in the event that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State received a notification under regulation 6 of the 1988 regulations, relating to the export of hazardous waste outside the European Community, he would consider that notification in accordance with article 4 of Council directive 84/631/EEC, as amended, on the supervision and control within the European Community of the transfrontier shipment of hazardous waste. No such notification has been received in relation to any developing countries.
The supervision of standards in lead battery recycling facilities in Brazil is, in the first instance, a matter for the Brazilian authorities. Environmentally sound management at overseas recovery facilities is the subject of the investigation referred to in my answer of 12 January to my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Evans) Official Report, columns 200-1. The question of environmentally sound management of wastes is also
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being considered by a technical working group under the auspices of the Basel convention. Officials from my Department are participating fully in those discussions.All facilities recycling waste batteries in Great Britain must be licensed under part I of the Control of Pollution Act 1974. I have no information about the recycling facility referred to by the hon. Member. I understand that the waste regulation authorities concerned are investigating this case.
Air Monitoring Sites
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many Government air monitoring sites there are ; what plans there are to increase their number ; and what information he has on the number of air monitoring sites in (a) Germany and (b) Japan.
Mr. Atkins : The Government fund a number of air quality monitoring stations. This includes 46 continuous automatic sites of which : 29 monitor ozone,
24 monitor nitrogen dioxide,
21 monitor sulphur dioxide,
19 monitor carbon monoxide,
12 monitor fine particles (PM )
and 7 monitor 26 hydrocarbons including benzene, 1, 3, butadiene and ozone precursors.
The Government also undertake air quality monitoring surveys using non- automatic techniques. Nitrogen dioxide is monitored in this way at over 1,100 sites and smoke and sulphur dioxide at 252 urban sites, both in collaboration with local authorities. In addition, lead is monitored at 21 sites, other heavy metals at six sites, toxic organic micropollutants such as dioxins at five sites and sulphur dioxide at 38 rural sites.
In the second anniversary report of the 1990 Environment White Paper "This Common Inheritance", the Government made a commitment to extend their urban air quality monitoring network to cover all major cities by 1997. In addition, the Government are currently considering responses to the recently published consultation paper on "The Future of Air Quality Monitoring Networks in the United Kingdom", in which proposals were made to develop a framework which draws local and national air quality monitoring together into a coherent quality assured network.
Information on numbers of air quality monitoring sites in Germany and Japan is not held centrally.
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the per capita coverage on provision of air monitoring sites in Britain and each other EC country for which figures are available.
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