| Previous Section | Home Page |
Service Personnel (Location)
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the current location, by country and as between the United Kingdom, the United Nations and NATO Command, of all personnel in (a) the Army, (b) the Navy and (c) the Air Force.
Mr. Hanley [holding answer 14 March 1994] : The table lists the locations of British armed forces personnel as at 14 March 1994 :
British Armed Forces Deployments by Location
Armed Forces |(a) |(b) |(c)
deployments
|Royal |Force
|Marines
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ascension Island |*
Baltic Sea |*
Belize |* |*
Brunei |*
Canada |* |*
Caribbean |*
Central Atlantic |* |*
Channel |* |*
Cyprus<3> |<1>* |* |*
Denmark |*
Diego Garcia |*
Eastern Atlantic and North Sea |* |*
Falkland Islands |* |* |*
Germany |* |*
Gibraltar |* |* |*
Great Britain |* |* |*
Gulf |<1>* |* |*
Hong Kong |* |* |*
Kenya |*
Malaysia |*
Mediterranean Sea |*
Northern Ireland |* |* |*
Norway/Norwegian Sea |* |* |*
North Sea |<2>*
Sardinia |*
Italy<4> |*
South Atlantic (Antarctic) |* |*
Turkey |*
USA |*
Western Atlantic |*
Former Republic of Yugoslavia |<1>* |<1><2>* |<1><2>*
Notes:
<1> Forces deployed on United Nations operations
<2> Forces deployed on NATO operations
<3> Elements of the British Army presence are deployed in support of United Nations
peacekeeping operations(UNFICYP).
<4> RAF deployment in support of UNPROFOR/United Nations Security Council resolutions is under
"Former Republic of Yugoslavia".
General Notes:
<1> and <2> can apply simultaneously to a deployment in support of both NATO and United
Nations operations. Eg:elements of the Royal Navy are deployed in the Adriatic both in support
of United Nations operations
in the former Yugoslavia and as part of NATO/WEU operation SHARPGUARD.
Loan Service Personnel and Training Teams are not included.
SCOTLAND
Protection Orders
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all applications for protection orders which have still to be considered by him under the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976 ; if he will list in each case, the applicant or applicants ; and if he will place in the Library full details of each of the applications.
Sir Hector Monro : Two applications for protection orders under the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976 are under consideration. One, from the United Clyde Angling Protective Association, is in respect of the main stem of the River Clyde. The other, from the Reay forest estate, is in respect of lochs in part of north-west Sutherland.
I have arranged for copies of each of the applications, as advertised, to be placed in the Library.
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the protection orders which have been granted under the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976.
Sir Hector Monro : The following protection orders have been made under the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976 : The Rivers Tweed and Eye Protection Order 1980 ;
The Upper Spey and Associated Waters Protection Order 1982 ; The River Lunan Catchment Area Protection Order 1983 ;
The River Tummel Catchment Area Protection Order 1983 ; The River Tay Catchment Area Protection Order 1986 ;
The West Strathclyde Protection Order 1988 ;
The River Earn Catchment Area Protection Order 1990 ;
The River Don Catchment Area (Part) Protection Order 1990 ; The Loch Morar and River Morar Protection Order 1992 ;
The Loch Awe and Associated Waters Protection Order 1992.
Pupils (Unit Costs)
Sir Harold Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the unit cost per pupil in each Scottish local education authority for 1992-93 for (a) nursery-primary and (b) secondary pupils.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information is given in the table. It excludes the cost of home-to-school transport, school meals, education authority central administration and loan charges.
Net current expenditure per pupil in 1992-93
Region |Nursery and|Secondary
|primary
|£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------
Borders |1,839 |2,857
Central |1,736 |2,801
Dumfries and Galloway |1,752 |2,957
Fife |1,711 |2,636
Grampian |1,861 |3,031
Highland |1,917 |2,896
Lothian |1,698 |3,047
Strathclyde |1,812 |2,842
Tayside |1,733 |3,036
Orkney |2,103 |3,827
Shetland |2,393 |4,489
Western Isles |2,429 |4,297
Notes:
1. These figures have been compiled from local authority
financial returns.
2. Figures for Borders, Strathclyde, Shetland and Western
Isles are provisional.
Agency Chief Executives
Mr. Radice : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many agency chief executives in his Department are currently paid more than £82,925, excluding performance-related bonuses ; and whether such chief executives were recruited directly to their present post from outside the civil service.
Mr. Lang : There are no agency chief executives in my Department who are currently paid more than £82,925 per annum, excluding performance bonuses.
Copia
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations have been received by the Lord Advocate concerning the loss of the fishing vessel Copia ; what consideration has been given to arrangements for recovery of the ship and its crew ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate has been made aware of the circumstances of the sinking of the fishing vessel Copia so far as they are known. He is also aware of the difficulties surrounding the investigation because of bad weather and the depth of the water in which the vessel now lies. Police divers, working at the limit of their operational capabilities, have managed to reach the wreck, but, regrettably, have been unable to locate the bodies of the crew, which may or may not be on board. The procurator fiscal is considering what further actions may be required in connection with his responsibilities and will report in early course to my noble and learned Friend.
Consultancies
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list for each of the past five years and as a total over the same period (a) all political consultants, (b) public relations companies, (c) management consultants, (d) survey organisations and (e) other outside bodies or individuals employed by the Scottish Office together with the date on which the contract was awarded, the length of the contract and the total amount spent by the Scottish Office on each contract ; whether the contract was based on a fixed fee or fee plus man hours basis ; what was the name of the individual or organisation to whom the contract was awarded ; what are the services which were required by the Scottish office ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will list all (a) political consultants, (b) public relations companies, (c) management consultants, (d) survey organisations and (e) other outside bodies or individuals currently employed by his Department,
Column 660
together with the date on which the contract was awarded, the length of the contract and the total amount spent by the Scottish Office on each contract, whether the contract was based on a fixed fee or a fee plus man hours basis ; what was the name of the individual or organisation to whom the contract was awarded ; what are the services which were required by his Department ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Lang [holding answer 2 February 1994] : I notified the hon. Member that a reply would be made as soon as possible.
Detailed records of all work commissioned from external consultants are not available centrally. The information requested could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. Details of external consultants engaged by my Department in the current financial year to date have, however, been obtained. As this is a fairly lengthy list, I have arranged for it to be placed in the Library of the House.
Public Appointments
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the public appointments he is responsible for making in addition to those identified in "Public Bodies 1993", including non- executive agency and other departmental management boards.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 4 March 1994] : The information sought is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
School Leavers
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide a ranking by region of the percentage of female school leavers leaving school with five or more standard grades--levels 1 to 3.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 8 March 1994] : The available information is set out in the following table. Many pupils who left from the 1991-92 session would have sat their fourth year examinations in 1991 or 1990, before the standard grade fully superseded ordinary grade. O-grade qualifications have therefore also been included in the analysis.
Female school leavers from the 1991-92 session with 5 or more O/S
Grades (1-3)
|Number |As Percentage of
|all female leavers
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCOTLAND |29,820 |45.5
1 Shetland |123 |65.9
2 Orkney |126 |62.7
3 Borders |566 |54.2
4 Dumfries and Galloway |881 |52.1
5 Highland |1,245 |51.0
6 Central |1,684 |50.3
7 Tayside |2,394 |49.5
8 Grampian |3,110 |47.7
9 Western Isles |230 |47.4
10 Fife |2,094 |46.4
11 Lothian |4,149 |44.5
12 Strathclyde |13,218 |42.1
Column 661
Sea Birds
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) of 24 February, Official Report, column 441, regarding sea bird fatalities in Scotland, what is the proportion of fatalities of (a) adult birds and (b) juvenile birds.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 11 March 1994] : Exact figures are not available, but from post mortem samples it is estimated that of dead guillemots, the species most affected in the recent losses, 50 per cent. of birds found in the Shetlands are adults while in other areas the proportion is about 20 per cent.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the possible connection between overfishing and the death of sea birds in the recent incidents on the east coast of Scotland.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 11 March 1994] : There is at present no evidence that current levels of fishing are having an adverse effect on sea birds which feed on sea fish.
The sea birds which have been washed ashore in recent weeks feed on pelagic species such as sprat and sand-eels. There is no significant United Kingdom fishery for these species in the North sea. Scientific advice on the state of sand-eel and sprat stocks does not suggest that they are at low levels. Nevertheless, the European Union has established a working group consisting of marine ecologists and fisheries biologists to study the impact of fishing for sprat and sand-eels on the marine ecosystem. This follows pressure from the United Kingdom at last December's European Fisheries Council meeting.
It is clear that recent bad weather has been a major cause of sea bird mortality and that the prevailing easterly wind will have washed birds ashore that would otherwise have remained at sea.
Freephone and Freepost
Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the use of freephone and freepost facilities currently being operated by his Department ; how much these facilities are costing ; for what purposes these facilities are being used ; and how much his Department has spent on operating freephone and freepost facilities in each financial year since 1979.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 14 March 1994] : Only one freephone service is operated by the Scottish Office--"Drugline Scotland", which opened in March 1992, providing a 24-hour telephone advice, information and referral service for people who have concerns about their own or someone else's drug use. In the year 1992-93, it cost £11,776. As part of the initiative to make the Scottish Office more accessible, people are now able to telephone the Scottish Office from over 20 offices throughout the country without charge. Cost figures are not yet available, as the service has been operating only since October 1993.
The Scottish Office uses both business reply and freepost response facilities, mainly to encourage people to provide information to Departments or to respond to Government initiatives or campaigns. The costs of the two services are not separately recorded but the total costs of items returned through the Department's central postal
Column 662
services for each year from 1983-84--the earliest year for which figures are available--are shown in the table. The cost of operating the services cannot be isolated from other mail handling costs.
P
Year |Expenditure on |Year |Expenditure on
|BusinessReply/ |Business Reply/
|Freepost |Freepost
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1983-84 |43,596 |1988-89 |55,953
1984-85 |19,958 |1989-90 |66,551
1985-86 |51,295 |1990-91 |44,092
1986-87 |51,522 |1991-92 |65,222
1987-88 |62,550 |1992-93 |26,762
Fishing
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement setting out the view of Her Majesty's Government on enlargement of the European Union and its consequences for the Scottish inshore fishing fleet.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 March 1994] : Fisheries have been an important element of the recent negotiations on enlargement of the European Union, particularly with Norway. The negotations with Norway will resume on 15 March, and the Government will continue to defend the interests of the United Kingdom fishing industry.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement setting out the view of Her Majesty's Government on access of the Spanish fleet to the North sea and its consequences for the Scottish inshore fishing fleet.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 March 1994] : Conclusions have not yet been reached in the review of the fisheries aspects of the Spanish and Portuguese Acts of Accession. The Government have made clear their determination to protect British interests in the North sea fisheries, as in other fisheries around the United Kingdom coastline.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the name, size, type and home port of all Scottish inshore fishing vessels accepted to date as being eligible for decommissioning.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 March 1994] : Final payments have still to be made to all the vessels for which conditional offers of decommissioning grant were made. A list of vessels receiving grant will be published in due course.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider introducing a policy of scrap and build for the Scottish inshore fleet.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 March 1994] : The fundamental imbalance between fishing effort and available fishing resources must be resolved if we are to ensure a secure future for the fishing industry. Limited public resources will yield the best value for money if they are targeted at this objective.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what effect he expects the current market price of
Column 663
white fish pressure stocks landed from the North sea to have on the long-term future of the Scottish inshore fishing fleet.Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 March 1994] : Market prices fluctuate markedly during the winter months owing, among other reasons, to the impact of the weather on the level of fishing activity. In those circumstances, there seems to be little to suggest that current market prices will have any long-term effects on the fleet.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals his Department has to deregulate any aspects of the current legislative provisions as they apply to the catching sector of the Scottish inshore fishing fleet.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 March 1994] : Fisheries departments are currently reviewing the licensing system for fisheries with the aim of simplifying and reducing the burden on the industry.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what discussions he has recently had with representatives of the European Union on the consequences of the suspension of the days at sea regulations ; and what he now proposes as an alternative management regime for North sea white fish pressure stocks ;
(2) what steps he is taking to protect white fish stocks in the North sea ;
(3) if he will make a statement outlining the current proposals being considered by Her Majesty's Government on alternative methods of fishery management to be applied to the Scottish inshore fleet fishing in the North sea.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 March 1994] : My hon. Friend the Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and I met Commissioner Paleokrassas on 24 January to discuss conservation measures for fisheries in the light of the suspension of our days at sea scheme. Discussions are now being undertaken with the industry on these matters and a further statement will be made in due course.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the most recent estimates of the average age of the fishing vessels in the Scottish inshore fleet.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 March 1994] : There is no formal definition of vessels that comprise the Scottish inshore fleet. The table shows the average age of vessels based in Scotland in selected length bands. Age is not recorded for approximately one third of vessels of length 10 m or under.
Average age of vessels in the Scottish fishing fleet at 31 December 1993 for which the age is known
Registered length |Average
|age
|(years)
-------------------------------------------------------
10 metres or under |16.22
10- |19.22
15- |23.39
20- |17.78
25 metres or over |15.82
All vessels |18.06
Common Fisheries Policy
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations have been made by Scottish Ministers to the representations of the European Union on the equal enforcement of CFP regulations throughout member states ; and what steps they are taking to secure sanctions against member states that fail to enforce the regulations.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 March 1994] : Scottish Office Ministers regularly press the case within the Council of Ministers of the European Union for proper and effective enforcement of the common fisheries policy by all member states. The United Kingdom Government actively supported the new fisheries control regulation adopted by the Council in October 1993. This places specific obligations on member states to enforce common fisheries policy rules and increases the powers of the European Commission to monitor enforcement. Officials of the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department are playing a full part in discussions with the Commission and other member states on implementation of the control regulation. This regulation should bring about a substantial overall improvement in standards of enforcement.
Scottish Ambulance Service
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the expenditure on the Scottish ambulance service for each of the past five years ; what is the budget for the current year and for the next financial year ; what representations have been made to him by the ambulance service about the adequacy or otherwise of such expenditure ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 March 1994] : The information on expenditure and budgets is as follows :
! Year |£<1> --------------------------------- 1988-89 |37,195,685 1989-90 |41,227,960 1990-91 |47,665,465 1991-92 |57,294,250 1992-93 |66,042,161 1993-94 |67,008,000 1994-95 |70,141,000 <1>The figures include capital.
Like other public services, funding for the Common Services Agency, of which the Scottish ambulance service is a division, is considered as part of the public expenditure survey programme.
Funding for the Scottish ambulance service has been increased from £12,865,100 in 1979 to £70,141,000 in 1994--an increase of 82.75 per cent. in real terms.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the position of the Scottish ambulance service in relation to the citizens charter ; what is the response time expected for an emergency call ; and what arrangements are made for the monitoring of the speed of response to emergency calls.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 March 1994] : The position of the Scottish ambulance service under the
Column 665
citizens charter is set out in its charter standard statement. The target response times given for an ambulance to respond to an emergency call vary according to population density and are :
B
|95 per cent.of
|calls within
|minutes
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dense population
(more than 3 people per acre) |14
Medium population
(between 0.5 and 3 people per acre) |18
Sparse population
(less than 0.5 people per acre) |21
The time taken for each response is recorded and analysed by the Scottish ambulance service. This information is made available on a regular basis to the board of the Common Services Agency of which the Scottish ambulance service is a division.
Limb Defects
Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what work the Medical Research Council is undertaking into clusters of babies born with limb defects ; which local health authorities are undertaking investigations of their own ; and when he expects the results of those inquiries.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 March 1994] : The Medical Research Council is not currently undertaking any studies on clusters of babies born with limb defects. We are not aware of any current investigations into this subject by health boards in Scotland.
School Repairs
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has regarding the estimated amount of outstanding repairs required to schools in each local education authority area in Scotland.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 14 March 1994] : The overall management of their school building stock is a matter for individual education authorities. Detailed information of the kind requested is not held centrally.
Voter Registration
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what funds are being made available to electoral registration officers in each of the nine regions and three island authorities to publicise information to EU citizens from outwith the British Isles on voter registration ; and in which of the official languages of the European Union versions will be provided.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 March 1994] : No additional funds are to be made available to electoral registration officers for this exercise. An information sheet printed in English has been issued to electoral registration officers, to political parties in Scotland, to consular offices of member states in Scotland, to the French, Danish and Italian Institutes and to citizens advice local offices.
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will lay before Parliament an order to extend the period to allow late registration to vote by EU citizens from outwith the British Isles.
Column 666
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 March 1994] : My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for publicising the procedure, and deadline of 29 March, to allow EU citizens from outwith the British Isles to register to vote ; what Scottish newspapers will carry such advertisements ; in how many languages ; and how often.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 March 1994] : My right hon. Friend has no plans for newspaper advertising. My noble and learned Friend the Minister of State has issued a statement encouraging European Union citizens resident in Scotland to register to vote at the European parliamentary elections in June 1994 and has emphasised the need for them to act quickly.
In addition, the Scottish Office Home and Health Department has sent information sheets in the English language to electoral registration officers, political parties in Scotland, consular offices of other member states in Scotland, citizens advice local offices and to specialist bodies such as the French, Danish and Italian Institutes. A notice has been placed in the Edinburgh Gazette.
Sheep Annual Premium
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) by what date he expects all applications for sheep annual premium in the current year to be paid out ;
(2) how many applications for payment of sheep annual premium he has received in the current year from (a) Scotland, (b) Orkney and (c) Shetland ; and what proportion in each category remained unpaid on 1 March.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 14 March 1994] : The number of eligible applications received under the 1993 sheep annual premium scheme and the proportion of claims for which the advance payment had not been made at 10 March are set out in the table.
|Number |Proportion
|(per cent.)
------------------------------------------------
Scotland |16,687 |11.0
Orkney |482 |12.0
Shetland |1,470 |7.0
The applications for which advance payments have still to be made are those where claims for premium are not matched by quota. Payments will continue to be made over the coming weeks, but a number of claims cannot be paid until after allocations from the national reserve have been completed and the additional period for transferring and leasing quota has taken place in the early summer.
School Repairs
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the amount spent on the repair and maintenance of school buildings by local education authorities in Scotland in each financial year since 1989-90.
Column 667
Mr. Lang [holding answer 14 March 1994] : The available information is given in the table. The capital figures include expenditure on new building work as well as on repairs and maintenance, information on which is not recorded separately.
Current expenditure on repair
and maintenance of school
buildings and
capital expenditure on school
buildings
£ million at outturn prices
|Current|Capital
--------------------------------
1989-90 |76.630 |66.884
1990-91 |77.665 |67.305
1991-92 |86.485 |72.572
1992-93 |84.402 |89.679
Note:
The figures for current
expenditure have been compiled
from local authority financial
returns and for capital
expenditure from capital
payments returns submitted by
local authorities to the
Scottish Office.
Current expenditure on repair
and maintenance of school
buildings and
capital expenditure on school
buildings
£ million at outturn prices
|Current|Capital
--------------------------------
1989-90 |76.630 |66.884
1990-91 |77.665 |67.305
1991-92 |86.485 |72.572
1992-93 |84.402 |89.679
Note:
The figures for current
expenditure have been compiled
from local authority financial
returns and for capital
expenditure from capital
payments returns submitted by
local authorities to the
Scottish Office.
|
| Home Page |