| Previous Section | Home Page |
Gross Domestic Product
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of gross domestic product and gross domestic product per head for (a) the north-west region of England, (b) the north-east region of England and (c) Northern Ireland.
Mr. Nelson : Estimates of GDP are compiled by standard economic region, and by county. The latest available regional estimates, for 1992, were published in the December 1993 issue of "Economic Trends", available in the House of Commons Library. The north-east of
Column 508
England, comprising Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, is not separately designated within the north standard region. However, figures for the north-east can be derived from the latest county estimates, relating to 1991. In 1991, total GDP for the north-east was £18,991 million, and GDP per head was £7,320.Council Tax
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 15 March, Official Report, columns 577-78, what measures he intends to take to improve the rate of processing appeals against council tax banding in the London borough of Lewisham.
Mr. Nelson : The Valuation Office agency and valuation tribunals have been set targets for the clearance of appeals which will ensure four out of five appeals will be cleared by 31 December 1994. Any remaining appeals will be cleared as quickly as possible in 1995. Steps have already been taken in Lewisham by deploying additional resources including the use of overtime and Saturday working whenever possible to ensure that these targets are met.
EDUCATION
Optical Fibre Network
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to encourage the rapid development of a national broadband optical fibre network.
Mr. Boswell : The Government have encouraged the higher education funding councils to establish a new administrative framework to support and develop the national broadband optical fibre network known as Super Janet. Fifty-nine higher education institutions and research centres are currently connected and it is intended to connect at least another 50 users over the next three years.
Autism
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of local education authorities provide educational support services for children with autism ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The information requested is not collected centrally. Under the Education Acts 1981 and 1993, it is the responsibility of schools and local education authorities to identify, assess and make provision for children with special educational needs, including those with autism.
Advertising
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the actual expenditure by each of the non-departmental public bodies for which he has responsibility in each year of their existence since 1964 on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material ; and what is his latest estimate for 1993-94 and 1994-95.
Mr. Boswell : This information is not held by the Department.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his latest estimate of the expenditure in
Column 509
1993-94 and 1994-95 by his Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material ; and whether this included expenditure on those items by the non-departmental public bodies for which he has responsibility.Mr. Boswell : The latest estimate for advertising and other promotional materials by the Department for the financial years 1993-94 and 1994-95 are given in the table :
|£000s |£000s
|1993-94|1994-95
---------------------------------------------------
Television advertising |0 |0
Radio advertising |29.2 |0
Newspaper advertising |1,413.0|900.0
Other promotional material |7,332.4|6,700.0
These figures do not include expenditure by the non-departmental public bodies for which the Department for Education has responsibility.
National School Tests in 1994"
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what were the printing and production costs of the leaflet "National School Tests in 1994", ISBN 0 85522 441 X ; how much his Department paid the Post Office to distribute these leaflets across post office counters ; and how many copies were printed.
Mr. Robin Squire : The printing and production cost of producing 4 million copies of the leaflet "National School Tests in 1994" was £50,000. There was an initial print run of 3 million copies followed by a reprint of 1 million to meet demand.
Distribution of 1.2 million leaflets with child benefit payments in all main post offices in England during March cost £99,000.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what element of the grant to grant-maintained schools has been identified for teachers' pay in the 1994-95 annual settlement.
Mr. Robin Squire : There is no annual settlement covering annual maintenance grants for grant-maintained schools. In 1994-95 these will be based on the funding available to local authority schools, either by reference to the provisions of the relevant scheme for the local management of schools or by means of the common funding formula. The local authority finance settlement takes account of the broad range of pressures on local education authorities, including pay settlements and price inflation, as well as the scope for savings.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the allowance made for teachers' pay in the 1994-95 grant-maintained schools' annual settlement.
Mr. Robin Squire : Grant-maintained schools receive an annual maintenance grant which they may spend according to their own view of priorities. It contains no specifically identified element for teacher salaries.
Column 510
Nursery Education
Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many three and four-year-old children are in receipt of nursery or primary education in each education authority area ; and what percentage this represents of the total number of children of that age group in each area.
Mr. Robin Squire : The information requested is shown in the table.
Pupils aged 3 and 4 in maintained nursery and primary
schools in LEAs
in England in January 1993
LEA |Pupils |Percentage
|of
|Population
--------------------------------------------------------
Camden |2,017 |51
Greenwich |4,266 |63
Hackney |3,147 |52
Hammersmith and Fulham |2,109 |58
Islington |2,755 |59
Kensington and Chelsea |1,232 |41
Lambeth |3,470 |48
Lewisham |3,693 |53
Southwark |4,101 |59
Tower Hamlets |4,102 |70
Wandsworth |4,048 |67
Westminster |1,613 |46
Barking and Dagenham |3,252 |72
Barnet |4,731 |58
Bexley |2,247 |37
Brent |4,589 |69
Bromley |1,341 |18
Croydon |4,255 |47
Ealing |5,668 |74
Enfield |4,033 |55
Haringey |4,457 |78
Harrow |2,603 |48
Havering |2,346 |40
Hillingdon |3,339 |50
Hounslow |4,212 |73
Kingston upon Thames |2,138 |62
Merton |3,650 |78
Newham |4,930 |64
Redbridge |2,334 |39
Richmond upon Thames |1,895 |46
Sutton |1,777 |38
Waltham Forest |3,568 |55
Birmingham |20,313 |68
Coventry |5,087 |58
Dudley |4,257 |53
Sandwell |7,492 |92
Solihull |3,635 |70
Walsall |6,768 |94
Wolverhampton |6,092 |87
Knowsley |4,166 |84
Liverpool |10,766 |83
St. Helens |3,264 |70
Sefton |4,900 |63
Wirral |5,362 |58
Bolton |5,599 |73
Bury |3,100 |61
Manchester |9,971 |75
Oldham |4,655 |71
Rochdale |4,140 |66
Salford |5,584 |88
Stockport |4,343 |57
Tameside |4,693 |73
Trafford |3,795 |66
Wigan |4,901 |57
Barnsley |4,028 |68
Doncaster |6,146 |75
Rotherham |4,323 |61
Sheffield |8,329 |64
Bradford |10,008 |69
Calderdale |3,740 |69
Kirklees |6,743 |64
Leeds |12,903 |67
Wakefield |6,297 |71
Gateshead |3,504 |69
Newcastle upon Tyne |5,202 |75
North Tyneside |4,320 |89
South Tyneside |3,591 |86
Sunderland |6,049 |73
Avon |12,952 |52
Bedfordshire |7,714 |48
Berkshire |6,539 |31
Buckinghamshire |5,720 |31
Cambridgeshire |8,135 |44
Cheshire |13,880 |53
Cleveland |14,879 |92
Cornwall<1> |5,348 |45
Cumbria |7,020 |58
Derbyshire |14,980 |61
Devon |7,141 |28
Dorset |5,588 |37
Durham |11,826 |77
East Sussex |6,512 |38
Essex |9,279 |23
Gloucestershire |4,439 |32
Hampshire |8,988 |21
Hereford and Worcester |3,821 |21
Hertfordshire |13,511 |50
Humberside |14,639 |61
Isle of Wight |1,143 |41
Kent |15,029 |36
Lancashire |19,972 |52
Leicestershire |9,759 |39
Lincolnshire |6,348 |43
Norfolk |6,398 |35
North Yorkshire |8,813 |50
Northamptonshire |8,388 |49
Northumberland |5,570 |74
Nottinghamshire |15,591 |57
Oxfordshire |3,511 |22
Shropshire |3,906 |35
Somerset |4,261 |35
Staffordshire |16,050 |57
Suffolk |5,744 |32
Surrey |6,748 |26
Warwickshire |6,259 |49
West Sussex |3,802 |22
Wiltshire |3,962 |25
|------- |-------
England<2> |656,193 |51
<1> Includes Isles of Scilly.
<2> Includes Corporation of London.
Primary Schools
Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of primary school classes in each local education authority are taught by one teacher to (a) over 30 pupils and (b) over 40 pupils.
Mr. Robin Squire : The information requested is given in the table.
Percentages of single teacher classes
(i) over 30 and (ii) over 40 in maintained primary schools in each
LEA
in England
January 1993
LEA |31 and over |41 and over<1>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporation of London |0.0 |0.0
Camden |4.5 |0.0
Greenwich |8.7 |0.2
Hackney |4.0 |0.0
Hammersmith and Fulham |8.3 |0.0
Islington |4.3 |0.0
Kensington and Chelsea |2.6 |0.0
Lambeth |3.7 |0.0
Lewisham |8.0 |0.0
Southwark |8.8 |0.0
Tower Hamlets |3.7 |0.0
Wandsworth |8.5 |0.0
Westminster |4.5 |0.0
Barking and Dagenham |5.8 |0.0
Barnet |8.3 |0.3
Bexley |26.1 |0.2
Brent |9.3 |0.3
Bromley |31.8 |0.0
Croydon |14.8 |0.0
Ealing |15.5 |0.0
Enfield |27.0 |0.0
Haringey |3.2 |0.0
Harrow |20.5 |0.0
Havering |17.8 |0.0
Hillingdon |23.8 |0.3
Hounslow |22.8 |0.5
Kingston upon Thames |46.8 |0.0
Merton |16.6 |0.4
Newham |6.8 |1.2
Redbridge |48.1 |0.0
Richmond upon Thames |13.1 |0.0
Sutton |34.6 |0.0
Waltham Forest |18.9 |0.0
Birmingham |24.4 |0.0
Coventry |18.2 |0.1
Dudley |16.4 |1.1
Sandwell |29.2 |0.2
Solihull |25.3 |0.0
Walsall |21.7 |0.0
Wolverhampton |17.4 |0.0
Knowsley |25.4 |0.0
Liverpool |19.7 |0.1
St. Helens |23.0 |0.0
Sefton |27.4 |0.0
Wirral |13.5 |0.0
Bolton |32.9 |1.3
Bury |30.2 |0.0
Manchester |19.7 |0.9
Oldham |35.6 |0.1
Rochdale |42.1 |0.2
Salford |20.8 |0.1
Stockport |26.1 |0.1
Tameside |41.9 |0.1
Trafford |42.2 |0.0
Wigan |29.5 |0.2
Barnsley |17.1 |0.3
Doncaster |18.3 |0.1
Rotherham |7.7 |0.0
Sheffield |16.8 |0.1
Bradford |15.8 |0.2
Calderdale |22.6 |0.0
Kirklees |21.2 |0.4
Leeds |22.7 |0.2
Wakefield |27.4 |0.1
Gateshead |9.6 |0.2
Newcastle upon Tyne |24.2 |0.4
North Tyneside |15.8 |0.2
South Tyneside |16.7 |0.2
Sunderland |11.7 |0.1
Isles of Scilly |0.0 |0.0
Avon |26.0 |0.0
Bedfordshire |19.1 |0.4
Berkshire |22.1 |0.1
Buckinghamshire |24.9 |0.2
Cambridgeshire |21.9 |0.0
Cheshire |30.9 |0.1
Cleveland |19.0 |0.0
Cornwall |28.9 |0.0
Cumbria |18.8 |0.1
Derbyshire |30.0 |0.1
Devon |22.1 |0.0
Dorset |34.6 |0.1
Durham |23.1 |0.2
East Sussex |31.1 |0.0
Essex |20.5 |0.0
Gloucestershire |18.2 |0.1
Hampshire |24.2 |0.0
Hereford and Worcester |15.0 |0.2
Hertfordshire |20.4 |0.0
Humberside |22.1 |0.2
Isle of Wight |21.9 |0.0
Kent |27.4 |0.1
Lancashire |31.6 |0.1
Leicestershire |17.7 |0.4
Lincolnshire |20.2 |0.0
Norfolk |14.6 |0.3
North Yorkshire |17.5 |0.0
Northamptonshire |15.1 |0.0
Northumberland |27.3 |0.0
Nottinghamshire |19.0 |0.1
Oxfordshire |11.8 |0.1
Shropshire |17.1 |0.2
Somerset |26.0 |0.0
Staffordshire |29.5 |0.4
Suffolk |9.6 |0.1
Surrey |17.2 |0.0
Warwickshire |25.8 |0.1
West Sussex |14.9 |0.0
Wiltshire |20.3 |0.1
|--- |---
England |21.5 |0.1
<1>Included in the figures for classes of 31 and over.
Civil Servants
Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list for each civil service grade in his Department the number of (a) male and (b) female, (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employees.
Mr. Boswell : The figures are as follows :
Column 513
Male Female
|Full time|Part time|Total |Full time|Part time|Total |Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade 1 |1 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |1
Grade 2 |3 |0 |3 |0 |0 |0 |3
Grade 3 |12 |0 |12 |0 |0 |0 |12
Grade 4 |3 |0 |3 |1 |0 |1 |4
Grade 5 |34 |0 |34 |12 |0 |12 |46
Grade 6 |13 |0 |13 |2 |0 |2 |15
Grade 7 |108 |1 |109 |42 |2 |44 |153
SEO and equivalent |73 |3 |76 |36 |3 |39 |115
HEO and equivalent |182 |3 |185 |164 |21 |185 |370
EO and equivalent |200 |0 |200 |273 |35 |308 |508
AO and equivalent |157 |5 |162 |404 |63 |467 |629
AA and equivalent |136 |0 |136 |226 |25 |251 |387
|--- |-- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total |922 |12 |934 |1,160 |149 |1,309 |2,243
These figures include 376 staff in post in the Teachers Pensions Agency.
School Meals
Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each education authority charges for school meals to children not on income -related benefits.
Mr. Forth : It is for each local education authority to decide how much to charge for the school meals provided for children not entitled to free school meals. Information on charging for school meals is not collected centrally.
Private Higher Education
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list those academic institutions in the private higher education sector whose courses have not been accredited by the Higher Education Quality Council and the Higher Education Funding Councils of England, Wales and Scotland, but where mandatory local education authority grants will apply at the lower rate.
Mr. Boswell : Neither the Higher Education Quality Council nor the three Higher Education Funding Councils accredit courses. A number of courses at private higher education institutions are designated under the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations. Students holding mandatory awards for attendance on those courses have their maintenance grants calculated in the same way as all other award holders. The fees payable on their behalf under
Column 514
the regulations are normally £715 in the current academic year ; higher rates apply for courses at institutions which receive recurrent grant out of public funds.Consultation Documents
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list all the documents issued for consultation in the last year, indicating the time provided for consultation and the recipients of each consultation document.
Mr. Boswell : This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Surplus School Places
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many surplus school places there were (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of school capacity in each local education authority in 1979 and each year since 1987.
Mr. Forth : The Department collected comprehensive information on surplus school places through a detailed survey in 1991. For the figures derived from that survey, I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Member for Warwickshire, North (Mr. O'Brien) on 31 January 1994, Official Report, columns 517-21. Detailed information by local education authority is not available for earlier years.
My right hon. Friend intends to make regulations later this year under section 21 of the Education Act 1993 requiring all LEAs and, where it has relevant responsibilities, the new Funding Agency for Schools, to
Column 515
submit information to the Secretary of State annually, beginning in 1994, on the numbers of surplus placesin LEA-maintained and grant-maintained schools respectively.
Public Appointments
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of public appointments made by his Department in 1993 were of (a) Asians and (b) black people ; and if he will list their names.
Mr. Boswell : The information given is based on the total number of public appointments made by the Department by the end of 1993 and includes information on ethnic minority appointments available at that time.
J
Department for Education
Public appointments December 1993
|Number |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number of public appointments held in
1993 |248
Total number of appointments held by ethnic
minority members in 1993 |9 |3.6
Asian |4 |1.6
Black |5 |2.0
Name |Ethnic
|group
--------------------------------------------------------------------
School Curriculum and Assessment Authority
Mrs. Shahwar Sadeque |Asian
Royal Ballet School Governing Body
Mr. Bruce Gill |Black
Further Education Funding Council-Regional Committees
Greater London
Mr. Abdul Bhanji |Asian
Mr. John Taylor |Black
Yorkshire and Humberside
Mr. David Nerurkar JP |Asian
North West
Mr. Wally Brown |Black
West Midlands
Professor Kumar Bhattacharyya |Asian
National Youth Agency
Ms Althea Efunshile |Black
Ms Theo Sowa |Black
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what information his Department holds or obtains relating to individuals who have been appointed, or may be considered for appointment, to paid or unpaid posts for which a Minister has to approve the person or shortlist for the appointment, in particular relating to active involvement in (a) extreme left-wing organisations, (b) extreme right-wing organisations and (c) involvement in any of the political parties represented in the House of Commons ;
(2) what procedures his Department has to prevent the possible appointment of individuals with extreme political views to posts for which a Minister has to approve the person or shortlist for the appointment.
Mr. Boswell : The information we hold on individuals appointed or being considered for appointment to public
Column 516
bodies for which we have responsibility is limited to whatever personal information they volunteer as well as details we solicit relating to their professional background. This is because appointments are made or approved solely on the basis of aptitude, merit and suitability for the job.We do not keep a record of the political affiliation of appointees or potential candidates. To add to the information already obtained, Ministers normally interview candidates before making or approving appointments. We are satisfied that these procedures are sufficient to avoid the possibility of unsuitable appointments.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will list the organisations and individuals outside his Department who are sent information on, or consulted about, individuals who are, or may be, proposed to the Minister for appointment to posts for which a Minister has to approve the person appointed or the shortlist for the appointment ;
(2) if he will list the organisations and individuals who have been asked, since June 1992, to submit names of individuals to be considered for appointments to paid and unpaid posts for which a Minister has to approve the person or shortlist for the appointment.
Mr. Boswell : There is no statutory requirement placed on the Secretary of State to consult or inform organisations or individuals prior to making or approving appointments to paid or unpaid posts. The constitutions, articles and trust deeds of some public bodies do place a requirement on Ministers to consult with interests which they consider relevant ; these bodies include the Further Education Unit Management Board, the Further Education Staff college and the National Youth Agency.
Reading
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what further plans he has to develop programmes to improve the reading skills of children ;
(2) if he will continue to support the reading recovery programme ;
(3) what plans he has to ensure that the expertise gained by those involved in reading recovery programmes continues to be utilised ; (4) what evaluation he has made of programmes sponsored by his Department and local education authorities to improve the reading skills of children in their early years.
Mr. Robin Squire : The best way to improve the reading skills of children is to ensure rigorous teaching in our schools, particularly our primary schools ; and to continue with rigorous national tests which focus on the basics. Sir Ron Dearing's report on the national curriculum highlighted the need for primary education to concentrate on the basic skills, including reading, and said that this should be a priority for the discretionary time which will be released as a result of slimming down the national curriculum overall--to be concentrated outside the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. We now await Sir Ron's advice on a revised national curriculum.
We are also strengthening the initial teacher training regime by requiring students to spend more time in schools and by specifying that all primary initial teacher training
Column 517
courses should include at least 150 hours of work on English with a minimum of 50 hours on the teaching of reading.In addition, we are supporting a number of literacy programmes including :
(i) a three-year trial of reading recovery in 20 local education authorities at a total cost of £14.2 million, supported through our grants for education support and training programme. This trial will be completed in March 1995. The School Curriculum and Assessment Authority is also sponsoring an independent research project on the effectiveness of reading recovery compared with other methods of early reading intervention, to be completed by the end of the year. Any further action on reading recovery will be considered in the light of this research and of our evaluation of the GEST-funded trial ;
(ii) thirteen other literacy projects in 12 inner-city local education authorities at a total cost of £2.4 million in the current year, again supported through the GEST programme ;
(iii) the family literacy programme undertaken by the adult literacy and basic skills unit. We have increased our grant to ALBSU for this programme for £0.25 million in the current year to £1.2 million in 1994-95 ;
(iv) Volunteer Reading Help, which is a charity which links volunteers with children who teachers feel would benefit from one-to-one help with their reading. The enable the organisation to expand further, we shall be nearly doubling our grant to VRH in 1994-95 to £90,000.
Sixth Forms
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answers of 25 February, Official Report, column 505, and 1 March, Official Report, column 686, how many pupils there are expected to be in each of the new sixth forms he has approved since April 1992.
Mr. Robin Squire : The number of pupils in the sixth forms concerned was expected to be :
|Number
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Grain-maintained
Baverstock GM School, Birmingham |70
Small Heath School, Birmingham |150
Sawtry Village College, Cambridgeshire |150
The Merrill Community School, Derbyshire |100
Chellaston School, Derbyshire |200
Beauchamps GM School, Essex
|125
Bromfords School, Essex
The King John School, Essex |282
West Hatch School, Essex |180
The Arnewood School, Hampshire |236
The Burgate School, Hampshire |120
Ringwood School, Hampshire |120
The Maplesden Noakes School, Kent |100
Sheringham High School, Norfolk |120
Highams Park School, Waltham Forest |180
Queen Elizabeth School, Warwickshire |180
Moseley Park GM School, Wolverhampton |135
(b) LEA-maintained
Ullswater Community College, Cumbria |260
Martin Kemp-Welch School, Dorset |99
Wymondham School, Norfolk |120
St. Peter's RC Comprehensive School, Solihull |180
New school for pupils aged 11 to 18 years in Halifax,
Calderdale, to replace two 11 to 16 schools |120
Column 518
Teachers
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his policy towards the employment in local education authorities and grant-maintained schools of teachers without formal and recognised teaching qualifications.
Mr. Robin Squire : Unqualified teachers may not normally be employed in either local education authority maintained or self-governing--grant- maintained--schools. Some exceptions are, however, specified in statutory regulations. They include student teachers, those who with my right hon. Friend's approval are employed as licensed or overseas trained teachers, and instructors with special qualifications or experience who may be employed when no suitable qualified teacher is available.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 8 March, Official Report, columns 133-34, when the information about the appointment of newly qualified teachers to permanent teaching posts in 1993 will be available.
Mr. Robin Squire : The data are unlikely to be available for statistical use before spring 1995 when the appointment details of newly qualified teachers have been returned by local authorities on their annual returns for financial year 1993-94. The required information will then be placed in the Library.
Postgraduate Legal Training
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will reconsider his decision not to allow mandatory grants for postgraduate legal training.
Mr. Boswell : The Education Act 1962 restricts mandatory awards to full-time courses leading to a first degree or comparable qualification, or to the DipHE or HND, and to courses for the initial training of teachers. We have no present plans to expand the scope of mandatory awards to include postgraduate law, or other, courses.
Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Gapes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the meetings between Ministers and officials in his Department with hon. Members representing constituencies in London in the last year.
Mr. Patten : The details requested are as follows :
Secretary of State
Hugh Dykes MP (Harrow, East)--4 March 1993
Nicholas Scott MP (Chelsea)--20 December 1993
Minister of State
John Marshall MP (Hendon, South)--12 January 1994
Richard Tracey MP (Surbiton)--25 February 1994
Mr. Boswell
None.
Mr. Forth
Sir Michael Neubert MP (Romford)--26 October 1993
Mr. Squire
Richard Tracey MP (Surbiton)--12 October 1993
Michael Shersby MP (Uxbridge)--2 December 1993
Sir Michael Neubert MP (Romford)--21 January 1994
Note :
1. The details cover all Ministers' meetings concerning Departmental business with hon. Members since 1 March 1993.
Column 519
EMPLOYMENT
Labour Statistics
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest figure for the ratio between the number of unemployed persons, and the number of vacant jobs in the Doncaster travel-to-work area.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available in the form requested. The information that is available is shown in the table, although the figures cannot meaningfully be expressed as a ratio, as jobcentre vacancies represent only a third of all vacancies nationally, and this proportion is likely to vary between different regions, different skills and different occupations.
Furthermore, within any one area, there is not necessarily a strong match between the skills of the unemployed and the nature of the vacancies available. It should also be noted that the area covered by jobcentres in Doncaster does not correspond exactly with Doncaster travel-to-work area.
'
Unadjusted Unemployment and Vacancies
February 1994
Claimant |Unfilled
Unemployment |Jobcentre
|Vacancies<1>
---------------------------------------
15,017 |492
<1> There are currently six Jobcentres
covering the Doncaster TTWA, five in
Doncaster and one in Thorne.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish his Department's estimate for England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, and for each year since 1990 of the numbers on the unemployment register ; and what were the numbers and percentages of those on the unemployment register in each case leaving the register (a) to take up full-time employment, (b) to take up part-time employment, (c) to take up full-time or part-time training and (d) to take early retirement.
Miss Widdecombe : The available information on the levels of claimant unemployment and on the numbers leaving claimant unemployment can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library. Detailed information is not available on the destinations of the claimants who leave unemployment. However, past survey evidence indicates that the majority of people who leave claimant unemployment go into jobs.
Tattoos
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will explore ways in which he can assist job seekers with disfiguring tattoos to have them removed by the health service or other organisations.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Employment Service provides a very wide range of back to work help for job seekers, which can include advice about the removal of disfiguring tattoos. I understand from colleagues in the Department of Health that this treatment is available from the national health service if, in the opinion of a consultant, it is necessary for clinical reasons.
Column 520
| Next Section
| Home Page |