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National Curriculum
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has had concerning the national curriculum as it affects primary schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : In response to concerns by teachers and parents about the manageability of the national curriculum in both primary and secondary schools, my right hon. Friend announced last year a review of the national curriculum and its assessment arrangements in Wales by the Curriculum Council for Wales and Sir Ron Dearing. I refer the hon. Member to the statements issued in response to the interim and final reports on the review on 2 August 1993 and 5 January 1994, copies of which are in the Library of the House and which were sent to all hon. Members in Wales.
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Rehabilitation Therapy
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients with severe head injuries in (a) Wales and (b) each health authority area are currently receiving rehabilitation therapy within the NHS.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information requested is not available centrally.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information his Department holds on the number of psychotherapists employed by the NHS in Wales in (a) the rehabilitation of all patients and (b) the rehabilitation of children with severe head injuries.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Psychotherapy is a form of treatment and can be carried out by medical and other professional staff. The following table gives the whole-time equivalent numbers of staff in post in Wales who are specifically designated as working in the field of psychotherapy. Other staff groups, whose work may include psychotherapy but not as a major part of their duties, are excluded.
|Number
--------------------------------------------
Child psychotherapists<1> |4.3
Clinical psychologists<1> |182.9
Consultant psychotherapist<2> |0.6
<1> In post as at 31 December 1993.
<2> In post as at 30 September 1993.
Information relating to the number of psychotherapy staff involved in the rehabilitation of children with severe head injuries is not available centrally.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what research studies his Department has commissioned in each of the last 10 years on the effects of rehabilitation programmes in Wales for patients who have suffered severe head injuries.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Research costing £1,118,000 into the rehabilitation of brain-injured adults is currently being funded jointly by the Welsh Office and the Department of Health. The project started in May 1992 and will take three years to complete. In addition the Welsh Office has funded two projects on rehabilitation following brain damage. These received some £60,000 between 1989 and 1992.
Insulin-dependent Diabetics
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report the guidance he has issued to insulin- dependent diabetics in Wales regarding the methods they should use to dispose of (a) blood-glucose testing strips, (b) lancets and (c) hypodermic syringes and needles.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Guidance for insulin-dependent diabetics on the disposal of hypodermic syringes and needles has been provided under Welsh health circular WHC (FP)(87)24 dated 6 August 1987. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House. No guidance has been issued in respect of the disposal of blood-glucose testing strips or lancets.
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Redundant NHS Hospitals
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many redundant NHS hospitals have been disposed of since 1987 without the benefit of planning permission.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : This information is not held centrally.
National Continence Week
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what projects his Department instigated in respect of national continence week.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Health Promotion Wales, on behalf of the Welsh Office, arranged for a continence awareness campaign during the period 13 to 19 March 1994. This ran in parallel with a Department of Health campaign in England.
Leaflets and posters, for the attention of the general public, were distributed to health authorities, family health services authorities, community health councils, NHS premises, general practitioners' surgeries, pharmacies, social services departments, health promotion units and voluntary organisations.
Continence advisers in Wales ran local campaigns, the details of which are not held centrally.
A bilingual helpline, charging local call rates, will operate in Wales until the end of March.
Dairy Farmers
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many dairy farmers there were in Wales in each year since 1985.
Mr. Redwood : The number of holdings on which the dominant activity is dairy farming is shown in the table. The information for 1993 is not yet available.
Dairy holdings in Wales<1> Year |Number --------------------- 1985 |6,554 1986 |6,384 1987 |6,024 1988 |5,647 1989 |5,433 1990 |5,224 1991 |5,076 1992 |4,891 Source: June agricultural and horticultural census. <1>Excluding minor holdings.
Ysgol Maes Garman Mold
Mr. Hanson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what response he has made to the delegation of pupils from Ysgol Maes Garman Mold he met on Monday 21 March regarding teacher losses at the school.
Sir Wyn Roberts : It is for Clwyd county council to decide from within its available resources the level of funding to be devoted to primary and secondary education in the county. Individual schools are funded according to the authority's local management of schools scheme, and it is the responsibility of the governing body of schools with delegated budgets to decide how many staff they should employ.
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Farm Workers
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the total number of (a) farmers and (b) farm workers in Wales in each year since 1980.
Mr. Redwood : Information on the number of holdings and workers on those holdings is available from the annual June agricultural census and is shown in the following table.
Farms and farm workers in Wales<1> Year |Holdings |Workers<2> -------------------------------------------- 1980 |29,508 |21,144 1981 |29,567 |20,703 1982 |29,822 |20,794 1983 |29,957 |20,323 1984 |29,752 |19,784 1985 |29,811 |20,504 1986 |29,924 |20,179 1987 |29,985 |19,797 1988 |30,231 |18,948 1989 |30,508 |18,148 1990 |29,646 |18,167 1991 |29,710 |18,234 1992 |29,903 |17,812 1993 |29,916 |17,495 Source: June agricultural and horticultural census. <1>Excludes data for minor holdings. <2>All workers on holdings who are not farmers, partners or directors and who are not spouses of farmers, partners or directors.
Council Meetings (Transport)
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration he has given to the availability of methods of transport for local councillors to attend meetings on his proposals for the reorganisation of local government in Wales.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what assessment he has made of the suitability of the present bus timetable linking Llandridod Wells and Llanelly Hill for the use of councillors wishing to attend council meetings ;
(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of his local government reorganisation in Wales on the ability of councillors to travel to and from council meetings by existing public transport routes within one day.
Public Appointments
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 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. Redwood : Information on ethnic minority appointments as at 1 September 1993 is shown in "Public Bodies 1993", available in the Library of the House.
Education Authorities (Standard Spending Assessment)
Mr. Hanson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the standard spending assessment for each education authority in Wales in 1993- 94.
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Mr. Redwood : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 25 March 1994 at column 453.
Mostyn Docks, Clwyd (Planning Application)
Mr. Hanson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to answer the letter from Mr. P. McGreevy, chief executive of Delyn borough council, of 21 February, regarding the proposed planning application at Mostyn docks, Clwyd.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The Secretary of State worte to Mr. McGreevy on 28 March.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many, and what percentage of officers in each of grades 1 to 7 and overall in his Department are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled, respectively.
Mr. Redwood : The position at 1 January 1994 is given in the following table :
|Number |Percentage
-----------------------------------------------------------
Women
Grade 1 and equivalents |0 |0
Grade 2 and equivalents |0 |0
Grade 3 and equivalents |1 |8
Grade 4 and equivalents |2 |33
Grade 5 and equivalents |9 |15
Grade 6 and equivalents |14 |18
Grade 7 and equivalents |53 |27
|-- |--
Total number |1,304 |53
Ethnic minorities
Grade 1-5 and equivalents |0 |0
Grade 6 and equivalents |1 |1.3
Grade 7 and equivalents |1 |0.5
|-- |--
Total number |34 |1.4
Disabled
Grade 1-5 and equivalents |0 |0
Grade 6 and equivalents |1 |1.3
Grade 7 and equivalents |1 |0.5
|-- |--
Total number |41 |1.7
Notes:
1. Part-time staff are counted as one.
2. Figures exclude casual staff.
3. Figures show registered disabled staff only.
Proton Cars
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many Proton cars were purchased by his Department in each of the last 10 years for which information is available ; and at what cost.
Consultation Documents
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 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. Redwood : This information is not available centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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School Visits
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will visit Sealand CP School to meet the governors and staff to discuss the pupil-teacher ratio for the next school year ; (2) if he proposes to visit Golftyn High School, Deeside, in order to discuss the concerns of parents, governors and staff ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend and I will bear these schools in mind when considering our programme of visits to schools.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning his policies on special needs for the next school year.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Children with special educational needs will benefit from the range of measures introduced in the Education Act 1993 to improve the present statutory framework, including a code of practice containing guidance and criteria for the identification, assessment and other arrangements for such pupils. We hope to lay the code before Parliament shortly.
We remain committed to the principle that children with special educational needs should be educated in mainstream schools wherever possible and sensible.
Apprenticeships
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning his aims to create new style apprenticeships ; in what industries he expects the new apprenticeships to be created ; and what estimate he has of the number of new apprenticeships he expects to be created.
Mr. Redwood : Modern apprenticeships will be introduced in manufacturing engineering in Wales in 1994-95, and I have made £3.6 million available to support them ; 550 additional opportunities will be offered to young people to begin training for national vocational qualifications at levels 3 and 4. Details about the extension of modern apprenticeships to other sectors from 1995-96 onwards will be announced in due course.
Public Transport (Disabled Access)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to encourage the provision of accessibility to public transport for disabled people in urban and rural areas of Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The Government are already committed to the development of accessible transport systems which meet the travel needs of all users. Since the early 1980s significant progress has been made in improving access to public transport for people with disabilities.
Farm Colleges
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the annual amount of public funding allocated to farm colleges in (a) Wales and (b) Great Britain as a whole ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Redwood : The Welsh funding councils allocated £4.7 million to agriculture colleges in Wales for the academic year 1993-94. The agriculture colleges in England and Scotland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Education and for Scotland. However, I understand that the allocations for agriculture colleges in England and Scotland were £67.3 million and £11.2 million respectively. The figure for England relates to the academic year 1993-94 and the figure for Scotland to the financial year 1993-94.
Courses in agriculture are provided by many institutions which do not have "agriculture college" in their names. Expenditure on courses in these institutions has not been included in the figures given here.
Hospital Waiting Times
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidelines he has issued to the chairman of the Welsh health authorities in respect of the application of total waiting times guarantees for hospital treatment, inclusive of the first out-patient appointment waiting time ; and if he will place a copy of such guidelines in the Library.
Mr. Redwood : A copy of the letter sent to all health authorities outlining the new approach to waiting times in Wales will be placed in the Library of the House. Detailed work on operational aspects of the approach will take place this year in preparation for its implementation from April 1995.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidelines he has issued to Welsh health authorities and to provider units in Wales in respect of dates being given for first out-patient appointment within a short period after receipt of the referral letter from the general practitioner ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : All patients referred to a hospital out-patient clinic by their GP are included in waiting list statistics whether or not they have been provided with a fixed appointment date. Comprehensive guidance on the management of waiting lists has been issued to all health authorities, NHS trusts and other healthcare providers, identifying the provision of booked dates for first out-patient appointments as best practice.
Rural Areas (Assistance)
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of state for Wales (1) what policies the Development Board for Rural Wales has for the voluntary sector to be a vehicle for assisting rural communities ;
(2) how much funding in each of the last five years and for the next financial year has been allocated by the Development Board for Rural Wales to the voluntary sector for assisting rural communities ; and if he will list those organisations and how much each received.
Mr. Redwood : I have asked the chief executive of the Development Board for Rural Wales to write to the hon. Member, and for a copy of the reply to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what procedures are used by the board members and officials of (a) the Welsh Development Agency and (b) the
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Development Board for Rural Wales to inform themselves of the needs of individual rural areas within their areas of responsibility.Mr. Redwood : I have asked the chief executives of the agency and the board to write to the hon. Member and for copies of their responses to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how much funding in each of the last five years and for the next financial year has been allocated by the Welsh Development Agency to the voluntary sector for assisting rural communities ; and if he will list those organisations and how much each received ;
(2) what policies the Welsh Development Agency has for the voluntary sector to be a vehicle for assisting rural communities.
Mr. Redwood : I have asked the chief executive of the agency to write to the hon. Member and for a copy of his response to be placed in the Library of the House.
Cancer Treatment
Mrs. Jane Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 22 March, Official Report, column 196, if he will list all the appraisals commissioned by his Department of the options for improving cancer services for north Wales ; and if he will place a copy of each appraisal in the Library.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : I will write to the hon. Lady.
Development Board for Rural Wales
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what directions he has given to the Development Board for Rural Wales to sell its industrial estates on the open market ; how many estates are involved ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 28 March 1994] : None. However, the development board seeks to identify opportunities for property disposal and under its guidelines is expected to encourage private ownership and secure the disposal of its completed premises and estates to the private sector.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Tigris and Euphrates Valleys
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the United States and Egypt about the provision of pharmaceuticals, water pumps and water- filtering equipment to the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : None. Our substantial aid to Iraq is organised through the United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations.
Aid and Trade Provision
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the dates on which aid and trade provision offers in principle were made to the Governments of countries overseas in each year since 1986.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The dates of all ATP offers are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. A list of successful ATP projects on which offers have been accepted by developing country Governments has been placed in the Libraries of the House. This list is based on the dates when the formal Government-to-Government agreements or exchanges were signed ; this is the operative date for project commencement.
Rwanda
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in Rwanda for British-based aid organisations ; what progress is being made in Rwanda by the United Nations mission ; and what estimate has been made of the number of refugees and displaced people in Rwanda.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Although some difficulties remain, most aid organisations can now operate with relative freedom. The United Nations assistance mission for Rwanda continues to encourage full implementation of peace agreements signed last August in Arusha. A copy of the United Nations Secretary-General's report of 30 December 1993 on UNAMIR's progress has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The number of refugees and displaced persons in Rwanda at present is estimated at 650,000.
UK Assistance
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much United Kingdom Government assistance was given for : the covered reservoir scheme 1985 at Irbid, Jordan ; sewage works at Rustamiyah, Iraq and the Suez Canal Authority, Egypt 1985 ; water works at Tangerang, Indonesia 1985 ; water development department, Cyprus 1985 ; canal project at Rahimyakham, Pakistan 1986 ; canal project in Cameroon 1986 ; canal project in Kwasa State, Nigeria 1986 ; Kwasa project in Nigeria 1987 ; water projects in Niger, Uganda and Panama 1987 ; Hill Country water scheme, Sri Lanka 1988 ; water schemes in Greece and Turkey 1988 ; Akashat scheme in Iraq 1989 ; El Nasr Co. in Egypt 1991 ; water valve equipment in Singapore 1991 ; Larnaca scheme, Cyprus 1992 ; the Great Cairo wastewater scheme 1992 ; and water project in Ghana 1992.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Of the projects listed, the following have been supported from the United Kingdom aid programme :
F
Project |Overall
|commitment
|£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Canal project, Rahimyakham, Pakistan |10.77
Hill country water scheme, Sri Lanka |2.13
Water schemes, Turkey |1.13
Greater Cairo waste water scheme, Egypt |69.14
Two regions water rehabilitation project, Ghana |11.39
Uganda water projects (three) |0.07
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Child Mortality Rates
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on (a) the child mortality rates and (b) the average life expectancy of inhabitants of (i) El Salvador, (ii) Nepal, (iii) Paraguay, (iv) Benin, (v) Togo, (vi) Sierra Leone, (vii) Mauritius, (viii) Burundi, (ix) Rwanda, (x) Haiti, (xi) Chad, (xii) Albania, (xiii) Barbados, (xiv) Malta, (xv) Botswana, (xvi) Ukraine, (xvii) The Gambia and (xviii) Mongolia.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The latest information we have on child mortality and average life expectancy rates in the countries listed, based on data contained in the World Bank Atlas 1994, is as follows :
Country |Infant mortality |Average life
|rate (per 1000 live|expectancy at birth
|births) as at 1992 |(years) as at 1992
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
El Salvador |46 |66
Nepal |99 |54
Paraguay |47 |67
Benin |110 |51
Togo |85 |54
Sierra Leone |143 |43
Mauritius |18 |70
Burundi |106 |48
Rwanda |110 |46
Haiti |93 |55
Chad |122 |47
Albania |28 |73
Barbados |10 |75
Malta |10 |76
Botswana |35 |68
Ukraine |18 |70
The Gambia |142 |45
Mongolia |60 |64
St. Helena
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy regarding the proposal to build an airstrip on St. Helena.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I am aware of a proposal for the construction of an airfield on St. Helena and the subsequent introduction of an air service to the islands. While this could bring benefits to the island's economy, it would also be costly.
The Government of St. Helena has not so far approached Her Majesty's Government about this matter. Should we receive such an approach, we will consider it very carefully.
TREASURY
Value Added Tax Charges
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the average annual VAT charges incurred by (a) people with a disability and (b) people with no disability for each of the past five years ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : Estimates are not readily available on VAT incurred by people with a disability.
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Tiger Products
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what seizures of tiger products or material containing tiger products have been made by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the last three years.
Sir John Cope : Her Majesty's Customs and Excise made seizures apparently of such a kind over the period as follows :
Tiger skin--1 whole, 1 piece, 1 handbag and 1 pair of shoes. Tincture of tiger bone--2 bottles.
Tiger bone plaster--43 packets and 30 strips.
Tiger bone pills--51 boxes and 420 tablets.
Tiger bone medicine--1 package and 3 sachets.
Tiger claws--2.
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