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Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will initiate an inquiry into the extent of, and reasons for, differences in cost of refuse collection for households.
Mr. Curry [holding answer 25 April 1994] : The Audit Commission's current study of performance indicators for local authority services covers the costs of refuse collection and disposal per head of population. The commission expects to publish its study results early next year.
Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average net cost per domestic refuse collection per household unit for (a) the three highest London boroughs, (b) the three lowest London boroughs, (c) the London borough of Harrow and (d) the overall average for all London boroughs.
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average cost per household of collecting domestic refuse ; and if he will publish a table showing the average cost per household in the local authority areas of (a) Brentwood, (b) Brighton, (c) Greenwich, (d) Hackney, (e) Lambeth, (f) Southend on Sea, (g) Westminster and (h) Windsor and Maidenhead.
Mr. Curry [holding answer 25 April 1994] : The Department does not collect information in the form requested, although local authorities are required to provide information to the Department on income and expenditure on waste collection as a whole, not broken down by domestic and commercial. Information on the number of households in a local authority area is collected by the Office for Population, Censuses and Surveys.
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy collates returns from local authorities on different aspects of waste collection. The results of the survey are published in a CIPFA report "Waste Collection Statistics 1991-92 Actuals".
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the percentage of hedgerows existing in (a) 1978 and (b) 1979 that has been lost.
Mr. Atkins [holding answer 25 April 1994] : The only reliable figures we have relate to the period 1984-90. In 1984, our estimated total hedgerow stock in Great Britain was 549,000 km. By 1990, a net loss of around 23 per cent. had been incurred, mainly as a result of neglect.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the third year report on the "Our Common Inheritance" White Paper will be published.
Mr. Atkins [holding answer 25 April 1994] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox) on 20 April 1994, Official Report, column 867.
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Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he took, under which specific powers, and on what date, in respect of the Skypark planning application after it had been approved by Wrekin district council ; and with what result.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 25 April 1994] : Wrekin district council approved the planning application for the Telford Skypark on 29 July 1992 subject to reference to the Secretary of State for the Environment as a departure under the Town and Country Planning Development Plans (England) Direction 1992. The application was called in for decision on 2 December 1992 under section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and, following a public inquiry, planning permission was refused on 24 February 1994.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date he replied to the letter from Mr. Paleokrassas, the Member of the European Commission for the Environment, sent to him on 21 January in relation to the legality issue and the proposal for a barrage at Cardiff bay ; if he has received any further communication from Mr. Paleokrasses ; and on what date.
Mr. Atkins [holding answer 25 April 1994] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 1 March, Official Report, column 643.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the negotiations with the European Union in relation to the provision of alternative wetland habitats for birds displaced from the Cardiff bay site of special scientific interest by the proposed Cardiff bay barrage.
Mr. Atkins : As the hon. Member knows, such negotiations are confidential.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will commission jointly with the Environment Directorate of the European Commission an independent research study evaluating the socio-economic arguments for the Cardiff bay barrage proposal ; and if he will seek an independent assessment of the definition of overwhelming as applied to the socio-economic argument under the habitats directive.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what agreements have been made with the European Commission, consistent with article 6(4) of the habitats directive, regarding measures to be implemented to compensate for the loss of mud-flat habitat at Cardiff bay.
Mr. Atkins : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) on 1 March, Official Report, column 643.
Mr. Thomason : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from industry that regulations to ban the sale of high-sulphur
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fuels and unauthorised fuels in smoke control areas would result in a significant increase in regulatory burdens and costs.Mr. Atkins [holding answer 25 April 1994] : I have received a number of such representations from industry and in view of the decline in annual average concentrations and emissions of smoke and sulphur dioxide from domestic sources, further regulations are not proposed at present.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was spent on (a) stationery, (b) paper clips and (c) staples by his Department in each year since 1979 at current prices.
Mr. Baldry : My Department has spent the following sums on stationery, including paper clips and staples :
Year |£ --------------------------------------- 1993-94 |668,071 1992-93 |555,909 1991-92 |431,233 1990-91 |<1>1,121,625 1989-90 |<1>1,180,690 1988-89 |626,825 1987-88 |335,326 1986-87 |364,076 1985-86 |385,291 <1>Combined with printing.
More detailed information is not available, nor are separate figures for expenditure on stationery before 1985-86.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 14 April, Official Report , column 239 , if he will list the regional distribution of unallocated funds available under the single regeneration budget.
Mr. Baldry : The regional distribution of unallocated single regeneration budget funds in 1995-96, which will support new bids, will not be known until the bidding round has been completed and the successful schemes are announced. The timetable is set out in the bidding guidance published by my Department on 14 April. Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of the regional directors of the single regeneration budget are black people or Asian.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what effect he expects the proposed amendment to article 7 of directive 79/409/EEC to have on the protection of migratory birds in mainland Europe, particularly France.
Mr. Atkins : The proposed amendment clarifies the arrangements for protecting migratory birds and avoids unnecessary interference with traditional hunting seasons
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in some member states. In France, the amendment would not mean that migratory birds were more at risk than in earlier years. The dates for the close of the hunting seasons would, in future, be fixed in accordance with the criteria specified in the proposed amendment to the directive.Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received concerning the archive services and the reorganisation of local government.
Mr. Baldry : This year my right hon. Friend has received some 50 written representations from organisations and individuals who wish to see the existing level of local authority archive services maintained following reorganisation. My hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry) met the chairman and secretary of the Royal Commission for Historical Manuscripts on 24 February.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what statutory safeguards he proposes to introduce to ensure that archive services are not adversely affected by the reorganisation of local government.
Mr. Baldry : The Local Government Commission's recommendations must enable adequate provision to be made for all existing local government functions, including archives. Collaborative arrangements between unitary authorities may be desirable in some cases. The Government's preference is for such arrangements to be on a voluntary basis, but section 21 of the Local Government Act 1992 gives my right hon. Friend powers to establish a joint authority for any local government function if he considers that satisfactory voluntary arrangements have not been made or have broken down.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list each individual in his Department who is provided with a mobile phone or pager, their position in the Department and the cost to the public funds of this provision.
Mr. Baldry : The mobile phones and pagers used within my Department are allocated to business units and not specifically to individual officers. There are 154 mobile phones currently in use. Their book value is estimated as £35,000 and the line rental costs are some £49, 000 per annum. Some 428 pagers are rented at a cost of £20,000 per annum.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has had with the Countryside Council for Wales and English Nature in relation to the (a) registration and (b) plan for management of the lower Severn estuary draft special protection area ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : Consultations and discussions with both bodies are continuing.
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Mr. Wells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will present to the European Commission the Government's proposals for directing future European structural fund assistance towards the economic development of rural areas in England ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : I have arranged for the regional conversion plans for the six regions in England designated by the Commission for assistance under structural funds objective 5b to be presented to the European Commission today. Funding under objective 5b contributes towards the development and structural readjustment of rural areas. The plans cover the period 1994-99, for which £381 million has been allocated to England.
The six regions, with 1994-99 allocations, are East Anglia, £46 million--south west, £170 million--northern uplands, £84 million- -the marches, £31 million--Lincolnshire, £41 million--and midlands uplands--Derbyshire/Staffordshire, £9 million. The plans have been lodged in time to ensure that the eligible date for expenditure on objective 5b programmes is 1 January 1994. Under the structural funds regulations, the Commission is required to reach a decision on the plans within six months of receipt.
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much he intends to spend on each of (a) bilateral aid and (b) multilateral aid for each of the financial years 1994-95, 1995- 96, 1996-97 and 1997-98.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Current planning figures for expenditure are as follows. Figures for 1997-98 are not available as these are beyond the current public expenditure survey period.
£ million |1994-95|1995-96|1996-97 --------------------------------------------------------- Bilateral expenditure |1,189 |1,097 |1,020 Multilateral expenditure |1,073 |1,115 |1,142
These planning figures include an allowance, additional to the overall figure agreed in the public expenditure survey, to compensate for expected slippage of expenditure. For this reason, and because of the many detailed changes that take place over a period at country and programme level in the rate of spending, actual spending will vary from the figures shown.
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the multilateral aid budget he intends to allocate to each of (a) the European bank for reconstruction and development, (b) the European Union, (c) the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and (d) the World bank for each of the financial years 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Current planning figures for expenditure is given below. Estimates for 1997-98 are not available as this is beyond the current public expenditure survey period.
£ million |1994-95|1995-96|1996-97 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development |40 |40 |40 European Community |569 |696 |745 World Bank/IMF |315 |232 |204
In some cases actual spending may vary from those figures because of factors such as exchange rate movements and changes in the rate of expenditure of the multilateral institutions concerned.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation sets a biennial programme of work and budget of which the United Kingdom contribution is based on the United Nations scale of assessments. The United Kingdom contribution in 1994 is £12.1 million. The 1995 contribution will be similar.
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part of the bilateral aid budget will be allocated to each of (a) Africa, (b) Asia, South, (c) Asia, south-east, (d) Latin America/Caribbean/Atlantic and (e) central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union for each of the financial years 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996- 97 and 1997-98.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Current planning figures for bilateral country programmes are as follows. Figures for 1997-98 are not available as these are beyond the current public expenditure survey period.
£ million |1994-95|1995-96|1996-97 --------------------------------------------------- Africa |344 |315 |284 Asia/Pacific |248 |227 |217 Eastern Europe/FSU |78 |79 |75 Western Hemisphere |88 |79 |72
These planning figures include an allowance, additional to the overall figure agreed in the public expenditure survey, to compensate for expected slippage of expenditure. For this reason, and because of the many detailed changes that take place over a period at country level in the rate of spending, actual spending will vary from the figures shown.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made with the resettlement of refugees in Mozambique.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is co-ordinating the repatriation and resettlement programme for some 1.5 million Mozambican refugees from the six neighbouring countries of asylum. We have contributed £4.5 million to this programme. Latest reports are that over 700,000 have returned with a further 500,000 expected to be resettled before the October elections.
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Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of trainees (a) between the ages of 30 and 40 years and (b) between the ages of 40 and 50 years find work on completion of a training course.
Miss Widdecombe : In 1992-93, of those 30 to 40-year-olds who completed their agreed course of training on employment training, 38 per cent. went on to find work. The corresponding figure for 40 to 50-year-olds was 40 per cent.
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list by travel-to-work area the numbers of unemployed (a) men and (b) women who graduated in (i) 1992 and (ii) 1993.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available.
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many students who graduated in (a) 1992 and (b) 1993 are currently registered as unemployed.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available in the form requested. Estimates from the labour force survey for Great Britain show that there were 46,000 International Labour Organisation unemployed people aged under 25 educated to degree level or higher in autumn 1993 ; the equivalent figure for autumn 1992 was 47,000.
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people of all ages are on training schemes in (a) each of the London boroughs and (b) England.
Miss Widdecombe : Information is not available centrally for individual London boroughs. Information by training and enterprise council area and for London and England is given in the following table :
Number of participants in January 1994 TEC |Youth Training<1>|Training for Work ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aztec |1,300 |1,290 Central London |1,980 |2,430 Cilntec |2,250 |2,100 East London |4,430 |3,600 North London |1,140 |2,540 North West London |970 |1,650 Solotec |2,320 |1,460 South Thames |2,980 |4,660 West London |2,430 |1,330 London Region |19,800 |21,000 England |244,800 |125,800 Source: TEC Operating Agreement. <1>Youth Training includes Youth Credits.
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Mr. Boateng : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list (a) the numbers of individuals petitioning and (b) the number of cases heard by the industrial tribunals for each of the last 10 years.
Miss Widdecombe : The figures are as follows :
|Applications|Cases heard |registered ---------------------------------------------------- 1984-85 |39,191 |<1>9,690 1985-86 |38,593 |13,357 1986-87 |38,385 |13,124 1987-88 |30,543 |10,464 1988-89 |29,304 |9,023 1989-90 |34,697 |10,229 1990-91 |43,243 |11,430 1991-92 |67,448 |13,778 1992-93 |71,821 |17,836 1993-94 |71,661 |n/a <1> Figure for January 1984 to March 1985.
Some two thirds of all applications do not come to hearing, being either withdrawn or settled by the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service in conciliation. I regret that figures are not yet available for the numbers of cases heard in the year 1993-94.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of (a) men and (b) women living in the Tooting parliamentary constituency who were in receipt of unemployment benefit and who have been unemployed for (i) longer than six months, (ii) longer than 12 months, (iii) longer than two years and (iv) three years and over as of the last most convenient date for which figures can be given.
Miss Widdecombe : The unadjusted figures for the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits in January 1994 are given in the table :
Duration of claim |Male |Female ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over six months |3,116 |933 Over twelve months |2,160 |562 Over two years |1,143 |256 Over three years |547 |106
Claimant unemployment information by duration is available quarterly from the NOMIS database in the Library for the months of January, April, July and October and only on the unadjusted basis.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of job vacancies at jobcentres covering the London borough of Wandsworth at the last most convenient date for which figures can be given.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is given in the following table :
Unfilled Vacancies (not seasonally adjusted) in Jobcentres covering the Borough of Wandsworth (March 1994) Jobcentre |Number of Vacancies ------------------------------------------------------------ Battersea |11 Clapham Junction |99 Balham |<1>- Putney |53 Tooting |176 <1> Not all jobcentres record their own vacancies. Vacancies dealt with by Balham are included under figures for other jobcentres in the borough.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of job vacancies for young people under the age of 21 years in the London borough of Wandsworth as of 14 April.
Miss Widdecombe : The number of jobcentre vacancies specifically for young people are not available from the monthly vacancy count. Vacancy figures for 8 April will be available from 9.30 am Wednesday 18 May. On 4 March the total number of unfilled vacancies at jobcentres in the London borough of Wandsworth was 339.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the level of youth unemployment in the London borough of Wandsworth at 14 April.
Miss Widdecombe : Statistics from the 14 April claimant unemployment count will be available from 9.30 am on Wednesday 18 May and will include a quarterly analysis of claimant unemployment by age.
In January 1994, the most recent figure available, the number of unemployed claimants under 25 years of age was 4,310 in the Wandsworth local authority district.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of work permits given to foreign nationals to work in the United Kingdom in 1993.
Miss Widdecombe : The total number of work permits issued for overseas nationals to work in Great Britain during 1993 was 37,761.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table setting out the numbers of wage and salary earners in Scotland in the income bands (a) over £100,000, (b) between £50, 000 and £100,000, (c) between £25,000 and £50,000, (d) between £10,000 and £25,000, (e) between £5,000 and £10,000 and (f) less than £5,000 or such other bands as his Department has available covering the same breadth of income.
Mr. Stewart : I have been asked to reply.
The table, derived from the new earnings survey, shows average gross weekly earnings of full-time employees in Scotland on all rates of pay, whose pay was unaffected by absence. The survey data relate to April 1993 ; the approximate equivalent annual pay bands are also shown in the table. The figures are for full-time employees only as many part-time employees are excluded from the sample. However, it is estimated that approximately two thirds of part-time employees earn below £100 per week.
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Pay ranges of full-time employees in Scotland; April 1993 Gross weekly pay |Approximate |Percentage of |Estimated<1> number range |equivalent annual |full-time employees|of full-time |pay range |in pay range (per |employees in pay |cent.) |range ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- £1,923 or more |£100,000 or more |- |- £962-£1,923 |£50,000-£100,000 |0.7 |10,100 £481-£962 |£25,000-£50,000 |9.1 |130,800 £192-£481 |£10,000-£25,000 |62.3 |895,400 £96-£192 |£5,000-£10,000 |26.2 |376,500 less than £96 |less than £5,000 |1.6 |23,000 <1> Derived by multiplying New Earnings Survey data on percentages in each pay range by estimated numbers of full-time employees in employment at March 1993.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of average male earnings is earned by (a) women manual workers and (b) women non-manual workers in Scotland.
Mr. Stewart : I have been asked to reply.
Information from the new earnings survey, at April 1993, shows that the average weekly earnings of full-time non-manual women is equivalent to 65 per cent. of the average for non-manual men. The average weekly earnings of full-time manual women is equivalent to 64 per cent. of the average for manual men. These estimates are based on average gross weekly earnings of all full-time employees on adult rates in Scotland whose pay was unaffected by absence--source : Employment Department.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees in Scotland are in the service sector ; and what percentage this forms of the total work force.
Mr. Stewart : I have been asked to reply.
For December 1993, the latest date for which information is available, it is estimated that 1,436,900 employees in employment in Scotland worked in the service sector. This represents 73 per cent. of all employees in employment.
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Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish for each year since 1987 the number in England of (a) pupils in assisted places schemes in secondary schools, (b) pupils in secondary schools in total and (c) the number in (a) as a percentage of (b) .
Mr. Forth : The assisted places scheme is run at 295 independent schools in England. The number of pupils holding assisted places and the total number of pupils of secondary school age in all schools is given in the following table :
Academic Year |(a) Number of pupils|(b) Total number of |(c) (a) as a |holding assisted |pupils in secondary |percentage of (b) |places |schools<1> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1987-88 |26,899 |3,335,194 |.81 1988-89 |27,083 |3,205,617 |.84 1989-90 |27,008 |3,114,602 |.87 1990-91 |26,740 |3,108,159 |.86 1991-92 |27,641 |3,161,692 |.87 1992-93 |28,674 |3,224,611 |.89 <1> Includes middle deemed secondary schools, self-governing (GM) schools, special schools, CTCs and independent schools.
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Education which constituencies he has visited in his capacity as Secretary of State in the last six months ; and for what purpose those visits were made.
Mr. Patten : The details requested are as follows :
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Constituency |Date |Purpose of visit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Blackpool, South |8 October 1993 |Visit to Roseacre and Hawes Side Primary Schools Milton Keynes, North-East |13 October 1993 |Officially open the new BT Training Centre in Milton Keynes and visit to the Open University Harrogate |16 November 1993 |Speak at the CBI Conference in Harrogate Stratford-upon-Avon |25 November 1993 |Speak at the Girls' Schools Association Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon Daventry |26 November 1993 |Present prizes at Sponne School Prize Giving in Towcester, Northamptonshire Oxford, West and Abingdon |5 January 1994 |Speak at the Oxford Teachers' Conference at St. Catherine's College, Oxford City of Chester |7 January 1994 |Speak at the North of England Annual Education Conference in Chester Bristol, North-West |28 January 1994 |Visit to Pen Park School and Filton FE College Derbyshire, West |9 February 1994 |Visit to Ecclesbourne Grant-Maintained School Derby, North |9 February 1994 |Visit to Landau Forte CTC Wirral, West |11 February 1994 |Visit to Plessington Catholic High School, The Wirral Bournemouth, West |18 March 1994 |Speak at the Secondary Heads Association Conference Birmingham, Ladywood |21 March 1994 |Speak at the Grant-Maintained Schools Centre's Annual Conference Erith and Crayford |22 March 1994 |Visit to Bexley and Erith Technical High School for Boys Newcastle-under-Lyme |12 April 1994 |Speak at the Higher Education Funding Council for England's Conference Croydon, South |19 April 1994 |Visit to School Curriculum and Assessment Authority's Residential Meeting in Sanderstead
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