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Miss Widdecombe : I can confirm that an investigation into the award of contracts by officials in the careers and occupational information centre has been held. The outcome is being dealt with under the Department's disciplinary procedures. These procedures have not yet been concluded.
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total value of all contracts entered into by the careers and occupational information service in 1993.
Miss Widdecombe : The value of contracts and orders placed by the careers and occupational information service in 1993 was £2,221,259.
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Labour Statistics
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide a seasonally adjusted breakdown of economic activity from spring 1979 to date, similar to table 7.1 in March 1994 Employment Gazette, by male and female, for each age group (a) 16 to 19 years, (b) 20 to 24 years, (c) 25 to 32 years, (d) 35 to 49 years, (e) 50 to 64 years male, (f) 50 to 59 years female, (g) 65 years and over male and (h) 60 years and over female, dividing the employee and self-employed categories into full time and part time.
Miss Widdecombe : Seasonally adjusted estimates are not available from the labour force survey for individual age groups. Unadjusted estimates from 1984 for the age groups specified in the question can be obtained from the Quantime LFS service available in the Library.
Apprentice Scheme
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what Government funding is envisaged for his proposed modern apprentice scheme.
Miss Widdecombe : Some 1.25 billion will be made available for youth credits and modern apprenticeships over the next three years. Employers will also play their part by contributing to the initiative.
SCOTLAND
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance he has given on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 to cleaning contracts at Glasgow royal and Yorkhill hospitals.
Mr. Stewart : Comprehensive guidance on market testing in the NHS-- formerly competitive tendering--was issued to all health boards and NHS trusts on 6 October 1993. This consolidated all earlier guidance which had been issued since 1987 when competitive tendering was introduced in the NHS in Scotland. The guidance addressed all aspects of market testing including a section on the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Library of the House.
Strathclyde PTA
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will include the Dumbarton district council area within the new Strathclyde passenger transport authority :
(2) if he will make it his policy that when the boundaries of the new Strathclyde passenger transport authority are set, that there are no new council areas that are partly inside and partly outside the boundaries of the passenger transport authority.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The future boundaries of the Strathclyde passenger transport area will be decided in due course after consultation with appropriate bodies. No decision will be taken on the extent of the boundaries until after consultations have taken place.
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Exceptionally Gifted Pupils
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for national financial support for schools teaching the exceptionally gifted following local government reorganisation.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Following local government reorganisation, as at present, decisions on expenditure on school education, including the teaching of exceptionally gifted children will be primarily a matter for the education authorities.
Community Care
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the basis for his conclusion in a draft Scottish Office circular that the private sector could provide a greater quantity and quality of service than that at present in the provision of community care.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer Friday 6 May 1994] : There is scope for the private sector to expand as overall provision of community care rises with increased investment of resources. By purchasing from a range of providers, local authorities will be able to offer a wide choice of services to their clients and maximise quality and value.
Child Minders
Mr. Chisholm : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provisions govern child minders hitting children in their care ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 6 May 1994] : There are no specific provisions in legislation relating to the methods of control which may be used by child minders.
The Scottish Childminding Association recommends that, as a matter of good practice, child minders should not use corporal punishment. Scottish Office guidance on the Children Act 1989 also advises that such sanctions as smacking, hitting or shaking should not be used.
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will outline his plans for making freely available to the public information, including inspectors reports, on the standard of care provided in private sector residential and nursing homes.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 6 May 1994] : In a consultation document issued last year, my right hon. Friend outlined his plans for taking forward a number of citizens charter principles in the inspection of social work services, including open reporting. The reports of the social work services inspectorate are already available to the public. Local authority inspection units are responsible for inspecting residential establishments in the private, voluntary and public sectors. Some local authorities already make their reports available to the public ; others plan to do so later this year. A further circular on inspecting social work services will be issued later this year which will include a date by which all local reports should be made available to the public.
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he intends to introduce trust status for social work services currently provided by regional councils.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 6 May 1994] : There are no plans to introduce such an arrangement for social work services.
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Police Pay
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will issue a consultation document before he introduces performance-related pay for the police force.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 6 May 1994] : No. Agreements involving appraisal-related pay have been reached in the police negotiating board and submitted to my right hon. Friend. In addition, suitably representative working groups have been set up to advise on arrangements for performance appraisal in the police service.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in his calculations about the costs and savings of local government reorganisation, what figures he used for (a) cleansing services, (b) leisure and recreation services, (c) housing services, (d) planning services, (e) sewerage services, (f) water services, (g) transport services, (h) roads services, (i) fire services, (j) financial services, (k) economic development services, (l) architectural services, (m) social work services, (n) police services and (o) education services ; and what percentage of the recurring revenue costs of each such service are attributable to labour costs.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 10 May 1994] : The Government's estimates of the costs and savings arising from the reorganisation of local government in Scotland were not calculated by reference to the service groupings requested and cannot therefore be broken down in this way.
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Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy on the rights of workers under the European acquired rights directive in the context of local government reorganisation in Scotland.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 10 May 1994] : The application to individual local authority employees affected by local government reorganisation of the acquired rights directive and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 falls to be determined as a matter of law, not of Government policy.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has as to the number of local authority employees in Scotland who are likely to be made redundant, (a) at the point of local government reorganisation and (b) in the longer term.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 10 May 1994] : The Government's White Paper which was published last July estimated that local government reorganisation may result in a reduction in staffing levels of between 700 and 2,200. It is expected that much, if not all, of this will be met by early retirements and natural wastage.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of recurring revenue costs are attributable to labour costs for (a) regional services, (b) district services and (c) overall for local government in Scotland.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 10 May 1994] : The table shows the information requested for 1991-92, the latest period for which this is available. The notes to the table explain the basis of the figures.
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Employee costs<1> as a percentage of local authority expenditure: 1991-92
|Regional |District |All
|services<2>|services<2>|authorities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employee costs as percentage of total gross revenue expenditure |63.0 |29.6 |51.5
Employee costs as a percentage of gross revenue expenditure excluding
loan charges and capital expenditure funded from revenue |71.5 |40.6 |62.1
Notes:
<1> Employee costs includes the employee costs of support services and of direct service organisations and direct
labour organisations.
<2> Includes general fund services, housing, water, sewerage and trading services. Expenditure by islands authorities
by service has been included with the appropriate mainland authority type for that service.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he has given to changes in the dates for implementation of proposals in the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill depending on the progress of the Bill; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart : [holding answer 13 May 1994] : The Government have no plans to alter the dates in the Bill. Unless the Bill was enacted after the end of November 1994, the period between enactment and the establishment of the new authorities would not be significantly shorter than the period between enactment of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and the establishmkent of the present structure. We are confident that the proposed timetable is realistic and achievable, even if some authorities persist in their present policy of non-co-operation.
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Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements he proposes to make for emergency planning under the proposed new system of local government in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 13 May 1994] : In accordance with the provisions of the Local Government etc (Scotland) Bill, the arrangements for emergency planning will be a matter for the new unitary authorities to determine. Scottish Office officials stand ready to discuss the issues involved with interested parties.
Mr. Charles Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received over his proposals for local government reform in the highlands, indicating how many have supported and how many have opposed the creation of a single highland council ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 12 May 1994] : Since publication in July 1993 of the White Paper "Shaping the
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Future--The New Councils". 51 representations have been received in support of the creation of a single unitary authority for the Highlands. Some 240 representations have either opposed this or favoured an alternative proposal.NHS Trusts
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which national health service trusts have sought approval for the purchase of motor vehicles for senior staff ; what is the total value in each case ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 13 May 1994] : NHS trusts are not required to seek prior approval for the purchase of motor vehicles. Information on numbers and costs is not held centrally.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance he has issued to health boards or hospital trusts on collective bargaining to take account of the new circumstances created by the existence of hospital trusts as employers.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 12 May 1994] : No specific guidance as such has been issued. In 1 April 1993 however a contract was let for the provision of a pay intelligence unit service to the NHS in Scotland. Part of this service covers advice and training to individual employers on local pay matters.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy on the co-ordination of wage and salary negotiations for trusts within (a) a health board area or (b) within Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 12 May 1994] : Existing NHS staff who transfer to the employment of NHS trusts are entitled to retain their national terms and conditions of employment--including pay. For these staff, pay negotiations are conducted on a United Kingdom-wide basis within the Whitley council and pay review body systems.
NHS trusts are free to negotiate locally on the pay of staff on trust terms and conditions of service. These arrangements would apply to new staff and to staff who have elected to transfer to the trust's terms and conditions of service.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what instructions the management executive of the Scottish health service has given to trusts concerning competitive tendering for hotel services ; and what provision has been made for financial penalties on trusts which do not go out to tender.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 5 May 1994] : Comprehensive guidance on market testing in the national health service--formerly competitive tendering--was issued to health boards and national health service trusts on 6 October 1993. This consolidated all earlier guidance which had been issued since 1987 when competitive tendering was introduced in the national health service in Scotland. The guidance addressed all aspects of market testing including hotel services. Although no financial penalties are imposed on national health service trusts which do not put services out to tender, in line with the Government's White Paper "Competing for Quality", CM 1730, they are required to
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prove that they are achieving value for money. The terms of the White Paper and the guidance apply equally to health boards and national health service trusts, which should include in their annual reports an account of their market testing programmes.Private Education Costs
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total contribution from public funds to private schools in Scotland by way of (a) the assisted places scheme, (b) payments for the children of Foreign Office and defence personnel and (c) any other sources in the latest available financial year.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 13 May 1994] : The information requested in respect of funding by central Government is set out below :
Financial year 1993-94
|£
----------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Assisted Places Scheme |9,865,660
(b) Foreign and Commonwealth Office |265,409
(c) Grant-Aided Schools |2,586,906
Grant-Aided Special Schools |6,062,350
St. Mary's Music School Aided Places Scheme |634,512
In addition, funding by the Ministry of Defence for the Queen Victoria school, Dunblane, which provides education primarily for the sons of Scottish soldiers, sailors and airmen, for the financial year 1993-94 was £2.96 million ; and the total estimated boarding school allowance paid for children of defence personnel at boarding schools in Scotland in the most recent year for which information is available--1991-92--was around £3.30 million.
Nursery Education
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assistance is given in the formula for aggregate external finance to the provision of nursery education.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 13 May 1994] : With the exception of the specific grants component, aggregate external finance itself is not hypothecated to particular local authority services. But AEF is distributed amongst authorities having regard to grant-aided expenditure assessments. The level of GAE for 1994-95 includes £21.104 million in respect of nursery teaching staff, and £742.939 million in respect of school non- teaching staff, property and so on. The latter assessment covers the full range of education authorities' services and the portion which relates to nursery education is not identifiable.
Mobile Telephones and Pagers
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) portable telephones, (b) pagers and electronic bleepers and (c) car telephones are currently used by his Department ; what are the annual costs of operating this equipment ; and to which personnel it is made available.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 11 May 1994] : At present there are 271 portable telephones in use with annual running costs amounting to £106,130 ; 292 pagers/electronic bleepers costing £33,334 annually and 30 car
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telephones with an annual cost of £21,280. Equipment is used by officers requiring mobile communication facilities with allocations decided by local line management.Local Enterprise Companies
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to make local enterprise companies follow the Government's guidelines on open government in respect of their training functions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 12 May 1994] : My right hon. Friend has no such plans. The new code of practice on Government information which came into force on 4 April 1994, applies to central Government Departments, their agencies and a number of other public bodies. The local enterprise companies are limited companies and the code does not therefore apply to them or to their contractors.
Industrial Development
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made as to the areas in which industrial development is inhibited by lack of land supply.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 12 May 1994] : The latest figures from the 1992 industrial sites register show that there is a versatile supply of sites for business and industry in Scotland. At present rates of uptake, and even after excluding land on large sites of over 50 hectares which are generally reserved long term for single users, there is still some 25 years supply at national level. Most sites are available for development within one year and have either the benefit of planning permission or allocation in a development plan.
No planning authority has indicated through the data which the authorities provide for the ISR that industrial development is being inhibited by a lack of land supply. The table, compiled from the industrial sites register, indicates the pattern of supply for 1992.
Supply of industrial sites and land by region, 1992
Region |Number |Area
|of sites |(hectares)
-------------------------------------------------------
Borders |26 |58
Central |23 |399
Dumfries and Galloway |33 |148
Fife |65 |632
Grampian |114 |528
Highland |121 |2,042
Lothian |93 |811
Strathclyde |370 |1,949
Tayside |96 |308
Orkney |4 |7
Western Isles |2 |2
Shetland |17 |587
|------ |------
Total |964 |7,471
The issue of supply at the local level was addressed in national planning policy guideline 2--land for business and industry, October 1993. It is stated that planning authorities should have regard to the objective of providing not only an adequate amount of marketable land for business and industry but an improved choice and range in terms of quality, size and location. It stated that local plans should update the supply by re- allocating sites which stand
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little chance of development to suitable alternative uses, and find additional sites of high quality, especially for business class development.The enterprise bodies, of course, also have a remit to ensure that business establishment and growth is not constrained by a lack of suitable sites and to work with the private sector to redress failures in the industrial property market. We would therefore expect the local enterprise companies to work, with others, to tackle situations which arise where lack of suitable land was inhibiting development.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made as to the supply of industrial accommodation in the 10,000 sq ft and above range in the west of Scotland ; and what plans he has to address any shortfall.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 12 May 1994] : My right hon. Friend has made no such assessment. Scottish Enterprise does, however, hold data on industrial property and, following consultation with the Locate in Scotland office, believes that there is a reasonable supply of industrial units up to 15,000 sq ft in size. Scottish Enterprise is, consequently, seeking to secure the provision of larger industrial units where there are only limited numbers available.
Motor Trade
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of jobs in Scotland in (a) the manufacture, (b) servicing of and (c) retailing of (1) motor vehicles, (2) goods vehicles and (3) buses and coaches ; and what plans he has to increase these figures.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 12 May 1994] : Information derived from the Employment Department's September 1991 census of employment, in the most disaggregated form available, is shown in the table. Estimates of employees in employment in the manufacture or repair of goods vehicles, buses and coaches are not separately available. The Government's economic policies, by securing low inflation on a permanent basis and sound public finances over the medium term, are the best guarantee of increased jobs in these and other sectors of the Scottish economy.
Employment in Scotland in selected industries
|Employees in
|employment
|September 1991
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles<1> and their engines and motor
vehicles bodies |1,800
Motor vehicle parts |1,700
Services
Retail distribution of motor vehicles and parts |17,300
Repair and servicing of motor vehicles |16,900
<1> Includes passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
Locate in Scotland
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what reports he has received from Locate in Scotland as to areas in which it is inhibited from helping inward investors by lack of industrial serviced sites.
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Mr. Stewart [holding answer 12 May 1994] : My right hon. Friend has received no such reports. Locate in Scotland has access to an adequate supply of industrial serviced sites and constantly reviews the situation in the light of demand.
ENVIRONMENT
Westminster Council
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money has been (a) allocated to and (b) spent by Westminster council for flood prevention work in each of the last 10 years.
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Mr. Curry : I have arranged for this information to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of the expenditure of Westminster council was provided (a) from central Government sources ; and (b) by community charge or council tax subventions, in each of the last 20 years.
Mr. Curry : The available information is as follows :
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1982-83-1989-90
|(1) |(2) |(3)
|Central |Expenditure funded |1/2
|Government Grants |by grants, rates and
|to Westminster City |revenue balances
|Council
|£'000 |£'000 |Percentage
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982-83 |37,660 |57,382 |65.6
1983-84 |16,028 |62,425 |25.7
1984-85 |17,586 |61,231 |28.7
1985-86 |19,458 |64,297 |30.3
1986-87 |20,782 |105,715 |19.7
1987-88 |21,619 |98,197 |22.0
1988-89 |22,210 |96,811 |22.9
1989-90 |22,013 |108,686 |20.3
Notes:
1. Grants comprise Rate Support Grant and relevant specific grants. Figures for 1989-90 are based on
budget returns.
2. The functions of Westminster City Council changed following the abolition of the Greater London
Council on 1 April 1986, and figures for years before this date are not therefore comparable with later
years. Similarly the Inner London Education Authority was abolished on 1 April 1990 and figures for
Westminster before this date are not therefore comparable with the figures for 1993-94 and 1994-95 shown
below.
3. For the years before 1 April 1990 it is not possible to identify the amounts of domestic rates, as
distinct from non-domestic rates, which were used to finance expenditure by Westminster City Council.
4. Figures for earlier years are not available.
1990-91--1992-93
Under the community charge system, Revenue Support Grant, Non-Domestic Rate entitlement and community charges were paid into the Collection Fund for the area. Westminster City
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Council's expenditure was funded largely by a demand on the Collection Fund, but this demand did not differentiate among the sources of income to the fund, and it is not therefore possible to identify its components.Column 371
1993-94-1994-95
|(1) |(2) |(3) |(4) |(5)
|Central Government|Revenue |1/2 |Council tax |4/2
|Grants and non- |Expenditure |requirement
|domestic rates
|£'000 |£'000 |Per cent. |£'000 |Per cent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993-94 |155,373 |234,389 |66.3 |13,977 |6.0
1994-95 |160,722 |226,904 |70.8 |7,609 |3.4
Notes:
1. Grants comprise Revenue Support Grant, specific and special grants within Aggregate External Finance.
2. Revenue expenditure is defined as expenditure met from revenue balances, specific and special grants within AEF, Revenue Support
Grant, non-domestic rate entitlement, and the Council Tax requirement.
3. The Council Tax requirement is the amount to be transferred from the Collection Fund to the billing authority's General Fund in
respect of Council Taxes. It therefore includes amounts in respect of Council Tax benefit and Council Tax transitional relief.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money Westminster council has received in tourism grants in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Curry : The Government do not pay tourism grants to local authorities. However, allowances based on visitor numbers are made within the standard spending assessment system which has been used since 1990 to distribute revenue support grant to local authorities, and similar allowances were made in the grant-related expenditure assessment system which was used to
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distribute rate support grant up to that date. The allowances made for Westminster City Council over the last 10 years are shown in the table.Contribution within SSA/GRE based on visitor numbers Year |£ million ------------------------------ 1994-95 |5.5 1993-94 |3.8 1992-93 |3.9 1991-92 |1.7 1990-91 |0.7 1989-90 |0.7 1988-89 |0.6 1987-88 |0.4 1986-87 |0.4 1985-86 |0.4
In 1994-95, the allowance was extended to include day as well as overnight visitors ; data for this purpose had not previously been available. Other significant changes in the allowance similarly reflect changes in the methodology or the definitions used. Notably, in 1992-93, more recent information was used, allowing estimates of foreign visitor nights to be incorporated for the first time into the SSA formula ; and in 1991-92 the weighting attributed to overnight visitors in the formula was increased, following representations from many resort authorities, from 25 per cent. to 50 per cent. of resident population.
Conservation
Mr. Nicholls : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many special protection area sites are currently designated in the United Kingdom ;
(2) how many Ramsar sites are currently proposed in the United Kingdom ; and if he will place a map of these sites in the Library ; (3) if he will place in the Library map refrences for the full geographical details of special protection area sites and Ramsar sites in the United Kingdom ;
(4) how many United Kingdom special protection area sites are in coastal locations ;
(5) how many Ramsar sites there are within two miles of a port boundary where the port is designated as a major port ;
(6) how many sites currently proposed for designation as United Kingdom special protection area sites are in coastal locations ; (7) which Ramsar sites, or proposed Ramsar sites, would be eligible to be designated special protection area sites ;
(8) how many proposed Ramsar sites there are in England ; (9) how many United Kingdom sites are currently proposed for designation as special protection areas ;
(10) how many Ramsar sites are currently designated in the United Kingdom ; and if he will place a map of these sites in the Library ; (11) if he will list the bodies in England, Wales and Scotland which are responsible for determining a proposed special protection area site ;
(12) if he will list the bodies in England, Wales and Scotland which are responsible for determining Ramsar sites.
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