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Government Information
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the current income earned by the Exchequer from, or costs charged to, the Exchequer by electronic information providers who make available (a) Government Press releases and (b) other Government documents on a commercial basis as a result of contracts or arrangements for the publishing electronically of Government information by (i) the Central Office of Information and (ii) other Government bodies.
Mr. Waldegrave : In 1993-94 the Central Office of Information was able to offset the cost of distributing Government press releases by £35,186 earned from electronic information providers. The information providers made no charges to the Exchequer for this service. During 1993-94 the Central Office of Information also earned £14, 641.49 from the electronic publication of other Government documents. The information providers made no charges to the Exchequer for this service.
Income earned and costs incurred by other Government bodies are a matter for individual Departments.
Internet
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the full Internet names of the newsgroups on which the Central Office of Information makes available Government press releases and other information ; and whether each of those newsgroups is available to members of the public with Internet access without additional charge.
Mr. Waldegrave : No central list is kept of the Internet names that might be accessible through the many distributors, some of them overseas, involved in handling the Hermes files of Government press notices.
All distributors charge users for access.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if his Department will instruct the Central Office of Information to make available more Government information on the Internet and bulletin board systems in order that citizens with computer and modem access can monitor Government decisions and announcements without further charges.
Mr. Waldegrave : The Central Office of Information already makes available a large amount of information on behalf of Government Departments through on-line database files Hermes and Hermes Daily. The COI is always open to representations about demand for additional information which might be made available in this way.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will examine the feasibility of setting up a Central Office of Information electronic bulletin board system covering (a) Government press releases and (b) other Government information for free public access.
Mr. Waldegrave : The Central Office of Information's Hermes database of Government press releases is already available to the public via a number of on-line services. Charges for access are determined by the database hosts. I have no plans to examine the feasibility of setting up a Central Office of Information bulletin board system for free public access.
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WALES
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parliamentary questions, in the period November 1992 to March 1993, were answered with the response that the information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost ; how many were referred on to an agency chief executive ; and, in each case, what percentage of the total number of questions asked this constituted.
Mr. Redwood : Based on a text search on the POLIS database, 114 parliamentary questions answered by Ministers in this Department in the period 1 November 1992 and 31 March 1993 were either given a response that the information requested was not held centrally, or that the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This represents 6.2 per cent. of all written answers given in the same period. Five questions were referred to agency chief executives.
Housing
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his policy concerning the purchase by housing associations in Wales as part of the housing acquisitions initiative, of properties which were in the private sector as a result of earlier sale under the right-to-buy provisions.
Mr. Redwood : Under the housing acquisition initiative in 1992-93 housing associations were asked to purchase properties from the private sector on a cost-effective basis so as to maximise the beneficial impact on the market.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how much public subsidy was involved in the purchase in 1993-94 by housing associations in Wales of properties which were in the private sector as a result of earlier sale under the right-to-buy provisions ;
(2) how many houses bought by housing associations in Wales in 1993-94 had previously been owned and let for rent by local authorities and housing associations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The number of former local authority houses purchased by housing associations in 1993-94 is not available centrally.
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether the guidance mechanism for FEOGA grants has been triggered with Wales in the current financial year.
Mr. Redwood : Reimbursement of expenditure by the Welsh Office is made, usually a year in arrears, from the guidance section of the European agriculture guidance and guarantee fund on receipt of claims from the Welsh Office for the relevant calendar year.
Schemes that attract reimbursement in this way, and the proportion of expenditure reimbursed by FEOGA, are as follows :
Hill livestock compensatory allowances, up to 25 per cent. reimbursed.
Capital grants (mainly the farm and conservation grant scheme), up to 25 per cent. reimbursed.
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Receipts of £6.122 million are anticipated in 1994-95 in respect of expenditure incurred on these schemes in the calendar year 1993. The marketing and processing projects scheme and grants for the restructuring of the inshore fishing industry are 100 per cent. reimbursed in-year. Total expenditure on these schemes in 1993-94 is planned to be £0.981 million.Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) schools, (b) primary schools and (c) secondary schools there are in each county and in Wales as a whole ;
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how many schools (i) have held ballots to decide whether or not to opt out of local education authority control and (ii) decided to opt out of local education authority control ; and what was (i) and (ii) as a percentage of (a) , (b) and (c) for each county and for Wales as a whole.Sir Wyn Roberts : The data requested are given in the following tables.
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Numbers of schools in Wales<1>
|Primary |Secondary|Total
--------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |245 |32 |277
Dyfed |313 |31 |344
Gwent |213 |33 |246
Gwynedd |191 |23 |214
Mid Glamorgan |305 |42 |347
Powys |108 |13 |121
South Glamorgan |159 |26 |185
West Glamorgan |164 |27 |191
|------ |------ |------
Total |1,698 |227 |1,925
<1> Number of schools as at January 1994.
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Schools that have held ballots on opting out<2>
Number of schools Percentage of all
schools
|Primary |Secondary|Total |Primary |Secondary|Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |4 |6 |10 |1.6 |18.8 |3.6
Dyfed |1 |1 |2 |0.3 |3.2 |0.6
Gwent |1 |4 |5 |0.5 |12.1 |2.0
Gwynedd |1 |0 |1 |0.5 |0.0 |0.5
Mid Glamorgan |1 |0 |1 |0.3 |0.0 |0.3
Powys |1 |1 |2 |0.9 |7.7 |1.7
South Glamorgan |1 |3 |4 |0.6 |11.5 |2.2
West Glamorgan |0 |3 |3 |0.0 |11.1 |1.6
|------ |------ |------ |------ |------ |------
Total |10 |18 |28 |0.6 |7.9 |1.5
<2> Number of ballots up to 30 April 1994.
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Number of schools voting to opt out of LEA control
Number of schools Percentage of all
schools
|Primary |Secondary|Total |Primary |Secondary|Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |2 |4 |6 |0.8 |12.5 |2.2
Dyfed |0 |0 |0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Gwent |1 |4 |5 |0.5 |12.1 |2.0
Gwynedd |1 |0 |1 |0.5 |0.0 |0.5
Mid Glamorgan |1 |0 |1 |0.3 |0.0 |0.3
Powys |1 |0 |1 |0.9 |0.0 |0.8
South Glamorgan |0 |3 |3 |0.0 |11.5 |1.6
West Glamorgan |0 |1 |1 |0.0 |3.7 |0.5
|------ |------ |------ |------ |------ |------
Total |6 |12 |18 |0.4 |5.3 |0.9
General Development Orders
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to review the process of granting licences or permission to carry out developments under long-standing general development orders or interim development orders to conform with environmental safeguards introduced during the last 20 years ; what representations he has received on the efficacy of such orders ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The provisions of the general development order are kept under continual review. My
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right hon. Friend proposes to ensure that "permitted development" rights are not in breach of the habitats and environmental impact assessment directives. The Welsh Office received eightrepresentations following public consultation on these proposals. The Planning and Compensation Act 1991 required holders of mineral permissions granted under interim development orders to apply for registration of the permissions and subsequently to apply for determination of the conditions to which the permissions are to be subject. Minerals planning guidance note 9 gives advice on the preparation and determination of such conditions, and the Welsh Office received six representations following public consultation on the draft.
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Christmas Cards
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 20 January, Official Report , column 771, how many official Christmas cards were sent out in 1993 by Ministers in his Department ; and how much this cost.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 4 February 1994] : A total of 1,062 Christmas cards were sent out in 1993 by Ministers in this Department, costing £1,154.93, including postage.
I am very sorry for the long delay in answering. We were held up by delays in invoices and then the question did not receive the prompt attention that it should have.
TREASURY
Tortoise Imports
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details of tortoises and tortoise products seized at ports of entry in each of the past three years ; and what were the countries of origin.
Sir John Cope : Her Majesty's Customs and Excise made 57 such seizures over the period. The details for 1991, 1992 and 1993 are as follows :
Year |Number of live|Number of
|tortoises |derived items
------------------------------------------------------------
1991 |67 |44
1992 |59 |3
1993 |37 |1
It is not always possible to determine the origin of goods, although the countries of consignment of the seized items--which in most cases are likely to have corresponded with the countries of origin--were Antigua, Argentine, Brazil, Canary Islands, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, USA and Venezuela.
Business Expansion Scheme
Sir David Madel : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the total value of funds attracted to the former business expansion scheme in each year for construction-related investments ; and if he will list by category how many buildings were constructed or are still under construction ;
(2) how many dwellings were built in each year or are still being built, as a result of the business expansion scheme, for the provision of housing in the privately rented market.
Mr. Dorrell : Available information is in the table. This relates to BES investments in companies in the construction industry and the numbers of new lettings from investments in private renting companies.
|Investment in
|construction
|companies |Number of new
Year |(£ million) |lettings<1>
--------------------------------------------------------
1983-84 |7 |-
1984-85 |7 |-
1985-86 |10 |-
1986-87 |12 |-
1987-88 |17 |-
1988-89 |2 |6,400
1989-90 |neg |3,100
1990-91 |1 |5,700
1991-92 |neg |9,300
1992-93<2> |neg |24,000
1993-94<2> |neg |28,000
<1> Estimates rounded to nearest 100.
<2> Provisional.
EC Anti-Fraud Funding
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money is available from the European Commission for anti-fraud work ; and how much money the British Government have claimed in cash and percentage terms for each of the past five years.
Sir John Cope : In addition to the administrative resources within the Commission, the budgetary authority allocated 139.14 million ecu, £105 million, in the 1994 budget to programmes to fight fraud. This compares with an outturn of 115.285 million ecu, £87 million, in 1993, 67.245 million ecu, £51 million, in 1992, 69.626 million, ecu, £53 million, in 1991 and 50.842 million ecu, £38 million, in 1990. The budget for anti-fraud programmes includes both funds spent directly by the Commission and funds available to member states to co- finance new controls and anti-fraud mechanisms.
United Kingdom receipts from the EC budget for anti-fraud programmes are included with other departmental receipts. This information is not held centrally. However, the United Kingdom does take advantage of Community financing. For example, following the introduction of the integrated control and administration system, some £2.9 million was claimed in 1993 to meet part of the cost of introducing a computer database to record details of areas and livestock numbers subject to support. An application for a further £4.5 million has been made for 1994. The United Kingdom has also taken advantage of the provision for computer systems in the CAP export refund area, where Customs have claimed £110,768 and £74,250 in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Customs have also applied for £248,993 for the same purpose in 1994.
Revaluations, North Kent
Dame Peggy Fenner : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) in how many cases of appeal in north Kent against the 1990 revaluation list, such appeal has resulted in an increase in the assessment ; (2) how many representations have been received since the adoption of a different basis of zoning by the Valuation Office after the new list came into force on 1 April 1990.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 3 May 1994] : The information requested is not available centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
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Council Tax
Mr. Burden : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many council tax banding appeals have been (a) submitted to date, (b) settled without a hearing and (c) settled at appeal.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 6 May 1994] : A total of 945,795 council tax proposals for alteration of council tax bandings in England and Wales had been received as at 31 March 1994 ; 107,818 have been settled without referral to the valuation tribunals and 660,384 have been referred to the valuation tribunals within six months of receipt as required by law.
Of the 660,384 appeals referred to the tribunals, 189,944 have been settled without a hearing and 2,868 have been determined as a result of a hearing.
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Byers : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many current and former officials and Ministers in his Department have been asked to give written or oral evidence to the Scott inquiry ; and what have been the total costs to his Department of the Scott inquiry broken down by major expenditure heading ;
(2) how many employees have worked on a full- or part-time basis with the Scott inquiry liaison unit set up within his Department ; when the unit was established ; and when its work will be completed.
Sir John Cope [holding answer 12 and 13 May 1994] : Five current or former Treasury Ministers--the Prime Minister, the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe
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(Mr. Clarke), Lord Howe, the right hon. Member for St. Albans (Mr. Lilley) and the right hon. and learned Member for Putney (Mr. Mellor) have been asked to give written or oral evidence to Lord Justice Scott's Inquiry. Only one of these Ministers--the right hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Major)--gave evidence in respect of his time as a Treasury Minister. One current Treasury official and 17 current and former officials of HM Customs and Excise have been asked to give written and/or oral evidence to the Scott inquiry. They have given this evidence on a personal basis and have not been supervised by the Department in its preparation. There is therefore no central record of the time spent or cost incurred in the provision of such evidence ; serving officials prepared and gave their evidence as part of their official duties.The direct central cost of providing evidence and information from HM Treasury to the inquiry is estimated to be £90,800 between November 1992 and March 1994. This represents the cost of staff time spent in providing information to the inquiry and the costs of photocopying and general presentation of the information. Four officials plus clerical and secretarial staff have been involved on a full or part-time basis as required. A separate liaison unit has not been created.
The total cost of Customs and Excise Scott liaison unit has been to date, £423,400 which consists of £420,000 on personnel ; £2,700 on transcripts of the oral evidence, and £700 for photocopying. The Scott liaison unit in HM Customs and Excise consists of seven posts which are filled on a full or part-time basis. The unit was set up in the middle of November 1992 and its work will continue until the Department judges that it has been completed.
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EDUCATION
Teacher Training
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many graduates trained as secondary school teachers at each college in South Yorkshire in the past 10 years and the subjects studied ; how many new graduate teachers were employed per local authority in that time ; what occupations each graduate qualifying in secondary school teaching has entered in the last 10 years ; and what has been the cost of training graduate secondary school teachers in each year since 1984.
Mr. Robin Squire : Table 1 shows the number of students entering postgraduate courses at Sheffield university and Sheffield Hallam university to train as secondary school teachers in each year from 1983 to 1993. Table 2 shows the main subjects being studied for those entering such courses in 1993. Further details of individual subjects being studied in these institutions are available from the final reports of each survey held in the House of Commons Library.
Table 1
Recruitment to Secondary PGCE courses
Year |Sheffield |Sheffield Hallam
|University |University
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1983 |153 |73
1984 |138 |77
1985 |126 |63
1986 |118 |98
1987 |140 |100
1988 |137 |112
1989 |153 |98
1990 |138 |96
1991 |182 |164
1992 |180 |155
1993 |186 |164
Table 2
Secondary PCGE students by subject 1993
|Sheffield |Sheffield
|University|Hallam
|University
-------------------------------------------------------
Business Studies |- |34
Design and Technology |- |28
English |36 |25
Geography |28 |-
History |14 |-
Modern Languages |37 |15
Mathematics |20 |23
Biology |14 |-
Chemistry |7 |-
General/Integrated Science 26 39
Physics |5 |-
The total number of new entrants to teaching in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools sector in England and Wales for each year from 1983 to 1992 is given in table 3. Separate information for graduate teachers is not readily available.
Table 3 New entrants to teaching in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector Year |Numbers to March --------------------------- 1983 |14,000 1984 |13,400 1985 |11,900 1986 |12,000 1987 |12,600 1988 |12,500 1989 |14,200 1990 |15,300 1991 |15,300 1992 |15,800
Information on the occupations taken up by successful initial teacher training students is not centrally available, although an analysis carried out by the Department shows that about 90 per cent. of completers go on to enter some form of teaching within five years after qualifying. Information on the cost of training secondary school teachers is not available.
Schools (Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what has been the pupil : teacher ratio in Harrogate and Knaresborough schools in each year since 1978.
Mr. Robin Squire : Information on pupil : teacher ratios in schools in Harrogate and Knaresborough is not available centrally. The overall pupil : teacher ratio for maintained schools in North Yorkshire local education authority for the years 1978 to 1993 is shown in the table.
Overall pupil:teacher ratio in maintained
schools in North Yorkshire
LEA
Postion in January each year
Year |Overall
|Pupil:Teacher
|Ratio<1>
------------------------------------------
1978 |19.5
1979 |19.0
1980 |18.7
1981 |18.4
1982 |18.4
1983 |18.1
1984 |18.0
1985 |18.0
1986 |18.0
1987 |17.9
1988 |17.6
1989 |17.4
1990 |17.3
1991 |17.2
1992 |17.1
1993 |17.0
<1> The overall PTR is calculated using
the full-time equivalent (FTE) of all
teachers employed by the LEA for service
in maintained nursery, primary and
secondary schools with the FTE numbers of
pupils attending those schools.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the amount deducted for the provision of central support services by each local authority in England prior to the allocation of funds to grant-maintained schools.
Mr. Robin Squire : Annual maintenance grant for grant-maintained schools is calculated in one of two ways. The Government have introduced a common funding formula to fund GM secondary schools in five local
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education authority areas in 1994-95. This takes as its starting point the education standard spending assessment, not including the fifth sub-block which relates to services provided outside the school sector.From this SSA-derived total, an amount is first deducted for the LEA's continuing responsibilities. Secondly, an amount is deducted for spending on primary schools, according to the relationship between the authority's spending on primary and secondary education in 1993-94. The remaining total forms the basis of allocations between all secondary schools within the area. The two deductions are shown in the table as percentages of the four schools-related sub-blocks of the SSA.
|Continuing |Primary
|responsibilities|education
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Bromley |13.79 |39.16
Calderdale |12.41 |45.10
Essex |17.41 |39.92
Gloucestershire |20.00 |40.06
Hillingdon |18.02 |42.08
For GM schools not funded under the CFF, AMG consists of three separate sums. The first is what the GM school would have received under the local management of schools scheme of its former maintaining LEA. The second consists of an amount for school meals. The third is an amount for services which LEA schools receive free of charge but for which GM schools assume direct responsibility, and is a simple percentage of the first sum. The percentages applying, separately for primary and secondary schools, in 1994 -95 in those LEA areas in which there are GM schools are as follows :
Local education |Primary |Secondary authority ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon County Council |14.0 |9.7 London Borough of Barking and Dagenham |11.0 |8.4 London Borough of Barnet |13.6 |9.8 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council |15.2 |9.8 Bedfordshire County Council |15.3 |11.6 Berkshire County Council |10.6 |7.2 London Borough of Bexley |11.9 |8.0 Birmingham City Council |14.5 |10.2 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council |14.4 |9.8 Bradford City Council |11.8 |9.4 London Borough of Brent |9.4 |6.7 London Borough of Bromley |13.6 |9.5 Buckinghamshire County Council |16.1 |11.3 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council |12.5 |9.1 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council |12.0 |8.4 London Borough of Camden |13.6 |10.1 Cambridgeshire County Council |11.4 |7.9 Cheshire County Council |12.3 |8.4 Common Council of the City of London |17.2 |n/a Cleveland County Council |18.0 |11.7 Cornwall County Council |10.6 |7.4 Coventry City Council |15.5 |10.3 London Borough of Croydon |10.4 |8.3 Cumbria County Council |10.4 |7.5 Derbyshire County Council |14.1 |8.9 Devon County Council |10.9 |7.5 Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council |15.9 |10.5 Dorset County Council |13.7 |9.6 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council |9.1 |6.6 Durham County Council |13.5 |9.4 London Borough of Ealing |9.2 |6.9 East Sussex County Council |15.4 |10.2 London Borough of Enfield |11.9 |8.4 Essex County Council |13.3 |8.7 Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council |16.8 |11.9 Gloucestershire County Council |13.7 |10.8 London Borough of Greenwich |18.1 |13.9 London Borough of Hackney |19.8 |13.5 London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham |22.1 |16.5 Hampshire County Council |14.0 |9.8 London Borough of Haringey |16.5 |12.0 London Borough of Harrow |13.5 |9.8 London Borough of Havering |12.5 |8.0 Hereford and Worcester County Council |11.5 |8.8 Hertfordshire County Council |7.8 |5.3 London Borough of Hillingdon |13.4 |9.9 London Borough of Hounslow |11.6 |8.7 Humberside County Council |15.1 |10.7 The Council of the Isles of Scilly |15.0 |7.5 Isle of Wight County Council |17.2 |13.0 London Borough of Islington |5.9 |4.7 The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea |18.8 |13.1 Kent County Council |15.6 |10.4 The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames |12.7 |8.7 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council |14.9 |10.2 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council |13.7 |9.6 London Borough of Lambeth |16.4 |11.1 Lancashire County Council |12.9 |8.6 Leeds City Council |10.8 |8.2 Leicestershire County Council |12.7 |8.9 London Borough of Lewisham |15.3 |11.2 Lincolnshire County Council |11.6 |7.6 Liverpool City Council |17.1 |10.3 Manchester City Council |11.3 |7.1 London Borough of Merton |12.5 |9.0 Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council |14.1 |9.5 London Borough of Newham |11.2 |7.3 Norfolk County Council |13.6 |9.2 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council |12.4 |8.9 Northamptonshire County Council |11.0 |7.7 Northumberland County Council |10.2 |7.8 North Yorkshire County Council |15.8 |10.6 Nottinghamshire County Council |16.2 |12.0 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council |17.4 |11.3 Oxfordshire County Council |10.8 |8.1 London Borough of Redbridge |17.2 |10.7 London Borough of Richmond upon Thames |15.1 |11.9 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council |11.7 |7.6 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council |15.9 |11.3 St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council |12.6 |8.5 Salford City Council |10.9 |7.3 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council |17.2 |11.7 Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council |13.7 |8.8 Sheffield City Council |11.3 |8.1 Shropshire County Council |12.1 |7.8 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council |7.0 |5.1 Somerset County Council |13.5 |9.3 South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council |15.0 |11.1 London Borough of Southwark |13.5 |10.0 Staffordshire County Council |13.3 |9.7 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council |12.2 |8.4 Suffolk County Council |11.9 |8.7 Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council |13.3 |9.6 Surrey County Council |14.6 |10.8 London Borough of Sutton |13.5 |9.4 Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council |13.8 |9.7 London Borough of Tower Hamlets |12.4 |9.2 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council |15.3 |8.7 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council |16.1 |9.9 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council |13.5 |9.6 London Borough of Waltham Forest |15.6 |10.6 London Borough of Wandsworth |17.0 |10.0 Warwickshire County Council |13.7 |9.4 Westminster City Council |9.6 |7.5 West Sussex County Council |14.0 |9.9 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council |17.6 |11.7 Wiltshire County Council |13.8 |8.8 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council |11.6 |8.0 Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough Council |12.0 |7.7
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) schools, (b) primary schools and (c)
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secondary schools there are in England and in each county ; how many schools have (i) held ballots to decide whether or not to opt out of local education authority control and (ii) decided to opt out of local education authority control ; and what are (i) and (ii) as a percentage of (a) , (b) and (c) for each county and for England.Mr. Robin Squire : The information requested is given in the table for each local authority in England.
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Schools are parental ballots on the question of seeking grant-maintained status
All Schools
LEA Area |Schools |Total Ballots|Percentage |"Yes" Votes |Percentage
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |429 |11 |2.6 |2 |0.5
Barking |63 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Barnet |110 |17 |15.5 |12 |10.9
Barnsley |111 |3 |2.7 |1 |0.9
Bedfordshire |289 |22 |7.6 |14 |4.8
Berkshire |334 |27 |8.1 |20 |6.0
Bexley |82 |10 |12.2 |8 |9.8
Birmingham |413 |35 |8.5 |23 |5.6
Bolton |121 |4 |3.3 |4 |3.3
Bradford |253 |18 |7.1 |13 |5.1
Brent |77 |19 |24.7 |17 |22.1
Bromley |95 |21 |22.1 |19 |20.0
Buckinghamshire |335 |22 |6.6 |18 |5.4
Bury |85 |2 |2.4 |1 |1.2
Calderdale |107 |17 |15.9 |13 |12.1
Cambridgeshire |310 |34 |11.0 |24 |7.7
Camden |52 |3 |5.8 |2 |3.8
Cheshire |522 |20 |3.8 |10 |1.9
Cleveland |247 |4 |1.6 |0 |0.0
Cornwall |281 |1 |0.4 |1 |0.4
Corporation of London |1 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Coventry |128 |1 |0.8 |0 |0.0
Croydon |118 |16 |13.6 |12 |10.2
Cumbria |348 |44 |12.6 |37 |10.6
Derbyshire |511 |42 |8.2 |25 |4.9
Devon |506 |20 |4.0 |8 |1.6
Doncaster |161 |6 |3.7 |4 |2.5
Dorset |256 |18 |7.0 |15 |5.9
Dudley |105 |10 |9.5 |8 |7.6
Durham |341 |1 |0.3 |0 |0.0
Ealing |99 |12 |12.1 |10 |10.1
East Sussex |253 |3 |1.2 |0 |0.0
Enfield |87 |10 |11.5 |6 |6.9
Essex |686 |157 |22.9 |145 |21.1
Gateshead |95 |1 |1.1 |0 |0.0
Gloucestershire |305 |57 |18.7 |48 |15.7
Greenwich |94 |2 |2.1 |1 |1.1
Hackney |73 |2 |2.7 |1 |1.4
Hammersmith |48 |2 |4.2 |2 |4.2
Hampshire |674 |45 |6.7 |37 |5.5
Haringey |86 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Harrow |64 |2 |3.1 |1 |1.6
Havering |93 |9 |9.7 |4 |4.3
Hereford and Worcester |364 |10 |2.7 |5 |1.4
Hertfordshire |520 |47 |9.0 |39 |7.5
Hillingdon |87 |26 |29.9 |25 |28.7
Hounslow |76 |3 |3.9 |2 |2.6
Humberside |414 |9 |2.2 |3 |0.7
Isle of Wight |67 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Isles of Scilly |5 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Islington |66 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Kensington and Chelsea |31 |3 |9.7 |3 |9.7
Kent |706 |102 |14.4 |96 |13.6
Kingston upon Thames |46 |5 |10.9 |5 |10.9
Kirklees |192 |8 |4.2 |3 |1.6
Knowsley |79 |3 |3.8 |1 |1.3
Lambeth |87 |13 |14.9 |13 |14.9
Lancashire |711 |24 |3.4 |13 |1.8
Leeds |295 |6 |2.0 |2 |0.7
Leicestershire |414 |12 |2.9 |5 |1.2
Lewisham |85 |3 |3.5 |1 |1.2
Lincolnshire |356 |63 |17.7 |58 |16.3
Liverpool |234 |8 |3.4 |4 |1.7
Manchester |202 |1 |0.5 |0 |0.0
Merton |60 |4 |6.7 |1 |1.7
Newcastle upon Tyne |102 |2 |2.0 |0 |0.0
Newham |81 |1 |1.2 |1 |1.2
Norfolk |448 |37 |8.3 |29 |6.5
North Tyneside |87 |5 |5.7 |3 |3.4
North Yorkshire |451 |5 |1.1 |1 |0.2
Northamptonshire |335 |37 |11.0 |26 |7.8
Northumberland |204 |3 |1.5 |1 |0.5
Nottinghamshire |508 |11 |2.2 |4 |0.8
Oldham |119 |1 |0.8 |0 |0.0
Oxfordshire |284 |3 |1.1 |1 |0.4
Redbridge |71 |2 |2.8 |1 |1.4
Richmond upon Thames |47 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Rochdale |90 |13 |14.4 |8 |8.9
Rotherham |133 |1 |0.8 |0 |0.0
Salford |106 |4 |3.8 |1 |0.9
Sandwell |132 |5 |3.8 |2 |1.5
Sefton |116 |1 |0.9 |0 |0.0
Sheffield |196 |25 |12.8 |21 |10.7
Shropshire |250 |12 |4.8 |12 |4.8
Solihull |83 |3 |3.6 |2 |2.4
Somerset |266 |8 |3.0 |5 |1.9
South Tyneside |69 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Southwark |90 |10 |11.1 |10 |11.1
St. Helens |79 |2 |2.5 |1 |1.3
Staffordshire |497 |16 |3.2 |9 |1.8
Stockport |124 |2 |1.6 |0 |0.0
Suffolk |332 |1 |0.3 |0 |0.0
Sunderland |122 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Surrey |423 |39 |9.2 |36 |8.5
Sutton |57 |13 |22.8 |11 |19.3
Tameside |100 |6 |6.0 |3 |3.0
Tower Hamlets |89 |2 |2.2 |1 |1.1
Trafford |94 |6 |6.4 |4 |4.3
Wakefield |169 |2 |1.2 |2 |1.2
Walsall |125 |14 |11.2 |9 |7.2
Waltham Forest |77 |3 |3.9 |2 |2.6
Wandsworth |82 |13 |15.9 |10 |12.2
Warwickshire |281 |16 |5.7 |12 |4.3
West Sussex |287 |4 |1.4 |1 |0.3
Westminster |50 |1 |2.0 |0 |0.0
Wigan |146 |1 |0.7 |1 |0.7
Wiltshire |338 |45 |13.3 |34 |10.1
Wirral |127 |4 |3.1 |2 |1.6
Wolverhampton |121 |7 |5.8 |5 |4.1
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
England |22,533 |1,486 |6.6 |1,116 |5.0
Primary schools
LEA area |Schools |Total ballots|Percentage |"Yes" votes |Percentage
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |369 |6 |1.6 |0 |0.0
Barking |55 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Barnet |89 |6 |6.7 |2 |2.2
Barnsley |96 |1 |1.0 |1 |1.0
Bedforshire |218 |3 |1.4 |3 |1.4
Berkshire |275 |10 |3.6 |7 |2.5
Bexley |65 |4 |6.2 |3 |4.6
Birmingham |334 |11 |3.3 |6 |1.8
Bolton |105 |1 |1.0 |1 |1.0
Bradford |165 |9 |5.5 |7 |4.2
Brent |64 |5 |7.8 |5 |7.8
Bromley |78 |7 |9.0 |6 |7.7
Buckinghamshire |290 |11 |3.8 |8 |2.8
Bury |71 |2 |2.8 |1 |1.4
Calderdale |91 |6 |6.6 |5 |5.5
Cambridgeshire |267 |9 |3.4 |7 |2.6
Camden |41 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Cheshire |454 |9 |2.0 |6 |1.3
Cleveland |203 |1 |0.5 |0 |0.0
Cornwall |250 |1 |0.4 |1 |0.4
Corporation of London |1 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Coventry |109 |1 |0.9 |0 |0.0
Croydon |98 |5 |5.1 |3 |3.1
Cumbria |306 |29 |9.5 |22 |7.2
Derbyshire |450 |16 |3.6 |9 |2.0
Devon |442 |10 |2.3 |2 |0.5
Doncaster |127 |5 |3.9 |4 |3.1
Dorset |200 |2 |1.0 |1 |0.5
Dudley |83 |1 |1.2 |1 |1.2
Durham |298 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Ealing |87 |4 |4.6 |4 |4.6
East Sussex |219 |1 |0.5 |0 |0.0
Enfield |70 |4 |5.7 |1 |1.4
Essex |581 |79 |13.6 |73 |12.6
Gateshead |82 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Gloucestershire |262 |21 |8.0 |18 |6.9
Greenwich |79 |1 |1.3 |1 |1.3
Hackney |63 |1 |1.6 |1 |1.6
Hammersmith |38 |1 |2.6 |1 |2.6
Hampshire |580 |21 |3.6 |18 |3.1
Haringey |77 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Harrow |54 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Havering |74 |2 |2.7 |0 |0.0
Hereford and Worcester |288 |2 |0.7 |0 |0.0
Hertfordshire |432 |15 |3.5 |12 |2.8
Hillingdon |72 |11 |15.3 |11 |15.3
Hounslow |62 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Humberside |354 |5 |1.4 |3 |0.8
Isle of Wight |46 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Isles of Scilly |4 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Islington |57 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Kensington and Chelsea |27 |2 |7.4 |2 |7.4
Kent |570 |27 |4.7 |25 |4.4
Kingston upon Thames |36 |1 |2.8 |1 |2.8
Kirklees |158 |3 |1.9 |0 |0.0
Knowsley |68 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Lambeth |77 |8 |10.4 |8 |10.4
Lancashire |605 |7 |1.2 |4 |0.7
Leeds |249 |3 |1.2 |1 |0.4
Leicestershire |335 |2 |0.6 |0 |0.0
Lewisham |72 |1 |1.4 |1 |1.4
Lincolnshire |293 |32 |10.9 |28 |9.6
Liverpool |198 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Manchester |174 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Merton |49 |1 |2.0 |0 |0.0
Newcastle upon Tyne |80 |1 |1.3 |0 |0.0
Newham |67 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Norfolk |396 |21 |5.3 |17 |4.3
North Tyneside |61 |2 |3.3 |1 |1.6
North Yorkshire |392 |3 |0.8 |1 |0.3
Northamptonshire |271 |16 |5.9 |12 |4.4
Northumberland |143 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Nottinghamshire |426 |1 |0.2 |0 |0.0
Oldham |104 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Oxfordshire |240 |1 |0.4 |1 |0.4
Redbridge |56 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Richmond upon Thames |39 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Rochdale |76 |9 |11.8 |6 |7.9
Rotherham |115 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Salford |88 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Sandwell |112 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Sefton |94 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Sheffield |165 |17 |10.3 |15 |9.1
Shropshire |213 |5 |2.3 |5 |2.3
Solihull |70 |1 |1.4 |1 |1.4
Somerset |227 |5 |2.2 |3 |1.3
South Tyneside |58 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Southwark |76 |5 |6.6 |5 |6.6
St. Helens |67 |1 |1.5 |1 |1.5
Staffordshire |412 |5 |1.2 |4 |1.0
Stockport |110 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Suffolk |255 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Sunderland |105 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Surrey |372 |23 |6.2 |21 |5.6
Sutton |43 |5 |11.6 |3 |7.0
Tameside |82 |1 |1.2 |0 |0.0
Tower Hamlets |74 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Trafford |78 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Wakefield |131 |2 |1.5 |2 |1.5
Walsall |104 |3 |2.9 |2 |1.9
Waltham Forest |61 |1 |1.6 |0 |0.0
Wandsworth |72 |5 |6.9 |3 |4.2
Warwickshire |244 |7 |2.9 |4 |1.6
West Sussex |246 |1 |0.4 |1 |0.4
Westminster |42 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Wigan |125 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Wiltshire |294 |21 |7.1 |18 |6.1
Wirral |106 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Wolverhampton |101 |1 |1.0 |0 |0.0
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
England |18,879 |589 |3.1 |450 |2.4
Secondary Schools
LEA Area |Schools |Total Ballots|Per cent. |"Yes" Votes |Per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |60 |5 |8.3 |2 |3.3
Barking |8 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Barnet |21 |11 |52.4 |10 |47.6
Barnsley |15 |2 |13.3 |0 |0.0
Bedfordshire |71 |19 |26.8 |11 |15.5
Berkshire |59 |17 |28.8 |13 |22.0
Bexley |17 |6 |35.3 |5 |29.4
Birmingham |79 |24 |30.4 |17 |21.5
Bolton |16 |3 |18.8 |3 |18.8
Bradford |88 |9 |10.2 |6 |6.8
Brent |13 |14 |107.7 |12 |92.3
Bromley |17 |14 |82.4 |13 |76.5
Buckinghamshire |45 |11 |24.4 |10 |22.2
Bury |14 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Calderdale |16 |11 |68.8 |8 |50.0
Cambridgeshire |43 |25 |58.1 |17 |39.5
Camden |11 |3 |27.3 |2 |18.2
Cheshire |68 |11 |16.2 |4 |5.9
Cleveland |44 |3 |6.8 |0 |0.0
Cornwall |31 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Corporation of London |0 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Coventry |19 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Croydon |20 |11 |55.0 |9 |45.0
Cumbria |42 |15 |35.7 |15 |35.7
Derbyshire |61 |26 |42.6 |16 |26.2
Devon |64 |10 |15.6 |6 |9.4
Doncaster |34 |1 |2.9 |0 |0.0
Dorset |56 |16 |28.6 |14 |25.0
Dudley |22 |9 |40.9 |7 |31.8
Durham |43 |1 |2.3 |0 |0.0
Ealing |12 |8 |66.7 |6 |50.0
East Sussex |34 |2 |5.9 |0 |0.0
Enfield |17 |6 |35.3 |5 |29.4
Essex |105 |78 |74.3 |72 |68.6
Gateshead |13 |1 |7.7 |0 |0.0
Gloucestershire |43 |36 |83.7 |30 |69.8
Greenwich |15 |1 |6.7 |0 |0.0
Hackney |10 |1 |10.0 |0 |0.0
Hammersmith |10 |1 |10.0 |1 |10.0
Hampshire |94 |24 |25.5 |19 |20.2
Haringey |9 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Harrow |10 |2 |20.0 |1 |10.0
Havering |19 |7 |36.8 |4 |21.1
Hereford and Worcester |76 |8 |10.5 |5 |6.6
Hertfordshire |88 |32 |36.4 |27 |30.7
Hillingdon |15 |15 |100.0 |14 |93.3
Hounslow |14 |3 |21.4 |2 |14.3
Humberside |60 |4 |6.7 |0 |0.0
Isle of Wight |21 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Isles of Scilly |1 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Islington |9 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Kensington and Chelsea |4 |1 |25.0 |1 |25.0
Kent |136 |75 |55.1 |71 |52.2
Kingston upon Thames |10 |4 |40.0 |4 |40.0
Kirklees |34 |5 |14.7 |3 |8.8
Knowsley |11 |3 |27.3 |1 |9.1
Lambeth |10 |5 |50.0 |5 |50.0
Lancashire |106 |17 |16.0 |9 |8.5
Leeds |46 |3 |6.5 |1 |2.2
Leicestershire |79 |10 |12.7 |5 |6.3
Lewisham |13 |2 |15.4 |0 |0.0
Lincolnshire |63 |31 |49.2 |30 |47.6
Liverpool |36 |8 |22.2 |4 |11.1
Manchester |28 |1 |3.6 |0 |0.0
Merton |11 |3 |27.3 |1 |9.1
Newcastle upon Tyne |22 |1 |4.5 |0 |0.0
Newham |14 |1 |7.1 |1 |7.1
Norfolk |52 |16 |30.8 |12 |23.1
North Tyneside |26 |3 |11.5 |2 |7.7
North Yorkshire |59 |2 |3.4 |0 |0.0
Northamptonshire |64 |21 |32.8 |14 |21.9
Northumberland |61 |3 |4.9 |1 |1.6
Nottinghamshire |82 |10 |12.2 |4 |4.9
Oldham |15 |1 |6.7 |0 |0.0
Oxfordshire |4 |2 |4.5 |0 |0.0
Redbridge |15 |2 |13.3 |1 |6.7
Richmond upon Thames |8 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Rochdale |14 |4 |28.6 |2 |14.3
Rotherham |18 |1 |5.6 |0 |0.0
Salford |18 |4 |22.2 |1 |5.6
Sandwell |20 |5 |25.0 |2 |10.0
Sefton |22 |1 |4.5 |0 |0.0
Sheffield |31 |8 |25.8 |6 |19.4
Shropshire |37 |7 |18.9 |7 |18.9
Solihull |13 |2 |15.4 |1 |7.7
Somerset |39 |3 |7.7 |2 |5.1
South Tyneside |11 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Southwark |14 |5 |35.7 |5 |35.7
St. Helens |12 |1 |8.3 |0 |0.0
Staffordshire |85 |11 |12.9 |5 |5.9
Stockport |14 |2 |14.3 |0 |0.0
Suffolk |77 |1 |1.3 |0 |0.0
Sunderland |17 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Surrey |51 |16 |31.4 |15 |29.4
Sutton |14 |8 |57.1 |8 |57.1
Tameside |18 |5 |27.8 |3 |16.7
Tower Hamlets |15 |2 |13.3 |1 |6.7
Trafford |16 |6 |37.5 |4 |25.0
Wakefield |38 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Walsall |21 |11 |52.4 |7 |33.3
Waltham Forest |16 |2 |12.5 |2 |12.5
Wandsworth |10 |8 |80.0 |7 |70.0
Warwickshire |37 |9 |24.3 |8 |21.6
West Sussex |41 |3 |7.3 |0 |0.0
Westminster |8 |1 |12.5 |0 |0.0
Wigan |21 |1 |4.8 |1 |4.8
Wiltshire |44 |24 |54.5 |16 |36.4
Wirral |21 |4 |19.0 |2 |9.5
Wolverhampton |20 |6 |30.0 |5 |25.0
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
England |3,654 |897 |24.5 |666 |18.2
Notes:
1. Numbers of schools shown are of maintained primary and secondary schools, eligible for GM status,
currently recorded in the DFE Index of Educational Establishment.
2. The numbers of ballots are as 10th May 1994. They may change daily.
3. A small number of schools have held more than one ballot.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children at each grant-maintained school in 1993 had a statement of special educational needs.
Mr. Forth : A table giving the number of pupils with statements of special educational needs in each of the 337 grant-maintained schools operating in January 1993 has been placed in the Library.
Funding Agency for Schools
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if the meetings of the Funding Agency for Schools and its committees and sub- committees will be open to members of the public ; if the reports discussed by
Column 496
the agency and its committees and sub- committees will be available to members of the public ; and if he will be represented at meetings of the board.Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend wrote to the chairman of the Funding Agency for Schools, Sir Christopher Benson, on 11 April setting out a framework of accountability for the agency. In that letter he made it clear that it would be for the agency itself to develop a strategy for making itself publicly accountable. My right hon. Friend has chosen not to exercise his right to be represented at board meetings at the present time.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education which grant-maintained schools, under section 93 of the Education Act 1993, have been transferred from one former maintaining local education authority to another for the purpose of the calculation and recovery of annual maintenance grant by the Funding Agency for
Column 497
Schools ; what were the local education authorities in each case ; and what was the effect on the annual maintenance grant of each school concerned.Mr. Robin Squire : Only one operating grant-maintained school has been affected by section 93 of the Education Act 1993. All Hallows RC school, formerly maintained by Hampshire local education authority, is located within the boundaries of Surrey. The Funding Agency for Schools is currently considering the basis for the determination of the school's grant for 1994-95.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Zimbabwe
Mr. Luff : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what new initiatives he has taken on aid to Zimbabwe.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We will be providing £15 million of balance- of-payments assistance this financial year to support Zimbabwe's economic structural adjustment programme. In addition, we are launching a £9 million project to help strengthen Zimbabwe's health services and access to them for the poor.
Sierra Leone
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution is being made or is planned by the Overseas Development Administration and the European Union to family planning work in Sierra Leone.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Our bilateral contribution is approximately £0.217 million over four years via Marie Stopes International. We are also contributing £7 million in 1994-95 to the United Nations Population Fund worldwide. Its programme includes a $3.5 million programme for Sierra Leone. Our share of EC spending on family planning in Sierra Leone is approximately £80,000 over three years.
Liberia
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current British and European Union distribution to humanitarian work in Liberia ; and what is being done to rehabilitate child soldiers.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Since 1 January 1993, we have provided more than £1.6 million in bilateral humanitarian assistance. In the same period, European Community humanitarian assistance has totalled almost £7 million.
The United Nations Children's Fund has done much towards rehabilitation of child soldiers : 133 counsellors have been trained in delivering war trauma counselling services to children ; in addition, local community-based rehabilitation activities, integrated with the supply of water and sanitation and health care facilities have been established to assist demobilised child soldiers.
Column 498
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Attendants
Mrs. Roche : To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to his answer of 5 May, Official Report , column 601 , if he will make a statement explaining why the number of attendants has been reduced.
Mr. Beith [holding answer 17 May 1994] : Following a staff inspection of the attendant grades throughout the House in 1992 and a detailed review of attendants' posts in the Serjeant at Arms' Department in the first part of 1993, the House of Commons Commission agreed that the Department's staffing level of attendants should be reduced by three. This reduction was subsequently achieved by natural wastage. The current staffing levels are being kept under review by the Department and the staff inspector will be reviewing them formally at the end of this year.
DEFENCE
Defence Accounts Agency
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation he has undertaken over the proposal for market testing of the Defence Accounts Agency in Liverpool.
Mr. Aitken : Normal and wide-ranging consultation has taken place and regular meetings have been held with both local trade unions and staff. In addition, national trades unions, trade associations and the agency's "customers", among others, have been consulted.
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation he has undertaken concerning questions of national security in the proposal for market testing of the Defence Accounts Agency in Liverpool.
Mr. Aitken : All security considerations will be taken fully into account when reaching a decision on the proposal to market-test the Defence Accounts Agency, Liverpool.
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make a decision over market testing of the Defence Accounts Agency in Liverpool ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : I am currently evaluating the findings of the feasibility study into the possible market test of the Defence Accounts Agency, Liverpool. I am conscious of the need to end uncertainty and I will announce a decision as soon as I am in a position to do so.
Directorate of Contracts
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what costs were incurred in moving the Directorate of Contracts from Liverpool and Harrogate to Huntingdon.
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