| Previous Section | Home Page |
Photocopiers
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee whether daily checks are made on the quality of the copies provided by photocopiers in the Norman Shaw buildings.
Mr. Michael J. Martin: The photocopiers in the Norman Shaw buildings are monitored and serviced twice daily. In addition, the staff rely on users to report any interim faults including deterioration of copy quality.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee on how many occasions in the last 12 months for which figures are available repairs have been required to photocopiers (a) in the Norman Shaw North building and (b) elsewhere within the Palace of Westminster; on average how many calls per copier per month each of these two figures represent; and what was the total cost of the purchase, servicing and maintenance of all photocopiers in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Michael J. Martin: I assume that the hon. Member's question relates to machines provided for the use of Members and their staff. During the 12 months November 1993 to October 1994 inclusive, the number of occasions on which faults requiring the attention of a service engineer were logged for those photocopying machines supplied by the Serjeant at Arms for Members' use was 109 in the Norman Shaw North building and 390 elsewhere in the parliamentary estate. This represents an average of 0.91 calls per copier per month in Norman Shaw North building and 0.57 calls per copier per month elsewhere in the parliamentary estate. The total cost of leasing which includes the costs of maintaining the photocopiers supplied by the Serjeant at Arms for Members' use was £324,177.24 in financial year 1993 94.
Column 192
Parliamentary Staff
Sir David Mitchell: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon- Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission if he will give figures, grades, titles and ranks for all officers of the House whose salaries are higher than those of hon. Members of the House as at June 1994.
Mr. Beith: One hundred and one officers of the House in the following grades receive basic salaries above the £31,687 paid to hon. Members:
|Grade
---------------------------------------------------
Clerk of the House |1
Clerk Assistant |2
Clerk of Committees |2
Principal Clerks, Class I |3
Speaker's Counsel |3
Principal Clerks, Class II |4
Deputy Principal Clerks |5
Deliverer of the Vote |5
Assistant to Speaker's Counsel |5
Supervisor of Broadcasting |6
Senior Clerks |7
Deputy Deliverers of the Vote |7
Serjeant at Arms |3
Deputy Serjeant |4
Director of Works |4
Assistant Serjeant |6
Deputy Director of Works |6
Deputy Assistant Serjeant |7
Principal Building Surveyor |7
Librarian |3
Deputy Librarian |4
Assistant Librarians |5
Deputy Assistant Librarians |6
Senior Library Clerks |7
Director of Finance and Administration |3
Accountant |4
Head of Establishments Office |4
Head of Finance Office |5
Computer Officer |5
Deputy Accountant |6
Staff Inspector |6
Deputy Head of Establishments Office |6
Editor, Official Report |4
Deputy Editor |5
Principal Assistant Editors |6
Assistant Editors |6
Committee Sub-Editors |7
Director of Catering Services |5
Catering Accountant |7
Executive Chef |7
Speaker's Secretary |5
Salary scales for these grades as at June 1994 are as follows:
|Pay Range |Implementation
Grade |£ per annum |Dates
------------------------------------------------------------
1 |95,051 |1.4.94
2 |65,990-79,394 |1.4.94
3 |56,131-66,283 |1.4.94
4 |47,897-57,612 |1.8.93
5 |39,365-57,612 |1.8.93
6 |30,680-49,697 |1.8.93
7 |29,436-44,050 |1.8.93
|27,106-41,003 |1.8.93
Note:
Grade 3 rates include £2,000 per annum London allowance.
All rates below grade 3 include recruitment and retention
allowance.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick- upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission if he will give a breakdown by grades, salaries and functions of the number of people currently employed by the House.
Mr. Beith: I refer the hon. Member to the 16th Annual Report of the House of Commons Commission (House of Commons Paper No. 602 of Session 1993 94). He will find the information that he requires in the Departmental annual reports and appendices 1 and 2, subject to the revision of the pay scales for grades 1,2 and 3 with effect from 1 April 1994 as follows:
Column 194
Grade 1: £95,051Grade 2: £65,990 £79,394
Grade 3: £56,131 £66,283
Police and Security Staff
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick- upon-Tweed as representing the House of Commons Commission how many (a) police officers and (b) security staff are currently deployed within the Palace of Westminster; and what is the total annual cost of that deployment.
Mr. Beith: One hundred and sixty police officers and 205 security officers are currently deployed within the Parliamentary Precincts. The House of Commons' share of the cost of the security force was £10.317 million in 1993 94.
SCOTLAND
Council House Sales
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, by region, the number of council houses sold under right-to-buy legislation in the last five years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The number of local authority houses sold by region under the right-to-buy legislation for the five year period from 1989 is shown in the table:
Column 193
Right to buy sales to local authority sitting tenants<1>
|1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |29,182 |26,943 |18,755 |19,829 |16,366 |111,075
Borders |505 |304 |262 |268 |270 |1,609
Central |2,132 |1,568 |1,091 |1,247 |1,184 |7,222
Dumfries and Galloway |692 |494 |407 |510 |552 |2,655
Fife |2,213 |1,500 |1,051 |1,183 |905 |6,852
Grampian |1,635 |1,540 |1,272 |1,985 |1,998 |8,430
Highland |666 |584 |558 |672 |659 |3,139
Lothian |5,520 |4,019 |2,665 |2,442 |1,774 |16,420
Strathclyde |13,671 |13,689 |9,413 |9,852 |7,658 |54,283
Tayside |2,001 |3,127 |1,894 |1,535 |1,221 |9,778
Islands Councils |147 |118 |142 |135 |144 |686
<1> Includes a small number of voluntary sales.
Dentistry
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what means he has of monitoring whether NHS dental services are achieving national targets in improving dental health in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The Government monitor the state of dental health from the results of a range of epidemiological surveys based on the inspection of a sample of individual patients. Annual surveys of child dental health in Scotland are carried out under the Scottish health boards' dental epidemiological programme; five year-old and 12 or 14 year- old children are surveyed in alternate years. In the United Kingdom as a whole 10-yearly surveys of adult and child dental health are carried out by the Office of Population Census and Surveys; the last adult survey was in 1988 and the most recent child survey was in 1993.
Column 194
Housing
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, by region, the number of schemes between district councils and developers and housing associations that have been established in the last five years to build new houses to rent; and if he will list, by region, the number of new houses to rent that these schemes have provided.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Information on local authority joint ventures with the private sector to build new houses for rent is not held centrally.
Pupil-Teacher Ratios
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the pupil-teacher ratios for (a) 1992 93 and (b) 1993 94 for public section (i) nursery schools, (ii) primary schools, (iii) secondary schools, (iv) non-maintained
Column 195
schools, (v) special schools and (vi) all schools; and whether these figures include unqualified teachers.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested for education authority schools is as follows. All teachers in Scottish schools are qualified; therefore there are no unqualified teachers included in the calculation of pupil:teacher ratios.
$
Pupil: teacher ratios in Education
Authority schools in Scotland
at September
|1992-93|1993-94
------------------------------------
Nursery |25.5 |25.9
Primary |19.3 |19.5
Seconday |12.6 |12.8
Special |4.3 |4.5
All Schools |15.6 |15.8
Teachers
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many newly-trained teachers had obtained employment in education by (a) September and (b) May following their qualification; and what percentage this represents of the total of newly qualified teachers for each year since 1990 91.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Information is collected in respect of the destination of newly qualified teachers in the September and March following graduation. The table shows in respect of each year the number who were known to be teaching in the September and March following graduation. The destination was unknown for 21 per cent. of teachers graduating in June 1991, 25 per cent. in 1992 and 34 per cent. in 1993.
Graduates known to be employed as teachers
September March
|Number |Per cent.|Number |Per cent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qualifying in June of:
1991 |829 |47 |1,134 |64
1992 |920 |47 |1,198 |61
1993 |997 |43 |1,251 |54
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many teachers were registered unemployed in Scotland in (a) May and (b) September for each year since 1990 91; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Oppenheim: I have been asked to reply.
Information on the previous occupation of the unemployed is available from the labour force survey, a sample survey of households. Unfortunately, the sample size is too small to give a reliable estimate of the number of unemployed teachers in Scotland.
Nuisance Legislation
Mr. Kynoch: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what conclusions the Government have reached in the light of the responses to their consultation paper "Contaminated Land Clean-up and Control" and the recent consultation exercise on the revision of Scotland's nuisance legislation; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang: The Government intend to replace the existing Scottish nuisance provisions in the Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897 with those of part III of the
Column 196
Environmental Protection Act 1990, which apply mainly to England and Wales. A clear majority of the 37 responses to our August consultation paper were in favour of such a change, which will usefully strengthen controls on nuisance in Scotland.I hope to make a further announcement on the outcome of the contaminated land review shortly.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Quangos
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds have been allocated to
non-governmental organisations by the Overseas Development Administration during the latest financial year; and who have been their recipients.
Mr. Baldry: The Overseas Development Administration allocated £158,449,755 to United Kingdom non-governmental organisations in 1993 94. Details of the grants paid to recipients have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Western Saharans
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response Her Majesty's Government have made to finance emergency aid to alleviate the immediate crisis in the western Sahara; and what plans are being put into effect to provide resources to western Saharan refugees to rebuild the fabric of their society in exile in the medium and longer term.
Mr. Baldry: The United Kingdom contributes to the Saharawi refugees through its regular budget payments to UNHCR and the European Union. We have no plans for any direct bilateral contribution to the Polisario-run camps following their recent devastation by rain and flooding.
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his assessment of the damage caused by the rains and floods in the western Saharan refugee camps of southern Algeria on 8 September and 29 and 30 October; and how many refugees are without shelter.
Mr. Baldry: Schools, hospitals and dispensaries made of compressed sand-based bricks in the camps were damaged, as were tents and food and other supplies. It is understood that the earlier wave of torrential rains left some 20,000 people without shelter; the rains at the end of October, according to UNHCR, left up to a further 30, 000 people shelterless and eight died.
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance will be given in the immediate future to the western Saharan refugees, to supply tents, blankets, medicines, food and fuel.
Mr. Baldry: The UN department of humanitarian affairs and UNHCR have provided cash for local relief purchases and have airlifted tents, blankets, plastic sheeting and electricity generators into Tindouf. A UNHCR and world food programme assessment mission has recently visited the affected area and arrangements have been made urgently to replenish destroyed food stocks.
Column 197
Overseas Funding
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which directorates in the European Commission are responsible for funding overseas population and reproductive health activities.
Mr. Baldry: Directorate General VIII is responsible for any such programmes in countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Directorate General I is responsible for projects of this type in Asia, Latin America and Mediterranean.
China
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs if he will place in the Library copies of reports on population control in China received by his Department from the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations fund for population activities.
Mr. Baldry: Copies of the United Nations Population Fund 1993 inventory of population projects and the International Planned Parenthood Federation 1994 annual report supplement will be placed in the Library of the House, together with a copy of China's national report to the international conference on population and development.
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the reasons why the Chinese Government bans the publication of official statistics on methods of population control.
Mr. Baldry: We understand that the Government of China does publish yearly statistics on the number of people using contraceptives, including information on methods used.
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department had with representatives of the People's Republic of China at the international conference on population in Cairo.
Mr. Baldry: The United Kingdom delegation participated with Chinese and other delegations to the international conference on population and development in discussions on reproductive rights and a range of other issues.
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings his Department has had with the Chinese embassy to discuss Chinese population control policies.
Mr. Baldry: Officials from my Department meet on a regular basis with officials from the Chinese embassy to discuss a range of issues, including population.
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the reasons for the prevalence of sterilisation as a major method of population control in China.
Mr. Baldry: Sterilisation is an important method of contraception for couples who have completed childbearing in many countries, not just China. It is one of the most popular methods of contraception in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what statistics are used by
Column 198
his Department to assess the effect of Chinese population control policies on the human rights of Chinese women.Mr. Baldry: Reliable statistical data relating to alleged abuses of women's human rights in population programmes are not available.
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department had about Chinese population control with representatives of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations fund for population activities at the international conference on population in Cairo; and with what results.
Mr. Baldry: Officials met with staff from the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations population fund at the international conference on population and development and continue to have dialogue with these two organisations. Both organisations remain committed to promoting better reproductive health care and free choice.
Aid and Trade Provision
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those projects to which the Overseas Development Administration has provided funding under the aid and trade provision since June 1993.
Mr. Baldry: A list of aid and trade provision projects approved for funding since June 1993 is as follows:
ATP agreements concluded since June 1993
Country |Project
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993
Malaysia |Railway double tracking
Morocco |Tetouan gas turbines
India |Bombay and Delhi airports
1994
Lesotho |Muela hydropower project
China |Chicken processing plant phase II
Sri Lanka |Kundasale strategic study
Chile |Santiago traffic control
Thailand |Mini hydros
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all the projects funded under the aid and trade provision in (a) Malaysia, (b) Indonesia and (c) Nigeria, since 1979.
Mr. Baldry: Lists of projects funded under the aid and trade provision in Indonesia and Malaysia have been placed in the Libraries of the House. No aid and trade provision projects have been funded in Nigeria.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all projects financed under the aid and trade provisions since 1984.
Mr. Baldry: A list of all aid and trade provision projects financed since 1984 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria he uses for determining whether assistance should be given to a country under the aid and trade provision; and if he will make a statement.
Column 199
Mr. Baldry: Following the wide-ranging aid and trade provision review announced in June 1993, country eligibility criteria for aid and trade provision is based on credit-worthy low-income developing countries with a 1989 per capita income of under US $700.
Reproductive Health Services
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is European Union policy on funding reproductive and sexual health services for adolescents in developing countries.
Mr. Baldry: The issue of reproductive and sexual health services for adolescents is not treated as a separate policy by the European Union. Under the European Union's broader health care programme to developing countries there are projects which include the provision of improved reproductive health services to all, including adolescents.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what budget lines in which European Union directorates can be used for population, reproductive and sexual health projects in developing countries.
Mr. Baldry: The primary source of funding for such projects in developing countries is the EC's country aid programme for the state concerned. African, Caribbean and Pacific programmes are funded through the European development fund. Asian, Latin American and Mediterranean programmes are funded through the budget lines for the regions--Asia B7 3000, Latin America B7 3010, Mediterranean B7 4051 for individual Mediterranean countries and B7 4080 for Mediterranean regional programmes. Three smaller budget lines are also relevant: B7 5046--health programmes in the fight against AIDS in developing countries: B7 5047--maternal and child health care; B7 5050--aid for population policies and programmes in developing countries.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what follow-up initiatives are taking place within the European Union in the context of the Cairo programmes of action with non- governmental organisations and with officials of the European Union member states; and who is the point of contact in Brussels for an hon. Member wishing to take these matters further.
Mr. Baldry: The European Union held a co-ordination meeting of member states earlier this month to discuss action to be taken in respect of the Cairo programme of action and plans further meetings. European Union member states will be represented at the development assistance committee meeting, which is focussing on population assistance, to be held in Paris at the end of the month. The third European parliamentarians' consultation on population, reproductive health and development will be held in Brussels in May next year. If hon. Members require further information they should contact the Overseas Development Administration in the first instance.
Overseas Superannuation Programme
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the average pension
Column 200
payment made under the overseas superannuation programme in (a) 1994 and (b) 1993.Mr. Baldry: Most overseas pensions are paid monthly, though some 20 per cent. are paid at less frequent intervals. The average pension payment in 1994 is about £420, compared with £431 in 1993.
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the forecast number of pension payments to be made under the overseas superannuation programme for each of the next three years.
Mr. Baldry: It is expected that the number of pension payments will decrease about 4 per cent. a year in line with the decline in the overseas pensioner population, which is at present around 34,000. The forecast number of payments for each of the next three years is about:
1995: 336,000
1996: 322,500
1997: 309,500
Withholding of Aid
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those recipients of Overseas Development Administration bilateral aid which have had aid withheld following failure to adhere to International Monetary Fund and World bank reform programmes since 1985.
Mr. Baldry: Since 1985 there have been occasions for temporarily withholding promised balance of payments aid in support of economic reform, following slippages in implementing policies agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the World bank, in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia.
In this period, balance of payments support for reforms in Nigeria was suspended as a result of serious doubts about the direction of policy. Balance of payments support, together with other forms of development aid, was discontinued in Somalia and Sudan for wider reasons.
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those countries to which aid has been curtailed due to contravention of the Overseas Development Administration's good government criteria since 1990.
Mr. Baldry: Significant cases of restrictions on aid, for a longer or shorter period, since the beginning of 1990 because of concerns over good government include Burma, China, The Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Peru, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Zambia. In some of those cases, action reflected concern about other issues, notably economic policies, as well as good government. In addition, aid to South Africa was limited to non-government channels prior to a democratic Government taking office 1994.
African Development Bank
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the United Kingdom's annual contribution to the African development bank fund.
Mr. Baldry: In 1993 94, a payment of £1.8 million--equivalent to 1.9 million special drawing rights at the agreed rate of exchange--was made to the African development bank representing the final instalment of the paid-in element of the UK subscription to the fourth
Column 201
general capital increase; and £18 million was drawn down again United Kingdom pledges to the African development fund.World Bank
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what is the United Kingdom's annual contribution to the International Development Association arm of the World bank;
(2) what is the United Kingdom's annual contribution to the International Finance Corporation;
(3) what is the United Kingdom's annual contribution to the World bank;
(4) what is the United Kingdom's annual contribution to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Mr. Baldry: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association and the International Finance Corporation are members of the World bank group.
In 1993 94, a payment of $19.8 million--£12.9 million at the rate of exchange on the date of payment--was made to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This was the final instalment of the paid- in element of the United Kingdom subscription to the 1988 general capital increase.
International Development Association resources are committed over three years, but donor contributions are drawn down typically over a 10-year period in line with project expenditure. International Development Association is currently drawing down resources against the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th--current--replenishments. United Kingdom payments in 1993 94 totalled $209.3 million.
In 1993 94, payments totalling £7.3 million were made to the International Finance Corporation, comprising the second of five instalments of $10.5 million--£7.1 million at the rate of exchange on the date of payment--of the United Kingdom subscription to the International Finance Corporation's 1991 capital increase; and £230, 000 in support of International Finance Corporation advisory services for Africa.
| Next Section
| Home Page |