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these issues with the Government of Sudan, and to press for action to resolve them.Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the role and function of the remaining British diplomatic personnel in the Sudan; and what assessment he has made of whether they are being adequately monitored.
Mr. Douglas Hogg: Her Majesty's embassy in Khartoum conducts a range of diplomatic activities, with political, aid, consular, commercial and visa sections. As with all our diplomatic missions, the embassy's activities are supervised from London.
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in resolving the diplomatic impasse between Britain and the Sudan in relation to the exchange of ambassadors; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg: We are in contact with the Sudanese authorities about this but a final decision has not yet been taken.
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his assessment of the extent of Islamic extremism in the Sudan; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg: We are concerned at reports of the presence in Sudan of Islamic militants from various countries.
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British non-governmental organisations are currently operating in the Sudan; and if he will list them and their locations.
Mr. Baldry: There are nine British non-governmental organisations now operating projects in Sudan, with ODA funding.
These are:
NGO |Location(s)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acord |Qala En Nahal, Port Sudan
British Red Cross |Juba
CARE |North Kordofan
Christian Outreach |Shagarab
Ockenden Venture |Gadem Gifrit, Port Sudan
OXFAM |Akot, Juba, Mundri, Terekaka,
|Maridi, Ed Daein, Red Sea
|Hills, North Tokar, Kababiya,
|Jebel Aulia, Gezira
PISCES AID |Sobat Basin
Save the Children Fund |Darfur, Waat, Yuai, Akon
You and Me |Awad El Sid
Addis Ababa
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current staffing level of entry clearance officers at the British embassy in Addis Ababa.
Mr. Baldry: The number of officers currently employed on entry clearance work at the British embassy in Addis Ababa is four. They include the consul and vice-consul, who have other duties in addition to entry clearance work and two full-time entry clearance officers with the effect from 31 December 1994.
There are plans to increase the staffing complement of the section by a further full-time ECO as soon as new
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offices are completed. This is expected to be in September 1995.Ethiopia
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the waiting time for entry clearance interviews at Her Majesty's post in Addis Ababa on the latest available information and in the last three years.
Mr. Baldry: Straightforward applications in Addis Ababa are dealt with in two working days. Those who require detailed interviews are now being given appointments in January. The visa section will be closed over the Christmas, new year and Ethiopian new year holidays. The waiting time for straightforward Somalia reunion cases is currently one week. In other cases, where referral to the Home Office is necessary, applicants are being given appointments for interview in June 1996.
Corresponding information for the last three years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Gibraltar
D. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the European Union legislation that Gibraltar has not implemented.
Mr. David Davis: There is a backlog of EC legislation awaiting implementation in Gibraltar including directives in the areas of financial services, money laundering, the environment and health and safety. We are addressing this problem in co-operation with the Government of Gibraltar to whom we are giving substantial support in London and Gibraltar.
Visas
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 12 December, Official Report, column 487, what considerations underlie the practice of British embassies in Belgrade, Sofia and Zagreb not recording the nationality of those to whom they issue visas to visit the United Kingdom; how many visas were (a) granted, (b) refused and (c) are awaiting decisions; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 16 December 1994]: As the immigration rules are applied without regard to nationality, and as the recording of applications by nationality is not operationally necessary, it is not the practice to record the number of applicants by nationality. During 1993, the last full year for which figures are available, the following visas were issued, refused or awaiting decision in Belgrade, Sofia and Zagreb.
|Issued |Refused |Awaiting
---------------------------------------------
Belgrade |1,772 |105 |62
Sofia |9,005 |476 |42
Zagreb |1,753 |414 |-
It is estimated that 95 per cent. of applicants in Sofia are Bulgarian nationals. Estimates are not available for Belgrade or Zagreb.
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HOUSE OF COMMONS
Photographic Unit
33. Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick- upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission what proposals the Commission has for contracting a House of Commons photographic unit.
Upper Waiting Hall
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he has considered an application for an exhibition relating to Nuclear Electric Robotics to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.
Mr. Michael J. Martin: I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Administration Committee, arrangements have been made for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 23 January to Friday 27 January 1995.
Mr. Deva: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he has considered an application for an exhibition relating to channel tunnel drawings by Mr. Ralph Lilliford to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.
Mr. Michael J. Martin: I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Administration Committee, arrangements have been made for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 27 February to Friday 3 March 1995.
Mrs. Golding: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if consideration has been given to an application for an exhibition relating to the work of the Empty Houses Agency to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.
Mr. Michael J. Martin: I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Administration Committee, arrangements have been made for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 16 January to Friday 20 January 1995.
Mr. Straw: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Blackburn Partnership to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.
Mr. Michael J. Martin: I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Administration Committee, arrangements have been made for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 3 April to Friday 7 April 1995.
Creche Facilities
Mrs. Roche: To ask the right hon. member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission what recent progress has been made towards providing a creche for staff of the House, hon. Members' staff and hon. Members.
Mr. Beith: I understand that a debate on this matter has now been arranged for 12 January.
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WALES
Smoking
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives he is taking to discourage smoking amongst those under 16 years of age.
Mr. Richards: A wide variety of organisations are working locally and nationally to reduce the number of young people smoking. Health authorities were asked in "Caring for the Future" to pay particular attention to this group when drawing up their activity plans for promoting healthy lifestyles. Together with local education authorities, they are involved in projects such as life education centres and smokebusters, which are run through the Health Promotion Authority for Wales. Other, more general health education programmes include smoking as part of their broader approach.
The Government also encourage and monitor the enforcement of existing laws and voluntary agreements relating to tobacco sales to under 16-year-olds, and to relevant advertising and sponsorship issues.
Secure Accommodation
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a summary of the actions that were taken by his Department arising from the report by the working party chaired by Mr. Owen Hughes into the question of the provision of secure accommodation in Wales for people with psychiatric needs.
Mr. Richards: The Report, "Security in Psychiatric Hospitals in Wales", was produced in July 1975 and has long since been overtaken by more recent policy developments, culminating in the publication of the report of the all-Wales advisory group on forensic psychiatry in 1991, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. On 19 April 1993, it was announced that additional funding of £9.25 million for new hospital facilities in Wales for mentally ill offenders. This included £1.2 million for the expansion of the Caswell clinic from 14 to 33 beds and to provide additional revenue support to compensate health authorities for the high cost of maintaining these patients. Three million pounds was made available to fund the development of a medium secure unit for north Wales. The new beds at the Caswell clinic should be available by 31 March 1995. In north Wales, planning approval to develop a purpose-built, 25-bed medium secure unit at Llanfairfechan was obtained on 9 November 1994. The facility is expected to open in the latter half of 1996.
Repair and Renovation Grants
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many houses in Wales (a) are in a condition which would qualify them for repairs or renovation grants and (b) were given such grants in 1993 94; and what is the average cost per household of such grants in that year.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Recent estimates are available only for mandatory renovation grants where the 1993 Welsh house condition survey estimated that 151,000 dwellings were in a condition which would qualify for such grants. Estimates of the number of houses in a
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condition which would qualify for discretionary grant are not available.Householders' eligibility for grants depends on their means. Therefore, not all of the properties could be improved with grant aid. The number of completed grants in 1993 94 and the average amount paid are shown in the following table:
|Number of grants |Average grant paid
|£
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mandatory renovation grant |7,565 |18,489
Discretionary renovation grant |422 |17,184
Minor works |4,966 |852
Hospital Closures
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hospitals have closed since April 1991.
Mr. Richards: Seventeen NHS hospitals in Wales have closed, and remain closed, since 1 April 1991. In all but one case this has enabled patients to be moved to better facilities or into the community.
In one instance, responsibility for the care provided was transferred from the NHS to social and probation services.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for how many accident and emergency departments there are currently proposals for closure.
Mr. Richards: None. The strategic reviews in south and west Glamorgan do, however, involve a transfer of these services to more appropriate locations nearby.
Telecentres
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many applications have been made by (a) each county council, (b) each district council and (c) Wales as a whole for telecentres under the strategic development scheme; and how many and what proportion of such bids have been successful.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: There has been: (a) one successful bid by Gwynedd county council for 1995 96; one successful bid by Powys county council for 1994 95 and three unsuccessful bids for 1995 96--two bids were joint bids with Radnor district council and Brecknock borough council respectively. No other county councils have made applications for SDS funding of telecentres centres. There has been: (b) one unsuccessful bid by Aberconwy borough council for 1994 95; one unsuccessful bid from Colwyn borough council for 1995 96; one unsuccessful bid by Ceredigion district council for 1994 95 and one unsuccessful bid by Brecknock borough council for 1995 96, which was a joint bid with Powys county council; oneunsuccessful bid by Radnor borough council for 1995 96, which was a joint bid with Powys county council. No other borough or district councils have made applications for SDS funding of telecentres. There have been: (c) nine bids for SDS funding of, telecentres for the 1994 95 and 1995 96 SDS rounds: the joint bids have been counted as one in both cases. Three bids were successful, a 33 per cent. success rate.
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Welsh Language
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Vote Office copies of the Welsh Language Board's draft guidelines on language schemes.
Mr. Richards: Copies of the Welsh Language Board's draft guidelines have already been placed in the Library of the House and sent to each Welsh Member of Parliament and other interested Members.
Teachers Union
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the teachers unions he has met formally.
Mr. Richards: My right hon. Friend has met the National Association of Head Teachers. Since my appointment I have met the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers. I hope to have the opportunity to meet other teachers' associations in the near future.
School Governing Bodies
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will list the school governing bodies in Wales that he has met.
Mr. Richards: My right hon. Friend and I meet a number of governors in the course of our visits to schools and will continue to do so.
Parent teacher Associations
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the parent teacher associations in Wales which he has met.
Mr. Richards: My right hon. Friend has not yet met any of the associations. Officials have met the parent teacher associations of Wales on a number of occasions.
Schools, Clwyd
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the schools in Clwyd which he has visited or proposes to visit.
Mr. Richards: In 1994, my right hon. Friend has visited two schools in Clwyd as follows:
St. Davids High School
Eirias High School (Grant maintained)
Since my appointment, I have visited Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan, which is grant maintained and Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant, Rhyl. I also attended a life education centre, which was based at Ysgol Esgob Morgan in St. Asaph.
Pre-school Education
Mr. Llywd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what are the future plans for the expansion of Welsh medium pre-school education; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what are the future plans for the expansion of pre-school education; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Richards: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke, North (Mr. Dafis) on 8 December, Official Report , column 347 .
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Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met representatives of the Farmers Union of Wales and the National Farmers Union; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: I last met representatives of the Farmers Union of Wales on 26 October 1994 and representatives of the National Farmers Union (Wales) on 12 December 1994.
Planning Applications
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many planning applications his Department has called in during the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: In the five years beginning December 1989, my right hon. Friend has called in 32 planning applications. The Government's policy is to be very selective about calling in planning applications, which will in general be called in only if planning issues of more than local importance are involved.
Secondary Schools
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of secondary schools in Wales.
Mr. Richards: There are 227 maintained secondary schools in Wales.
Wind Energy
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what further guidelines are being considered by his Department following the second report of Session 1993 94 on wind energy by the Welsh Affairs Select Committee HC336; and if he will make a statement.
Dementia
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people with dementia there are in each district health authority area.
Mr. Richards: The information requested is not held centrally.
Severn Estuary
Mr. Gareth Wardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to commission a study into the mineral resources of the Severn estuary.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Under the geological and mineral planning research programme the Department of the Environment is planning to undertake a study into the marine aggregate resources and constraints of the Bristol channel.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh Development Agency regarding the publication of reports on (a) the Grant Thornton inquiry into the Cynon valley land deal, (b) the internal audit report into the use of agency investment funds on underwriting the BP share
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issue and (c) audit problems in the issuing of computer and consultancy contracts.Mr. Redwood: I met the chairman on 6 December and discussed the issues contained in the Grant Thornton report. I have expressed my deep concern at the shortcomings identified in that report and at those other matters which have now been reported by the agency to the Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts.
Departmental Telephone Calls
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been spent on telephone charges and how many telephone calls have been made by Department in each of the last five years.
Mr. Redwood: Departmental telephone charges for years 1989 94 were:
|£
------------------------------
1989-90 |921,440
1990-91 |896,112
1991-92 |1,159,874
1992-93 |1,213,879
1993-94 |1,300,889
These figures consist of call charges, equipment maintenance, line rental, provision of new extensions, moving existing ones and provision of freephone facilities.
Details of the number of calls made per year are not held centrally.
Police Authorities
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what was the total sum allocated to Welsh police authorities in 1994 95 and 1995 96; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what was the budget available to his Department to allocate to Welsh police authorities in 1994 95 and 1995 96; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: For 1994 95 there are no standard spending assessments for police authorities in Wales on which to base year-on-year comparisons. County council SSAs include provision for police services. Expenditure on policing is determined by county councils in the light of their statutory responsibilities, local needs and available resources. Some 51 per cent. of current and capital expenditure incurred by police authorities is met by Home Office grant. For 1994 95 this is expected to amount to £150.6 million.
From 1 April 1995, police authorities will be self-standing local authorities with their own cash-limited police grant and SSA allocations. I announced on 1 December that I propose to make £300.7 million available from total standard spending in Wales to fund police services in 1995 96.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many grant-maintained schools there were on 1 January 1993 and 1 January 1994 respectively; how many are there today; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Redwood: Four, 15 and 16 respectively. The decision to establish a GMS is one for the school and the parents of children attending the school.
Training
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the programmes for which his Department is responsible directly, or via agents, to train employed people, or provide on-the-job training; and what funding is available for each scheme.
Mr. Redwood: The information is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.
Public Bodies
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has for the future functions of the Land Authority for Wales, the Development Board for Rural Wales and the urban regeneration division of the Welsh Development Agency in urban redevelopment.
Mr. Redwood: These bodies, working closely with local authorities, will continue to have a role in attracting private sector investment to regenerate Welsh towns and cities.
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