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Mr. Forth: The DFE is sponsoring a series of regional conferences to raise awareness of drugs issues and to stimulate debate at local level. I addressed the first of these in York on the 12 January, and further conferences are planned in Birmingham and Bristol. The initial response has been very positive, and will inform our programme of other initiatives on drug prevention and schools, including the preparation of final guidance to schools.
Further Education Funding
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what has been the average unit of resource funding per further education student in England for each year since 1991; what was the average unit of resource funding for each trainee in a training centre for the same period; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell: The average funding per full-time equivalent student in the further education sector in 1992 93 was £2,506, and £2,582 in 1993 94. The funding of trainees in training centres is a matter for the Secretary of State for Employment.
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Trainee Teacher Bursary Scheme
Mr. Bryan Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations she has received regarding the non-availability of bursaries for trainee teachers in designated subjects under the trainee teacher bursary scheme; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire: All students who meet the requirements of the scheme are awarded bursaries. From time to time, representations have been made arguing for or against changes in those requirements, primarily from institutions concerned about course eligibility.
Mr. Bryan Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total value of bursaries awarded under the trainee teacher bursary scheme in 1993 94.
Mr. Robin Squire: In the financial year 1993 94, the total value of bursaries paid out was £8,722,000.
Mr. Bryan Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many bursaries have been awarded to initial teacher trainees under the trainee teacher bursary scheme in the current academic year;
(2) how many applications were made to trainee teacher bursaries by students for the academic year 1994 95.
Mr. Robin Squire: Formal applications from higher education institutions on behalf of a total of over 7,300 students who started their courses in autumn 1994 have recently been received in the Department. We expect that all, or virtually all, of the applications will meet the conditions of the scheme, and will therefore attract payment at the scheduled times. About 1,300 second-year students will also be eligible.
Mature Students Allowance
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many students received the mature students' allowance in each of the last five years for which figures are available at universities (a) throughout the United Kingdom and (b) in Scotland; and what percentage of all mature students in each category these figures represent;
(2) what was the total cost of operating the mature students' allowance in each of the last five years for which information is available (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in Scotland.
Mr. Boswell: The numbers and gross value of older students' allowances made by local education authorities in England and Wales as part of mandatory awards made to students domiciled in their areas in the academic years 1988 89 to 1992 93--the latest year for which figures are available--are shown in the table. The total number of older students in higher education domiciled in England and Wales is not readily available.
Mandatory awards are made in respect of attendance on designated courses throughout the United Kingdom. The older students' all owance forms part of the mandatory award for eligible students but, because the award is means- tested, it is not possible to identify the value of the net allowance within the payable award.
The administrative costs of operating the older students' allowance are not collected centrally.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland are responsible for student support in those countries.
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Number<1> and value of older students' allowances
England and Wales: 1988-89 to 1992-93
|Gross value
Academic year |Number |£ million
--------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |12,700 |8.3
1989-90 |14,250 |9.9
1990-91 |17,000 |12.2
1991-92 |23,000 |17.6
1992-93 |32,500 |26.2
<1> The table shows the number of students in receipt
of mandatory awards who qualify for the older students'
allowance and the gross value of the allowances made.
Student Maintenance
Mr. Parry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what recent provisions her Department has made to alleviate student hardship;
(2) if she will make a statement on the cut in student maintenance in the November budget; and what assessment she has made of possible adverse effects on the student population.
Mr. Boswell: The statement made by my right hon. Friend on 29 November last year said that, for those eligible for mandatory awards and student loans, the total support available through the main rates of grant and loan would increase by 2.5 per cent. for the 1995 96 academic year. The total support available through grant and loan has risen slightly in real terms since 1990 when loans were first introduced. The access funds can provide additional assistance to full-time students in particular need. The increase in student numbers over recent years does not suggest that students are being deterred from entering higher education on financial grounds.
Student Loans Co.
Mr. Parry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if she will make a statement on the Student Loans Co.;
(2) what recent representations she has made to the Student Loans Co. for the improvement of waiting times for student appointments and communication within the service; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell: My right hon. Friend annually sets performance targets for the Student Loans Co., including the payment of loans to students. The company has apologised for its recent failure to maintain its usual high standards. It is conducting a thorough review into recent delays in the payment of loans following the introduction of a simplified repeat application procedure, and the steps necessary to prevent a recurrence. As part of that review, the company will consult widely and the results will be reported to my right hon. Friend.
Mr. Parry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many students in the United Kingdom have applied for loans during the last 12 months; and what was the figure in 1992;
(2) how many people are currently employed by the Student Loans Co.
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is her estimate of the number of students in (a) Wales and (b) England who are awaiting money due from the Student Loans Co. for the start of the current academic year.
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Mr. Boswell: These are matters for the Students Loans Co. I have asked the acting chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations she has had concerning late payments to students by the Student Loans Co.; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell: My right hon. Friend has received about 40 representations on delays in the processing of loans. The Department has also received a number of telephone calls from both students and higher education institutions.
Residential Care Pupils
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in residential care are placed
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in schools outside their local authority area (a) in Kirklees, (b) in all Yorkshire council areas and (c) nationally.Mr. Forth: The information is not available centrally.
Disabled Students' Awards
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 6 December 1994, Official Report , column 160 on disabled students' awards, if she will break down the figures by region or local authority.
Mr. Boswell: The number and gross value of disabled students' allowances made by local education authorities in England and Wales as part of mandatory awards in the academic years 1990 91, 1991 92 and 1992 93 are shown by region in the table.
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Disabled Students Allowances<1>: 1990-91 to 1992-93
England and Wales
Awards Expenditure £
thousands
|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North |30 |80 |110 |51 |115 |164
Yorkshire and Humberside |50 |180 |350 |70 |231 |326
North West |150 |210 |380 |166 |271 |527
East Midlands |40 |150 |240 |29 |236 |459
West Midlands |70 |110 |190 |109 |194 |316
East Anglia |20 |50 |90 |19 |61 |134
South East |200 |450 |690 |277 |597 |1,136
South West |40 |130 |230 |82 |140 |398
Total England<2> |600 |1,340 |2,290 |803 |1,846 |3,460
Wales |40 |90 |200 |66 |114 |286
Total England and Wales<2> |640 |1,430 |2,490 |869 |1,959 |3,745
Source:
F503G.
Notes:
<1>The table shows the number of allowances, not the number of students. Students
can receive more than one type of disabled students' allowance.
<2>Constituent parts may not add through due to roundings.
SCOTLAND
Sheriff Courts
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many ordinary actions were raised in (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Aberdeen, (d) Paisley, (e) Dundee, (f) Airdrie and (g) Stornoway sheriff courts in November 1994; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The figures for ordinary actions are set out in the following table:
3
November 1994
|Ordinary actions
---------------------------------------------------
(a) Glasgow |743
(b) Edinburgh |469
(c) Aberdeen |282
(d) Paisley |212
(e) Dundee |163
(f) Airdrie |141
(g) Stornoway |11
Student Funding
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average amount of funding for
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each student in higher education in Scotland in each year since 1987 88.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Complete information is not readily available in the form requested.
The average amount per student of recurrent grant funding plus estimated publicly-funded tuition fees at the higher education institutions funded, since April 1993, by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council is as follows:
|Amount per student
Academic year |£
---------------------------------------------------------
1993-94 |5,100
1994-95 |5,200
Council of Europe
Sir Russell Johnston: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he proposes to take in response to recommendation 1245 (1994) of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe relating to detention pending trial; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Recommendation 1245 (1994) of the parliamentary Assembly of the
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Council of Europe has yet to be approved by the Committee of Ministers. The existing requirements in Scots law in relation to the detention of persons pending trial are designed to balance the interests of the accused and the presumption of innocence with the interests of justice and public safety.Pupil-teacher Ratios
Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the pupil-teacher ratio for (a) primary and (b) secondary education authority schools; and what plans he has for improving such ratios.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The 1993 94 pupil-teacher ratios for primary and secondary education authority schools are 19.5 and 12.8 respectively. Staffing levels in schools, which clearly govern such ratios, are a matter for local authorities to determine.
Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the pupil-teacher ratio in independent and grant-aided schools for (a) under 11 years and (b) over 12 years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Information by age ranges in the form requested is not available. The overall pupil-teacher ratio in the independent and grant-aided--including grant-aided special--school sectors is 10.6:1 and 8.5:1 respectively.
NHS Beds
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hospital NHS beds in each year since 1978, and for each area of Scotland, were available in total and by specialty for (a) acute, (b) intensive care, (c) long-term care (geriatric), (d) maternity (e) paediatric, (f) psychiatric and (g) casualty.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 13 January 1995]: I am arranging for the information on hospital NHS beds for the years since 1986 together with total numbers of hospital NHS beds for the years between 1978 and 1985 to be sent to the right hon. Member and placed in the Library of the House. Bed numbers for individual specialties are not readily available for the period between 1978 and 1985.
Mr. Monser-al-Kassar
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration led to the release from prison of Mr. Monser-al-Kassar.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: On 25 December 1977 Monser-al-Kassar completed a prison sentence which had been imposed on him. Thereafter he was detained as an illegal entrant and was removed as such to the Lebanon on 16 February 1978.
Local Government Reform
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his letter of 31 August 1994 to Councillor Robert Gould of Strathclyde regional council, what are his latest estimates of the savings over 15 years of the revised structure of local government in Scotland.
Mr. Stewart: The estimated savings over 15 years due to local government re-organisation in Scotland remain those set out in my letter of 31 August to Mr. Gould, a copy of which I am depositing in the House Library.
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Bellwin Scheme
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if capital expenditure by local authorities, including the capital repair of housing stock, is recoverable under the Bellwin scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart: The Bellwin scheme applies only to expenditure of a current nature.
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the cost of furniture storage by (a) local authorities, (b) individual tenants and (c) individual owner-occupiers will be rechargeable at 85 per cent. of gross costs under the Bellwin scheme.
Mr. Stewart: The cost to local authorities of storing furniture is in principle eligible for grant under the Bellwin scheme, provided that the other criteria of the scheme are met.
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the elements of flood prevention measures which are reclaimable under the Bellwin scheme.
Mr. Stewart: The cost of emergency repairs to flood prevention work can be eligible for grant under the Bellwin scheme. The construction of new works, or the carrying out of longer-term works of reinstatement which would be of a capital rather than a current nature, are not eligible for such grant.
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how affected regional and district authorities can maximise their claims in relation to the Bellwin scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart: The regional and district councils affected by the recent floods can maximise the assistance they obtain under the Bellwin scheme by ensuring that they include in their claims all items of expenditure eligible under the scheme. The Scottish Office finance circular number 6/1990, a copy of which is in the Library, gives guidance on what could be eligible under the scheme, and what is excluded. Officials of the Scottish Office have had discussions with some of the relevant councils to explain the arrangements and will give advice as necessary.
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the trigger figure for the Bellwin scheme for each (a) district, (b) regional and (c) proposed unitary authority in Scotland.
Mr. Stewart: The present thresholds for all existing local authorities in Scotland are in the table. Thresholds for the new unitary authorities are not yet available.
|1994-95
|threshold
Authority |£
--------------------------------------------
Regions:
Borders |164,304
Central |423,730
Dumfries and Galloway |234,432
Fife |541,408
Grampian |783,305
Highland |312,175
Lothian |1,183,230
Strathclyde |3,591,706
Tayside |601,048
Districts:
Aberdeen |49,357
Angus |21,821
Annandale and Eskdale |8,847
Argyll and Bute |15,170
Badenoch and Strathspey |2,640
Banff and Buchan |19,538
Bearsden and Milngavie |9,224
Berwickshire |4,537
Caithness |6,049
Clackmannan |11,268
Clydebank |10,764
Clydesdale |13,374
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth |14,216
Cumnock and Doon Valley |10,371
Cunninghame |32,182
Dumbarton |17,976
Dundee |38,859
Dunfermline |29,942
East Kilbride |19,490
East Lothian |20,023
Eastwood |13,685
Edinburgh |104,963
Ettrick and Lauderdale |7,980
Falkirk |33,635
Glasgow |164,869
Gordon |16,932
Hamilton |24,654
Inverclyde |20,977
Inverness |14,342
Kilmarnock and Loudoun |19,221
Kincardine and Deeside |11,688
Kirkcaldy |34,978
Kyle and Carrick |27,047
Lochaber |4,404
Midlothian |18,387
Monklands |23,981
Moray |19,530
Motherwell |33,369
Nairn |2,433
Nithsdale |13,391
North East Fife |15,979
Perth and Kinross |29,132
Renfrew |46,490
Ross and Cromarty |10,928
Roxburgh |8,446
Skye and Lochalsh |2,678
Stewartry |6,658
Stirling |18,523
Strathkelvin |19,641
Sutherland |3,173
Tweeddale |3,587
West Lothian |33,431
Wigtown |7,134
Islands:
Orkney |35,274
Shetland |39,053
Western Isles |52,413
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the dates on which the Bellwin scheme has been invoked in Scotland since 1980; if he will give the locations and reasons in each case; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Stewart: The Bellwin scheme was introduced in 1983. Since then, it has been triggered six times as follows:
28 April 1989
All Scotland.
8 February 1990
All Scotland.
8 January 1991
West of Scotland of which: Strathclyde Region, Highland Region, Dumfries and Galloway Region, Districts within those Regions, Western Isles Islands Council.
10 January 1992
Shetland Isles Islands Council, Orkney, Isles Islands Council, Western Isles Islands Council, Highland Region, Central Region. Districts within those Regions.
18 January 1993
Tayside Region. Districts within that Region.
19 December 1994
Strathclyde Region. Districts within that Region.
In 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 it was activated following a combination of flood and storm damage. In 1993 it was activated principally for the exceptional flooding in Tayside region, but this had been preceded by severe winds and blizzards.
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the main components of expenditure which are reclaimable under the Bellwin scheme and those which are not; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart: Scottish Office finance circular No. 6/1990 sets out the rules governing the operation of the Bellwin scheme in Scotland. Eligible expenditure under the scheme must be incurred by a local authority in providing relief and carrying out immediate works to safeguard life or property or prevent suffering or severe inconvenience to affected communities.
The main categories of expenditure that could in principle be eligible under the Bellwin scheme are:
the cost of additional temporary employees or of contractors called in to work directly on the emergency or to replace permanent employees diverted from their usual work;
special overtime paid to permanent employees in the emergency or, later, to catch up on work from which they have diverted;
the cost of hiring additional plant and machinery;
emergency works required to safeguard dangerous structures, including temporary repairs to highways, pavements, footpaths; the cost of evacuating people from dangerous structures and temporarily housing them (including associated social services support);
the costs of supplying food, other stores and key services to affected communities;
the costs of maintaining key communications, in particular clearing of roads.
Expenditure excluded from the scheme includes:
the normal wages and salaries of the authority's regular employees or the standing costs of plant and equipment;
the cost of dealing with any damage or loss that is insurable under normal insurance policies;
longer-term works of repair and restoration, and repair and refurbishment of damaged but not dangerous structures;
payment to householders and others in respect of damage to non-insurable items such as garden fences and trees and shrubs, unless action must be taken immediately because they present a danger to the community.
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Bellwin scheme was (a) initiated and (b) last reviewed or revised; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Stewart: The Bellwin scheme has been in force since 1983 and specific statutory powers were provided in section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The scheme was last revised in March 1990 following the decision to increase the grant rate from 75 per cent. to 85 per cent.
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