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Nolan Committee
Mrs. Ann Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister if he will place a transcript of each day's proceedings of the Nolan committee in the Library as it is published.
The Prime Minister: Publication of transcripts of each day's proceedings is a matter for the Committee on Standards in public life. I understand that copies are available from the company appointed by the committee to prepare its official transcript. The Library can, of course, subscribe to this service.
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has for sanctions to be available in the case of a witness who deliberately misleads the Nolan committee.
The Prime Minister: There is no reason to believe that such circumstances will arise.
Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Prime Minister whether Ministers have informal meetings on matters of public policy with lobbying groups in the course of meetings which they are attending in a private capacity.
The Prime Minister: Ministers do not hold or attend meetings on matters of public policy in a private capacity.
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Lockerbie
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister following the letter he has received from Miss Pamela Dix of Woking, secretary of United Kingdom Families of Flight 103 of 21 December 1994, if he will amend his answer to the oral question from the hon. Member for Linlithgow on 15 December 1994, Official Report , column 1068.
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to him on 10 January 1995, Official Report , column 20 .
Home Ownership
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Prime Minister if it remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government to promote home ownership; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 20 January 1995]: Yes. Owner-occupation in the United Kingdom has risen from just over 54 per cent. in 1979 to over 66 per cent. now. Home ownership is more affordable than for many years. Surveys show that owner-occupation is the preferred housing choice of about 80 per cent. of people. The Government remain fully committed to promoting the continued growth of sustainable home ownership, both by prudent management of the economy and through specific policies to help people become home owners.
Training Courses
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list each training and tuition course with a total cost exceeding £5,000 paid for by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies during the last 12 months, showing the title and objectives of each course, the name of the organisations engaged, the total cost of each course, a summary of the responsibilities of staff members taking part and the process for course evaluation by the Department or agency.
Mr. David Hunt: I have been asked to reply.
In the Departments and agencies for which I and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister have responsibility the information for the calendar year 1994 is as follows:
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Title: |The General Management
| Development Programme.
Objectives |To contribute towards achieving
| results through corporate and
| executive development.
Organisation |Sundridge Park Business
| School.
Total cost |£37,392.
Number of attendees |6.
Responsibility of attendees |Business and Support Managers
| in Business Suppliesdivision,
| HMSO
Evaluation |Verbal feedback and written
| course appraisals from attendees
2.
Title: |Strategic Management
| Programme
Objectives |To help senior managers
| develop their strategic
| management skills, enabling
| them to apply these skills in the
| context of their own
| organisations
Organisation |Henley management college
Total cost |£10,516
Number of attendees |1
Responsibility of attendees |Senior managers in HMSO
Evaluation |Verbal feedback and written
| course appraisal from attendees
No staff attended any other external training and tuition courses in 1994 where total costs for the individual exceeded £5,000.
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Column 27
EMPLOYMENT
Low Pay
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of (a) male and (b) female employees and the total number of employees estimated to be on low pay for each of the standard regions of the United Kingdom; and if he will publish comparable available data for each of the member states of the European Union.
Mr. Oppenheim: Definitions of low pay are arbitrary and take no account of particular circumstances. There is therefore no definition of low pay upon which such an analysis can be based.
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Training Schemes
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide for each of the past five years and for (a) those unemployed for six to 12 months, (b) those unemployed for 12 to 24 months and (c) those unemployed for more than 24 months, the percentage of those leaving adult training schemes who progressed to (i) full-time work, (ii) part-time work, (iii) self-employment, (iv) further education or training and (v) unemployment in, respectively, Southampton, Itchen, Southampton and Hampshire.
Mr. Paice: Information is not available for individual constituencies and local authorities. Information for Hampshire training and enterprise council is given in the table. It is not possible to give separate figures for those unemployed for 12 to 24 months and more than 24 months.
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'
Employment Training
Percentage of leavers in each outcome three months after leaving July 1989-March 1990 leavers in Hampshire TEC area
|Further education
|Full-time work |Part time-work |Self employment |and training<1> |Unemployment<2>
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unemployment duration before starting
training
6-12 months |31 |6 |7 |2 |46
Greater than 12 months |24 |10 |3 |1 |53
'
Employment Training
Percentage of leavers in each outcome three months after leaving 1990-91 leavers in Hampshire TEC area
|Further education
|Full-time work |Part time-work |Self employment |and training<1> |Unemployment<2>
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unemployment duration before starting
training
6-12 months |20 |5 |5 |3 |58
Greater than 12 months |14 |14 |1 |2 |56
Employment Training
Percentage of leavers in each outcome six months after leaving 1991-92 leavers in Hampshire TEC area
|Further education
|Full-time work |Part time-work |Self employment |and training<1> |Unemployment<2>
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unemployment duration before starting training
6-12 months |16 |7 |5 |4 |61
Greater than 12 months |9 |12 |2 |3 |66
'
Employment Training
Percentage of leavers in each outcome six months after leaving 1992-93 leavers in Hampshire TEC area
|Further education
|Full-time work |Part time-work |Self employment |and training<1> |Unemployment<2>
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unemployment duration before starting
training
6-12 months |23 |6 |2 |3 |58
Greater than 12 months |12 |8 |2 |4 |66
Employment Training
Percentage of leavers in each outcome six months after leaving 1993-94 leavers in Hampshire TEC area
|Further education
|Full-time work |Part time-work |Self employment |and training<1> |Unemployment<2>
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unemployment duration before starting
training
6-12 months |30 |9 |3 |7 |45
Greater than 12 months |16 |7 |2 |5 |60
Source:
ET/TFW national follow-up survey
Notes:
<1> Includes those on another Government training programme.
<2> Includes those in a jobclub.
$$$$ This take was intentionally left blank
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Rwandan Refugees
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting of African states which met in Nairobi earlier this month to consider the problem of Rwandan refugees who refuse to return home; and if he will make logistical support available to assist African states who seek to break the hold of the defeated Rwandan Government on the refugee camps in Zaire.
Mr. Baldry: We welcome the involvement of regional Governments in efforts to solve the problems of Rwandan refugees. We are supporting international action to secure the safe return of Rwandan refugees to their homes from the camps in Zaire and elsewhere and will look carefully at any firm proposals for logistical support when received.
Iraq
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from the Overseas Development Administration team that recently visited the Iraq-Iran border on the number of refugees moving from Iraq to Iran and the reasons for their movement.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 19 January 1995]: It is estimated that some 645,000 Iraqi refugees are currently in Iran, of whom 500, 000 arrived before 1991, and the remainder following the Gulf war. The ODA team visited the area bordering the southern Iraq marshes and focused on the needs of recent refugees. There are around 5,000 in the camp at Himmet on the Iranian side of the border. At present, fewer than 50 persons a week are succeeding in crossing the border. Many more, possibly up to 250,000, may be unable to reach the border because of Iraqi military action. Informants told the team that many people are fleeing not just because of Saddam Hussein's brutal suppression of opposition in the south and destruction of the marshlands, but also increasingly because of economic hardship due to the loss of their livelihood and human rights abuses in the whole of central and southern Iraq.
Israel
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress being made in transferring British and multilateral development funds to the Palestinian national authority while securing the proper
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accountability for the appropriate expenditure of those funds.Mr. Baldry [holding answer 19 January 1995]: British bilateral aid to the Palestinians in the current financial year is expected to amount to £6.5 million. Some £3.5 million comprises bilateral know-how projects and support for projects managed by British non- governmental organisations. These are subject to our normal monitoring and accounting procedures. The remaining £3 million was a contribution towards the net salaries of the Palestinian civilian police. The payment mechanism used, which included monitoring and audit of disbursements by the Crown Agents, ensured full accountability for our funds.
In addition, we contribute to multilateral programmes including those of the World bank, the European Community and United Nations agencies. These funds are subject to the accountability requirements of the institutions concerned. Full details of multilateral assistance to the Palestinian authority are not available. The World bank estimates that since the Israeli-Palestinian declaration of principles in September 1993 it has disbursed $61 million from funds under its management. The European Community expects to have disbursed some 56 million ecu--£44 million-- by the end of February.
Nigeria
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is being planned by the World bank and African development bank to block loans to Nigeria until democracy is restored.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: Under their articles of agreement, the World bank and African development bank are required to take only economic and technical considerations into account in their decisions on lending.
South Africa
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is his Department's specific policy to encourage small British firms to invest in South Africa.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: The British investment in South Africa promotion scheme aims to help the development of small and medium enterprises in South Africa, particularly those from disadvantaged communities, by promoting and assisting new investment in South Africa by small British businesses.
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Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the ODA is prepared to fund small British businesses in the field of information technology who wish to work in South Africa.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him today. Small British businesses in the field of information technology are eligible under the scheme.
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is ODA policy to assist small British firms which wish to do business in South Africa; and what proportion of the budget for South Africa is geared towards funding small British businesses.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him today. The sum allocated for the British investment in South Africa promotion scheme is £2 million. We do not set spending targets for our aid programme to South Africa by sector or project.
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the result of ethnic monitoring of the ownership of British firms that have received contracts from the ODA for work in the field of information technology in South Africa.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: ODA does not monitor the award of contracts to British firms under aid programme by ethnic ownership.
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the ODA is prepared to fund small black British firms which have viable projects with black South African partners in the field of information technology in South Africa.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: The selection of projects agreed for funding under the aid programme to South Africa is made in the context of the priority areas of focus we have agreed with the South African Government. Where projects involve the supply of British goods and services, we employ our normal competitive tendering arrangements.
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much British development aid money in South Africa is being spent on (a) large British firms, (b) medium-size British firms and (c) small British firms in the field of information technology.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: We do not collate information on British firms, contracted under the aid programme, according to their size.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Extradition
Mr. Madden: To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the changes in extradition procedures applying in Ireland of which he has been informed by the Irish Attorney-General; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General: I have not been informed by the Irish Attorney -General of any such changes since the latest amendments to the extradition legislation of the Republic of Ireland which came into force on 22 August 1994. Any changes in their internal procedures are a matter for the Irish authorities.
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Brendan Smyth
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his oral answer of 16 January, Official Report, column 448, to the supplementary question by the hon. Member for Thurrock in the matter of Brendan Smyth, if he will explain his reference to a holiday alleged to have been taken in Ireland by the hon. Member for Thurrock; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General: I was mistaken. I have written to the hon. Member.
EDUCATION
Youth Service
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the spending on the youth service in each local education authority for (a) 1991 92, (b) 1992 93, (c) 1993 94 and (d) 1994 95.
Mr. Boswell: The table sets out net recurrent expenditure by LEAs in England on the youth service for 1991 92 and 1992 93, the latest year for which figures are available. These figures are in actual terms and are drawn from LEAs' own returns of their expenditure to the Department of the Environment.
Youth Service
£000
|Net recurrent|Net recurrent
|expenditure |expenditure
LEA |1991-92 |1992-93
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Corporation of London |46 |16
Camden |2,015 |1,791
Greenwich |1,613 |2,746
Hackney |2,549 |3,565
Hammersmith |1,771 |1,635
Islington |2,748 |2,311
Kensington and Chelsea |1,712 |2,063
Lambeth |1,937 |1,850
Lewisham |992 |1,464
Southwark |2,747 |2,208
Tower Hamlets |4,639 |4,217
Wandsworth |3,047 |3,116
Westminster |2,816 |2,623
Barking |593 |1,107
Barnet |1,295 |1,272
Bexley |1,076 |1,108
Brent |2,224 |2,733
Bromley |875 |981
Croydon |1,595 |1,657
Ealing |1,137 |1,007
Enfield |1,142 |1,108
Haringey |915 |804
Harrow |515 |621
Havering |1,067 |1,240
Hillingdon |904 |1,850
Hounslow |1,836 |2,036
Kingston upon Thames |782 |820
Merton |783 |889
Newham |1,670 |1,770
Redbridge |1,176 |1,311
Richmond upon Thames |723 |748
Sutton |765 |1,055
Waltham Forest |1,761 |1,866
Birmingham |2,987 |5,673
Coventry |1,600 |1,802
Dudley |1,022 |1,181
Sandwell |1,070 |964
Solihull |528 |656
Walsall |3,116 |1,110
Wolverhampton |2,302 |2,420
Knowsley |2,124 |1,473
Liverpool |3,107 |3,635
St. Helens |733 |131
Sefton |1,352 |1,331
Wirral |2,082 |2,352
Bolton |1,231 |1,401
Bury |851 |1,088
Manchester |2,874 |3,057
Oldham |897 |1,096
Rochdale |1,507 |1,408
Salford |1,096 |937
Stockport |892 |1,024
Tameside |2,000 |2,255
Trafford |1,038 |1,141
Wigan |1,314 |1,289
Barnsley |468 |960
Doncaster |2,054 |1,832
Rotherham |1,358 |1,842
Sheffield |4,464 |4,423
Bradford |3,518 |3,494
Calderdale |710 |1,384
Kirklees |2,961 |3,380
Leeds |7,457 |3,199
Wakefield |1,252 |1,252
Gateshead |804 |880
Newcastle upon Tyne |823 |3,035
North Tyneside |659 |608
South Tyneside |462 |527
Sunderland |1,836 |1,688
Isles of Scilly |1 |2
Avon |5,548 |5,875
Bedfordshire |1,914 |2,302
Berkshire |3,830 |4,236
Buckinghamshire |4,174 |4,849
Cambridgeshire |3,120 |3,497
Cheshire |3,565 |3,328
Cleveland |4,460 |4,590
Cornwall |1,336 |1,638
Cumbria |1,371 |1,671
Derbyshire |10,956 |10,666
Devon |3,882 |3,854
Dorset |3,071 |3,605
Durham |1,749 |4,901
East Sussex |1,748 |2,009
Essex |7,405 |8,150
Gloucestershire |2,388 |2,816
Hampshire |3,654 |3,871
Hereford and Worcester |1,891 |2,136
Hertfordshire |4,122 |4,257
Humberside |5,499 |6,158
Isle of Wight |603 |752
Kent |5,660 |5,372
Lancashire |7,941 |8,510
Leicestershire |3,783 |5,318
Lincolnshire |1,558 |1,860
Norfolk |2,765 |2,902
North Yorkshire |2,527 |3,146
Northamptonshire |2,328 |2,258
Northumberland |2,949 |3,139
Nottinghamshire |6,780 |6,504
Oxfordshire |1,919 |2,267
Shropshire |2,512 |2,608
Somerset |1,416 |1,788
Staffordshire |5,746 |8,104
Suffolk |1,102 |1,155
Surrey |3,712 |4,081
Warwickshire |1,469 |1,209
West Sussex |2,623 |2,861
Wiltshire |2,647 |4,089
England Total |251,739 |273,850
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans she has to place the funding of the youth service on a statutory footing.
Mr. Boswell: No further legislation is planned. In the case of the youth service, local authorities have a need to decide, within the resources available to them, the appropriate level of provision in order to fulfil their duties deriving from sections 41 and 53 of the Education Act 1994. The Government do not determine this centrally.
Mature Students Allowance
Mrs. Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what are the implications for students of the withdrawal of the mature students allowance starting in the academic session 1995 96; (2) what sources of finance are available to mature students; and what assessment she has made of the impact on the living standards of such students of the removal of the mature students allowance in 1995 96;
(3) if he will make a statement on the withdrawal of the mature students allowance for students beginning higher education in 1995 96 following the paper "Main Rates of Student Grants and Loans for 1995 96".
Mr. Boswell: The older students allowance is currently payable under the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations as part of a means-tested mandatory award for eligible students on designated courses. It is not targeted at any specific maintenance need which the student may have and its retention could not be justified in the present financial climate. It remains available to eligible students who are already on their courses, but not to new students starting courses on or after 1 September 1995. A range of other sources of financial support for older students exists depending upon their individual circumstances and the type of course they attend.
Teachers Salaries
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list for each local eduction authority (a) the current annual cost of teacher salaries, (b) the cost of a 2 per cent. increase in teachers' pay for 1994 95 and (c) the cost of a 2.5 per cent. increase in teachers' pay.
Mr. Robin Squire: The table sets out the 1992 93 expenditure recorded by LEAs in England on teaching staff salaries in nursery and primary, secondary and special schools. These are the latest available figures for LEA-maintained schools. To provide an estimate of the cost of pay awards, the 1992 93 figures have been uprated by the 1993 teachers' pay award, 1.5 per cent. to arrive at notional 1993 94 baselines on which cost of hypothetical increases in teachers' pay for 1994 95 of 2 per cent. and 2.5 per cent. has been calculated. These estimates take no
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account of changes in teacher numbers or other factors that will have affected the teachers' pay bill. The actual increase in teachers' pay 1994 95 was 2.9 per cent.
LEA expenditure on teachers' salaries
Nursery,
Primary, |1992-93 (in
Secondary and |1992-93 |1993-94 |2 per cent. |2.5 per cent.
Special |(actual) |terms) |increase |increase
Schools |(£000) |(£000) |(£000) |£(000)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporation of
London |428 |434 |9 |11
Camden |36,778 |37,330 |747 |933
Greenwich |57,441 |58,303 |1,166 |1,458
Hackney |42,157 |42,789 |856 |1,070
Hammersmith |25,144 |25,521 |510 |638
Islington |40,339 |40,944 |819 |1,024
Kensington and
Chelsea |15,969 |16,209 |324 |405
Lambeth |45,081 |45,757 |915 |1,144
Lewisham |43,850 |44,508 |890 |1,113
Southwark |43,037 |43,683 |874 |1,092
Tower Hamlets |57,235 |58,094 |1,162 |1,452
Wandsworth |41,485 |42,107 |842 |1,053
Westminster |29,064 |29,500 |590 |737
Barking |34,134 |34,646 |693 |866
Barnet |61,723 |62,649 |1,253 |1,566
Bexley |43,229 |43,877 |878 |1,097
Brent |48,628 |49,357 |987 |1,234
Bromley |37,052 |37,608 |752 |940
Croydon |56,379 |57,225 |1,144 |1,431
Ealing |48,569 |49,298 |986 |1,232
Enfield |57,216 |58,074 |1,161 |1,452
Haringey |46,196 |46,889 |938 |1,172
Harrow |38,397 |38,973 |779 |974
Havering |49,716 |50,462 |1,009 |1,262
Hillingdon |32,850 |33,343 |667 |834
Hounslow |48,372 |49,454 |989 |1,236
Kingston upon
Thames |26,672 |27,072 |541 |677
Merton |34,380 |34,896 |698 |872
Newham |55,156 |55,983 |1,120 |1,400
Redbridge |48,178 |48,901 |978 |1,223
Richmond
upon
Thames |25,951 |26,340 |527 |659
Sutton |26,067 |26,458 |529 |661
Waltham
Forest |49,215 |49,953 |999 |1,249
Birmingham |226,986 |230,391 |4,608 |5,760
Coventry |68,241 |69,265 |1,385 |1,732
Dudley |61,409 |62,330 |1,247 |1,558
Sandwell |67,116 |68,123 |1,362 |1,703
Solihull |44,663 |45,333 |907 |1,133
Walsall |57,957 |58,826 |1,177 |1,471
Wolverhampton |52,823 |53,615 |1,072 |1,340
Knowsley |34,957 |35,481 |710 |887
Liverpool |106,122 |107,714 |2,154 |2,693
St. Helens |40,656 |41,266 |825 |1,032
Sefton |58,695 |59,575 |1,192 |1,489
Wirral |71,520 |72,593 |1,452 |1,815
Bolton |58,731 |59,612 |1,192 |1,490
Bury |33,786 |34,293 |686 |857
Manchester |98,210 |99,683 |1,994 |2,492
Oldham |57,609 |58,473 |1,169 |1,462
Rochdale |44,279 |44,943 |899 |1,124
Salford |51,731 |52,507 |1,050 |1,313
Stockport |58,114 |58,986 |1,180 |1,475
Tameside |46,054 |46,745 |935 |1,169
Trafford |39,523 |40,116 |802 |1,003
Wigan |72,263 |73,347 |1,467 |1,834
Barnsley |40,094 |40,695 |814 |1,017
Doncaster |61,082 |61,998 |1,240 |1,550
Rotherham |59,486 |60,378 |1,208 |1,509
Sheffield |95,070 |96,496 |1,930 |2,412
Bradford |113,897 |115,605 |2,312 |2,890
Calderdale |40,476 |41,083 |822 |1,027
Kirklees |83,022 |84,267 |1,685 |2,107
Leeds |144,719 |146,890 |2,938 |3,672
Wakefield |65,138 |66,115 |1,322 |1,653
Gateshead |41,420 |42,041 |841 |1,051
Newcastle
upon Tyne |54,297 |55,111 |1,102 |1,378
North Tyneside |43,475 |44,127 |883 |1,103
South Tyneside |31,785 |32,262 |645 |807
Sunderland |64,315 |65,280 |1,306 |1,632
Isles of Scilly |599 |608 |12 |15
Avon |179,711 |182,407 |3,648 |4,560
Bedfordshire |116,753 |118,504 |2,370 |2,963
Berkshire |133,913 |135,922 |2,718 |3,398
Buckinghamshire |116,645 |118,395 |2,368 |2,960
Cambridgeshire |121,295 |123,114 |2,462 |3,078
Cheshire |193,359 |196,259 |3,925 |4,906
Cleveland |136,127 |138,169 |2,763 |3,454
Cornwall |86,734 |88,035 |1,761 |2,201
Cumbria |94,791 |96,213 |1,924 |2,405
Derbyshire |187,005 |189,810 |3,796 |4,745
Devon |179,197 |181,885 |3,638 |4,547
Dorest |99,774 |101,271 |2,025 |2,532
Durham |122,305 |124,140 |2,483 |3,103
East Sussex |115,326 |117,056 |2,341 |2,926
Essex |279,683 |283,878 |5,678 |7,097
Gloucestershire |87,598 |88,912 |1,778 |2,223
Hampshire |281,689 |285,914 |5,718 |7,148
Hereford and
Worcester |133,454 |135,456 |2,709 |3,386
Hertfordshire |195,847 |198,785 |3,976 |4,970
Humberside |184,702 |187,473 |3,749 |4,687
Isle of Wight |24,255 |24,619 |492 |615
Kent |257,412 |261,273 |5,225 |6,532
Lancashire |290,367 |294,723 |5,894 |7,368
Leicestershire |192,009 |194,889 |3,898 |4,872
Lincolnshire |94,889 |96,312 |1,926 |2,408
Norfolk |129,927 |131,876 |2,638 |3,297
North
Yorkshire |137,936 |140,005 |2,800 |3,500
Northamptonshire |117,669 |119,434 |2,389 |2,986
Northumberland |62,703 |63,644 |1,273 |1,591
Nottinghamshire |204,216 |207,279 |4,146 |5,182
Oxfordshire |102,211 |103,744 |2,075 |2,594
Shropshire |87,570 |88,884 |1,778 |2,222
Somerset |83,851 |85,109 |1,702 |2,128
Staffordshire |201,758 |204,784 |4,096 |5,120
Suffolk |126,106 |127,998 |2,560 |3,200
Surrey |151,970 |154,250 |3,085 |3,856
Warwickshire |90,879 |92,242 |1,845 |2,306
West Sussex |128,140 |130,062 |2,601 |3,252
Wiltshire |105,215 |106,793 |2,136 |2,670
England Total |9,371,750 |9,788,184 |195,764 |244,705
Discretionary Awards
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the highest and lowest maximum discretionary awards provided by local education authorities in England for (a) further education students and (b) higher education students.
Mr. Boswell: The information requested is not collected centrally. The provision of discretionary awards is a matter for local education authorities which determine the distribution and size of awards in the light of local needs and priorities.
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Special Needs
Mr. David Porter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proposals she has to develop a national strategy for special needs students in the 16-plus age range to supply a national progression for them after statutory schooling; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell: The Education Act 1993, the code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs and the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 already provide a comprehensive framework for the progression of students with special educational needs from schools to post-16 education, training or employment.
School Playing Fields
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many school playing fields there were in each local education authority in each of the last four years.
Mr. Robin Squire: The table sets out data from the Sports Council's register of recreational land, giving the number of school sports pitches by local education authority in England as at July 1994. Information for earlier years is unavailable.
Not all local education authorities have submitted full returns and the figures should be interpreted with caution. The register excludes playing fields on sites with an area of less than 0.4 hectares, so a number of small school playing fields are not recorded.
Local Education |Sports pitches
Authorities
-------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |263
Barking and Dagenham |288
Barnet |22
Barnsley |194
Bedfordshire |451
Berkshire |509
Bexley |0
Birmingham |216
Bolton |363
Bradford |309
Brent |36
Bromley |0
Buckinghamshire |286
Bury |245
Calderdale |96
Cambridgeshire |329
Camden |64
Cheshire |1,618
City of London |0
Cleveland |733
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly |664
Coventry |545
Croydon |332
Cumbria |599
Derbyshire |807
Devon |447
Doncaster |649
Dorset |421
Dudley |145
Durham |656
Ealing |98
East Sussex |233
Enfield |366
Essex |759
Gateshead |120
Gloucestershire |551
Greenwich |49
Hackney |6
Hammersmith |12
Hampshire |753
Haringey |14
Harrow |0
Havering |86
Hereford and Worcester |1,107
Hertfordshire |1,633
Hillingdon |97
Hounslow |43
Humberside |838
Isle of Wight |104
Islington |0
Kensington and Chelsea |0
Kent |1,579
Kingston upon Thames |69
Kirklees |104
Knowsley |157
Lambeth |10
Lancashire |1,816
Leeds |481
Leicstershire |791
Lewisham |2
Lincolnshire |505
Liverpool |245
Manchester |148
Merton |30
Newcastle upon Tyne |151
Newham |47
Norfolk |569
North Yorkshire |822
North Tyneside |175
Northamptonshire |401
Northumberland |595
Nottinghamshire |1,443
Oldham |168
Oxfordshire |496
Redbridge |133
Richmond upon Thames |101
Rochdale |314
Rotherham |385
Salford |226
Sandwell |90
Sefton |167
Sheffield |521
Shropshire |405
Solihull |205
Somerset |261
South Tyneside |112
Southwark |3
St. Helens |123
Staffordshire |772
Stockport |397
Suffolk |575
Sunderland |173
Surrey |568
Sutton |13
Tameside |269
Tower Hamlets |3
Trafford |209
Wakefield |292
Walsall |283
Waltham Forest |5
Wandsworth |29
Warwickshire |384
West Sussex |960
Westminster |0
Wigan |263
Wiltshire |294
Wirral |226
Wolverhampton |278
Total |37,799
Further Education Colleges
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the basis for action by the Further Education Funding Council for England and against the governing bodies of colleges; and if she will make a statement on the adequacy of those powers.
Mr. Boswell: Under section 5(7) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, the Further Education Funding Council for England may make any grants, loans or other payments to the governing body subject to terms and conditions which enable the council to require the repayment in whole or in part of sums paid by the council if any of the terms and conditions are not complied with and require the payment of interest in respect of any sums not so repaid. The council is required to keep this power under review. The instruments of government for further education corporations also require the statement of accounts to comply with any directions given by the council.
In the event of mismanagement, breach of duty or unreasonable actions by a governing body, responsibility rests with my right hon. Friend. She is satisfied that the range of powers available to her and the council are, taken together, adequate.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Absenteeism
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the absenteeism rate for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in each year since 1991.
Mr. Goodlad: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office diplomatic wing administration does not collect statistics on absenteeism centrally. Comprehensive sick leave records are not available for 1991, 1992 and 1993; details could be completed only at disproportionate cost. In the case of ODA, the figures for sick leave are available but will take a little time to produce. I shall write to the hon. Member when they are available.
Rwanda
Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to assist with the establishment of an international criminal tribunal with regard to militia murders in Rwanda.
Mr. Douglas Hogg: The United Kingdom was a co-sponsor of Security Council resolution 955 of 8 November 1994 which established an international criminal tribunal for Rwanda.
We have recently indicated to the prosecutor of the tribunal that we will be contributing up to £200,000 to fund UK staff and to provide equipment for his office.
UN Social Development Programme
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the formal representations made by Her Majesty's Government since 1993 in the preparation of each of the three drafts of the
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UN declaration and action programme on social development, giving the dates of each.Mr. Douglas Hogg: We have participated actively in each of the four preparatory committee meetings held in New York to agree the documentation for the world summit for social development. The dates for these are:1 to 11 February 1994, 22 August to 2 September 1994, 24 to 28 October 1994--an intersessional meeting--and 16 to 27 January 1995. We have also been very active in the many EU co-ordination meetings that have taken place in Brussels and New York, putting forward many suggestions for strong texts on the three core issues which have been taken up by the EU as a whole.
East Timor
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he supports United Nations policy that Indonesia should resolve the dispute over East Timor through a referendum of the people of East Timor.
Mr. Goodlad: We support the UN Secretary-General's efforts to promote a just, comprehensive and internationally acceptable settlement to the question of East Timor, taking account of the wishes and interests of the East Timorese. He informed the Foreign Ministers of Portugal and Indonesia on 9 January of his intention to facilitate the convening of an "all-inclusive intra-East Timorese dialogue" to help establish an atmosphere conducive to achieving a solution, which we welcome. The question of a referendum did not arise.
Chinese Foreign Minister
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects a visit from the Chinese Foreign Minister to the United Kingdom.
Mr. Goodlad: We would welcome a visit to the United Kingdom by the Chinese Foreign Minister but, as yet, no dates have been discussed with the Chinese Government.
Harjit Singh
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the report on the hearing of 26 November 1994 into the case of Harjit Singh has now been prepared by his officers in the high commission in New Delhi.
Mr. Baldry: We understand that the hearing in the case of Harjit Singh, which was scheduled for 26 November was postponed yet again. The next hearing is scheduled for 28 January.
Kenya
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has yet received an invitation to help Kenya adopt a new constitution suited to multi-party democracy; and what has been his response to this request for assistance.
Mr. Baldry: We have not yet received a formal request from the Kenyan Government to provide an expert to help take forward the process of constitutional reform. If we do, we shall give it careful consideration.
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Nigeria
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many opposition leaders are currently in prison in Nigeria; and what representations he has made on this issue to the Nigerian Government.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: A number of political leaders are currently in detention. With our European Union partners we have made several representations to the Nigerian Government calling for the release or proper trial of those detained.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which specific human rights abuses in Nigeria he has raised with the Government of that country.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: With our European Union partners we have called for the release or early trial of all political detainees, and for the lifting of travel restrictions on political activists. We have deplored repressive decrees issued by the Nigerian Government, including the proscriptions of media houses and increases in the power to order detention without trial. We continue to raise these issues with the Nigerian Government, with our partners and bilaterally, raising individual cases of abuse wherever appropriate.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to which Nigerian military or security personnel he has denied visas in line with European Union policy.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: It is not our policy to reveal details of individual visa applications. Since June 1993, however, in line with agreed European Union measures against Nigeria, visas have not been issued to members of the military and their dependants, except in a small number of exceptional cases.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the impact on Nigeria of the decision by European Foreign Ministers to suspend co-operation in the military sphere with the Nigerian Government.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: Since the European Union measures against the Nigerian military were announced in 1993, Nigerian military personnel have ceased to attend military training courses in the European Union. The British military assistance team to the Nigerian national war college was withdrawn in June 1993.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arms sales have taken place to Nigeria since the annulment of the June 1993 election.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 January 1995]: It has been the policy of successive Governments not to give details of individual arms sales. Information on transfers of major equipment is contained in the UN register of conventional arms, copies of the United Kingdom return to which are in the library.
In December 1993, with EU partners, we announced that all new applications for export licences for defence equipment would be reviewed, on a case-by- case basis, with the presumption of denial.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there has
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