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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 25 January 1995
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Absenteeism
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the absenteeism rate for (a) his Department, (b) the Historic Royal Palaces agency and (c) the Royal Parks agency in each year since 1991.
Mr. Dorrell: The absenteeism--sick absence--rate for the Department of National Heritage since it was created in April 1992, is shown below. The information for the two executive agencies, Historic Royal Palaces and Royal Parks, is not held centrally and is unavailable in the format requested. When the information is provided we will write to the hon. Member and arrange for copies of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
|Number of |Total number
|days absent |of staff
----------------------------------------------------
1992 |280 |207
1993 |516 |301
1994 |459 |362
Departmental Staff
Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many employees for which his Department is responsible were women (a) in 1991, (b) in 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994; and of these, how many were (i) at grade 7 level, (ii) at grade 3 level, (iii) at executive officer level, (iv) at administrative officer level and (v) at administrative assistant level.
Mr. Dorrell: The information requested is as follows. The Department of National Heritage was created on 13 April 1992 and the Royal Parks agency on 1 April 1993. While Historic Royal Palaces has been an executive agency since 2 October 1989, a breakdown of staffing figures in the format requested is not available for 1991.
K
|1992 |1993 |1994
|(Percentage |(Percentage |(Percentage
Grade |of total) |(Percentage of|(Percentage of
|total) |total)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade 3 |1 (33) |1 (25) |1 (25)
Grade 7 |6 (19) |11 (22) |16 (27)
EO |30 (43) |52 (48) |62 (47)
AO |48 (29) |76 (37) |91 (37)
AA |52 (55) |69 (50) |80 (39)
Sports Council
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how provision for disabled people will be
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included in the three new policy areas chosen for emphasis by the Sports Council GB.Mr. Dorrell: Under the proposals announced by the Minister with responsibility for sport on 8 July 1994, Official Report, columns 584 92 , I shall expect the Sports Council, and its successors, to give full weight to the needs of sport for able-bodied people and people with disabilities in spending its grant in aid from the Government. We have also asked the Sports Council to consider particularly the needs of those with physical or other disabilities in its distribution of national lottery funds.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Research and Development
Mr. Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was Government expenditure on research and development, civil and defence, for each of the last 10 years as a percentage of gross domestic product; and what were the equivalent figures for France, Germany, America and Japan.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: The information requested is shown in the table.
Government funding of research and development for civil and
defence objectives (as percentage of GDP): 1983 to 1992
Research and
Development
expenditure |UK |France |Germany<1> |USA |Japan<2>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1983
Total |1.32 |1.38 |1.14 |1.16 |0.52
Civil |0.66 |0.93 |1.03 |0.41 |n/a
Defence |0.65 |0.45 |0.11 |0.74 |n/a
1984
Total |1.25 |1.43 |1.11 |1.19 |0.50
Civil |0.64 |0.95 |1.00 |0.40 |n/a
Defence |0.61 |0.48 |0.11 |0.79 |n/a
1985
Total |1.19 |1.46 |1.15 |1.24 |0.48
Civil |0.63 |0.99 |1.02 |0.40 |0.46
Defence |0.57 |0.48 |0.14 |0.84 |0.02
1986
Total |1.11 |1.42 |1.11 |1.26 |0.48
Civil |0.61 |0.94 |0.98 |0.39 |0.46
Defence |0.50 |0.48 |0.13 |0.87 |0.02
1987
Total |1.02 |1.39 |1.11 |1.27 |0.48
Civil |0.57 |0.89 |0.97 |0.40 |0.46
Defence |0.45 |0.50 |0.14 |0.87 |0.02
1988
Total |0.93 |1.36 |1.06 |1.22 |0.46
Civil |0.54 |0.86 |0.93 |0.39 |0.44
Defence |0.40 |0.51 |0.13 |0.83 |0.02
1989
Total |0.90 |1.36 |1.06 |1.19 |0.46
Civil |0.51 |0.86 |0.93 |0.41 |0.43
Defence |0.39 |0.50 |0.14 |0.78 |0.02
1990
Total |0.88 |1.42 |1.04 |1.17 |0.45
Civil |0.51 |0.85 |0.90 |0.44 |0.43
Defence |0.37 |0.57 |0.14 |0.73 |0.02
1991
Total |0.88 |1.43 |1.05 |1.17 |<3>0.45
Civil |0.49 |0.89 |0.94 |0.47 |<3>0.42
Defence |0.40 |0.53 |0.12 |0.70 |<3>0.03
1992
Total |0.87 |1.39 |<3>1.03 |1.16 |<3>0.46
Civil |0.50 |0.92 |<3>0.93 |0.48 |<3>0.43
Defence |0.37 |0.47 |<3>0.11 |0.68 |<3>0.03
Notes:<1> For 1991 there is a break in series with previous year for which data is
available.
<2> Data for Japan are adjusted by OECD.
<3> = provisional.
Sources:
Annual Review of Government Funded R&D, 1990 (Table 6.9)
Annual Review of Government Funded R&D, 1991 (Table 1.6.5)
Forward Look 1994 Statistical Supplement (Table 1.6.7)
Commercial Lobbying
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on how many occasions in the last four months of which he has knowledge any civil servants in his Department have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements.
Mr. David Hunt: Officials receive representations about a wide variety of matters, but the information requested is not collected.
Mr. Campbell Savours: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on how many occasions in the last four months he or any of his Ministers have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements.
Mr. David Hunt: Ministers receive numerous representations about a wide variety of matters, but the information is not collected.
TRANSPORT
Coventry Airport
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of safety at Coventry airport.
Mr. Norris: The Civil Aviation Authority's aerodrome standards department is responsible for ensuring that United Kingdom civil aerodromes meet prescribed safety standards. I have therefore asked the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority to write to the hon. Member.
Rail Safety
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail passengers were killed or injured (i) by the opening or closing of carriage doors, falling through open
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doors or entering or alighting from trains and (ii) during train movement for each of the last five years (a) over the whole rail network, (b) in the Network SouthEast region, (c) in mark I electrical multiple unit slam door rolling stock in the Network SouthEast region and (d) in Networker 465 rolling stock in the Network SouthEast region.Mr. Watts: The table gives the details requested of passenger injuries for all railways in Great Britain since 1989.
The following table gives details for Network SouthEast and covers the period from its creation in 1992 to its reorganisation in March 1994, following the restructuring of the railway industry.
Passenger Injuries
All railways Great Britain
Entering or alighting from trains
|Major |Minor
|Fatal |injuries|injuries|Total
------------------------------------------------------
1989 |2 |51 |691 |744
1990 |2 |55 |736 |793
1991-92 |0 |39 |623 |662
1992-93 |3 |34 |665 |702
1993-94 |0 |9 |652 |661
Total |7 |188 |3,367 |3,562
Opening or closing of carriage door
|Major |Minor
|Fatal |injuries|injuries|Total
------------------------------------------------------
1989 |0 |5 |441 |446
1990 |1 |13 |803 |817
1991-92 |0 |5 |637 |642
1992-93 |0 |8 |627 |635
1993-94 |0 |2 |680 |682
Total |1 |33 |3,188 |3,222
Falling out of carriages during running of trains
|Major |Minor
|Fatal |injuries|injuries|Total
------------------------------------------------------
1989 |19 |16 |12 |47
1990 |19 |9 |20 |48
1991-92 |19 |4 |13 |36
1992-93 |9 |6 |28 |43
1993-94 |8 |2 |13 |23
Total |74 |37 |86 |197
Passenger Injuries Network Southeast
1 April 1992-31 March 1994
|Major |Minor
|Fatal |injuries|injuries|Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Entering or alighting
from trains |0 |9 |551 |560
Opening or closing of
carriage doors |0 |1 |414 |415
Falling out of carriages
during running of train |2 |1 |14 |17
Total |2 |11 |979 |992
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to press British Rail to implement the recommendation of the Cannon street rail accident inquiry that class 415 EMUs should be replaced by new Networker units as quickly as possible; when he estimates that this process will be completed; and what plans he has to press British Rail to replace other mark I EMUs and against what time scale.
Mr. Watts: I understand that the last class 415 EMU will be withdrawn from the Kent suburban fleet on 13 April 1995, along with classes 413 and 416.
The replacement and deployment of rolling stock, and the appropriate timing of an order, is a decision for BR. However, I understand BR's view is that all remaining "mark I" rolling stock on south eastern is likely to need replacement during 1999.
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much it costs to strengthen a single mark I slam door railway carriage to the standard required by HM railways inspectorate in relation to recommendation 55 of the Hidden investigation into the Clapham Junction railway accident.
Mr. Watts: British Rail's estimate of the cost of strengthening mark I rolling stock is around £300,000 per coach.
Vehicle Excise Duty
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many successful prosecutions for contravention of the (a) showman's vehicle and (b) agricultural vehicle excise duty concessions have taken place in the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Norris: These figures are not collected separately by the Department.
Transport and Pollution
Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response he has made to the recommendations of the Royal Commission report on transport and pollution; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris: The Government have welcomed the royal commission's report as a valuable contribution to the debate about transport and the environment. We are now studying the report's conclusions and recommendations and considering how we should respond.
Integrated Regional Offices
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list those of his Department's
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responsibilities which are administered by the integrated regional offices and, for each integrated regional office, the estimated annual expenditure on each of these responsibilities;(2) if he will list those of his Department's responsibilities on which integrated regional offices are responsible for preparing, advising on or implementing regional policy;
(3) if he will list those of his Department's responsibilities on which the integrated regional offices are required to advise him on the allocation of resources and, for each integrated regional office, the annual expenditure on each programme.
Mr. Norris: The Government offices for the regions play an important role in advising Ministers on the regional implementation of national transport policies, covering all modes of transport. They advise on local authority transport programmes and policies and on the allocation of resources for local transport capital expenditure, including transport supplementary grant, public transport facilities grant--under section 56 of the Transport Act 1968--Industrial Development Act grant and associated credit approvals.
The Government offices liaise with the Highways Agency on the trunk road programme and contribute to advice to Ministers on the programme's content and progress. They also provide advice to Ministers on the transport aspects of programmes administered by other Departments.
Local transport capital expenditure in 1993 94, the last complete financial year, is shown in the table.
The total running cost to the Department of the Government Offices for the current financial year is forecast to be as follows:
|£ million
---------------------------------------------
Eastern |0.247
East Midlands |0.218
London |2.462
Merseyside |0.079
North East<1> |0.443
North West |0.180
South East |0.430
South West |0.260
West Midlands |0.227
Yorkshire and Humberside |0.230
Total |4.784
<1> The figure for the Government office for
the north east includes running costs
incurred in carrying out the Secretary of
State's role in confirming orders promoted
by local authorities under the Highways Act
1980 and for highways under the Acquisition
of Land Act 1981, a national activity
carried out for all regions.
Local transport capital-1993-94
|Yorks &
|SouthEast |South West |West Midland|North West |Mersey- side|North East |Humber- side|East Midland|Eastern |London |Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transport
Supplementary
Grant |77.718 |32.278 |61.856 |49.858 |15.098 |24.347 |54.584 |21.509 |35.283 |58.310 |430.841
Public Transport
Facilities Grant |0.0 |0.0 |0.013 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |18.156 |0.250 |0.0 |0.0 |18.419
Industrial
Development
Act Grant |0.0 |0.124 |0.428 |0.276 |0.0 |0.494 |0.446 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.768
Total Credit
Approvals |112.096 |50.632 |85.930 |76.810 |40.541 |38.456 |146.195 |34.690 |48.793 |83.770 |717.913
Total |189.814 |83.034 |148.227 |126.944 |55.639 |63.297 |219.381 |56.449 |84.076 |142.080 |1,168.941
Note:All Figures in £ Million
Bids for support are considered competitively on merit. There are no set allocations for regions, and funding will fluctuate from year to year according to need and progress
on major schemes
Commercial Lobbying
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) on how many occasions in the last four months of which he has knowledge any civil servants in his Department have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements;
(2) on how many occasions in the last four months he or any of his Ministers have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements.
Dr. Mawhinney: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given earlier today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Fishing Industry (Accidents)
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were disabled as a result of accidents at work in the sea fishing industry in the years 1992, 1993 and 1994.
Mr. Norris: This information is not available.
Motorways (Coaches)
Mrs. Gillian: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce a decision on the proposal to ban coaches from the outside lanes of motorways with three or more lanes.
Mr. Norris: I have today laid regulations implementing such a ban with effect from 1 January 1996. The ban will be for a trial period and will be reviewed when two years' accident data are available.
EDUCATION
Liverpool Education Authority
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if Liverpool education authority spent all its standard spending assessment for education in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Robin Squire: The latest data on provisional outturn expenditure indicate that Liverpool city council's education expenditure was some 3.6 per cent. less than its education standard spending assessment for 1993 94. But education SSAs are not prescriptive and each council is
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free to determine its spending priorities between and within services.Schools, Wolverhampton
Mr. Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the cost of a secondary school place in a grant-maintained school in Wolverhampton in 1993 94; and what is the estimated cost in 1994 95.
Mr. Robin Squire: Information relating to the cost of secondary school places in grant-maintained schools in Wolverhampton for the years in question is held by the Funding Agency for Schools. I have asked the chairman of the agency to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was (a) the total cost of the assisted-places scheme at Wolverhampton grammar school and (b) the average cost per pupil in 1993 94; and what is the estimated cost in 1994 95.
Mr. Robin Squire: The total cost of the scheme at Wolverhampton grammar school for the academic year 1993 94 was £792,715 and the average cost per pupil was £3,109. The estimated cost of the scheme for the academic year 1994 95 is £863,125 and the average cost per pupil is expected to be in the region of £3,230.
Computers
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what measures she is taking to ensure that all pupils gain skills in using computer keyboards, word processing and spreadsheet software and information networks such as the Internet.
Mr. Forth: The Government are supporting the development of pupils' information technology skills through the inclusion of IT capability in the national curriculum; through a £187 million programme of grants for education support and training; and through the work of the National Council for Educational Technology. My right hon. Friend announced on 11 January an initiative on information super-highways for education, which will begin with a major consultation exercise in the spring.
Further and Higher Education
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will publish for (a) England and (b) the United Kingdom, for the last three available years, the number of full-time students in (i) further education, (ii) higher education and (iii) further and higher education in total, indicating the percentage of women in each case.
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Mr. Boswell: The information requested is shown:
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Numbers of students in further and higher education in England and the UK-1990 to 1992
Full-time and sandwich only
Home and overseas
|United
|England |Kingdom
|Total |Women |Women |Total |Women |Women
|000s |000s |Percentage|000s |000s |Percentage
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990-91
Further Education |402.9 |219.2 |54.4 |480.4 |260.9 |54.3
Higher Education |592.8 |277.3 |46.8 |747.0 |352.0 |47.1
Total |995.7 |496.5 |49.9 |1,227.4 |612.9 |49.9
1991-92
Further Education |465.2 |248.0 |53.3 |542.6 |289.6 |53.4
Higher Education |670.7 |317.7 |47.4 |844.0 |400.0 |47.4
Total |1,135.8 |564.9 |49.7 |1,386.6 |689.6 |49.7
1992-93
Further Education |498.0 |260.5 |52.3 |586.0 |305.9 |52.2
Higher Education |762.3 |365.0 |47.9 |958.0 |461.0 |48.1
Total |1,260.3 |625.5 |49.6 |1,544.0 |766.9 |49.7
Sources USR, DFE (FESR), Welsh Office, Scottish Office and DENI.
Education Authorities (Expenditure)
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations she has had from the North West Regional Association for Education Authorities in regard to the standing spending assessments and capping limits for its constituent authorities; what reply she has sent; what action she is taking; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire: My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations from the North West Regional Association of Education Authorities. I have arranged for copies of the correspondence and my reply to be placed in the Library.
National Youth Agency
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list the amount of grant given to the National Youth Agency for each year since 1991 and the estimated grant for (a) 1995 96, (b) 1996 97 and (c) 1997 98.
Mr. Boswell: The grant paid or allocated to the National Youth Agency in the period 1991 92 to 1995 96 is as follows:
|£ million
------------------------------
1991-92 |1.840
1992-93 |1.495
1993-94 |1.687
1994-95 |1.716
1995-96 |1.655
Funding for 1996 97 and future years will be reviewed as part of the annual public expenditure survey and in the light of the outcome of the policy review of the agency.
Proposed School Closures
Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proposals she is considering from
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Nottinghamshire county council for the closure or merger of schools; what schools are involved; and when she received these proposals.Mr. Robin Squire: The following table shows the proposals, published by Nottinghamshire county council, under section 12 of the Education Act 1980, to cease to maintain schools. These are currently under consideration by the Department.
C
|Date received by
Proposals |the Department
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Padstow comprehensive |1 July 1994
Releigh Infant's School |10 November 1994
Windley Junior School |10 November 1994
Thomas Magnus VC Upper School |5 December 1994
Magdalene CE VC High School |5 December 1994
Lilley and Stone VC Upper School |5 December 1994
Sconce Hill High School |5 December 1994
The Department is also considering associated proposals from Nottinghamshire county council to establish a new primary school on the site of Windley junior school.
The governing bodies of Thomas Magnus school and Lilley and Stone school have published proposals, under section 13 of the Education Act 1980, to establish new 11 to 18 schools on the sites of Thomas Magnus school and Lilley and Stone school. These proposals relate to the county council's closure proposals. Padstow comprehensive school has submitted an application for grant-maintained status which will be determined with the closure proposal.
Commercial Lobbying
Mr. Campbell Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) on how many occasions in the last four months of which she has knowledge any civil servants in her Department have been approached by commercial
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lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements;(2) on how many occasions in the last four months she or any of her Ministers have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many parents voted (a) in favour and (b) against in all ballots for grant- maintained status in those schools currently operating as grant maintained.
Mr. Robin Squire: In ballots at schools in England which are currently grant maintained, 450,819 parents voted in favour and 145, 005 voted against.
ENVIRONMENT
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made across Government Departments towards meeting the energy saving targets given in "Climate Change: the UK Programme".
Mr. Robert B. Jones: I refer the hon. Member to tables one to three following chapter five of "This Common Inheritance: The Third Year Report," column 2549 . Further data will be published shortly.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what attempt will be made by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to recover the costs of cleaning up the uranium dumped at the Chelveston farm in Northamptonshire from those responsible for the radioactive pollution of the area;
(2) if he will ask Her Majesty's chief inspector of pollution to establish an investigation into the fly tipping of uranium at a farm in Chelveston, Northamptonshire; and if he will make it his policy to publish the report of such an investigation.
Mr. Atkins: The scrap metal containing uranium found on land at Poplar farm, Caldecott, Northamptonshire is of unknown origin. Investigations are continuing to try and trace the source of the material and those involved in its movement. As the results of this investigation may form the basis of a prosecution under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, detailed information will not be published until any such enforcement action is completed by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution. The possibility of recovering costs of waste removal and clean up of the site will also be fully investigated.
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Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the process and timetable for the investigation of the Drigg low-level radioactive waste disposal site by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
Mr. Atkins [holding answer given Thursday 19 January 1995]: Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has already thoroughly investigated allegations made by Greenpeace about Drigg, following its illegal entry to the site and has confirmed that there has been no breach of the site's certificate of authorisation. The certificate of authorisation contains conditions and limits which impose specific requirements on the company, relating to the type of waste disposed of, the method of disposal and the radioactive content of disposals made. HMIP is satisfied that operations at the site properly protect the public.
With regard to the more general question of the disposal of radioactive waste at landfill sites, the Government's consultation document "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions", published on 5 August, proposed that there may be advantage in encouraging waste producers to make greater use of such controlled burial. This form of disposal is already used by major hospitals and universities and some sections of the nuclear industry for their low-level waste, and the proposals do not involve any deregulation. Encouraging greater use of controlled burial would help to relieve pressure on capacity at Drigg.
However, this remains only a proposal, and there are no plans in relation to specific sites. The consultation document invited views on the subject, and these are currently receiving careful consideration. A statement of future policy will be made in due course.
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of the effect of low-level radioactive waste dumping in landfill sites on house prices in the vicinity of authorised sites.
Single Regeneration Budget
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from local authorities submitting unsuccessful bids for single regeneration budget moneys alleging that they were encouraged to believe that their bids would succeed in discussions with the relevant regional office.
Mr. Curry: There have been five such representations from local authorities.
Waste Management Licensing
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to conclude his consideration of the consultation on exemptions from waste management licensing for the recovery of scrap metal and the dismantling of waste motor vehicles; when he proposes to publish the new guidance and the new regulations; how many responses he received to the consultation; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins: We have received 115 direct responses to the consultation paper published on 8 November 1994 proposing exemptions from waste management licensing for the recovery of scrap metal and the dismantling of waste motor vehicles. Some respondents also requested Members of Parliament to make representations on their
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behalf. Our aim is to conclude our consideration of all these responses and to lay the regulations providing any exemptions from licensing within the next three weeks. Our guidance is dependent on the terms of any exemptions provided and will be published as soon as possible after the regulations have been laid.Right-to-buy Scheme
Ms Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many tenants have bought their homes under the right-to-buy scheme; and how many subsequently sold their homes (a) in total and (b) in Stockport.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: Between October 1980 and September 1994 over 1.2 million tenants of local authorities and new towns in England purchased their homes under the right-to-buy legislation. Of these, some 3,500 sales were to local authority tenants in Stockport metropolitan borough council.
Information on housing association sales at local authority level is not available; sales for the country as a whole are estimated to be almost 27,000.
Data on subsequent sales by former tenants are not collected by the Department.
Departmental Employees
Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many employees for which his Department is responsible were women (a) in 1991, (b) in 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994; and, of these, how many were (i) at grade 7 level, (ii) at grade 3 level, (iii) at executive officer level, (iv) at administrative officer level and (v) at administrative assistant level.
Sir Paul Beresford: The following information covers non-industrial staff in my Department, excluding PSA Services:
Grade |1991 |1992 |1993 |1994
-------------------------------------------------
Grade 3 |4 |5 |5 |4
Grade 7 |104 |118 |128 |138
EO and equivalent |544 |516 |553 |533
AO and equivalent |976 |962 |1,021|972
AA and equivalent |574 |563 |558 |489
Total female staff |2,672|2,628|2,763|2,630
Home Renovation Grants
Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his oral answer of 18 January, Official Report columns 696 97 to the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. O'Brien), if he will list the number of home renovation grants not including disabled facilities or minor works grants approved in 1993.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: Some 40,221 renovation grants were approved in 1993.
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Local Authority Mortgages
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide additional resources to local authorities that wish to offer mortgages to tenants who wish to buy homes which have been designated as defective.
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