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Educational Funding Councils
Mr. Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she proposes to make additional resources available this year to the educational funding councils.
Mr. Redwood: Yes. I have announced today that, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, I will be making £4.5 million available to the Higher Education Funding Council. Because of underspendings elsewhere, I am also able to allocate a further £3.5 million to the funding councils.
I have decided to provide an extra £5.5 million in total to the Higher Education Funding Council and an extra £2.5 million to the Further Education Funding Council.
The £5.5 million for the higher education sector will be made available for information technology developments, for facilities to support students with special needs and for projects to increase efficiency in estate management.
The additional £2.5 million for the Further Education Funding Council is in addition to £4.5 million extra funds made available earlier in the year and will be used to assist colleges in meeting equipment needs to cater for the growing number of students and new educational initiatives.
Forestry
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many stands of woodland in Wales under the control of Forest Enterprise are currently offered for sale.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many disposals of woodlands were made by Forest Enterprise in Wales in 1992, 1993 and 1994.
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Mr. Gwilym Jones: The Forestry Commission sold 55 woodlands in 1992, 79 in 1993, and 85 in 1994.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hectares of wooded land under the control of the Forestry Commission and Forest Enterprise there are in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: At 31 March 1994, the Forestry Commission's Forest Enterprise managed 124,931 hectares of woodland in Wales.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many access agreements have been completed by Forest Enterprise and the Forestry Commission in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Twenty-three.
Agriculture
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current number of agricultural holdings in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: It is estimated that there are currently 36,600 holdings in Wales. This total includes an estimate of 6,800 very small holdings derived from the 1989 census of minor holdings.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total acreage of agricultural land in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The total area of agricultural land at 1 June 1994, the latest date for which information is available was 1,689, 000 hectares. This total was derived from the 1994 June agricultural census and includes estimates for very small holdings from the 1989 census of minor holdings. Also included are estimates for areas of common rough grazing which are not collected in these two censuses.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many agricultural holdings there were in Wales in 1990.
Mr. Gwilyn Jones: There were an estimated 36,500 holdings in Wales at 1 June 1990. This total includes an estimated 6,800 very small holdings derived from the 1989 census of minor holdings.
Dr. Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has showing the proportion of agricultural land which was tenanted in Wales for (a) 1965, (b) 1970, (c) 1980, (d) 1990 and (e) the latest available date.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The proportion of land on holdings that is rented by their occupiers has been collected in the June agricultural census since 1969. The following table shows the available information.
Proportion of rented agricultural land in Wales<1> Year |Percentage --------------------------------- 1970 |38.3 1980 |29.8 1990 |24.0 1994 |22.9 Source: June agricultural and horticultural census. Note: <1> Estimates for minor holdings are included except for 1970.
Common Land
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hectares of registered common land there are currently in Wales.
Mr. Gwilyn Jones: The latest information available is that published by the Countryside Commission in 1989 which was obtained from the registers of common land held by local authorities. The total for Wales was estimated to be 185,300 hectares.
Gross Domestic Product
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the GDP in Wales expressed as a percentage of the United Kingdom average figure in each year from 1990 to 1993.
Mr. Redwood: The information requested is shown in the following table:
GDP per head in Wales as a percentage of United Kingdom GDP per head--at factor cost, current prices
! Year |Percentage --------------------------------- 1990 |84.6 1991 |85.0 1992 |83.4 1993<1> |84.7 Note: <1> Provisional Source: CSO
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current GDP in Wales expressed as a percentage of the average United Kingdom figure.
Mr. Redwood: The latest available data are for 1993, when GDP per head in Wales, at factor cost, was estimated to be 84.7 per cent. of the United Kingdom figure.
Wales Tourist Board
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times he or other Ministers met representatives of the Wales tourist board in 1994.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met with the Council of Welsh Districts to discuss the progress of local government reorganisation in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: I met a delegation from the Council of Welsh Districts on 7 June last year to discuss progress with
reorganisation.
Less Favoured Areas
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total acreage of land in Wales classed as less favoured areas.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The less favoured area classification of agricultural land applies to an estimated 1,365,900 hectares--81 per cent. of all agricultural land.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total number of the holdings in Wales in the less favoured areas as on 31 December 1994.
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Mr. Gwilym Jones: A farm holding is normally classed as being in the less favoured areas if more than half of its land is within the boundaries of the areas designed as being less favoured. At 31 December 1994 there were an estimated 23,400 such holdings in Wales. This total includes an estimate of 3,400 very small holdings derived from the 1989 census of minor holdings.
Police Authorities
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State when a final announcement on the standard spending assessments for police authorities in Wales will be announced; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: I announced my decisions on police funding for 1995 96 on 30 January, Official Report, column 533. The House will have the opportunity shortly to debate my decisions.
Public Bodies
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current number of non-departmental public bodies operating in Wales; and what is their combined annual budget.
Mr. Redwood: Details of the Welsh Office's executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies will be included in "Public Bodies 1994", to be published in the next few days. Total expenditure in 1994 95 is expected to be £948.1 million.
Smallholdings
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many council-owned rented smallholdings there are in each of the existing Welsh counties.
Mr. Redwood: At 31 March 1994, the numbers of county council smallholdings rented or available for rent in each of the existing Welsh counties were as follows:
-
|Number
------------------------------
Clwyd |154
Dyfed |163
Gwent |92
Gwynedd |178
Mid Glamorgan |4
Powys |219
West Glamorgan |2
South Glamorgan |35
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the principal elements of the debenture held against each of the training and enterprise councils at the beginning of each financial year.
Mr. Redwood: The same debenture arrangements were agreed with all TECs when they were first set up. The debenture protects the Department against any debts it is owned by a TEC by providing a charge over all of the TEC's assets. A copy will be available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of the procedure and criteria for his Department's approval of training and enterprise council projects for spending surpluses earned on training
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contracts with his Department; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Redwood: Training and enterprise councils are required to give details of their proposals for the utilisation of surpluses in their business plans which are submitted to the Welsh office each year. TEC business plans are approved as part of the process by which annual contracts are agreed with TECs. Separate approval is required for spend of surplus on projects not identified in the business plan. TEC proposals for utilising surpluses are assessed against the following criteria as set out in the TEC operating agreement. The proposals must be:
(i) within the terms of the TEC's memorandum and articles of association;
(ii) consistent with the terms of the operating agreement; (iii) not in conflict with current Government policy;
(iv) financially prudent and take account of independent professional advice where appropriate;
(v) practical and represent good value for money.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many expenditure projects have been submitted from each of the training and enterprise councils; if he will give details of the main projects awaiting his approval; and how long each project has been awaiting his approval.
Mr. Redwood: TEC proposals for expenditure across the whole range of training, education and enterprise activities are set out in the annual business plan which is integral to the contracting process with the Welsh Office. This contractual relationship is commercial in confidence.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what league tables he has set up to evaluate the relative effectiveness of the training and enterprise councils; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: A table of inter-TEC performance comparisons covering all TECs in England and Wales was published on 25 August 1994. A copy is available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the aggregate level of surpluses of the Welsh training and enterprise councils at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Redwood: The latest information on the aggregate level of surpluses of training and enterprise councils in Wales is contained in the appropriation accounts for 1993 94, volume 11, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Schools
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the average school rolls in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local education authority in Wales.
Mr. Redwood: The average size of LEA and grant-maintained primary and secondary schools, in terms of number of pupils, in each local education area in Wales as at January 1994 is given in the following table.
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|Primary |Secondary
|schools |schools
----------------------------------------------
Clwyd |167 |836
Dyfed |103 |793
Gwent |214 |909
Gwynedd |105 |666
Mid Glamorgan |189 |919
Powys |99 |610
South Glamorgan |257 |1,052
West Glamorgan |231 |884
Business Links
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of his proposed expenditure on (a) telecommunications and data links and (b) other items on the proposed new business links organisations; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: I have approved expenditure of £1 million in 1994 95 and £0.5 million is potentially available in 1995 96 as start-up finance for the new arrangements. It supports the provision of information and new training and communications facilities. In addition, European regional development fund resources are available in 1995 96 to pump prime the business development consortia in both industrial south wales and rural Wales.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of the business links organisations to provide a one-stop shop service for small and medium-sized enterprises that he proposes; and what consultations he has had with the chairmen of the training and enterprise councils concerning their participation.
Mr. Redwood: In June 1994, my "Prospectus for Improving Business and Enterprise Support Services in Wales" invited local authorities, training and enterprise councils and other local partners to put forward proposals for improving the co-ordination of business support services in Wales. The prospectus set out general guidelines. All seven training and enterprise councils were part of the eight successful consortia bids which I approved last month.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Training Courses
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security 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 his Department or agency.
Mr. Hague: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the headings under which
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the Child Support Agency returns data each month to Ministers on the operations of the agency.Mr. Burt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Frank Field, dated2 February 1995: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the headings under which the Child Support Agency returns data to Ministers.
The six headings under which the Agency reports monthly performance to Ministers are as follows; Targets; Maintenance Assessment; Operational Accounting; Reviews and Appeals; Customer Service and Quality; Recovery Plan Implementation and Other Issues. I hope that this is of help.
Income Support (Housing Costs)
Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 23 January, Official Report , columns 82 83 , when he expects to be able to publish figures for 1994 on the assistance towards mortgage interest and rents to recipients of income support.
Mr. Roger Evans: Information on local authority tenants and private and housing association tenants for 1994 will be available when the housing management information statistics are published in late August or early September. Information on income support mortgage interest recipients is available from the February 1994 quarterly statistical inquiry and is set out in the table. We expect information for May 1994 to be available in March.
|February 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Income Support recipients with
mortgage interest included in the
assessment |548,000
Average weekly cost |£37.98
Implied annual cost |£1,082 million
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand, average amount to the
nearest penny and annual expenditure to the nearest million.
2. The implied annual expenditure has been calculated from the average
weekly amount at the time of the enquiry.
Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry February 1994.
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who may not be able to obtain insurance to cover the payment of their mortgages in the event of becoming unemployed and income support no longer being available.
Mr. Roger Evans: No such estimate has been made. We expect the proposals for income support mortgage interest will stimulate the insurance market and more comprehensive cover will develop. The Association of British Insurers has said that there is no reason why anyone meeting the criteria to obtain a mortgage should be refused insurance. We recognise that in some circumstances insurance may not be available. For this reason, pensioners will be protected under the new scheme. We shall be considering the position of other groups during the consultation period.
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Advertising
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on which occasions in the last five years his Department has placed newspaper advertisements arising from Government Bills from his Department (a) before proceedings in Standing Committee on the Bills have begun and (b) on the publication of a White Paper relating to the Bill.
Mr. Hague: In the past five years, this Department has placed press advertisements on three occasions on the publication of a White Paper relating to a Bill.
"Security, Equality and Choice: the future for pensions"--July 1994;
"Ending Discrimination Against Disabled People"--January 1995; "Improving Child Support"--January 1995.
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on how many occasions and in what circumstances in the last five years advertisements have been placed in newspapers or periodicals which have been described as being issued by or on behalf of Ministers in his Department rather than on behalf of Her Majesty's Government.
Mr. Hague: The office of Minister for Social Security and Disabled People has a Government-wide remit and as such all advertisements relating to this area are described as issued on behalf of the Minister for Social Security and Disabled People. These campaigns are:
Everyone needs access for a better living environment (Enable) March 1994;
Government measures aimed at tackling discrimination against disabled people, July 1994;
You and Disability, December 1994; and
Ending discrimination against disabled people, January 1995.
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what factors were taken into account in deciding to place the advertisement, "Ending discrimination against disabled people", in The Guardian newspaper on 25 January, and that on child support in The Daily Telegraph on the same date.
Mr. Hague: As part of a series of insertions in a variety of publications between 18 and 26 January 1995, The Guardian was selected because of the society supplement on that day. Other insertions are as follows:
The Guardian, 18 and 25 January 1995
The Independent, 19 and 26 January 1995
Community Care w/c 23 January 1995
Care Weekly w/c 23 January 1995
The child support advertisement appeared in The Daily Telegraph on that day as part of a series of inserts in a variety of national newspapers as follows:
The Independent, 24 January 1995
Daily Express
Daily Star
The Sun
The Daily Telegraph, 25 January 1995
Today, 26 January 1995
Belfast Telegraph
Daily Record, 27 January 1995
The Independent, 28 January 1995
The Sunday Telegraph, 29 January 1995
The Observer
The Independent on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
News of the World
Sunday Mirror
The People
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