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Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 17 March 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners adjudicated against for the possession of a controlled drug in the last five years.
The numbers in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales are given below.
Possession of controlled drugs: Offences<1> proved at adjudication hearings, England and Wales, 1990-1994 Year |Number --------------------------- 1990 |2,650 1991 |2,798 1992 |2,041 1993 |1,797 1994 |<2>2,414 <1> Including attempts, incite or assist. <2> Provisional.
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Parkhurst Prison
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 March, Official Report, column 663, on Parkhurst prison, on what date he passed the question to Mr. Derek Lewis for a reply.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Chris Mullin, dated 17 March 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the answer of 2 March, Official Report, column 663, on Parkhurst prison.
You asked on what date the Question was passed to the Prison Service.
Your Question was passed to the Prison Service on 18 January.
Swaleside Prison
Sir Roger Moate: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the proposal to construct a six-hole golf course at Swaleside prison on the Isle of Sheppey; what costs were incurred before its cancellation; what information officials in his Department or in the Prison Service had about the proposal; and what guidelines are issued to prison governors to control expenditure on leisure facilities of this nature.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Sir Roger Moate, dated 17 March 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the proposal to construct a six hole golf course at Swaleside Prison on the Isle of Sheppey; what costs were incurred before its cancellation; what information officials in his Department or in the Prison Service had about the proposal; and what guidelines are issued to prison governors to control expenditure on leisure facilities of this nature.
The governor of Swaleside prison obtained agreement from the Kent area manager to enhance sports facilities available to prisoners at Swaleside, including the provision of three golf greens (each of two holes). Officials in the Prison Service Enterprise and Activity Services were asked to provide technical advice on construction and costings.
When I learned of the proposal I took the view that it was inappropriate and I instructed that the project be cancelled.
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Current indications are that liabilities of less than £17,000 exclusive of VAT have been incurred and it is expected that much of this cost will be recoverable.Expenditure on leisure facilities is subject to the normal budgetary controls, project approval requirements and tendering rules. In addition, governors are required to ensure that any expenditure is appropriate to a prison and provides good value for money.
Boot Camp Prisons
Mr. Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the conclusions of any studies available to him as to the effectiveness of boot camp prisons in the United States of America.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Copies of the readily available published reports have been placed in the Library.
Prison Staff Costs
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were (a) the staff costs, (b) the staff cost per place per annum, (c) the staff cost per prisoner per annum for (i) Blakenhurst prison and (ii) the Wolds prison for the years beginning 1 April 1993 and 1 April 1994.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 17 March 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the staff costs of Blakenhurst and Wolds Prisons.
The Prison Service pays a fee to UK Detention Services Ltd and Group 4 Prison Services Ltd to manage Blakenhurst and Wolds prisons respectively. It is not broken down into such elements as staff costs. The Prison Service does not have the details requested about staff costs for Blakenhurst and Wolds. These are matters for the companies in question.
WALES
Class Sizes
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the average class sizes in (a) primary and (b) secondary local education authority schools in (i) 1987 to 1990 and (ii) the last available year in each of the counties of Wales.
Mr. Richards: The information requested is shown in the following table. For secondary schools, comparable information cannot be provided for all the years requested.
LEA maintained Average class
primary schools size
|September|September|September|September|January
|1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |25.5 |25.8 |25.7 |24.9 |26.2
Dyfed |21.4 |21.8 |21.0 |20.7 |21.7
Gwent |25.7 |26.4 |26.9 |27.1 |27.4
Gwynedd |21.1 |21.6 |22.1 |21.8 |22.7
Mid Glamorgan |26.0 |26.2 |26.2 |26.8 |27.0
Powys |20.2 |20.3 |20.6 |21.1 |22.2
South Glamorgan |27.0 |26.7 |26.4 |26.0 |27.5
West Glamorgan |24.2 |24.8 |25.1 |25.3 |25.7
Wales |24.5 |24.8 |24.8 |24.8 |25.6
LEA maintained Average class Average class
secondary schoolssize<1> at size<2>
September
|September|January
|1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1990 |1994
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |19.8 |19.9 |19.6 |19.5 |21.2 |20.5
Dyfed |18.7 |18.8 |18.7 |18.8 |20.3 |19.7
Gwent |18.4 |18.4 |18.5 |18.9 |20.2 |20.0
Gwynedd |17.7 |17.5 |17.2 |17.5 |19.6 |18.7
Mid Glamorgan |19.9 |19.5 |19.3 |19.9 |21.6 |19.9
Powys |16.7 |15.9 |16.5 |17.5 |18.5 |17.3
South Glamorgan |20.6 |20.3 |20.0 |20.2 |22.9 |21.9
West Glamorgan |19.1 |18.8 |18.9 |19.6 |22.0 |21.1
Wales |19.1 |19.0 |18.9 |19.2 |21.0 |20.1
Notes:
<1> Number of pupils divided by the number of teachers teaching in a specified period
on the day of the schools census.
<2> Number of pupils divided by the number of classes in which they were being taught
in a specified period on the day of the schools census.
Source:
Schools Census.
Abattoirs
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many abattoirs there were in 1993 and 1994; and how many of these met European Community standards.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: In 1993 and 1994 there were 39 licensed red meat abattoirs in Wales. Of these six were fully approved to trade throughout the European Community and the remainder were approved to trade on the national market. All these red meat abattoirs were licenced in accordance with European Community requirements under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection Regulations) 1992.
Live Animal Exports
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he or his officials last met the National Farmers Union in Wales to discuss the issue of the live export of sheep to continental Europe; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: I met representatives of the National Farmers Union (Wales) on 24 January 1995.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he or his officials last met the Farmers Union of Wales to discuss the issue of the live export of sheep to continental Europe; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: I met representatives of the Farmers Union of Wales on 24 January 1995.
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to ensure that lambs exported from Wales in line with the minimum standards for the road and sea transportation of such animals reach their destinations without hindrance.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Progress on the question of the transport of live animals will best be achieved by reaching an agreement throughout the European Community which would allow the trade to operate on a basis acceptable to all. The United Kingdom continues to press for progress at the Council of Agriculture Ministers. Although agreement on transport requirements was not possible at the February meeting of the Council, the presidency has confirmed that it will be taking discussions forward. In the meantime, there are signs that public awareness on animal welfare issues is growing in other parts of Europe, and that the prospects for progress at the European Community level are more encouraging; we shall be
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working hard to maintain the momentum we have achieved.Council of Ministers
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he intends to attend a meeting of the Council of Ministers; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: I will do so when a suitable opportunity occurs.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children have received statements for special educational needs in each year since 1987 in (a) Dyfed, (b) Wales and (c) Britain.
Mr. Richards: The number of children for whom statements of special educational needs were made for the first time, for each calendar year since 1987, are shown in the following table. Figures for Britain as a whole are not available in the same format.
Calendar year |Dyfed |Wales -------------------------------------------------------- 1987 |104 |1,552 1988 |121 |1,948 1989 |193 |2,099 1990 |225 |2,227 1991 |272 |2,456 1992 |397 |2,650 1993 |437 |2,881
Welsh Language Letters
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received pursuant to his decision to decline to sign letters written in the Welsh language; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: I have received about 30 representations. All correspondents writing to me in Welsh receive a reply in Welsh as well as in English.
Meningitis and Tuberculosis
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many identified cases of meningitis there were in Wales in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement;
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(2) how many identified cases of tuberculosis there were in Wales in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Richards: The numbers of notifications of meningitis and tuberculosis in Wales reported to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in each year since 1990 are shown in the following table:
Notifications |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993<1> |1994<2> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meningitis (all forms) |203 |202 |210 |190 |185 Tuberculosis (all forms)<2> |194 |166 |201 |199 |184 <1> Provisional.<2> Excluding chemoprophylaxis.
Eisteddfod
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he intends to visit the Urdd national eisteddfod this year;
(2) if he intends to visit the Royal national eisteddfod this year.
Mr. Redwood: I have made no decision as yet.
Transition Committees
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what evaluation this Department has undertaken to oversee the formation of transition committees in Wales pursuant to the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: As required under section 46 of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, transition committees have been established in all the unitary authority areas.
In July 1994, guidance was issued to transition committees on the preparatory work to be done in the time leading up to 1 April 1996. Since then, officials have maintained contact with transition committees and, where necessary, they have sought confirmation of progress in relation to certain matters.
Defence Employment
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were employed in the defence industry in Wales in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: There is no standard definition of defence industry employment. However, the Ministry of Defence publishes regional figures on the number of its own service and civilian staff and estimates of the number of employees in private industry involved directly in world for the Ministry. These figures are shown in tables 1.9 and 2.4 of "UK Defence Statistics, 1994", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Toy Libraries
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the grants given to toy libraries in Wales in each of the last five years.
Mr. Richards: A grant of £10,650 was made to the Montgomeryshire toy library in 1991 92 under the Department's child and family services grant scheme.
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Toy libraries may also apply to county voluntary bodies under the "small grant" element of that scheme--grants up to £1,000. Details of such awards are not held centrally.Tourism
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were employed in the tourist industry in Wales in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 12 December, Official Report , column 517 .
Business Start-Ups
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to gather the information necessary to produce a comprehensive and accurate figure for the number of annual business start- ups in Wales and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Richards: No. No country keeps a comprehensive list of all their enterprises. For most practical purposes the figures for VAT registrations are adequate in both Wales and the United Kingdom. Attempting to acquire more complete information would put an unnecessary burden on all small businesses.
Anthrax
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of anthrax were reported in each year since 1985.
Mr. Richards: The number of confirmed cases of anthrax reported in each year in Wales since 1985 was as follows:
Year |Number --------------------- 1985 |2 1986 |1 1987 |1 1988 |Nil 1989 |1 1990 |1 1991 |Nil 1992 |1 1993 |Nil 1994 |Nil
Water and Sewerage
Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the cost of his Department's expenditure on water and sewerage in (a) the current year and (b) each of the three previous years.
Mr. Redwood: Figures for the current year are not available. For previous years expenditure is:
Year |£ ---------------------- 1991-92 |79,319 1992-93 |44,262 1994-95 |48,807
Brucella Melitensis
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of brucella melitensis were reported in each year since 1985.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: No cases of brucella melitensis have been recorded in Wales since 1985.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Temple-Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for which geographical areas and with which local authorities, joint venture agreements or heads of terms agreements were entered into by the Welsh Development Agency under the urban programme during the period for 1991 to 1994 inclusive.
Mr. Redwood: I will arrange for the chief executive of the agency to write to my hon. Friend and for a copy of his letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Morriston Hospital
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 13 March, Official Report, column 444, about the market testing of the cardiac unit at the Morriston hospital, on how many occasions he met each of the four organisations bidding for the cardiac surgery unit at Morriston hospital contract during the contract tender period (a) prior to 1 October 1994 and (b) after 1 October 1994 but before 2 March.
Mr. Redwood: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 3 November 1994, Official Report, columns 1326 27, and to my letter of 24 November 1994.
Cardiff Bay Barrage
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 23 February, Official Report, column 301, what representations he has had from conservation voluntary organisations concerning progress on habitat loss mitigation measures arising from the Cardiff bay barrage and the European wilds birds and habitat directives; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: None. As I stated in reply to a question by my hon. Friend for Vale of Glamorgan (Mr. Sweeney) on 3 March, Official Report, column 769, the Cardiff Bay development corporation, acting on the advice of the Countryside Council for Wales, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Land Authority for Wales, is reviewing the options for suitable site locations along the south Wales coastline between the Burry inlet and the Gwent levels. I hope to make an announcement about site acquisition within the next two to three months.
National Nature Reserves
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if the proposed levels of funding ensure the development of the national nature reserves beyond essential care and maintenance.
Mr. Redwood: The funds allocated by the Countryside Council for Wales toward maintenance of national nature reserves are sufficient to maintain their legal obligations.
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European Regional Development Fund
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the single programming document area monitoring committee concerning the division of European regional development funds coming to Wales between (a) local authorities, (b) the Welsh Development Agency, (c) other non-departmental public bodies and (d) other organisations; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: None. There are no such pre-determined splits between sponsors. Each sponsor submits its projects in competition with all others and, as a result of them being carefully appraised against agreed selection criteria, an eventual list of approved projects is established.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has had in relation to probability factors pertaining to the attainment of the anticipated levels of financial assistance from the European regional development fund to the Welsh Development Agency in ascending amounts corresponding to descending amount of grant in aid from his Department's budget.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had concerning the reconciliation of the project-by- project basis of assessment of applications for financial assistance from the European regional development fund, with the anticipated levels of assistance from the fund in the three years corporate plan he has agreed with the Welsh Development Agency.
Mr. Redwood: None. The agency will compete for funds in the normal way.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects the bids from the Welsh Development Agency and other non-departmental public bodies he sponsors, and all other bodies eligible for financial assistance from the European regional development fund will be entered for approval and funding under the single programme document for the calendar year 1994.
Mr. Redwood: Applications for the calendar year 1994 have recently been invited from all sponsors, including the Welsh Development Agency and other public bodies mentioned, and these are due to be submitted by 31 March 1995. All bids received will be carefully appraised against agreed selection criteria and in competition with each other and the successful projects will be announced in due course.
Sustainable Development
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to establish an advisory group on sustainable development for Wales in line with those in England and Scotland.
Mr. Redwood: The Government panel on sustainable development provides independent and authoritative advice to all Ministers, including me. Welsh members have also been appointed to the United Kingdom round table and the citizens' environment initiative organising committee. I see no need at this stage for any additional advisory group in Wales to supplement these arrangements.
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Secondary School Reorganisation
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if his decision in relation to the proposed amalgamation of secondary schools in Ely will entail all school teaching posts being declared vacant and all post-holders to reapply for jobs.
Mr. Redwood: It is for local education authorities to manage the staffing consequences of their proposals.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to announce his decision on the proposed reorganisation of secondary education in Ely; if he will give the principle reasons for delay in announcing his decision; what impact the accumulated delay will have on the proposed inspection of Glan Ely high school by Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools on 1 May; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: As soon as possible. I need to consider carefully and fully a number of statutory objections. It is for Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools in Wales to decide whether the proposed inspection should go ahead.
Countryside Council For Wales
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which members of staff of the Countryside Council for Wales given early retirement are subsequently being offered remunerated membership of the council.
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the Countryside Council for Wales will publish its 1995 96 corporate strategy.
Mr. Redwood: The Countryside Council for Wales does not publish a corporate strategy. Each year it prepares a corporate plan and submits it to the Welsh Office as part of the public expenditure review. The document is not published. The council publishes its annual report each autumn.
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what funds from its 1995 96 budget, the Countryside Council for Wales has allocated for new management agreements; and if he will make a statement about the effectiveness of management agreements for sites of special scientific interest protection.
Mr. Redwood: The Countryside Council for Wales has 433 management agreements and I believe it is one of a number of effective protection mechanisms. The council has allocated sufficient funds to maintain the existing agreements but not for new management agreements in 1995 96.
Children Act 1989
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Association of Directors of Social Services, Wales branch in relation to duties on local authorities under section 24 of the Children Act 1989 with respect to those aged 17 years and over and previously in local authority care, with respect to a continuing duty of counselling and advocacy; and what proposals he has for issuing guidelines on interpreting section 24.
Mr. Redwood: This subject has been discussed with the directors of social services in Wales and led to the inspection by the social services inspectorate of services for children leaving care in Clwyd, Powys and South
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Glamorgan. These were published in 1993. I have no plans to publish additional guidance to that contained in volume 4 in the Children Act series, issued to all social services departments in Wales and which covered this aspect of services.Council Tax
Mr. Dunn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the band D council tax for 1995 96 for each local authority in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Local authorities in Wales were required to notify the Welsh Office of the level of council tax set for 1995 96 by 16 March. Provisional information is given in the following table. I shall write to my hon. Friend when final figures are available and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
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