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|£ million|Per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ships |25.4 |35.1
Aircrafts |9.7 |13.4
Vehicles |14.1 |19.5
Armaments |4.7 |6.5
Miscellaneous stores and equipment
Army |8.9 |12.3
Navy |6.1 |8.4
Air |1.0 |1.4
PE |1.1 |1.5
Marketing agreements |1.4 |1.9
Total |72.4 |100
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what forecast he has made of the total receipts for the sale of excess equipment in the financial year 1995 96. [17198]
Mr. Freeman: The forecast for financial year 1995 96 is £51.1 million.
Child Care
Mr. McNamar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the child care or nursery facilities within his Department; and what is the breakdown in their use (a) by grade and (b) by gender. [15234]
Mr. Freeman: At present, there are seven nurseries available for use by my Department's staff, with a further five planned. In addition, there are a number of holiday playschemes in operation. Responsibility for the provision of child care facilities is delegated to individual budget holders and information related to their use is not held centrally.
PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 30 March. [15458]
The Prime Minister: This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
No. 10 Downing Street (Disabled Access)
Mr. Barnes: To ask the Prime Minister if he will outline the measures taken, facilities offered and adjustments made at No. 10 Downing street to facilitate access for disabled people; what plans he has to improve
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access, with special reference to the fitting of a permanent ramp for wheelchairs; and if he will make a statement. [16931]The Prime Minister: No. 10 Downing street already has a number of facilities for the disabled: portable ramps are available to give access to the house; a passenger lift which can accommodate wheelchairs and gives access to all floors; and a stair climber to enable wheelchairs to be taken up the main stairs. An additional lift to enable disabled people to move more easily to the state rooms and a disabled toilet will be installed shortly.
Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting
Sir Russell Johnston: To ask the Prime Minister which Minister will be representing Her Majesty's Government at the forthcoming meeting of Commonwealth Youth Ministers in Trinidad; and if he will make a statement. [17298]
The Prime Minister: The United Kingdom delegation to this meeting will be led by the British High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago, assisted by a social development adviser from the Overseas Development Agency and the vice-chairman of the British Youth Council.
Bank of England
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what recent assessment he has made of whether confidential matters can safely be discussed between the Chancellor and officials of the Bank of England; [17121]
(2) what account he will take in considering candidates for appointment to the deputy governorship of the Bank of England of reports concerning their private lives; [17119]
(3) if the usual steps were taken to check Mr. Pennant-Rea's background before he was appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. [17122]
The Prime Minister: I will take all relevant considerations into account in deciding who should be appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. Mr. Pennant-Rea was subject to security vetting before he took up his appointment. I am satisfied that sensitive matters can be discussed in confidence between the Chancellor and bank officials.
Child Care
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Prime Minister what are the child care or nursery facilities within his Department; and what is the breakdown in their use (a) by grade and (b) by gender. [15227]
The Prime Minister: For this purpose my office is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service and Science.
Pay Review Bodies
Mr. Byers: To ask the Prime Minister what were the total costs of operating the pay review bodies for (a) teachers, (b) doctors and dentists, (c) armed forces, (d) nurses and midwives, etc. and (e) senior salaries, including details for each of consultancy costs, members' expenses and site visits in the latest year for which figures are available. [17322]
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The Prime Minster: The pay review bodies are serviced by the Office of Manpower Economics whose total operating costs, including some functions and activities not related to review bodies, amounted to £1.4 million in 1993 94, the latest period for which information is available. This figure includes staff salaries and costs, office infrastructure and support costs, but excludes rent and rates, members' travel and incidental expenses and consultancy.
Members and chairmen of pay review bodies are unpaid. Consultancy costs for review bodies vary significantly from year to year. Details of consultancy costs and members' incidental expenses are set out in the table.
£ pounds
|Members' travel
Review body |Consultancy costs|and expenses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
School Teachers
Review Body (STRB) |249,096 |5,693
Doctors and Dentists
Review Body (DDRB) |164,541 |7,366
Nurses and Allied
Professions Review
Body (NAPRB) |- |5,781
Armed Forces Pay
Review Body (AFPRB) |284,015 |23,774
Senior Salaries
Review Body (SSRB) |192,992 |4,485
Departmental Report
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what was the cost of producing and circulating the annual report of the Cabinet Office for each of the last 10 years in real terms; [16648] (2) what was the cost of producing and circulating the last annual report of the Cabinet Office; what was the circulation list; how many copies were produced; how many copies were sold; and at what price. [16648]
The Prime Minister: For this purpose my office is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service and Science on 29 March at column 651 .
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Departmental Report
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the cost of producing and circulating the annual report of the Cabinet Office for each of the last 10 years in real terms.
Mr. Horam: The annual Cabinet Office departmental report was first published in 1991. The printing and publishing costs are borne by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, which aims to recover these from sales revenue.
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the cost of producing and circulating the last annual report of the Cabinet Office; what was the circulation list; how many copies were produced; how many copies were sold; and at what price.
Mr. Horam: The printing and publishing costs were borne by HMSO who aim to recover these from sales
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revenue. The report was circulated to the Prime Minister, OPSS Ministers, Opposition spokesmen, Parliament, Cabinet Office senior management, and contributors in HMSO, COI and other organisations included within the report. There were 1,500 copies printed, and just over 900 copies were distributed for sale to the public, at a cover price of £11.55.AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Milk Quotas
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the average period being taken by the intervention board to process the leasing of milk quotas and to inform Milk Marque of the transfer. [15935]
Mr. Jack: The leasing period for the 1994 95 milk quotas year during which our target was to process acceptable leases within 14 days of their receipt ended on 31 December 1994. Processing of acceptable leases was completed some weeks ago. The only leases now being processed are those with queries which are being processed as soon as they have been resolved. As they are cleared individually there are no statistics showing average clearance rates. Milk Marque, and other milk purchasers, are informed on a weekly basis of all changes in the quota registered with them confirmed in the preceding week.
Fruit and Vegetables
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the United Kingdom trade deficit or surplus in respect of indigenous fruit and vegetables as defined by "Food from Britain" for each year from 1990 to 1994. [14925]
Mr. Jack: The crude overseas trade deficit in respect of indigenous fruit and vegetables is given in the following table; the information for 1994 is not yet available.
£ million
|1990 |1991 |1992 |1993<1>
--------------------------------------------------------
Crude trade gap |861 |883 |896 |919
<1> Provisional.
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is (a) the latest European Commission estimate for the amount of tonnes of (i) apples, (ii) tomatoes, (iii) cauliflowers and (iv) peaches and nectarines withdrawn from the market to raise consumer prices and (b) the cost of this policy to public funds in the United Kingdom, breaking this figure down into (1) the running costs of the policy and (2) the amount which the policy adds on food prices. [16152]
Mr. Jack: The latest estimates from the European Commission for the 1995 budget year (16 October 1994 to 15 October 1995) are: (i) apples - 950,000 tonnes
(ii) tomatoes - 70,000 tonnes
(iii) cauliflowers - 80,000 tonnes
(iv) peaches - 800,000 tonnes
(v) nectarines - 195,000 tonnes
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It is not possible to estimate the UK contribution to the cost of withdrawals of fruit and vegetables across the European Community as the UK contributes to the common agricultural policy budget as a whole and not to individual parts of it.Estimates of the amount that the policy adds to retail prices of fruit and vegetables are not available, but are likely to be relatively small.
Child Care
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the child care and nursery facilities within his Department; and what is the breakdown in their use (a) by grade and (b) by gender. [15239]
Mr. Jack: During the last six months MAFF has increased the number of subsidised nursery places available to MAFF and agency staff from 48 to 84. Seventy-five of these places are currently taken up. A 33-place nursery is under construction at the Central Science Laboratory's new site at Sand Hutton, near York, which is due to open in 1996.
Current use by grade and gender is as follows:
Grade or Equivalent |Gender
------------------------------------------------------------
G7 |4 Female
|5 Male
SEO/SSO |9 Female
|3 Male
HEO/HSO |15 Female
|6 Male
EO/SO |17 Female
|6 Male
AO |8 Female
|2 Male
AA |1 Female
Support Grades |1 Female
Twenty of these places are used by families where both
parents work for MAFF. The higher grade has been used in
the breakdown of users.
Holiday playscheme provision is available to staff based at a number of sites throughout the country. The facilities are available to all grades and use varies during the year.
EU Proposals
Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many (a) Commission proposals and (b) fiches d'impact there were in (a) 1993 94 and (b) 1994 95. [17087]
Mr. Jack: Full details of the proposals issued by the European Commission were published in its 1993 and 1994 general reports on the activities of the European Union, paragraphs 1025 and 1202 respectively. The Commission does not publish similar information on
Column 762
fiches d'impact. However, in line with central requirements, MAFF actively presses the Commission to prepare fiches for legislative proposals which have the potential to impose substantial burdens on business.Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 17 March, Official Report, columns 775 808, what consideration underlay the decision not to produce a fiche d'impact in relation to industry costs for the minced meat directive; and what steps are being taken to ensure that in each member state for every directive the Community produces a fiche d'impact concerned with the likely cost to industry of implementation. [17090]
Mrs. Browning: It is for the Commission to explain the considerations behind its decision not to produce a fiche d'impact when it proposed the minced meat directive in 1990. In commenting on the Commission's annual work programme, the Government identify legislative proposals which have the potential to impose substantial burdens on business and urges the European Commission to prepare fiches d'impact where it has not volunteered to do so in the programme. MAFF, like other Departments, actively presses the Commission to prepare fiches at the earliest practicable point in the process.
Pesticides Safety Directorate
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what targets have been set for the Pesticides Safety Directorate in 1995 96. [17946]
Mr. Waldegrave: I have set the Pesticides Safety Directorate the following targets relating to financial performance, efficiency, the delivery of pesticides approval services and policy advice in 1995 96:
To achieve 100 per cent. recovery of costs and an overall efficiency gain of 2 per cent. To meet the targets for delivery of services as follows:
|Maximum
|Applications |processing time
Application stream |completed |(working days)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical secretariat
Normal |310 |270
Fast |275 |110
Experimental permit |30 |185
Off label |115 |60
Administrative fast |350 |20
Upgrade |50 |-
New substances
Sift |11 |120
New substance |16 |235-275
Reviews
Reviews (UK and EC) |14 |-
Notes:
1. The processing time targets apply to 85 per cent. of new applications.
2. The quality of the directorate's scientific and policy work will be subject
to separate quality audits.
3. The agency will carry out a customer satisfaction survey to assess the
service delivery defined in its customer service statement published in 1994.
4. Details of performance in 1994-95 will be set out in the agency's annual
report and accounts to be published during July 1995.
Sheep Rustling
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to combat sheep rustling. [15650]
Mr. Maclean: I have been asked to reply.
The Government have taken a number of steps, such as encouraging the formation of farm watch schemes, to combat a range of crimes in rural areas. However, it is a matter for individual chief officers of police to decide operational priorities according to local needs.
WALES
Statutory References
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what statutory references to hon. Members have been made in legislation introduced by his Department or its predecessors, since 1965. [16096]
Mr. Redwood: An analysis of all legislation introduced by this Department since 1965 has not been carried out. However, it would be extremely unlikely for reference to be made specifically to an individual hon. Member. Frequent references are made to officers of state, and general references are made to both Houses of Parliament and to membership of the House of Commons.
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the TEC schemes his Department sponsors for the unemployed; and if he will list the schemes in operation since the TECs were set up. [16218]
Mr. Redwood: The information is as follows:
Youth training (previously youth training scheme)
Youth credit (previously training credit)
Modern engineering apprenticeships
Training for work (previously employment training, employment action and higher technology national training)
Business start-up (previously enterprise allowance scheme) Open learning credits
From 1 April 1995, the modern apprenticeships and accelerated modern apprenticeships schemes are being introduced.
In addition, TECs are able to offer support at local level through the local initiative fund and the use of their reserves.
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what has been his Department's expenditure on each of the TECs in North Wales 1994 95; and what his plans are in 1995 96 and 1996 97. [16745]
Mr. Richards: Negotiations are continuing with TECs on the contracts for 1995 96. When these negotiations are completed I will write to the hon. Member.
Final outturn figures for the 1994 95 will not be available until the appropriation accounts are approved. When I write to the hon. Member on TEC contracts I will let him also have the latest provisional outturn figures at the time.
Expenditure in 1996 97 will be dependent on TEC contract negotiations which will take place early in 1996.
Column 764
Press Officers
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many press officers there are in his Department and what the figure was in 1979. [16747]
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many press officers there are in his Department currently; and what the figure was in 1979. [16546]
Mr. Redwood: There are currently seven press officers in my Department. The figure for 1979 is not available.
Nitrous Oxide
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the quantity of nitrous oxide emissions in Wales in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [16589]
Mr. Redwood: Estimated figures for the United Kingdom appear at table 1.4 in the latest "Digest of Environment and Water Statistics", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Figures for Wales are not separately identified.
Former Development Areas
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he will take to assist those areas in Wales which lost development area status; and if he will make a statement. [16831]
Mr. Redwood: The assisted areas map settled by the Government in July 1993 represented a fair and very satisfactory settlement for Wales. I believe that the map provides an excellent basis to continue the great economic success that has been achieved in Wales in recent years.
Non-Domestic Rating
Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effect of rating revaluation on small business in Wales. [16933]
Mr. Redwood: The 1995 rating revaluation has resulted in an estimated average increase in Welsh rateable values of 18 per cent. which, under the statutory formula, means a reduction in the poundage from 44.8p to 39p. For properties with a 1995 rateable value below £10,000, the average increase in rateable value is 28 per cent. Transitional arrangements limit increases in bills for premises with a rateable value less than £10,000 to 7.5 per cent. a year in real terms. This compares with 10 per cent. in real terms for premises with a rateable value of £10,000 or more.
Employment in House Building
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of people employed in the house building industry in Wales. [16829]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Information is available only for the construction industry as a whole. Latest estimates from the autumn 1994 Labour Force Survey show that there were 88,000 people employed in this industry in Wales.
Column 765
Countryside Council for Wales
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions and on what dates between 1 September 1994 and 2 March 1995 he has had formal meetings with (a) the board and (b) the chairman of the Countryside Council for Wales. [16760]
Mr. Redwood: I had a formal meeting with the chairman on 10 January 1994 and with the chairman and the board on 24 January 1995. In addition to these meetings, discussions have taken place between my officials and officials from the Countryside Council for Wales.
Low Pay
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Wales if he will make a statement on low payin Wales. [16832]
Mr. Redwood: Since April 1990, wage levels have risen faster in Wales than in Great Britain as a whole.
Drug Misuse
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what additional resources he is making available to combat drug abuse on Deeside, Clwyd. [16834]
Mr. Richards: Following the recommendations of the efficiency scrutiny of health promotion in Wales, central Welsh Office resources to combat drug and alcohol misuse were added to the allocations of Welsh district health authorities from 1 April 1994. The funding of local initiatives to combat drug misuse in Wales is the responsibility of the local agencies involved.
Child Care
Mr. Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the child care or nursery facilities within his Department; and what is the breakdown in their use (a) by grade and (b) by gender. [15225]
Mr. Redwood: My Department is a member of a consortium that provides nursery places for staff who are primary carers of children aged between six weeks and five years. The use of these places by grade and gender is as follows:
Grade |Female|Male ----------------------------- Grade 6 |1 |0 Grade 7 |2 |3 SEO |0 |2 HEO |2 |3 EO |11 |1 AO |6 |0
Places are reserved on holiday playschemes for children aged between four and 14 years during the Easter and summer school holidays. Information on the use of these places is not available in the form requested.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to introduce controls on Welsh Office spending on the promotion of grant-maintained schools similar to those which are to be imposed on local authorities in accordance with section 36 of the Education
Column 766
Act 1993; when he proposes to publish the result of his consultation with local councils on this issue; how much time he allowed local authorities to respond to his circular on the matter; and if he will make a statement. [16950]Mr. Richards: Welsh Office expenditure in respect of grant- maintained status for schools in limited to what is already considered to be the minimum necessary to ensure that interested parties have sufficient information which is factual and non-political in content, tone, and presentation to enable them to take an informed view about the grant- maintained option.
The consultation paper on the joint draft Education (Ballot Expenditure) Regulations was issued on 27 January 1995. Consultees were invited to submit comments by 24 February. In the light of the comments received, my right hon. Friends have modified upwards several of the expenditure limits described in the regulations which will now come into force on 1 April this year.
The provisions to limit local authority expenditure and put modest sums at the disposal of governing bodies are designed to achieve a balance between LEAs' and governing bodies' abilities to inform local debate on the matter.
TB and Cancer
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were reported as suffering from (a) tuberculosis, (b) breast cancer and (c) cervical cancer in 1994; and if he will make a statement. [16744]
Mr. Richards: Information on the total number of people suffering from diseases is not collected centrally. However, provisional figures for 1994 show that there were 184 new cases of tuberculosis in Wales notified to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. In 1989, the latest year for which complete data are available, there were 1,674 new female breast cancers and 342 new cervical cancers registered by the Wales Cancer Registry.
Local Education Authority Staff
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of administrative staff employed in each of the local education authorities in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [16746]
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