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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 31 March 1995
HEALTH
Nursing Staff
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of nursing staff were at any one time (a) on fixed-term contracts and (b) bank or agency staff (i) in the current year and (ii) in each of the last 10 years, in each regional health authority. [15368]
Mr. Sackville: Information on the percentage of bank and agency nursing and midwifery staff will be placed in the Library. Figures for 1994 onwards are not yet available.
Data on the percentage of nursing and midwifery staff on fixed-term contracts are not available centrally since this is a matter for local determination.
Speech Therapists
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech therapists per 1,000 population are provided for children in (a) Southwark, (b) Birmingham, (c) Manchester, (d) Kingston, (e) Lewisham and (f) England. [15325]
Mr. Bowis: This information is not available centrally.
NHS Dental Treatments
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all the dental treatments currently available under the national health service, together with the amount paid by the Government to general dental practices for each treatment, for the five most recent years for which figures are available. [15402]
Mr. Malone: The information will be placed in the Library.
Prescription Fraud
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action her Department is taking to reduce the level of prescription fraud. [16887]
Mr. Malone: From 1 April 1995 patients who obtain dispensed items from community pharmacists or dispensing doctors will be asked to complete a written declaration stating the specific grounds for claiming exemption or remission of the prescription charge due, or the amount of the charge paid. The revised declarations will improve the effectiveness of confirmatory checks and are a significant first step towards reducing prescription fraud.
I am considering what further measures are necessary.
Birth Certificates
Mr. Rooker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the purpose of asking applicants for full and short
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birth certificates if they are the subject of the certificate or a relative of the subject. [17159]Mr. Sackville: In their White Paper "Registration: proposals for change", Cm 939, the Government proposed new arrangements for the purchase of certificates of recent events and a different approach to the prevention of intrusions into privacy, personation and fraud. Statutory powers would be introduced to require applicants for certificates to identify themselves and complete a more comprehensive application form. They would also be required to state their relationship to the subject of the required certificate and the purpose for which the certificate was to be used. The application forms now in use by the Registrar General ask for this additional information, but applicants cannot, at present, be obliged to provide the answers.
Mr. Rooker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for how long application forms for full and short version birth certificates are kept after the certificates have been issued. [17161]
Mr. Sackville: The Registrar General currently retains application forms relating to the issue of birth certificates for a minimum of five years.
Thyroid Cancer
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each of the last 10 years the number of cases of thyroid cancer that have been reported in (a) North Western, (b) Mersey, (c) Northern, (d) Yorkshire, (e) Trent and (f) West Midlands regional health authorities; and what the national average was for each of the years. [17137]
Mr. Sackville: The information is published in tables 2 and 7 of "Cancer statistics, registrations, series MB1, Nos. 11 22", HMSO, copies of which are available in the Library.
Asbestos-related Diseases
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to improve the quality of diagnosis and certification of deaths involving asbestos-related diseases. [17078]
Mr. Sackville: Diagnosis is a professional issue and we would look primarily to the health care professions to provide guidance on it.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are her current assumptions about the levels of asbestos-related deaths in the United Kingdom. [17080]
Mr. Sackville: The recorded numbers of deaths from
asbestos-related diseases continue to grow. Such diseases are nearly always the result of occupational exposure to asbestos fibres, and are prescribed as industrial diseases. Asbestos-related diseases generally take a long time to develop. The deaths now occurring, and most of those expected to occur in the future, reflect past industrial exposure before the introduction of the controls whose enforcement is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.
Royal Liverpool University Hospital
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to ensure that the Royal Liverpool
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University hospital obtains a fire certificate from the Merseyside fire brigade. [17221]Mr. Sackville: Royal Liverpool University hospital is currently undertaking work agreed with the Merseyside fire brigade, due for completion by August 1995.
Helicopter Emergency Medical Service
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were conveyed by the London helicopter ambulance service for each year since 1991. [17239]
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. William Wells, chairman of South Thames regional health authority, which is managerially responsible for the London helicopter emergency medical service.
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Herbal Medicines
Mr. Stott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many herbal medicine products are currently being sold in Britain without a licence. [17130]
Mr. Sackville: All medicinal products on the market in the United Kingdom are subject to the Medicines for Human Use (Marketing Authorisations Etc.) Regulations 1994 unless otherwise exempt. The Medicines Control Agency will investigate any case which appears to breach this.
Waiting Times
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average waiting time for admission by region in each of the last five years. [13396]
Mr. Malone [holding answer 17 March 1995]: This information is shown in the table:
Estimated average
time (in months)
waited by patients
still on waiting
lists for
Region inpatient and day
case admission as
at:
|March 1990|March 1991|March 1992|March 1993|March 1994
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |7.0 |5.9 |4.7 |4.1 |4.2
Yorkshire |7.2 |7.1 |5.2 |4.5 |5.1
Trent |7.4 |6.3 |5.5 |4.7 |4.4
East Anglian |9.0 |8.4 |5.4 |4.7 |4.5
North West Thames |9.4 |9.2 |6.4 |5.3 |5.3
North East Thames |10.9 |8.7 |5.7 |5.0 |5.6
South East Thames |10.1 |8.8 |5.7 |5.0 |5.1
South West Thames |10.2 |7.2 |4.1 |4.1 |4.4
Wessex |8.2 |7.5 |4.8 |4.7 |4.2
Oxford |8.9 |8.0 |5.7 |4.4 |4.2
S. Western |8.5 |8.1 |4.5 |3.8 |3.6
W. Midlands |8.7 |7.7 |4.7 |4.2 |4.5
Mersey |4.9 |4.5 |3.7 |3.7 |3.8
North Western |8.6 |7.2 |4.8 |4.5 |4.5
Source:
Derived from quarterly Korner elective admission list returns.
NHS Purchasing
Mr. Trend: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will respond to the first report of the Health Committee of Session 1994 95 on "Priority Setting in the NHS: Purchasing;" and if she will make a statement. [18207]
Mrs. Bottomley: I have today published the Government's response to the Select Committee report, Cm 2826. A copy has been placed in the Library.
The Government welcome the Committee's report on priority setting in the national health service. It sets out a thoughtful and wide-ranging investigation of the issues, from the Government setting national priorities to the choices faced by individual clinicians every day. The Government welcome the Select Committee's support for many of the policies that they are pursuing in this area.
EDUCATION
Internet
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list the Internet electronic mail address of (a) her Department and (b) each Minister in her Department;
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and if she will make a statement on her Department's approach to the information super-highway. [17742]Mr. Forth: The Department has a mailbox on the
Internet--info@dfe.gov.uk--for general inquiries to the Department's public inquiry unit. This provides a service to those who have access to the Internet and prefer to use electronic mail as a method of communication.
The Government's consultation paper on broadband communications in education will be published after Easter.
Leicestershire Local Education Authority
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was spent on education by the county council in Leicestershire in each of the last five years; and how much is planned for this financial year. [17155]
Mr. Robin Squire: Total expenditure by Leicestershire local education authority from 1989 90 to 1993 94, the latest year for which provisional outturn figures are available, is shown. These figures have not been adjusted for any changes of function. The figure for 1994 95 is drawn from Leicestershire LEA's revenue account return, and is not directly comparable with the outturn figures which have a different coverage.
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Leicestershire LEA-total expenditure (in
actual terms)
Year |£ million
------------------------------------------
Outturn
1989-90 |337.5
1990-91 |372.8
1991-92 |409.0
1992-93 |440.8
1993-94 (provisional) |400.6
Planned
1994-95 |326.8
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the number of teachers employed in state schools in Leicestershire in each of the last five years. [17154]
Mr. Robin Squire: The table shows the full-time equivalent number of teachers employed in maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector in Leicestershire for January 1990 to January 1994.
Teachers-FTE-in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector in Leicestershire January |FTE ------------------------ 1990 |7,886 1991 |7,764 1992 |7,830 1993 |7,570 1994<1> |7,832 <1> Excludes sixth form colleges.
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the amount of the salary bill for teachers in Leicestershire for each of the last five years; and how much is planned for this year. [17158]
Mr. Robin Squire: Expenditure by Leicestershire local education authority on salaries for teachers at its maintained schools from 1989 90 to 1993 94, the latest year for which provisional outturn figures are available, is shown. Information on planned expenditure on teachers' salaries is not collected centrally.
Leicestershire LEA-expenditure on teaching staff (in actual terms) Year |£million ---------------------------------------- Outturn 1989-90 |172.9 1990-91 |185.0 1991-92 |204.2 1992-93 |224.9 1993-94 (provisional) |194.9
Publications
Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what has been the cost of the production and distribution of (i) the updated parents charter, 1994; (ii) the special educational needs information, 1994; (iii) the school governors' guides to the law, 1994; (iv) the private finance initiative, 1994; (v) the national school tests, 1993, 1994 and 1995, information leaflet; and (vi) the grant-maintained schools information, 1993 to 1995. [17107]
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Mr. Forth: The costs in the financial years 1993 94 and 1994 95 of production and distribution were as follows:
|£000
---------------------------------------------------------
Parents Charter (1994) |3,073
Special Educational Needs Information
(1994) |1,137
School Governors' Guides to the Law (1994) |300
Private Finance Initiative |119
National School Test (1993, 1994 and 1995) |<1>673
<1> Estimated.
The estimated cost of the campaign on grant-maintained schools information in 1993 94 and 1994 95 is some £1.922 million. This includes the cost of press advertising, a video and a series of regional conferences.
Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the budget for the "Schools Update", 1993 to 1995, publication.
Mr. Forth: "Schools Update" is the Department's termly newsletter for school teachers and governors. Over the last two years, costs of producing and distributing copies are as follows:
Financial year |£ --------------------------------------------- 1993-94 |169,000 1994-95 |<1>219,000 <1> Estimated.
Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many responses she has had to the information booklet on the private finance initiative, 1994. [17108]
Mr. Forth: The booklet "Education Means Business" was published as part of a wider strategy to promote the private finance initiative in education. Although it is difficult to separate the impact of the publication from other aspects of the initiative, about 2,000 inquiries have been received within the Department specifically referring to the booklet.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 17 March, Official Report , columns 732 34, what estimate she has made of the individual or combined cost of the campaigns and publications (a) DFE summer roadshow, (b) European choice booklet, (c) grant-maintained schools information and (d) the updated parents charter. [17297]
Mr. Forth [holding answer 30 March 1995]: In the financial years 1993 94 and 1994 95, the combined cost of these campaigns and publications is estimated at £5.616 million.
Devon Local Education Authority
Mr. Allason: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the average figure for administration per school in Devon retained by the local education authority. [17282]
Mr. Robin Squire: For the financial year 1994 95, the Devon local education authority's planned expenditure on "management and administration" amounted to £10,163 per school. This figure relates to all county, voluntary and special schools maintained by the authority and is derived
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from the budget statement published by the authority under section 42 of the Education Reform Act 1988.St. Philip's College
Mr. Rooker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was her response to the open letter to her from the staff of St. Philip's Roman Catholic sixth form college dated 22 March. [17160]
Mr. Boswell: My right hon. Friend is considering her response to the letter and will reply shortly.
Free School Meals
Ms Estelle Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will give the percentage of children in the secondary sector who are entitled to free school meals in (a) selective schools, (b) voluntary-aided schools and (c) grant-maintained schools, listed by local education authority; and what is the average in each local education authority for children in the secondary sector.
Mr. Robin Squire: Information--derived from schools' annual returns- -about pupils known to be eligible for school meals is provided in the following table.
Percentage of day pupils known to be eligible for free school
meals in secondary schools in each local education authority in
England
January 1994
|Voluntary- |Grant- |All
|Selective |aided |maintained |secondary
|schools<1><3>|schools<2> |schools<3> |schools
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporation of
London |- |- |- |-
Camden |- |8.5 |3.2 |26.9
Greenwich |- |4.8 |0.0 |36.4
Hackney |- |19.1 |0.0 |59.2
Hammersmith |- |13.2 |2.3 |36.3
Islington |- |11.9 |- |51.7
Kensington and
Chelsea |- |6.2 |2.8 |40.6
Lambeth |- |- |21.7 |51.4
Lewisham |- |6.8 |- |40.4
Southwark |- |8.0 |11.7 |55.9
Tower Hamlets |- |11.0 |1.8 |64.0
Wandsworth |- |- |23.8 |34.5
Westminster |- |14.0 |- |44.1
Barking |- |2.1 |- |18.5
Barnet |0.1 |0.7 |5.6 |14.7
Bexley |0.8 |- |1.8 |10.9
Brent |- |- |17.9 |27.4
Bromley |0.1 |- |5.9 |13.0
Croydon |- |2.0 |3.4 |18.7
Ealing |- |3.8 |13.2 |29.8
Enfield |0.1 |1.2 |4.9 |18.5
Haringey |- |7.2 |- |40.2
Harrow |- |0.8 |0.7 |13.8
Havering |- |0.5 |1.6 |10.4
Hillingdon |- |0.2 |11.0 |13.0
Hounslow |- |0.8 |1.8 |20.7
Kingston upon
Thames |0.5 |- |3.3 |9.4
Merton |- |3.1 |- |18.6
Newham |- |3.5 |1.9 |39.4
Redbridge |0.3 |0.7 |1.3 |16.8
Richmond upon
Thames |- |3.5 |- |16.3
Sutton |0.5 |- |2.2 |8.7
Waltham
Forest |- |1.9 |2.2 |34.1
Birmingham |0.5 |2.7 |4.4 |31.6
Coventry |- |4.1 |- |23.8
Dudley |- |2.0 |4.0 |16.7
Sandwell |- |0.5 |1.3 |25.3
Solihull |-1 |2.8 |- |12.0
Walsall |0.2 |2.3 |3.5 |25.1
Wolverhampton |0.1 |2.4 |3.7 |25.3
Knowsley |- |16.0 |4.4 |51.8
Liverpool |- |15.4 |2.1 |39.2
St. Helens |- |3.0 |- |17.4
Sefton |- |6.0 |- |20.7
Wirral |0.8 |4.8 |0.4 |25.8
Bolton |- |1.9 |1.5 |16.4
Bury |- |2.2 |- |13.5
Manchester |- |11.9 |- |43.4
Oldham |- |32.8 |- |53.5
Rochdale |- |4.9 |1.4 |28.9
Salford |- |4.5 |0.6 |26.3
Stockport |- |1.0 |- |14.4
Tameside |- |1.9 |2.0 |19.8
Trafford |2.3 |1.3 |5.9 |20.0
Wigan |- |3.7 |- |17.5
Barnsley |- |- |- |22.8
Doncaster |- |1.2 |- |22.5
Rotherham |- |0.7 |- |18.5
Sheffield |- |- |1.2 |24.2
Bradford |- |1.7 |2.4 |31.2
Calderdale |0.8 |0.9 |3.2 |18.1
Kirklees |0.1 |0.5 |0.3 |17.6
Leeds |- |2.2 |0.2 |18.7
Wakefield |- |0.7 |- |17.3
Gateshead |- |4.6 |- |24.9
Newcastle
upon Tyne |- |3.7 |- |27.4
North
Tyneside |- |1.0 |- |18.2
South
Tyneside |- |3.9 |- |25.8
Sunderland |- |2.5 |- |25.8
Isles of Scilly |- |- |- |35.8
Avon |- |0.6 |0.3 |15.5
Bedfordshire |- |1.3 |2.5 |16.6
Berkshire |0.4 |0.4 |1.3 |8.5
Buckinghamshire |0.5 |0.3 |2.1 |8.6
Cambridgeshire |-1 |0.2 |4.8 |13.1
Cheshire |- |1.9 |0.5 |12.0
Cleveland |- |4.4 |- |28.0
Cornwall |- |- |- |15.9
Cumbria |- |0.9 |2.2 |12.1
Derbyshire |- |0.6 |2.8 |13.5
Devon |0.5 |0.5 |0.8 |12.9
Dorset |0.9 |0.5 |2.1 |10.2
Durham |- |1.7 |- |17.4
East Sussex |- |1.6 |- |18.1
Essex |0.2 |0.5 |7.0 |12.3
Gloucestershire |0.6 |0.4 |5.8 |11.0
Hampshire |- |0.4 |1.7 |10.6
Hereford and
Worcester |- |0.3 |0.5 |9.6
Hertfordshire |- |0.5 |2.1 |9.6
Humberside |- |0.9 |- |17.3
Isle of Wight |- |1.2 |- |21.0
Kent |1.1 |0.7 |5.5 |13.2
Lancashire |0.1 |2.2 |0.6 |19.7
Leicestershire |- |0.5 |0.7 |12.5
Lincolnshire |1.1 |0.1 |4.3 |9.8
Norfolk |- |0.3 |2.6 |10.7
North Yorkshire |0.2 |0.7 |- |7.4
Northamptonshire |- |1.2 |3.1 |12.5
Northumberland |- |0.5 |0.2 |12.7
Nottinghamshire |- |1.7 |0.7 |20.0
Oxfordshire |- |0.7 |- |9.8
Shropshire |0.0 |0.4 |2.1 |13.6
Somerset |0.0 |0.3 |0.0 |10.7
Staffordshire |- |0.7 |0.9 |13.3
Suffolk |- |0.4 |- |11.7
Surrey |- |0.6 |1.5 |7.2
Warwickshire |0.2 |0.6 |1.8 |8.7
West Sussex |- |1.1 |- |9.2
Wiltshire |0.1 |0.1 |2.5 |9.8
England |0.1 |1.9 |2.1 |17.7
<1> Schools which admit pupils wholly or mainly with reference to ability or aptitude.
<2> Some voluntary schools are selective.
<3> Some grant-maintained schools are selective.
- There are no schools of this type in the LEA.
EMPLOYMENT
Union Carbide Corporation
Ms Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now publish the safety report regarding the Union Carbide Corporation plant at Wilton, Teesside, submitted by ICI to the Health and Safety Executive in June 1989 and updated in June 1992.
Mr. Oppenheim: The Health and Safety Executive is currently discussing with the companies whether they would consent to the release of all or part of the report and I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Trade Unions
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what representations he has received in favour of the trade union activity as a stabilising and helpful force in the workplace; [15657]
(2) what is his policy towards the retaining of union representatives experienced in understanding the employers' and employees' positions in a workplace; [15659]
(3) what assessment he has made as to the benefits for employers and employees of the maintenance of union facilities at workplaces; [15658]
(4) what action he takes to discourage employers from phasing out fair and legitimate union activity. [15660]
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Mr. Oppenheim: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I meet trade union delegations periodically and listen to their views on their role. The Government believe that unions can make a useful contribution on issues close to the workplace, but to do so they must be accountable, well informed and able to speak with knowledge and authority. However, the Government also believe employers and employees should be free to conduct their own affairs with the minimum of interference. Individual workers must be free to decide whether to be members of trade unions and the law protects them from dismissal or acts of victimisation on grounds of trade union membership or activities. Employers must be free to decide whether or not to recognise trade unions for bargaining purposes.
Where an employer chooses to recognise an independent trade union, employees who are members of that union become entitled to reasonable time off during working hours to take part in any trade union activity. Employees who are officials of that union become entitled to reasonable time off with pay to carry out certain trade union duties and undergo training relevant to those duties.
Statutory References
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what statutory references to hon. Members have been made in legislation introduced by his Department, or its predecessors, since 1965. [17041]
Miss Widdecombe: An analysis of all legislation introduced by this Department and its predecessors since 1965 for any reference to the type requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. 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 occasional general reference are made to persons who are Members of one or other of the Houses of Parliament.
Agencies
Mr. Marlow: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of (a) building workers, (b) lorry drivers and (c) secretaries have been (i) directly employed or (ii) employed by agencies in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [17491]
Mr. Oppenheim: The information requested for 1991 to 1994 is provided in the following table. Comparable information prior to this is not available.
Employment status by occupation in Great Britain: Labour Force
Survey at spring of each year
Percentage
|Drivers for
|Building |road goods |Secretarial
|occupations|vehicles |occupations
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Employed directly
1991 |100 |99 |97
1992 |100 |99 |99
1993 |100 |100 |98
1994 |100 |98 |98
(ii) Employed via agencies<1>
1991 |0 |1 |3
1992 |0 |1 |1
1993 |0 |0 |2
1994 |0 |2 |2
<1> Information based on temporary employees only.
South London Training and Enterprise Council
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many contracts were issued by SOLOTEC to provide training for people with special needs in the financial year 1994 95; and how many are expected to be issued in 1995 96. [17431]
Mr. Paice: SOLOTEC issued 10 contracts providing training for special needs in the financial year 1994 95. Subject to final contracting, it is anticipated that there will be eight special needs contracts issued for 1995 96 for the current four boroughs. Provision for the boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham is still under discussion.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if elected local authority representatives are eligible for the expanded board of SOLOTEC. [17432]
Mr. Paice: The eligibility conditions for training and enterprise council directors are laid down in the Department's contract with TECs. These require that at least two thirds are top executives from the private sector and that all TEC directors from the public sector must be at chief executive level or its equivalent. Any new directors recruited to SOLOTEC's board must meet these requirements. Status as an elected authority representative does not disqualify someone from being a TEC director so long as the eligibility conditions are met.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many training providers are currently under contract to SOLOTEC for the provision of (a) training for youth credits, (b) training for work courses and (c) investors in people on 1 March; how many are expected to be contracted as at 1 April; and what advice he has received about the size of the supplier base for SOLOTEC when it accepts responsibility for training provision in Lewisham and Greenwich post-24 April. [17433]
Mr. Paice: SOLOTEC had 20 training providers under contract for youth credits and 24 for training for work as at 1 March 1995. Subject to final contracting, it is anticipated that there will be 20 youth credits providers and 18 training for work contractors from 1 April. SOLOTEC does not contract with providers for investors in people as the training and enterprise council has an in-house team which works directly with employers. Provision for the boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham after 24 April 1995 is still under discussion.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many youth training guarantees were made in the financial year 1994 95 to young people in the area covered by SOLOTEC; and how many are expected to be made in 1995 96. [17430]
Mr. Paice: Some 2,335 youth training guarantees were made in 1994 95 to young people in the area covered by SOLOTEC. The figure for expected guarantee starts in 1995 96 in the current SOLOTEC area is 2,250.
South Thames Training and Enterprise Council
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many training providers are under contract to the receiver for South Thames TEC for the provision of (a) training for youth credits, (b) training for work courses and (c) investors in people as at 1 March; how many are expected to be contracted as at 1 April; and how many of these contracts he expects to be renewed by SOLOTEC by 1 May. [17434]
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Mr. Paice: As at 1 March 1995, South Thames training and enterprise council had 41 training providers under contract for youth credits, 45 for training for work and 25 for investors in people. It is not possible to estimate how many of these providers will still be under contract to the TEC at 1 April 1995 or how many of these providers may be offered new contracts by SOLOTEC by 1 May 1995. It is for SOLOTEC to determine which providers it wishes to contract with to provide services in the boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed by the receiver for South Thames TEC on (a) 1 February, and (b) 1 March; and how many are expected to be employed on 1 April and 1 May. [17435]
Mr. Paice: I understand from the receiver that the number of people employed by him at South Thames training and enterprise council was 82 on 1 February and 70 on 1 March 1995. The figure is expected to be 46 on 1 April. I am unable to estimate what the figure will be on 1 May.
Labour Statistics
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will provide a regional breakdown of the most recent labour force survey to identify separately the numbers of employed and self-employed people in part-time work who could not find full-time work, expressing the data by percentage, gender and age; [16103] (2) if he will provide a breakdown by region and gender from the latest labour force survey of (a) the number of employees in temporary jobs because they could not find permanent employment and (b) the total number of employees in temporary jobs. [16105]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 27 March 1995]: This information is available from the labour force survey and can be obtained via the Quantime LFS service available in the Library.
United States Wages
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information is held by his Department about the minimum wage levels operating in Washington DC and the 50 states of the United States of America. [16927]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 29 March 1995]: The information is given is the following table. The federal minimum wage is currently $4.25 an hour and has been since 1 April 1991. Figures in the table set out the minimum hourly wage rates under state laws.
USA: minimum and subminimum hourly wage rates under state
laws (subminimum wage rates applicable only to learners or
apprentices)
|Minimum wage rate|Subminimum wage
State* |($) |rate ($)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama |none |none
Alaska |4.75 |<1>75 per cent.
Arizona |none |none
Arkansas |4.5 |none
California |4.25 |85 per cent.
Colorado |<3>3.00 |none
Connecticut |4.27 |<4>85 per cent.
Delaware |4.25 |none
District of Columbia* |5.25 |<14>4.25
Florida |none |none
Georgia |3.25 |none
Hawaii |6.25 |<15>-
Idaho |4.25 |<16>-
Illinois |4.25 |<5>70 per cent.
Indiana |3.35 |none
Iowa |4.65 |none
Kansas |2.65 |<15>-
Kentucky |4.25 |none
Louisiana |none |none
Maine |4.25 |<16>-
Maryland |4.25 |none
Massachusetts |4.25 |<6>-
Michigan |3.35 |none
Minnesota |<7>4.25 |<6>-
Mississippi |none |none
Missouri |4.25 |<1>85 per cent.
Montana |4.25 |none
Nebraska |4.25 |<1>75 per cent.
Nevada |4.25 |none
New Hampshire |4.25 |<1>75 per cent.
New Jersey |5.05 |<15>-
New Mexico |4.25 |none
New York |4.25 |<15>-
North Carolina |4.25 |<1>90 per cent.
North Dakota |4.25 |<9>-
Ohio |4.25 |<10>-
Oklahoma |4.25 |none
Oregon |4.75 |none
Pennsylvania |4.25 |<1>85 per cent.
Puerto Rico* |0.24-8.50 |-
Rhode Island |4.45 |<11>-
South Carolina |none |none
South Dakota |4.25 |none
Tennessee |none |none
Texas |3.35 |none
Utah |4.25 |none
Vermont |4.25 |<12>85 per cent.
Virginia |4.25 |none
Washington |4.90 |85 per cent.
West Virginia |4.25 |none
Wisconsin |4.25 |<13>75 per cent.
Wyoming |1.60 |none
Notes:
* District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are not states of the USA.
1. Where a state is shown as having a lower rate than the federal minimum
of $4.25 this would apply only to workers whose work involves no interstate
commerce. In practice, such a condition will apply to only a small minority
of workers. Most workers in these states will be covered by the federal
rate.
<1> Percentage rate of the statutory minimum for learners and/or
apprentices.
<2> Percentage rate for first 160 hours of employment.
<3> By state wage board order(s).
<4> Percentage rate, for first 200 hours of employment.
<5> Percentage rate, for up to six months.
<6> Scale of rates for specified occupations.
<7> $4 an hour for employers whose annual gross volume is less than $362,
500.
<8> At minors rate, for first 300 hours of employment.
<9> Sub-minimum rate to certain students may be granted.
<10> 85 per cent. for apprentices for period of up to 90 days.
<11> At rate determined by director of labour for up to 90 days.
<12> Percentage rate for retail, wholesale and service establishment by
wage order, for up to 240 hours or 30 days for learners.
<13> Percentage rate, for student learners aged 14 to 18, under wage order.
<14> For persons with less than 60 calendar days experience in laundry and
dry-cleaning occupation.
<15> Sub-minimum rate may be prescribed by rules.
<16> Special licence or certificate may be issued authorising sub-minimum
rate.
<17>Specific rates established by wage order for various categories of
employees.
<18>$5.15 an hour for employees of certain contractors providing services
to medical care recipients.
<19>$4 an hour, for employer whose annual gross volume is $110,000 or less.
<20>$2.80 an hour, for employer whose annual gross volume is less than $150,
000.
Source:
The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
Health and Safety
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the details of the industrialists and insurance companies consulted by Touche Ross and the Health and Safety Executive in preparing HSC report 92/129. [17332]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 30 March 1995]: No. The basis on which the consultation was carried out did not include publicising the details.
TRANSPORT
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what outline contingency plans or policy options his Department has drawn up to provide for the reduction, by a range of percentages, of carbon dioxide emissions beyond 2000 from the United Kingdom transport sector. [16956]
Mr. Norris: The United Kingdom climate change programme document--Cm 2427, published in January 1994--sets out the policy measures for meeting the United Kingdom commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases across the whole economy up to 2000. Chapter 10 looks at some of the policy options beyond 2000. UK policies and measures for beyond 2000 will need to be decided in the context of international agreement on future commitments. The first conference of parties to the framework convention on climate change is currently taking place in Berlin.
Railways
Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will announce British Rail's and Railtrack's external finance contributions for 1994 95; and if he will make a statement. [18277]
Mr. Watts: British Rail's external finance contribution for 1994 95 will be £310 million. Railtrack's EFC will be £316 million. The railway industry external finance limit for this year will be £1,560 million, made up as follows:
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