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Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many visits were made by the Health and Safety Executive's factory and agricultural inspectorates in the 12 months to 1 April. [29218]
Mr. Oppenheim: The Health and Safety Executive's field operations division factory, agricultural and quarries inspectorates carried out 136,889 planned inspection visits in 1994 95.
Travel-to-interview scheme
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will list the general grounds for rejection of financial assistance from the travel-to-interview scheme; [29203]
(2) how many applications have been received, on a regional basis, for financial assistance from the travel-to-interview scheme since its inception; what is the total cost of the scheme; and what is the total budget allocation for the scheme; [29201]
(3) how many appeals have been held as a result of rejection of financial assistance from the travel-to-interview scheme; and how many times the rejection of financial assistance has been overturned on appeal; [29204]
(4) how many applications, on a regional basis, for financial assistance from the travel-to-interview scheme have been rejected since its inception. [29202]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment
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Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 20 June 1995 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions on the Travel to Interview Scheme (TIS).
The Travel to Interview Scheme helps unemployed people attend job interviews beyond normal daily travelling distance by meeting the costs of the journey, and where necessary the costs of an overnight stay. In accordance with the rules of the scheme, the general grounds for rejection of applications are as follows:
application was not made in advance;
applicant was not unemployed for four weeks or more;
interview was not beyond normal daily travelling distance; applicant was not resident in the area for the past four weeks; job was for less than 30 hours per week;
job was not expected to last for more than 12 months;
job was for self-employment;
the salary was above £25,000 limit;
interview was not in the United Kingdom;
no help can be given for second or subsequent interviews. However, I should explain that we are presently testing changes to the rules in the North West region. The changes include the removal of the salary limit, help with second and subsequent interviews, help for some self-employed jobs, and a more relaxed interpretation of the 12 month rule.
The scheme was introduced in late 1986. The total cost of the scheme between April 1987 March 1995 has been £8.7m enabling attendance at over 395,000 interviews. The allocation of funds for 1995/96 amounts to £2.2m.
The normal process for appeals against rejected TIS applications operates on two levels. Initially, applicants can ask for their case to be reconsidered by the jobcentre manager. Where the jobcentre manager endorses the original decision and the applicant is still dissatisfied with the explanation, a final appeal can be made to the Employment Service Head Office.
I cannot give you the total number of appeals for Head Office consideration since the schemes's inception, as records are kept for 2 years only. The following figures cover the period from April 1993 March 1995:
appeals 34
number of rejections overturned on appeal 6
The number of appeals cleared at the local office level is not recorded.
The table below shows the number of applications made from April 1987 March 1995 and the number of applications rejected by region.
|Applications |Applications
|made from |rejected from
Regions |April 1987-March|April 1987-March
|1995 |1995
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |36,989 |7,485
Yorkshire and Humberside |40,510 |9,188
East Midlands and Eastern |40,540 |10,620
London and South East |56,045 |13,040
South West |37,328 |9,437
Wales |27,081 |7,843
West Midlands |29,311 |7,429
North West |61,827 |10,713
Scotland |54,245 |13,117
I hope this is helpful.
Correspondence
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth may expect a definitive reply to the matter raised in his letters of 23 March, 28 April and 2 June. [28942]
Miss Widdecombe: I will look into the circumstances of this case as a matter of urgency and will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Offshore Installations
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the estimated number of operational safety cases for new offshore installations, or mobile installations entering United Kingdom waters for the first time, which will be submitted to the Health and Safety Executive in each of the next three years. [29077]
Mr. Oppenheim: The Health and Safety Executive estimates that a total of 15 to 20 cases for offshore installations and mobile installations entering UK waters for the first time will be submitted in each of the next three years.
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) improvement notices and (b) prohibition notices have been issued by the offshore safety division of the Health and Safety Executive in each year since 1991. [29075]
Mr. Oppenheim: The figures are as follows:
|Improvement|Prohibition
Year |notices |notices
------------------------------------------------------------------
1 April 1991 to 31 March 1992 |0 |2
1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993 |19 |5
1 April 1993 to 31 March 1994 |22 |3
1 April 1994 to 31 March 1995 |34 |5
1 April 1995 to 8 June 1995 |3 |0
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the expected number of well operations notifications per month which will be submitted to the offshore safety division of the Health and Safety Executive under the provisions of regulation 11 of the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 1992; and what is the HSE's planned personnel allocation to the handling of these notifications. [29079]
Mr. Oppenheim: The Health and Safety Executive estimates that around 65 well notifications will be submitted per month. Sixteen staff who are currently engaged on approving well consents will be employed in managing the notification scheme when this comes into effect. The
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offshore safety division is also able to draw on further specialist staff as required.Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the first revised safety case is due to be submitted to the Health and Safety Executive under the provisions of regulation 9(4) of the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 1992; and how many such revised safety cases are expected to be submitted to the HSE in each of the subsequent three years. [29078]
Mr. Oppenheim: The first revised safety case due to be submitted under the provisions of regulation 9(4) of the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 1992 is expected to be submitted in January 1997. from 1997 onwards the Health and Safety Executive estimates that 60 revised safety cases will be submitted in each of the next three years.
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many offshore installation safety cases have been submitted to the offshore safety division of the Health and Safety Executive to date; and how many of these have been formally accepted by the Health and Safety Executive. [29076]
Mr. Oppenheim: At 31 May 1995, a total of 260 safety cases for offshore installations had been submitted to the Health and Safety Executive, of which 17 were design safety cases which are not formally accepted by HSE. At the same date, 102 safety cases had been accepted by HSE.
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many exemptions have been granted to the time deadline requirements for safety case submission, as provided for in regulation 17(2) (a) of the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 1992. [29080]
Mr. Oppenheim: No exemptions have been requested or granted to the time deadline requirements for safety case submission, as provided for in regulation 17(2) (a).
Foreign Companies
Mr. Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the top 25 foreign companies in the United Kingdom by the total numbers of personnel employed. [29868]
Mr. Oppenheim: The Statistics of Trade Act 1947 prohibits the disclosure of information which could be identified as relating to an individual employer. In the circumstances, I cannot provide the information requested.
Ministerial Visit, Manchester
Mr. Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he next intends to visit the Greater Manchester area to discuss matters relating to employment with local authority
representatives. [29872]
Miss Widdecombe: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, will next visit Stockport and Manchester on Wednesday 21 June 1995 when he shall discuss employment matters with people from a cross section of employment and training organisations. He has no specific plans to meet representatives from local authorities separately.
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Training-for-Work
Mr. Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what advice his Department gives to unemployed people in the Greater Manchester area who cannot find places on the training-for-work programmes. [29870]
Miss Widdecombe: There are a large number of training places for those seeking them, and for whom training is the best course of action, but training is not necessarily the priority need for all unemployed people. That is why all Employment Service offices offer a structured and coherent advisory service, which is aimed at helping people back into work as soon as possible. ES provides unemployed people with information and advice about the full range of jobs, training and other programme opportunities available to them. About 1.5 million opportunities are available through ES this year.
Sheep Dips
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment with what frequency, and with what sanctions, inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive monitor the adherence of sheep farmers to the advice contained in the HSE leaflet "Sheep Dipping", reference AS29 revised. [29735]
Mr. Oppenheim: The frequency of visits by Health and Safety Executive inspectors is prioritised on the basis of a number of factors: these include the risks to those at work or the public. Around 30,000 visits per year are made to agricultural premises, though not all of these will, of course, be sheep farms.
Where inspectors find poor conditions the available sanctions range from verbal or written advice to improvement and prohibition notices and, in extreme cases, prosecution.
Unemployment, Manchester
Mr. Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had with other EU employment Ministers on measures to reduce unemployment in the Greater Manchester area. [29871]
Miss Widdecombe: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and I regularly discuss employment matters with our fellow Employment Ministers at the Social Affairs Council. We consistently urge them to make job creation the first priority and not to pursue new restrictions and regulations which can only destroy jobs. Our aim is to improve employment prospects in all areas of Britain, including Greater Manchester.
Charter Week
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the main events he is proposing for Charter Week; what is the total cost to public funds; and how many (a) civil servants and (b) other public officials will be playing a part. [29884]
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Miss Widdecombe: A number of events are planned to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the citizens charter, including: local events organised by the Employment Service, for example, to promote services for long-term unemployed people and to launch client consultation groups on a pilot basis;
publication of revised versions of the Health and Safety Executive's two key statements of service standards.
These activities were planned as part of normal departmental business, although in some instances the timing has been adjusted to coincide with Charter Week and the charter content has been made more explicit. There will be no additional cost or staff resources required as a result of holding the events in July. The officials concerned will be working on the events as part of their normal duties.
Working Abroad
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many United Kingdom citizens were working abroad in each of the last 10 years. [29280]
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 19 June 1995]: The information requested is not available.
Redundancies
Mr. Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) on how many occasions in each of the last five years he has taken action against employers failing to notify his Department of impending redundancies under section 193 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; and what action was taken on each occasion; [29452]
(2) on how many occasions in each of the last five years he has learned of failures by employers to notify his Department of impending redundancies under section 193 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. [29451]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 19 June 1995]: Information on the number of allegations of an employer's failure to notify my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State in accordance with section 193 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 is not recorded, though appropriate inquiries are made in such cases. The number of instances in each of the last five years where the Department was notified, but where the notification did not fully meet the requirements of section 193 of the Act is as follows: 1990: 2,828
1991: 4,021
1992: 4,724
1993: 2,630
1994: 1,918
In each case an explanation was sought and the full requirements of the legislation brought to the employer's attention. The legislation provides that where it is not reasonably practical to comply with the full requirements, the employer should take all reasonable steps to comply as far as possible. Taking account of this, it has not so far been found appropriate to prosecute an employer.
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DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Business Appointment Rules
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps are being taken to monitor conditions imposed under the business appointment rules; and if conditions are made known to those offering appointments to which conditions are applied. [29168]
Mr. Horam: Conditions are monitored through routine contact between former employing departments and new employers or their competitors. The Government are considering the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life that the operation, observance and objectives of the business appointment rules should be reviewed. Conditions are made known to new employers where appropriate.
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place a copy of the business appointment rules in the Library. [29163]
Mr. Horam: The business appointment rules form part of the civil service management code, a copy of which is already in the Library.
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the membership of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, the number of meetings attended by each member during the year 1994 95 and the total cost of remuneration or compensation to the membership of the committee in 1994 95. [29165]
Mr. Horam: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) on 23 May 1995, Official Report column 535 . The committee met twice during 1994 95; it handles the bulk of its work by correspondence. Committee members do not receive remuneration or compensation.
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to introduce the possibility of a ban on the acceptance of an appointment under the business appointment rules. [29169]
Charter Week
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the main events he is proposing for Charter Week; what is the total cost to public funds; and how many (a) civil servants and (b) other public officials will be playing a part. [29880]
Mr. Horam: A number of public service events are planned to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the citizens charter, including:
the publication of NHS performance tables for England, Wales and Northern Ireland;
the launch of the charter standard statement for community services in Northern Ireland;
the publication of the revised Customs and Excise travellers charter;
a reception for users who have nominated organisations for the 1995 charter mark and representatives of the nominated organisations; and
the publication of the a guide to consultation.
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There will be no additional cost or staff resources required as a result of holding these events in July. The officials concerned will be working on the events as part of their normal duties.Contracting Out
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list those parts of his Department or departmental agencies which were privatised without an in-house bid; if he will indicate the expertise which was absent in his Department or departmental agencies which prevented an in -house bid taking place; which future parts of his Department or departmental agencies he intends to privatise; and which of them do not have the necessary in-house expertise to mount an in-house bid. [29422]
Mr. Horam: Those parts of the work of the Cabinet Office, its agencies, HMSO and COI which have been contracted-out without an in-house bid are as follows:
Agency
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Central OPSS |Consortium Reports
|Publishing and Print Procurement Service
CCTA |GTN (Long-Distance)
Chessington |UNISON (Phase 1)
CS College |Prospectus Distribution
RAS |Catering Services
|Cleaning Services
|IT Hardware Maintenance
|IT Software Support Services
HMSO |Print Order Processing System
|Software Development: Business Supplies
|Software Development: Finance
COI |Videotext Unit
The Cabinet Office, its agencies, HMSO and COI have contracted-out activities without inviting in-house bids where it has been judged that the private sector is clearly better equipped to deliver a specific service, has a better understanding of market needs, or the capacity to invest in new technology. Other decisions to contract-out services without inviting in-house bids have been taken where an activity is relatively small and peripheral to the Department's functions.
There are no current plans to contract-out any activities within the Cabinet Office, its agencies, HMSO and COI without inviting an in-house bid.
WALES
Male Unemployment
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the percentage of male unemployment in Dyfed in 1984, 1989 and 1994. [28692]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The annual average male unemployment rates in Dyfed for 1984, 1989 and 1994, based on the claimant count, were 13.8, 8.3 and 10.8 per cent. respectively.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the percentage of male unemployment in the county of South Glamorgan in 1987, 1990 and 1994. [28969]
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Mr. Gwilym Jones: The annual average male unemployment rates in South Glamorgan for 1987, 1990 and 1994, based on the claimant count, were 14.2, 8.6 and 13.2 per cent. respectively.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the percentage of male unemployment in Gwynedd in 1985, 1990 and 1994. [28690]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The annual average male unemployment rates in Gwynedd for 1985, 1990 and 1994, based on the claimant count, were 16.9, 9.0 and 12.5 per cent. respectively.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the percentage of male unemployment in the county of Gwent for 1988, 1992 and 1994. [28694]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The annual average male unemployment rates in Gwent for 1988, 1992 and 1994, based on the claimant count, were 12.9, 14.2 and 13.8 per cent. respectively.
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