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Mr. Oppenheim: The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985--RIDDOR--require employers to notify the enforcing authority, for the purposes of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974, in the event of an accident at work to any employee resulting in a fatality or major injury forthwith. Accidents at work to employees resulting in an absence of more than three days must be reported within seven days. Separate reporting arrangements currently apply offshore and on the railways.
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The Health and Safety Commission published a consultative document last year containing proposals to update the regulations, incorporating all onshore and offshore reporting requirements. New regulations should be laid later this year.Civil Servants
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 2 May, Official Report , column 145 , if he will provide comparable details on civil service early retirement packages on grounds of inefficiency. [29292]
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 19 June 1995]: Inefficiency is a ground for dismissal rather than early retirement. In some circumstances, usually where the inefficiency is deemed not to be the fault of the individual, a lump sum payment of up to two years' salary may be made. Where compensation is agreed and the person dismissed is over age 55, that may be forgone in favour of immediate payment of the accrued superannuation benefits that would otherwise be preserved for payment at retiring age.
Information is readily available for only the last four financial years, during which there have been 172 departures on inefficiency grounds from the Department. Details of the individual payments made could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, but the number of dismissals on inefficiency showing whether or not compensation was paid is given in the table:
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Financial year |With compensation|No compensation |Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1991-92 |10 |19 |29 1992-93 |21 |31 |52 1993-94 |9 |39 |48 1994-95 |9 |34 |43 Total |49 |123 |172
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of his Department's civil servants are now based in central London. [29648]
Miss Widdecombe: Ten per cent. of staff in the Employment Department group are based in central London.
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Food Manufacturing
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed in the food manufacturing industry in each region in each of the last five years. [29356]
Mr. Oppenheim: The available information is shown in the table:
Employees in food manufacturing in Great Britain (Not seasonally adjusted) Thousands Region |September 1991|September 1993|September 1994|March 1995 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rest of South East |44 |39 |40 |42 Greater London |30 |28 |28 |26 East Anglia |31 |32 |33 |31 South West |33 |28 |30 |28 West Midlands |38 |27 |27 |28 East Midlands |46 |46 |46 |46 Yorkshire and Humberside |66 |63 |59 |56 North West |60 |60 |60 |55 North |23 |n/a |n/a |n/a Wales |20 |n/a |n/a |n/a Scotland |46 |46 |44 |42 Notes: 1. Figures are not given for the North region or for Wales as sample size is too small for reliable estimates. 2. Food manufacture is defined by the groups 411-423 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980 (SIC 80). Source: September 1991: Census of Employment. September 1993, September 1994 and March 1995: Workforce in Employment series.
Privatisation
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment 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. [29429]
Miss Widdecombe: Under the Government's "Competing for Quality" programme for 1992 94, the following activities within the Employment Department group were contracted out without an in-house bid: Employment department
The Field System
Training and Enterprise Council National Providers Unit
Employment service
Travel services
Forms supply/distribution
Employment rehabilitation courses
Financial management training
Field staff training (First aid)
Building maintenance and new works
Health and safety executive
Graphics services
Estates management
Distribution of publications
Field support (Norwich)
For 1994 95, the following activities are due to be contracted out without an in-house bid:
Employment department
Staff development (support services)
Employment service
Warehousing
Health and safety executive
Scientific management and on-site sampling and analysis Analysis of chemical substances
Accident coding
Staff training
Advice helpline
Dosimetry services
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The decision to contract out without an in- house bid was taken in each case in the light of a range of considerations. Information about the extent to which the availability of in-house expertise was a relevant factor in each case could be provided only at disproportionate cost.Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if unemployed persons receiving benefit who join non-schedule 2 further education courses not funded by the Further Education Funding Council will be allowed to participate for up to 21 hours per week in such courses without prejudice to benefit entitlement when the jobseeker's allowance is introduced. [29478]
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 19 June 1995:: As now, people studying full time will not be able to claim jobseeker's allowance. Those studying part time will, however, be able to claim JSA, provided they remain available for and actively seeking employment. For courses funded by the Further Education Funding Council, where there is no longer a clear distinction between full and part-time courses, the threshold below which courses will be considered to be part time will be 16 guided learning hours per week. The rules for courses that are not funded by the Further Education Funding Council, including non-scheduled 2 courses, will remain unchanged.
Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the estimated reduction of unemployment figures (a) immediately following the introduction of the jobseeker's allowance, (b) six months following the introduction of the jobseeker's allowance and (c) one year following the introduction of the jobseeker's allowance. [29920]
Miss Widdecombe: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) on 8 December 1994, Official Report , column 342 . It is too early to say exactly when any effect of the jobseeker's allowance on the claimant count will become apparent.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received about his staff implementing aspects of the jobseeker's allowance's procedure in advance of its implementation. [29715]
Miss Widdecombe: None. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been asked a number of questions by the hon. Member for Bradford, North (Mr. Rooney) relating to whether various provisions of the jobseeker's allowance might be introduced in advance
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of the date of implementation. I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Bradford, North on 6 June, Official Report , column 102.Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the training process for staff in respect of the planned jobseekers allowance; and how long the training will take. [29716]
Miss Widdecombe: A variety of modular training courses, based on a detailed analysis of training needs, is being developed for staff who are to deliver jobseeker's allowance, depending on the duties they are to perform. We recently commissioned an external review of the arrangements being made to implement JSA. In the light of the findings of that review, and the decision to defer the implementation of JSA, the timing, length and content of the training proposed are now being reviewed, to ensure that it is adequate, appropriate and effectively targeted. All the training needed to ensure that JSA is delivered effectively will, however, take place before October 1996.
Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what estimated reduction he has made of the unemployment figures following the introduction of the jobseeker's allowance (a) nationally and (b) in Nottinghamshire. [29919]
Miss Widdecombe: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) on 8 December 1994, Official Report , column 342 . No estimates have been made below national level.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he has made of the cost of installing the new computer system for the jobseeker's allowance. [29728]
Miss Widdecome: A jobseeker's allowance payments system is being developed to pay jobseeker's allowance, by girocheque or automated credit transfer, at an implementation cost of around £40 million to March 1997. Further releases of software to enhance the system are already planned for 1997 98 at a cost of around £11 million. In addition, the delivery of JSA will be supported by a labour market system. The Employment Service has been developing the LMS for some time to replace the existing computer systems in ES jobcentres, which support vacancy filling and advisory work. The implementation cost of the LMS is around £70 million.
European Commission Expert Group
Mr. Battle: To ask the President of the Board of Trade who on behalf of the United Kingdom Government attended the European Commission's expert group on the social aspects of the information society meeting held on Thursday 18 May; and if he will make a statement. [29862]
Miss Widdecombe: I have been asked to reply.
The members of the Commission's "High Level Group of Experts on the Social and Societal Aspects of the Information Society" were selected and appointed by the European Commission itself and are not in any sense representatives of member state Governments.
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Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what procedures exist to register conflicts of interest declared by training and enterprise council board directors; and how many such matters have been notified to his Department. [29667]
Mr. Paice [holding answer 20 June 1995]: The Department's contract with training and enterprise councils requires that a register of declared interests of both TEC directors and employees is maintained, detailing the nature and extent of such interest. The register is available for inspection by representatives of the Department at any reasonable time. Formal notification to the Department is not required.
Inward Investment
Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been created in the United Kingdom by (a) direct investment from within the EU and (b) direct investment from elsewhere and how many secondary to (a) and (b) . [29007]
Mr. Eggar: I have been asked to reply.
Between 1979 80 and 1993 94, the last year for which figures are available, inward investment projects from within the EU, notified to the Invest in Britain Bureau, were expected to create nearly 51,000 new jobs and safeguard over 130,000 existing jobs. Over the same period, projects from outside the EU were expected to create over 229,000 jobs and safeguard nearly 228,000 existing jobs. No estimate has been made of the number of secondary jobs associated with those projects, although benefits to other UK-based companies will occur through the supplier chain. A study published in 1991, based on a sample of inward investors, estimated that those investors had bought over 50 per cent. of their capital equipment within the UK. Those figures are based on information provided by companies themselves at the time of the decision to invest and take no account of subsequent developments. Companies are under no obligation to notify investment decisions to the Department and the figures are therefore based only on projects that have come to the attention of the Department's Invest in Britain Bureau.
DEFENCE
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has been requested by Lord Justice Scott to provide information on the role played by the Saudi Monetary Agency in funding the export of British military equipment. [28997]
Mr. Freeman: Requests for information from Sir Richard Scott's inquiry are a matter for the inquiry and my Department.
Rapier Missiles
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to bring forward the follow-on contract for Rapier mark 2 missiles. [28888]
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Mr. Freeman: None. The follow-on missile buy is based on a detailed analysis of Her Majesty's Government's Rapier missile requirements, which on present analysis will not be required for delivery before 1999. As missiles have a finite shelf life, buying them before they are required significantly reduces their value for money.
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the contract for Rapier 200 tranche 1A missiles to be placed. [28886]
Mr. Freeman: I hope to be able to announce a decision shortly on an order for Rapier field standard C ground and support equipment and spares. The order will not include missiles.
Brent Spar
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Government Department has commissioned HMS Alderney to follow the Shell flotilla towing the Brent Spar oil platform. [29183]
Mr. Soames: A Royal Navy ship has been deployed to the area of the Brent Spar flotilla by my Department in response to a request from the Department of Trade and Industry, reflecting a Government decision that the Royal Navy should monitor developments with the disposal operation.
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if a financial contribution is being made by Shell towards the current voyage of HMS Alderney. [29184]
Upholder Class Submarines
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his discussions with the Canadian authorities concerning the leasing of Upholder class submarines to Canada in exchange for free British armed forces access to training areas in Canada. [29093]
Mr. Freeman: Since the Ministry of Defence's decision in 1993, announced in Cm 2270, to withdraw the four Upholder class submarines from RN service, the Defence Export Services Organisation has offered the submarines for sale or lease to friendly or allied countries. DESO is currently in discussion with the Canadian Government and a number of options regarding price, the methods of payment and means of transfer are being considered, but no decisions have been taken.
Defence Research Agency
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 9 June, Official Report , column
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337 , how many contracts have been awarded to the SEMA Group plc, since July 1991 by the Defence Research Agency; and what is their total estimated value. [29747]Mr. Freeman: Since July 1991 a total of 14 contracts have been placed with SEMA Group. Those fall into three broad categories; nine contracts in support of DRA technical work with a value of £317,000; four contracts in support of developing and maintaining the DRA commercial accounting systems with a value of £4.9 million and one enabling agreement with SEMA, against which eight orders have been placed with an approximate value of £216,000.
Staff
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff were employed as non-industrial grades and how may staff were employed as retired officer grades for each year since 1979. [28793]
Mr. Freeman: The information is as follows:
Year |Non-industrial |Retired officer |grades |grades |1 April |1 April ----------------------------------------------------------------1979 |114,758.0 |1,922.0 1980 |112,637.0 |1,923.0 1981 |107,675.0 |1,923.0 1982 |102,638.0 |1,871.5 1983 |100,490.0 |1,846.5 1984 |98,029.0 |1,819.5 1985 |94,943.0 |1,793.5 1986 |93,822.5 |1,769.0 1987 |93,289.5 |1,687.5 1988 |88,626.5 |1,693.5 1989 |88,709.5 |1,685.5 1990 |89,866.0 |1,677.5 1991 |90,332.5 |1,718.0 1992 |90,682.0 |1,768.0 1993 |87,884.5 |1,784.0 1994 |82,761.0 |1,839.0 1995 |79,806.0 |1,882.0
From 1979 to 1994 part-timers are counted as half. However, from 1995 part- timers have been counted on the basis of the hours that they have worked.
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the breakdown of (a) non-industrial staff and (b) retired officer staff by gender and by ethnic origin. [28790]
Mr. Freeman: The number of non-industrial staff and retired officers employed by my Department and its agencies, broken down by gender and ethnic origin, is shown in the table:
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Civilian staff as Respondents to at 1 April ethnic origin survey<2> 1995<1> |Other |ethnic |Total |Male |Female|Total |White |Black |Asian |origin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total Non-Industrial Staff |81,041|51,939|29,102|69,965|68,504|590 |682 |189 Retired Officers |1,883 |1,872 |11 |1,696 |1,692 |<5 |<5 |<5 <1> Figures on headcount basis, counting part-timers as one. <2> On grounds of personal confidentiality, where the number of staff in any one ethnic minority category is less than five, the actual number is not disclosed.
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff were employed as retired officers in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and central areas for each of the years since 1985. [28792]
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Mr. Freeman: The information requested is available only from April 1992 onwards, and is as follows:
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Number of retired officers by board Number: full time equivalent<1> |1 April 1992|1 April 1993|1 April 1994|1 April 1995 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Army |1,146.5 |1,151.5 |1,153.5 |1,185 Navy |178.5 |194.5 |202.5 |209 RAF |289.0 |284.0 |293.0 |300 Centre and PE |154.0 |154.0 |190.0 |189 Total |1,768.0 |1,784.0 |1,839.0 |1,882 <1> Full-time equivalents counts part-timers as a half up to 1 April 1994 and as the proportion of conditioned hours worked from 1 April 1995. Figures for 1995 have been rounded independently and therefore the total may not equal the sum of the parts.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Private Clegg
Dr. Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received about the continued imprisonment of Private Clegg; and if he will make a statement. [28630]
Sir John Wheeler: Since January more than 4,800 letters and eight petitions have been received about Private Clegg's imprisonment. Replies have been sent to most correspondents.
Illegal Waste Dumping
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received about illegal dumping near the River Enler at Newtownards road, Comber; what areas in this location are designated as (a) areas of outstanding beauty and (b) sites of special scientific interest; and what action he has (i) taken against dumping (ii) proposes to take, if dumping has ceased at this location; what volume of waste material remains on the site; and if he will make a statement. [28613]
Mr. Moss: The site is located within the Strangford lough area of outstanding natural beauty and part of it is also situated in the Strangford lough area of special scientific interest. Following representations from residents of the Ballydrain road, the Department of the Environment initiated enforcement action to have illegal dumping stopped and the materials removed from the site. No action was taken on foot of the enforcement notice and summons action has been instigated. The Department's objective is to secure the removal of all the material and to have the site satisfactorily restored. It is not possible to give a precise figure as to the volume of waste remaining on the site.
Prisoners (HIV and AIDS)
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many cases of HIV and AIDS have been reported in prisons in Northern Ireland for each year since 1986; [28975]
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(2) how many prisoners have been infected with HIV while in prison in Northern Ireland; [28974](3) how many inmates are currently HIV positive or have AIDS in prisons in Northern Ireland. [28976]
Sir John Wheeler: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Northern Ireland Prison Service under its chief executive, Mr. Alan Shannon. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from B. R. D. White to Rev. Martin Smyth, dated 20 June 1995:
In the absence of the Chief Executive, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me to reply to the three Parliamentary Questions you have tabled relating to the number of reported cases of AIDS and HIV in Northern Ireland Prisons.
There have been no known cases of prisoners with AIDS reported in Northern Ireland since 1986. In the same period only one prisoner has identified himself as HIV positive. HIV antibody tests are treated in medical confidence and information is not centrally available to determine if there are further HIV positive prisoners in the prison system. Records are kept by the Department of Health and Social Services based on test results notified by test facilities but these are included in statistics for Heath Board Regions and do not specify positive tests among prisoners in individual establishments. There is no medical evidence to suggest that any prisoners have been infected with HIV whilst in prison in Northern Ireland. There are no known cases of AIDS among the current prison population in Northern Ireland and at present only one prisoner is reported to be HIV positive.
I hope that this information is helpful.
Market Testing
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement regarding market testing of the legal directorate of the Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for Health and Social Services. [29775]
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