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Education Inspectorate Boards
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his education inspectorate's reports on (a) institutes of further education; and (b) private training agencies are published; and on what grounds. [31423]
Mr. Ancram: Reports of inspections of institutions of further education in Northern Ireland have been published.
Reports of inspections of recognised training organisations--that is, those receiving public funding for their training programmes, including institutes of further education and private training agencies--have so far been distributed to the funding organisations and to the manager and, if applicable, to the chairman of the management committee of the training organisations to which the report refers, and will be made available to the public for inspections undertaken after 1 September 1995.
Public Bodies
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the members of Northern Ireland quangos, indicating which are appointed by the Secretary of State and which are appointed by, or on the recommendation of local authorities, with the scale of remuneration in each case. [30503]
Sir John Wheeler: The membership of public bodies in Northern Ireland is contained in the Northern Ireland public appointments list, a copy of which is available in the Library. Remuneration for the chairmen and members, plus details of those appointed by the Secretary of State or on the recommendation of local authorities, have also been placed in the Library.
Terrorist Offenders
Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people who have served prison sentences for terrorist offences have subsequently been convicted of further terrorist offences after their release during the last 25 years, or for as many years as figures are available,. [23367]
Sir John Wheeler: Figures for the reconviction of terrorist offenders are not kept and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, research carried out by the Northern Ireland Office in 1987 found that of those prisoners convicted of terrorist-related offences who were
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released in 1984, 20 per cent. were reconvicted of scheduled offences and 20 per cent. of non-scheduled offences in the following two years. The reconviction rate for life sentence prisoners is lower. Only two life sentence prisoners convicted ofterrorist-related offences have been reconvicted of further offences directly related to terrorism, although others have been convicted of other scheduled offences.
Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners currently serving sentences for terrorist offences would be eligible for release if they could qualify for 50 per cent. remission; how many of those can be categorised as (a) loyalist and (b) republican; and if he will make a
statement. [32268]
Sir John Wheeler: Precise figures are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Approximately 400 prisoners are currently serving sentences for scheduled offences which attract one third remission under section 14 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1991. Of this 400, between 20 and 30 prisoners will be released by the end of 1995. If the law were changed to restore the rate of remission to 50 per cent. with retrospective effect, between 70 and 80 prisoners would be released immediately and a further 40 and 50 by the end of the year. Such a change would release approximately equal numbers of republican and loyalist over that period.
Travel Claims
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will detail the amount of travel claims at constant prices in his Department in (a) 1993 94 and (b) 1994 95 broken down by (i) public transport, (ii) car mileage allowance and (iii) bicycle allowance. [32172]
Sir John Wheeler: The information is as follows:
|1993-94 |1994-95<1>
|£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------
Public transport |1,829,775 |1,587,277
Car mileage allowance |9,503,424 |9,214,904
Bicycle allowance |<2>- |<2>-
<1> At 1993-94 prices.
<2> Minimal or negligible amounts included in car
mileage allowance.
ENVIRONMENT
Leicestershire Museums, Arts and Records Service
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the future in a service is not adversely affected by any orders presented to parliamentary by the Secretary of State for the Environment concerning the reform of local government in Leicestershire and the city of Leicester; [30670]
(2) if he will ensure that the Leicestershire museums, arts and records service will be maintained as an integrated operations after the coming into effect of local government reorganisation in Leicester. [30671]
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Mr. Robert B. Jones: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers given to him by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for National Heritage on 27 June, Official Report , column 600 .
Voluntary Organisations
Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many voluntary sector organisations his Department has (a) paid grants to or (b) entered into contracts with in (i) 1993 94 and (ii) 1994 95; and what was the total value of these grants and contracts. [31311]
Sir Paul Beresford: In 1993 94, the Department of the Environment paid direct grants centrally to more than 400 voluntary sector organisations to the value of £28 million. In addition, indirect grant of some £2.5 billion was paid to voluntary organisations; this amount includes all grant-paid by the Department to the Housing Corporation for the support of housing associations. Voluntary sector organisations also benefitted from the task force initiative and the city challenge programme but the precise figures are unavailable. Figures for 1994 95 are not yet available.
Corresponding information on contracts is not collected centrally.
Subsidence
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department holds on the incidence of subsidence of domestic dwellings, by area; in what form the information is held; and if this information can be related to post code areas. [31926]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Building Research Establishment maintains a subsidence database, containing statistical data on subsidence damage to houses, for use in the engineering assessment of causes and remedies but this does not contain information by area. However, there is no central record of incidents of subsidence damage to houses by area. The prime holder of such information would be the member companies of the Association of British Insurers and access to their data may be limited by commercial considerations.
My Department's research has produced small-scale maps and databases on a national grid reference and administrative area basis, which can be interpreted to assess the susceptibility to subsidence from mining, natural underground cavities and shrinkable clay formations and to landsliding. In addition, the British Geological Survey operates a ground hazard assessment service (G HASP) which contains an assessment of the susceptibility to subsidence from various causes on a national grid reference and post code basis.
Bell Green (Contaminated Land)
Mr. Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake an inquiry by his Department to ensure that the London Waste Regulation Authority has fully complied with its legal and operational responsibilities with regard to the treatment of contaminated land at the ex-gas works site, Bell green, London SE26.
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Mr. Atkins: I have received no evidence which leads me to believe that the London Waste Regulation Authority may have failed to discharge its functions under part II of the Environment Protection Act 1990 in relation to the site referred to by the hon. Member.
Battersea Power Station
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future development of Battersea power station; and if he will list the people and organisations with whom he has discussed this issue during the last six months. [31702]
Sir Paul Beresford: Discussions are continuing between Wandsworth council, English Heritage and the owners, on a master plan for the whole of the Battersea power station site. The Government are not a party to those discussions, but would like to see the future development of this important site on the river Thames resolved as soon as possible.
Capital Receipts
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the level of accumulated capital receipts by each local authority. [31755]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: The latest information on the level of accumulated capital receipts relates to the position at 31 March 1994. The level of receipts can be split into two components; (a) usable capital receipts and (b) amounts set aside from capital receipts as provision for credit liabilities.
A list of the amounts of usable capital receipts held by each local authority at 31 March 1994 was placed in the Library of the House in response to the question of Thursday 9 February 1995 from the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson).
In response to the question of Tuesday 28 March 1995 from the hon. Member for Greenwich (Mr. Raynsford), a further list was placed in the Library of the amounts set aside by each local authority as provision for credit liabilities and not yet applied. These include amounts set aside from both capital receipts and revenue. Separate figures are not available.
Water Companies
Mr. Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the efficiency savings for the last financial year for each water company for which figures are available. [32107]
Mr. Atkins: As a result of efficiency savings in 1994 95, water companies announced the following benefits:
For customers
Water
company |Cash |Other
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anglian |£12 million over 1 year |£2 million Trust Fund
North West |£90 million over 5 years|£180 million
|Discretionary investment
Severn Trent |£87 million over 4 years|£24 million
|Discretionary investment
Yorkshire |£20 million over 1 year |£125 million
|Discretionary investment
Welsh |£40 million over 4 years|£38 million
|Discretionary investment
Wessex |nil |£25 million
|Discretionary investment
For shareholders
Water
company |Special dividends |Other
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North West |£90 million over 5 years|nil
Severn Trent |£87 million over 5 years|nil
Yorkshire |None announced |£50 million efficiency
|dividend paid by core
|business to support
|future enhanced
|dividend growth
Welsh Water |£9 million per annum in |Prospect of dividend
|perpetuity |growth from new base
|including special
|dividend
Mr. Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the capital investment made in the last financial year for each water company for which figures are available. [32108]
Mr. Atkins: During 1993 94, the last full year for which information is available, capital investment made by the water industry totalled £2.9 billion. Figures for individual companies are not held centrally.
Travel Claims
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will detail the amount of travel claims at constant prices in his Department in a) 1993 94 and b) 1994 95 broken down by (i) public transport, (ii) car mileage allowance and (iii) bicycle allowance. [32211]
Sir Paul Beresford: The amount of travel claims, at current prices, paid in my Department excluding agencies, are:
£ thousands
|1993-94|1994-95
------------------------------------------------------
Public Transport |1,492 |1,652
Car/bicycle mileage allowance |383 |357
Information on bicycle claims is not available
separately.
Radioactive Waste Management
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will announce the results of the Government's review of radioactive waste management policy, and if he will make a statement. [32968]
Mr. Gummer: The final conclusions of the review are being published today in a White Paper--Cm 2919--copies of which have been placed in the Library of the
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House. It includes the conclusions that I have already announced ont timing of the Nirex repository and strategies for decommissioning nuclear plant-- Official Report , 9 May 1995, column 425 --as well as on the siting of dry stores for spent fuel, Official Report , 21 February 1995, column 146 . In reaching their final conclusions, the Government have taken account of responses to the preliminary conclusions of the review, which were published in a consultation paper last August.The White Paper sets out the Government's conclusions on the general principles which should be applied to radioactive waste management as well as on specific policies. The primary aim throughout has been to ensure that radioactive waste, irrespective of whether it is produced by public sector or private sector operations, is properly managed and that people and the environment are not exposed to unacceptable risks either now or in the future. The broad policy aims have been revised and updated to emphasise the respective roles of Government, regulators and producers and owners of radioactive waste, as well as to apply the concept of sustainable development and its supporting principles. Radioactive wastes should not be unnecessarily created. Such wastes as are created must be safely and appropriately managed and treated. They must then be safely disposed of at appropriate times and in appropriate ways.
The Environment Bill, which is currently before Parliament, contains provisions which will streamline the handling of applications to dispose of radioactive waste for nuclear licensed sites in England and Wales by making the new Environment Agency the sole authoriser, with MAFF and the Welsh Office as statutory consultees. In Scotland, Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate--to be subsumed within the Scottish Environment Protection Agency--is already the sole authoriser. The White Paper also says that developers of major projects may, if they wish, submit early applications for disposal authorisations. The regulators will then be able to decide on these before major commitments of money and effort have been made.
The White Paper proposes that disposal to geological formations on land is the favoured option for the long-term management of vitrified high-level waste--HLW--once it has been allowed to cool. The Government are putting in hand the development of the necessary research strategy for this. In selecting a site for the disposal of HLW, the Government will take into account the recommendations in the recent report of a joint study group, drawn from members of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, RWMAC, and the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations, ACSNI, about the need for transparency of decision making and for public reassurance. For intermediate-level waste, ILW, the Government have decided that there would be no advantage to be gained from delaying the development of the Nirex repository and that, once a suitable site has been found, it should be constructed as soon as reasonably practicable. The precise timetable will depend on the granting of planning consent and compliance with regulatory requirements, including the establishment of a sound safety case. The Government have already promised to hold a full public inquiry into an application for the
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repository itself, wherever it may be situated, and sees no reason to depart from this procedure.In the meantime, waste destined for the repository must continue to be safely stored. Where the demands of safety are overriding, the waste must be treated as necessary to improve storage conditions. In addition, where early treatment of the waste will secure worthwhile safety benefits, or worthwhile economic benefits without prejudicing safety, the general presumption against action which might foreclose future waste management options may be relaxed.
In the light of the genuine anxieties expressed by local residents who feared that they might have been affected by the proposal, the Government have decided not to encourage greater use by the nuclear industry of the "controlled burial" of low-level waste, LLW, at suitable landfill sites. Nevertheless, there are sound economic and radiological grounds for controlled burial and the Government believe that it should continue to be used as a disposal route, particularly for "small users"--such as hospitals, universities, research laboratories and non-nuclear industries-- subject to the agreement of the site operators and to the necessary regulatory requirements being met. The Government will issue guidance to the environment agencies on the need to consult local authorities about authorisations for controlled burial.
The Government have adopted a policy of self-sufficiency in relation to the import and export of radioactive waste. Radioactive waste should not be imported to or exported from the UK other than in the circumstances set out in the White Paper. These recognise, among other things, that developing countries should not be precluded from taking advantage of the non-nuclear uses of radioactivity, such as medical diagnosis and treatment, because they do not have the resources to acquire suitable disposal facilities of their own. RWMAC will be asked to advise on what detailed guidance might be prepared for the regulators in implementing this policy.
Since 1976, all BNFL's contracts for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from foreign companies have included options for the return of operational wastes to the country of origin. In line with the principle of self- sufficiency, the Government's policy remains that the options should be exercised, but they accept that this can be achieved by means of waste substitution--whereby radiologically equivalent amounts of additional HLW are returned in place of LLW and ILW, which would be retained for disposal in the UK--provided there is broad environmental neutrality for the UK. However, the Government consider it prudent not to become irrevocably committed to waste substitution in the absence of appropriate disposal arrangements within the UK. This means that BNFL may substitute for LLW now, but any arrangements it now enters into and implements with its overseas customers for the substitution of ILW must be conditional on confirming, at the time a Nirex repository receives planning permission, that waste equivalence has been properly calculated and provide for the ILW to be returned should the Nirex repository not be established by the time BNFL is contractually obliged to return the wastes.
The White Paper is the first comprehensive statement of Government policy on radioactive waste management
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for 10 years and I hope that it will be welcomed. I will form part of the guidance given by the Government to the environment agencies that are due to be established next year. It will also provide a clear policy framework for regulating the nuclear industry, which is to be restructured and partially privatised following the nuclear review.Vehicle Emissions
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) carbon monoxide, (b) oxides of nitrogen and (c) particulate emissions which will be the product of road transport in 1995. [30123]
Mr. Atkins [holding answer Monday 3 July 1995]: For 1995 it has been estimated that road transport will account for (a) 89 per cent. of national emissions of carbon monoxide, (b) 45 per cent. of national emissions of oxides of nitrogen and (c) 24 per cent. of national emissions of particulates .
EDUCATION
Special Education
Mr. Parry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received from the secretary of the Special Educational Needs National Advisory Council, university of Liverpool; what action he intends to take; and if he will make a
statement. [32328]
Mr. Forth: The Secretary of State has received one letter recently from the Special Educational Needs National Advisory Council--about training for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs). The GEST programme to help local educational authorities with the costs of training teachers of children with special educational needs supports all categories of SEN training, including for SENCOs, enabling LEAs to determine the areas in which they require staff to be trained. Officials are currently undertaking a survey of LEA expenditure under the grant in the 1994 95 financial year. SENCO training is also available under the GEST programme for the development of school SEN policies. An evaluation of expenditure under the scheme by a sample of LEAs will be undertaken in the autumn of next year.
A full reply will be sent to the advisory council shortly.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 30 January, Official Report , column 497 , what was the pupil:teacher ratio in grant-maintained secondary schools in January. [32182]
Mr. Robin Squire: The provisional pupil:teacher ration in grant- maintained secondary schools in England in January 1995 was 16: 2.
Travel Claims
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will detail the amount of travel claims
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at constant prices in her Department in (a) 1993 94 and (b) 1994 95 broken down by (i) public transport, (ii) car mileage allowance and (iii) bicycle allowance. [32180]Mr. Boswell: The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Higher Education
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what responses have been received to the consultation on the purpose and future shape and size of higher education; and if she will make a statement. [32194]
Mrs. Gillian Shephard: I am replying with the agreement of my right hon. Friends with responsibility for education in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Altogether, there have been nearly 100 responses to this consultation. I am grateful to all those who took the trouble to send us their views. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library.
The responses indicate that, while the objectives identified in the 1963 Robbins report remain broadly valid, there is now more emphasis on higher education's role in underpinning a modern, competitive economy. Both initial and continuing higher education are seen as increasingly important for equipping the work force for higher-skilled work, for coping with change, for handling the rapid proliferation of knowledge, for meeting the challenges of scientific and technical advance and for competing on a global stage. A number of steps are already being taken which will bear on the responsiveness of higher education to the needs of employers and the economy as a whole. First, the National Council for Vocational Qualifications is consulting in England, Wales and Northern Ireland about the introduction of higher level general vocational qualifications, GNVQs, to complement those at levels 1 3 being developed for schools and colleges. Secondly, the Government have announced a new target for 30 per cent. of the work force to have a vocational, professional, management or academic qualification at NVQ level 4 and above. There are separate comparable targets for Scotland launched last year by the Advisory Scottish Council for Education and Training Targets. Thirdly, the Government have announced that they will consult later in the year about lifelong learning at all levels. Fourthly, the Higher Education Funding Council for England is undertaking a review of postgraduate education, including one-year vocational postgraduate taught courses, for a report in the spring of next year.
The Government will take into account the responses received and the various steps already being taken in developing their higher education policies, and intend to issue a consultative paper. It will cover recent achievements in higher education, the Government's view on the aims and purposes of higher education, an analysis of the demand for higher education as well as for graduates in the economy and the scope for enhancing higher education's response to employment needs, and it will seek views on the future size, shape, and resourcing of higher education. We intend to issue the paper towards the end of this year.
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Overseas Students
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the value to the United Kingdom economy of students from aborad studying at United Kingdom higher education institutions; and what assessment she has made of the corresponding situation in other European Union countries. [32451]
Mr. Boswell: Recent research by the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom estimated the economic value of international higher education students in the United Kingdom at approximately £1 billion. I am not aware of any equivalent studies in other European Union countries.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps she is taking to ensure that United Kingdom universities attract a fair share of well-qualified students from overseas. [32449]
Mr. Boswell: This Department, in conjunction with the other education departments, has recently produced a booklet entitled "Studying in the United Kingdom" which aims to let students, as well as their parents and sponsors, know more about the quality of further and higher education in the United Kingdom. The booklet is being distributed mainly by the Government-funded British Council, which also provides the education counselling service, ECS. The ECS is represented in 11 countries across the world and spends around £3.5 million each year on jointly funded projects with institutions in attracting overseas students to the UK. By 1998, it is planned to expand this service to a total of 18 countries at a cost of £5.5 million per year.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students from overseas not including European Union students come to the United Kingdom for higher education; and what is her estimate of the value to the United Kingdom economy. [32450]
Mr. Boswell: In 1992, the latest year for which figures are available, some 60,200 students from non-European Union countries attended publicly funded higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. A recent research study commissioned by the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom estimated the economic value of all international higher education students in they United Kingdom at approximately £1 billion per annum.
Absence (Respiratory Problems)
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children under the age of 16 years missed more than 18 school days due to respiratory problems is each of the last five years; if she will provide a regional breakdown of these figures; and if she will make a statement. [31924]
Mr. Forth: This information is not collected centrally.
Out-of-school Provision
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will provide a breakdown of the forms of provision made by each local education authority to children out of school. [31824]
Mr. Forth: This information is not available centrally.
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School Meals
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the percentage of pupils taking (a) free school meals and (b) paid for school meals in (i) grant maintained schools and (ii) local education authority schools in the most recent years. [31513]
Mr. Robin Squire: The information requested is shown in the table:
Percentages of day pupils<1>
taking free and paid school
meals in
maintained primary and
secondary schools in England
Position in January each year
LEA maintaGrant-maintain
schools
schools schools
|Free|Paid|Free|Paid
------------------------------
1990 |11 |32 |8 |48
1991 |12 |31 |6 |45
1992 |14 |29 |7 |41
1993 |16 |28 |9 |37
1994 |18 |29 |10 |38
<1> The number of day pupils
who took a school meal on the
census day expressed as a
percentage of the number of
day pupils on roll. A
substantial reason for the
difference in the respective
percentages of pupils
eligible for free school
meals is the disproportionate
number of LEAs with few or no
GM schools who have a
relatively high proportion of
pupils thus eligible.
Grant-maintained schools
Free Paid Free Paid
1990 11 32 8 48
1991 12 31 6 45
1992 14 29 7 41
1993 16 28 9 37
1994 18 29 10 38
The number of day pupils who took a school meal on the census day expressed as a percentage of the number of day pupils on roll. A substantial reason for the difference in the respective percentages of pupils eligible for free school meals is the disproportionate number of LEAs with few or no GM schools who have a relatively high proportion of pupils thus eligible.
Voluntary Organisations
Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many voluntary sector organisations her Department has (a) paid grants to or (b) entered into contracts with in (i) 1993 94 and (ii) 1994 95; and what was the total value of these grants and
contracts. [31313]
Mr. Robin Squire: In 1993 94, 141 such organisations received a total of £5.9 million. Comparable information for 1994 95 is not yet available, but I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible with the figures.
EMPLOYMENT
Incomes
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average take-home pay of (a) a lone mother and (b) both adults in a two- parent family with dependent children. [31590]
Mr. Oppenheim: It is estimated from the winter 1994 labour force survey that the take-home pay for a lone mother, excluding benefits, is approximately £128 per week and the combined take-home pay, excluding benefits, of both adults in a two-parent family with dependent children is £357 per week.
Benefits
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what percentage of children aged 18 years or under were dependent on people claiming unemployment benefit in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and Humberside and (d) England in each year since 1979. [31604]
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Mr. Oppenheim: Information on those aged 18 and under who are dependent on people claiming unemployment-related benefits is available from the labour force survey for England and Yorkshire and Humberside and for 1992 1994 is shown. Information for 1979 1983 is not available and for 1984 1991 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Dependent children aged 18 and under whose head of family is
claiming unemployment related benefits<1>
(spring each year, not seasonally adjusted)
Yorkshire and
England Humberside
|Thousands |Per cent<2> |Thousands |Per cent.<2>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992 |1,122 |10 |129 |11
1993 |1,219 |11 |127 |10
1994 |1,146 |10 |119 |0
Notes:
<1>Unemployment benefit, income support and national insurance credits.
<2> Percentage of all dependent children aged 18 or under.
Source:
Labour Force Survey.
Yorkshire and
Humberside
Thousands Per cent Thousands Per cent.
1992 1,122 10 129 11
1993 1,219 11 127 10
1994 1,146 10 119 0
Notes:
Unemployment benefit, income support and national insurance credits.
Percentage of all dependent children aged 18 or under. Source:
Labour Force Survey.
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