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Staff Transfer (Unitary Authorities)
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which Welsh county and district councils have submitted detailed plans for transfer of staff to unitary authorities; and if he will make a statement. [2477]
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 593
Mr. Gwilym Jones: All county and district councils whose areas are split by reorganisation have submitted details of staff to be transferred to the new authorities, although there are gaps in some cases because of decisions which have yet to be taken by those authorities. The old councils concerned have been asked to supply the further information as quickly as possible.
Playing Fields
Mr. Pendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many playing fields are currently under threat of development; [2587]
(2) what area of playing fields have been sold off since 1981; [2585]
(3) what is the value of playing fields sold off since 1981; [2588]
(4) how many playing fields have been sold off since 1981. [2584]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: This information is not held centrally.
Research
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much he spends annually on research in Wales, indicating the amounts spent under each heading; and if he will make a statement. [2660]
Mr. Hague: Estimated expenditure by the Welsh office on research in 1994-95 is as follows:
| Subject area | Estimated outturn £ million |
|---|---|
| Health | 1.9 |
| Housing | 0.1 |
| Environmental protection | 0.6 |
| Transport and Highways | 0.1 |
| Public services | 0.1 |
| Total expenditure | 2.7 |
The Welsh Office also supports, through the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, basic and strategic research in universities and colleges.
Further information is contained in "Forward Look of Government Funded Science Engineering and Technology 1995", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the sheep annual premium was paid to farmers in Wales in each year since 1990. [2807]
| Scheme | First advance payment | Second advance payment | Final payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | September 1990 | December 1990 | May 1991 |
| 1991 | September 1991 | November 1991 | April 1992 |
| 1992 | September 1992 | November 1992 | April 1993 |
| 1993 | October 1993 | October 1993 | May 1994 |
| 1994 | September 1994 | September 1994 | June 1995 |
| 1995 | July 1995 | July 1995 | Not yet determined |
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 594
Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the hill livestock compensatory allowance was paid to farmers in Wales in (a) 1992, (b) 1993, (c) 1994 and (d) 1995. [2806]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Payments began in February in each case.
Professors
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) female and (b) male professors there are in Wales, and if he will make a statement. [2661]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: This information is not held centrally.
Out-of-town Supermarkets
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many out-of-town supermarkets have been opened in the last three years. [2657]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: This information is not collected centrally.
Roads Expenditure
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the planned expenditure for roads in Wales in the year 1996-97; and if he will make a statement. [2923]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: My right hon. Friend is to announce his roads and transport expenditure plans for 1996-97 shortly.
Listed Building Surveys
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will discuss with Cadw what measures are required to encourage tendering by Welsh-based consultants for the surveying of historic properties; and if he will make a statement. [1087]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The Department, of which Cadw forms a part, follows procurement procedures which promote open competition between suppliers to offer value for taxpayers' money and comply with European public procurement regulations. The procurement procedures cannot be used to discriminate in favour of Welsh companies. Of the six companies currently working on contract to Cadw, three are based in Wales. Expressions of interest were invited through the United Kingdom and Welsh press bilingually, and through the Architects' Journal. Cadw would welcome any further expressions of interest from suitably qualified Welsh-based organisations to undertake this work.
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 595
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in respect of (a) each district council area in Wales and (b) for Wales as a whole the number of historic buildings surveyed by Cadw for each of the last available three years, together with his estimate of the number of properties which remain to be surveyed. [1088]
Mr. Jones: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to Cadw, Welsh Historic Monuments. I have asked its chief executive, Mr. T. J. Cassidy, to reply to the hon. Member.
Letter from T. J. Cassidy to Mr. Elfyn Llwyd, dated 28 November 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question in which you asked for information about the number of historic buildings surveyed by Cadw in the last 3 years and the work that remains to be done.
The Government gave a commitment to accelerate the Welsh listed building resurvey programme in response to the recommendation made by the Welsh Affairs Committee which reported on the preservation of historic buildings and ancient monuments some three years ago. Since that time substantial progress has been made--the Agency has resurveyed some 78 Community Council areas. This has seen the number of listed buildings in Wales increase from 14,778 in 1992 to some 17,671 today. The completion of the resurvey by 2005 should, we estimate, see the number of listed buildings increase to roughly double today's total. We have assumed that the volume of structures to be surveyed is between 2 and 3 million, and to judge by experience in England and Scotland, would expect to list about 1½%.
In undertaking a community resurvey all buildings within each community are surveyed and those which are judged to be of special architectural or historic interest are listed. The Agency does not keep statistics of the numbers of buildings assessed in each community but I hope that the number of listed buildings will give you some indication of progress to date. To complete the resurvey within the next 10 years will require the Agency to resurvey over 700 further communities--and to do so remains a priority for the Agency.
I hope this is helpful.
Statutory Instruments
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many statutory instruments his Department sponsored in the last Session of Parliament; and how many of these (a) constituted a new rule or regulation, (b) were introduced to implement European Community directives and (c) amplify the minimum standards set out in an original European Community directive. [2461]
Mr. Hague: The Secretary of State for Wales makes many statutory instruments with English Ministers and the Secretary of State for Scotland. Other Departments will include such statutory instruments in their lists. In the 1994-95 Session of Parliament, 101 local statutory instruments were made solely by the Secretary of State for Wales. These relate to the control of traffic either temporarily or permanently on various lengths of trunk roads and motorways in Wales; 111 general SIs were made by the Secretary of State alone. Six of these constituted new rules or regulations prohibiting or restricting activities.Five general statutory instruments were made to implement European Community directives. None amplified the minimum standards set out in an original European Community directive.
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 596
Mr. Roy Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the access road to the A449 from Raglan to Newport will be reopened. [2547]
Mr. Gwilym Jones:
The southbound slip road at the Raglan interchange will be opened by the end of the year.
Mr. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the cost to date of the reconstruction of the A449 trunk road; what is the estimated total cost; and on what date the road will become fully operational. [2546]
Mr. Jones:
The cost to date of the renewal of the A449 trunk road is £8.6 million. The estimated total cost is expected to be £21.4 million. The future programme has yet to be determined.
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