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Small and Medium Firms

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the outcome of his Department's review of measures taken to facilitate small firms access to appropriate areas of Government procurement in light of best practice. [6659]

Mr. Hague: My Department is revising its standard tender documentation so that small and medium businesses can identify themselves as such when responding, and has forwarded updated information about contact points for the DTI booklet "Tendering for Government contracts". Written guidance to all departmental staff engaged in procurement includes material specific to the implications of buying from small and medium enterprises. In addition, these staff refer to the DTI publication "Think big, buy small", "Tendering for Government Contracts" and "Your guide to help for small firms". The name of a contact is included in all standard tender documentation.

My Department also liaises regularly with organisations responsible for the provision of business support services. It has strategic responsibility for the business connect service, through which a variety of those organisations will deliver their services to small and medium-sized companies. Business connect is due to be launched in the new year.

European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund

Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total estimated contribution to the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund projects in the current and the next two financial years by his Department. [6986]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: The total contribution from the Welsh Office to projects receiving assistance from the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund under the objective 5b programme for rural Wales will depend on the quality of those projects and the other sources of funding available to them. However, we have set aside £1,000,000 over the next two years to be used as a source of joint financing.

SCOTLAND

Assisted Places Scheme

Mr. Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to implement the expansion of the assisted places scheme in Scotland. [7152]

Mr. Michael Forsyth: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 13 October 1995 that the assisted places scheme is to be doubled in size over time. I am today announcing the plans for achieving that expansion in Scotland.

18 Dec 1995 : Column: 997

At present, just over 3,000 children in Scotland benefit from the assisted places scheme. The first new places under the expansion will be created in the 1996-97 school session. Thereafter, the pace of expansion will depend largely on the parental demand and the rate at which Scottish independent schools can provide additional places for assisted pupils. This expansion will provide greater choice for parents, greater opportunity for their children, and will be warmly welcomed by parents and schools alike.

In addition to the on-going consultation with the Scottish Council of Independent Schools, my Department is writing to independent schools to seek bids to increase the number of assisted pupils at their schools and the number of aided places at the St. Mary's music school; to invite schools to bid for day places for children below the age of 10 in integral junior departments of independent secondary schools; to invite more independent schools in Scotland to take part in the scheme; and to seek schools' views generally on how the scheme might best be expanded further over time.

I will be looking in particular to receive bids from schools which increase the number of places for children from families with the lowest incomes and children from deprived areas who would not otherwise have the opportunity of education offered in independent schools.

I intend to continue the present broad framework of means-tested parental contributions towards approved fees. Arrangements for means testing and fee setting are reviewed annually for the purpose of the regulations, and I shall consider any representations on these matters for the reviews in 1996 and subsequent years.

Lockerbie

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what considerations led the Lord Advocate to conclude that jurisdiction in the Lockerbie case does not extend to all countries whose nationals were lost. [5399]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 18 December 1995]: My noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate has not reached any such conclusion. Criminal jurisdiction is a matter for the domestic laws of particular countries, but Scotland and the United States are the most appropriate jurisdictions for trial of the two accused, as has been recognised by the United Nations Security Council.

Highland Health Board

Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 29 November, Official Report, columns 704-5, what was the cash equivalents of the proportionate value as at 31 March on the equipment transferred to the Computing Sciences Corporation Ltd. from (a) the Highland health board and (b) all other Scottish health boards; and if he will make a statement. [5063]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: (a) The cash equivalent of the proportionate value as at 31 March 1995

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the equipment transferred to the Computing Services Corporation from Highland health board was £120,000.

(b) The cash equivalents and proportionate values percentage for the other NHS data centres involved, showing which health boards they serve, are as follows:

	£	Per cent.
Northern Computer Services serving Grampian, Orkney and Shetland Health Boards	52,000	2
Maryfield Computer Services serving Tayside, Fife and Forth Valley Health Boards	144,000	6
Woodburn Informatics serving Lothian Health Board	82,000	4
West Coast Computer Consortium serving Argyll and Clyde, Ayrshire and Arran, Dumfries and Galloway and Western Isles Health Boards	190,000	8
Greater Glasgow Health Board	31,000	1
Common Services Agency (CSA) serving CSA Divisions, Lothian, Borders and Lanarkshire Health Boards	1,360,000	59
CSA Prescription Pricing Division	339,000	15
	2,318,000

Dyslexic Prisoners

Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the prison population are dyslexic; and what steps are taken to help such persons with difficulties experienced in educational or training courses undertaken. [4835]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 13 December 1995]: The subject of the question relates to matters undertaken by the Scottish Prison Service. I have asked its chief executive, Mr. E. W. Frizzell, to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from E. W. Frizzell to Mrs. Maria Fyfe, dated 18 December 1995:

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Question relating to dyslexia and the prison population.
I am afraid that the information you seek is not collected centrally. As a learning difficulty, dyslexia is most likely to surface amongst those prisoners taking part in education programmes, but not all prisoners participate in such programmes and even those who believe that they have learning difficulties may not come forward, thereby disguising the true numbers who are dyslexic.
In general, where a prisoner is identified (during induction, sentence planning or through educational or other activities) as having special educational needs, attempts will be made to meet those needs, for example, by providing tuition on a one-to-one basis or by calling in specialist support, if the prisoner is willing to cooperate, and subject to resources being available.

Patient Charges

Mr. George Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was collected within each health board area in patient charges in each financial year since 1990-91; and if he will make a statement. [6153]

Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 14 December 1995]: The information is set out in the table. Figures have been taken from the annual accounts of health boards and from 1992-93 a combination of annual accounts of health boards and NHS trusts.

£000

Health board area	1990-91	1991-92	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95
Argyll and Clyde	5,352	5,723	5,546	5,595	6,111
Ayr and Arran	4,883	5,280	4,898	5,370	5,375
Borders	1,432	1,601	1,697	1,767	1,963
Dumfries and Galloway	1,921	2,095	2,054	2,088	2,239
Fife	4,206	5,454	4,646	4,817	5,535
Forth Valley	3,507	3,828	3,938	4,075	4,581
Grampian	6,743	7,514	8,756	9,180	9,941
Greater Glasgow	10,028	10,779	10,502	11,591	12,312
Highland	2,594	3,515	3,011	3,345	3,061
Lanarkshire	6,136	6,568	6,446	6,786	7,281
Lothian	10,356	11,652	11,684	12,696	14,103
Orkney	221	237	272	304	326
Shetland	257	228	296	334	343
Tayside	5,607	6,008	6,163	6,840	7,160
Western Isles	225	243	252	257	335
Scotland total	63,468	70,725	70,161	75,045	80,666

18 Dec 1995 : Column: 999

18 Dec 1995 : Column: 999

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