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European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what programme was agreed with the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund for the current and subsequent years in Wales; and on what dates he made the announcements covering the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund. [7128]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: An announcement concerning the approval of the objective 5b programme for rural Wales 1994 to 1999, including the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund element, was made on 8 February 1995. The programme will in total provide £28 million in grant from the fund of which £17 million will be for the specific development of agriculture and forestry.
Countryside Council for Wales
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the actual and planned expenditure of the Countryside Council for Wales in each year since 1992-93; and what is the planned expenditure for the current year and for 1996-97. [7200]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Details of actual and planned expenditure for the years up to 1994-95 are in the Welsh Office's departmental report, copies of which are held in the Library of the House. The Countryside Council for Wales's planned expenditure for 1995-96 is £18.39
19 Dec 1995 : Column: 1160
million. On 13 December my right hon. Friend announced the provision of £22 million for the council for 1996-97, Official Report, column 1007.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the budget for the Countryside Council for Wales for (a) 1994-95, (b) 1995-96, (c) 1996-97 and (d) 1997-98. [7204]
Mr. Jones: The final budget figures are as follows:
1994-95: £21,135,000 (outturn)
1995-96: £18,390,000 (expected outturn)
1996-97: £22,000,000 (plans).
Anti-smoking Campaign
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated cost of the 1995-96 campaign by the Health Promotion Authority for Wales to encourage people to stop smoking; if he will break down the figure to show expenditure on each element of the campaign; and how much was spent on television advertising. [7202]
Mr. Richards: Forecast expenditure on smoking related projects for 1995-96 is shown in the following table. Health Promotion Wales does not propose to fund any television advertising campaigns for smoking cessation in 1995-96.
| 1995-96 | £ thousand(44) |
|---|---|
| Co-ordination of a national initiative for No Smoking Day 1996 | 12.0 |
| Joint Initiative with community pharmacists for No Smoking Day 1996 | 16.0 |
| Smokers Helpline | 10.0 |
| Research on impact of No Smoking Day | 10.0 |
| Pilot project on prevention of smoking during pregnancy | 16.1 |
| Evaluation of 1995 Quit and Win competition for 15-19 year olds | 10.1 |
| Smokebusters Cymru | 92.0 |
| Advice and information support service | 2.1 |
| Publication and launch of 1994-95 review of teenage smoking | 5.9 |
| 1995-96 Total forecast outturn for smoking related projects | 174.2 |
(44) Includes operational and manpower costs.
Health Purchasing Authority Allocations
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the total allocations to each health purchasing authority in Wales for (a) 1995-96 and (b) 1996-97. [7201]
Mr. Richards: District health authority allocations for 1995-96 are as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Clwyd | 199.8 |
| Dyfed | 175.6 |
| Gwent | 213.4 |
| Gwynedd | 124.5 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 276.7 |
| Powys | 67.8 |
| South Glamorgan | 231.3 |
| West Glamorgan | 179.0 |
19 Dec 1995 : Column: 1161
An announcement about the 1996-97 revenue allocations will be made in due course.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Anthony Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what credit approvals he proposes to issue in 1996-97 for the transitional costs of local government reorganisation. [7666]
Mr. Hague: I have allocated £39,954,000 of supplementary credit approvals for the transitional costs of reorganisation in 1996-97. These are additional resources, so that the costs do not have to be met by council tax payers or from councils' own resources.
Some £23,358,000 is earmarked for mandatory and discretionary compensation costs. SCAs will be issued to councils after they have incurred expenditure, on the basis of claims certified by chief finance officers. National park authorities will be eligible for support under these arrangements.
Some £11,764,250 of SCAs will be issued for information technology changes. I will announce the allocation for each county and county borough council shortly.
Finally, £4,831,750 is being added to the strategic development scheme in 1996-97 to support councils in acquiring, refurbishing or building office accommodation. I plan to announce my final decisions early in January. Any further funding for such projects in 1996-97, and all funding in later years, will be provided from within the strategic development scheme or, directly or indirectly, from receipts generated by the residuary body for Wales.
Mr. Merchant:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will indicate when the report of the Office of Her
19 Dec 1995 : Column: 1162
Majesty's chief inspector survey of provision in schools and in playgroups for the under-fives will be published. [7691]
Mr. Richards:
I welcome the report by OHMCI which is being published today. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House, as soon as possible.
The report provides useful information on current educational standards and practice in schools and in playgroups and will help inform our deliberations on the introduction of a voucher scheme for four-year-olds. It highlights several areas where there is good provision, but I am concerned that there are too many instances of unsatisfactory standards in both schools and playgroups.
OHMCI has inspected both sectors according to its framework for inspecting early years provision in schools. In terms of education provision, it is not surprising that the playgroup sector lags behind the maintained sector since, traditionally, playgroups have had different aims and objectives.
To participate in the voucher scheme, playgroups will need to work to achieve the desirable outcomes to be drawn up for four-year-olds in all settings.
Officials of the Welsh Office will be having discussions with both the Wales Pre-Schools Playgroup Association and Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin to discuss issues arising from the report and how they might be addressed.
Mr. Ainger:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what is the total estimated expenditure of the Welsh Development Agency for the financial year 1995-96 and 1996-97; and what are the origins of the Welsh Development Agency's estimated income for those years; [6994]
(2) what was the total expenditure of the Welsh Development Agency in the financial years 1993-94 and 1994-95; and if he will give a breakdown of the origin of the Welsh Development Agency's income for those years. [6995]
Mr. Hague
[holding answer 18 December 1995]: The information requested is as follows:
| 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expenditure on base programme | 151.9 | 146.2 | (45)119.4 | (46)120.0 |
| Financed by: | ||||
| Current receipts | 28.8 | 23.4 | 19.0 | 10.0 |
| Capital receipts | 53.4 | 72.5 | 75.0 | 70.0 |
| Central government provision | 69.7 | 50.3 | 25.4 | 40.0 |
| ERDF support for projects additional to the WDA's base programme | -- | 11.0 | 11.0 | 10.0 |
(45) Estimated outturn.
(46) Plans.