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Business Links
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many universities in the United Kingdom have participated in the launch of local business links initiatives. [10896]
Mr. Page: I have been asked to reply.
Precise numbers are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, universities and other higher and further institutions have been closely involved in developing most business link partnerships.
National Vocational Qualifications
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to improve the provision by employers of national vocational qualifications; and if she will make a statement. [8788]
Mr. Paice: Decisions on the usage of national vocational qualifications are a matter for individuals and employers. The Government are, however, providing funds for the marketing of these qualifications. In the 1994 competitiveness White Paper, the Government announced a package of £31 million over three years to help ensure NVQs are fully up to date, rigorous and of high quality; and provide funds for their attainment in training programmes for young people and unemployed adults.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will publish for the last available two years for each of the constituent nations and standard regions of the United Kingdom and for the United Kingdom as a whole the total number of employers using national vocational qualifications to train their work force, indicating this figure as a percentage of the total number of employers in each case. [8919]
Mr. Paice: Estimates from the "Skill Needs in Britain" surveys show that the percentage of establishments with 25 or more employees in Great Britain offering national vocational qualifications or Scottish vocational qualifications to their employees increased from 31 per cent.--approximately 46,000--in 1994 to 40 per cent.--approximately 61,000--in 1995. The "Skill Needs of Small Firms 1994-95" survey estimated that approximately 144,000 establishments, or 13 per cent., with fewer than 25 employees offered NVQs or SVQs to their employees.
Notes:
Base: Establishments with 25 or more employees.
Estimated numbers of establishments have been individually rounded to the nearest 500 or 1,000 as appropriate depending on sample size.
Source:
Skill Needs in Britain 1994 and 1995.
23 Jan 1996 : Column: 153
| Number | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 144,000 | 13 |
| Wales | 9,000 | 16 |
| Scotland | 8,000 | 8 |
| England | 128,000 | 13 |
| TEED Regions | ||
| London | 10,000 | 5 |
| South-East | 29,000 | 18 |
| South-West | 14,000 | 14 |
| Eastern | 11,000 | 10 |
| East Midlands | 9,000 | 13 |
| West Midlands | 13,000 | 13 |
| North-West (Greater Manchester) | 15,000 | 24 |
| North-West | 8,000 | 11 |
| Yorks and Humberside | 14,000 | 14 |
| Northern | 5,000 | 13 |
Notes:
Base: Establishments with less than 25 employees.
Estimated numbers are rounded to the nearest 1,000. Figures for Greater Manchester region should be treated with greater caution than those for other regions because they are based on only 95 interviews.
Source:
Skill Needs of Small Firms in Britain 1994-95.
Mobile Phones
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many of the mobile phones which have been supplied to her Department in each of the last eight years have been cloned; and on what dates. [11008]
Mr. Robin Squire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, South (Mr. Donohoe) on 19 December 1995, Official Report, column 1036.
Employment Service
Mr. Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate she has made of the number of overpayments to unemployed claimants
23 Jan 1996 : Column: 154
as a result of the industrial dispute in the Employment Service agency; and if he will make a statement. [11205]
Mr. Forth:
Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr. Rhodri Morgan, dated 23 January 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the number of overpayments made to unemployed claimants as a result of the current industrial dispute with the CPSA in the Employment Service.
Details of overpayments made are collected quarterly. The next set of figures will relate to the period ending 31 March. No current information is available about changes in levels of overpayments during the period since the industrial action started.
Overpayments can, and do, arise for a variety of reasons and it would be very difficult to identify separately overpayments which are directly attributable to the industrial action. To do this would require complex analysis and reporting arrangements additional to those presently in place. These would add to the burden on those ES people continuing to work in the affected offices and further hinder the ability of the Employment Service to maintain customer service during this period of industrial action.
I am sorry that I am unable to provide the information you requested.
Mortuaries
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mortuaries in (a) NHS trusts and (b) elsewhere had insufficient accommodation to meet demand over the Christmas period; and what plans he has to ensure adequate accommodation in the future. [9908]
Mr. Horam: This information is not available centrally. It is for individual trusts and local authorities to plan their mortuary accommodation to meet local needs.
Medical Negligence
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many medical negligence cases were taken out against hospitals in the north-west region in each year since 1987-88 and in 1995-96, to date; [10560]
- (2) how many medical negligence cases were taken out against (a) hospitals in the north-west region and (b) each hospital in the region in each year since 1987-88; and if he will list (i) the solicitors' practices used by each hospital and (ii) the number of cases they undertook and at what cost for each of these years. [10640]
Mr. Horam: This information is not available centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Sir Donald Wilson, chairman of North West regional health authority, for details.
Methadone
Mr. Ronnie Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in methadone prescribing in south-east Northumberland since 1990; and what was the cost. [10626]
23 Jan 1996 : Column: 155
Mr. Malone:
This information is not available centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mrs. Jackie Axelby, chief executive of Northumberland Health, for details.
Mr. Hendry:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list in ascending order the amount charged by each county council for the provision of meals on wheels. [10419]
Mr. Bowis:
The information requested is not available centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, which publishes information on charges for services in its "Personal Social Services Statistics, Actuals and Estimates".
Ms Harman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total number of acute beds (a) closed in 1995 and (b) opened since 1 January 1996. [10752]
Mr. Horam:
The information available centrally provides details of the average daily number of available acute beds in each national health service trust. The latest year for which data are available is 1994-95 and this information is published annually in "Bed Availability for England", copies of which are available in the Library. Organisational changes may mean that the data for each trust may not be strictly comparable over time.
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