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Housing Stock (Alyn and Deeside)
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new moneys he plans to give to Alyn and Deeside district council to enable the authority to modernise more of its housing stock; if he will visit Alyn and Deeside district council and undertake a tour of inspection of the older council estates; and if he will make a statement. [12990]
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Mr. Gwilym Jones:
My right hon. Friend and I have no plans to change Alyn and Deeside district council's housing capital allocations or to visit council estates in the area. It is for the local authority to determine capital spending priorities.
Mr. Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many treatments are available at each treatment centre; and what guidelines he has issued on the provision of free transport to each treatment centre for (a) pre-operative, (b) surgery and (c) follow-up consultations. [12964]
Mr. Hague:
In 1995-96, the number of procedures available at each treatment centre is:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Surgical centre, Bridgend (hernia, varicose vein and some minor surgical procedures) | 1,080 |
| Ophthalmic centre, Bridgend (cataract procedures) | 1,060 |
| Orthopaedic centre, Rhydlafar (hip/knee replacement and joint revision procedures | 298 |
Patient transport services are provided free of charge for all visits to and from treatment centres for those patients with medical need as determined by their doctor.
Health Service Referrals
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 25 January 1996, Official Report, column 400, if he will list those Welsh health authorities which have stopped funding extra-contractual referrals until 1 April and in each case the estimated cost overrun of the health authority prior to the decision. [13016]
Mr. Hague: South Glamorgan and Dyfed health authorities have suspended funding of non-urgent extra-contractual referrals for the balance of the current financial year. The projected overruns when the decisions were made were £1.4 million and £1.5 million respectively.
Health Service Materials Management
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the announcement of the award to Excel Logistics of the materials management contract under the market testing of the Welsh health common services authority, how the capital receipts for the disposal of Bridgend, Swansea and Whitchurch will be treated; and what undertakings have been given to NHS trusts concerning rebates or other financial consideration from the disposals in the price to be offered for materials management services. [13389]
Mr. Hague: NHS trusts have been told that capital receipts from the sale of existing stores will be available to contribute towards the restructuring of the procurement service following the award of the contract to Exel Logistics.
Unexploded Bombs
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will undertake a survey of the waters in Cardigan bay
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and the Irish sea to identify unexploded bombs; and if he will make a statement. [12490]
Mr. Soames:
I have been asked to reply.
If left undisturbed, munitions on the sea bed present no significant risk to human health or to the marine environment. Accordingly, my Department has no plans to survey Cardigan bay or the Irish sea to identify munitions.
Fish Quotas
Mr. William Powell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the fish quotas for each EU country in (a) the current year and (b) each of the last five years; and what were the national fish catches in each of the last five years. [13089]
Mr. Baldry: Detailed tables are being placed in the Library of the House showing
- (i) the quotas allocated to each member state at the start of each of the years 1991 to 1995; and
(ii) uptake by each member state over the period 1991 to 1995 against their end-of-year quota i.e. after quota exchanges have been taken into account.
Live Animal Exports
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the enforcement of the requirements of article 4(1)(a) of Council directive 91/628: Ovine and Caprine Animals, in terms of identification and registration in accordance with the requirements of article 3(1)(c) of Council directive 90/425EEC. [12543]
Mrs. Browning [holding answer 1 February 1996]: The Sheep and Goats (Registration, Identification and Movement) Order 1996, which implements the requirements on sheep and goats in Council directive 92/102.EEC on the registration and identification of livestock, came into effect on 1 February this year. The responsibility for enforcing this legislation falls to local authorities.
Absenteeism
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of absenteeism rates in days per annum for staff in his Department for each of the years (a) 1979-80, (b) 1989-90, (c) 1991-92, (d) 1993-94, (e) 1994-95 and (f) 1995-96. [11353]
Mr. Boswell: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, selected aggregated data on sickness absence in respect of calendar years has been available since 1985 in the form of reports from HM Treasury and more recently the Civil Service Occupational Health and Safety
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Agency (OHSA). Figures for the Department based on these data, which necessarily include some of the agencies in the period 1990 to 1994, are as follows:
| Year | Average number of days sick absence per staff year |
|---|---|
| 1989(11) | 6.3 |
| 1990(12) | 7.5 |
| 1991 | 8.7 |
| 1992 | 8.0 |
| 1993 | 8.4 |
| 1994 | 7.4 |
(11) Figures are based on a 10 per cent. sample.
(12) Figures are based on a 20 per cent. sample.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Education Funding (Brent)
Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what is the standard spending assessment for Brent in the next financial year; and what is the actual projected spending; [12501]
- (2) if she will ask for a report on the resources being made available to schools in Brent. [12562]
Mr. Robin Squire: Brent local education authority's final education standard spending assessment for 1996-97 is £109.69 million, which represents an increase of £3.37 million--3.2 per cent--from 1995-96. It is for Brent council to decide on spending for 1996-97, when it sets its budget, and to determine the level of funding for the schools for which it is responsible. The Funding Agency for Schools will calculate the budgets for grant-maintained schools.
Pupil-teacher Ratios (Brent)
Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what reports she has received about pupil-teacher ratios in schools in Brent over the last six years. [12563]
Mr. Robin Squire: Information on national and local pupil-teacher ratios is collected via the school census which is conducted every January and published in the annual HMSO statistical volume "Statistics of Education: Schools in England".
Free Transport (Schools and Colleges)
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which local authorities in England provide free transport to schools and colleges for pupils beyond the compulsory school leaving age. [12895]
Mr. Robin Squire: This information is not available centrally.
Education Funding (Warwickshire)
Mr. Pawsey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the total amount of funds held back by Warwickshire local education authority. [13096]
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Mr. Robin Squire:
The amount is £52,239,000. This figure is derived from the local management of schools budget statement for 1995-96 published by the local education authority under section 42 of the Education Reform Act 1988 and relates to all planned expenditure on mandatory and discretionary "excepted items". It does not include educational expenditure which falls outside the scope of the authority's general schools budget.
Mr. Spearing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what agreements her Department has entered into with (a) non-statutory bodies and (b) other persons, in connection with the administration of her proposed extensions to early years education; what advertisements for such services were issued; what (i) provisional arrangements and (ii) contracts have been entered into with which persons or bodies; and if she will place copies of relevant details and documents in the Library. [12908]
Mr. Robin Squire:
Following advertisements in The Guardian, Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Scotsman, The Herald in Scotland, The Economist, The Times Educational Supplement and "Government Opportunities", Capita Managed Services Ltd. was appointed through a competitive tender to administer the issue and redemption of nursery vouchers in phase 1 of the scheme. Copies of both the invitation to tender and the contract with Capita Managed Services Ltd. have been placed in the Library.
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