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Bury and Oldham Borough Councils
Mr. Sumberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has decided to take in relation to Bury metropolitan borough council following the notices served on it on 12 June and 29 August 1995 and to Oldham metropolitan borough council following the notice served on it on 15 August 1995 for anti-competitive behaviour in assigning certain services in-house. [15649]
Sir Paul Beresford: On 12 June and 29 August 1995, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State served notices on Bury metropolitan borough council, setting out his view that the authority had acted anti-competitively during a competition for refuse collection, street cleaning, public convenience cleaning and highways maintenance work worth £1.95 million per annum. On 15 August 1995, my right hon. Friend also served a notice on Oldham metropolitan borough council setting out his view that the authority had acted anti-competitively during a competition for the north-west area (area 2) building maintenance contract worth approximately £1.5 million per annum.
My right hon. Friend has given careful consideration to the authorities' responses to the notices.
Bury withheld information from private contractors relating to depot facilities and to the available vehicle fleet. In my right hon. Friend's view this was unfair as it made it impossible for private contractors to put in bids for the work based on the same information as was available to the in-house team. He has therefore today given the authority a direction which requires it to re-tender the refuse collection, street cleaning, public convenience cleaning and highways maintenance work by 14 October. It must seek his consent if, at the end of the re-tendering process, it plans to assign the work to its direct services organisation.
Oldham required prospective contractors to undertake to submit a TUPE bid--one incorporating the present staff's terms and conditions--if they were given the TUPE information. In my right hon. Friend's view, private contractors who have been given details of the present terms and conditions should still be allowed the freedom to bid using different assumptions because the
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in-house team can revise the way in which it delivers the work and it is unfair to deny this to some of the bidders. He has therefore today given the authority a direction which requires it to re-tender the north-west area (area 2) building maintenance contract by 14 October. The direction bars its direct services organisation from undertaking the work in future.
Mr. John Townend:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what resources he will make available to those local authorities which are to be reorganised on 1 April and which were asked to reconsider whether the reorganisations in their area could be implemented more economically. [15858]
Mr. Curry:
The councils of the East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull city, Bristol city, Bath and North East Somerset and York district were asked to reconsider their estimates of the amount of expenditure they expect to incur on transitional costs of reorganisation in 1996-97. On the basis of the revised information provided by the five authorities, I have decided the maximum amounts to allocate towards such costs in 1996-97. The amounts are as follows:
| Authority | 1996-97 | Cumulative total 1995-96 and 1996-97 |
|---|---|---|
| East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 7,000 | 8,200 |
| Hull City Council | 3,000 | 6,000 |
| Bristol City Council | 3,500 | 6,500 |
| Bath and North East Somerset Council | 4,000 | 5,810 |
| York District Council | 3,500 | 6,050 |
I shall make a further announcement about the allocations to authorities for which reorganisation orders have not yet been made.
Water Companies (Delayed Payments)
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about North West Water's delayed payments for work undertaken by local authorities on the company's behalf. [13202]
Mr. Clappison [holding answer 5 February 1996]: None. Any arrangements between water companies and local authorities are a matter for the individual parties concerned.
WALES
Teachers
Mr. Alan Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many full-time equivalent teachers were employed by each Welsh education authority in: (a) January 1991 and (b) January 1995. [14039]
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Mr. Richards:
The information requested is given in the following table. Figures refer to school teachers only. Teachers in further and higher education establishments were employed by local education authorities in 1991 but by 1995 the majority were employed by the institutions themselves. Comparisons between the two years would not therefore be meaningful.
| Number(1) (2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Local education authority | 1991 | 1995 | |
| Clwyd | 3,707 | 3,212 | |
| Dyfed | 3,527 | 3,570 | |
| Gwent | 4,038 | 4,049 | |
| Gwynedd | 2,299 | 2,232 | |
| Mid Glamorgan | 5,302 | 5,443 | |
| Powys | 1,234 | 1,184 | |
| South Glamorgan | 3,733 | 3,831 | |
| West Glamorgan | 3,632 | 3,464 | |
| Total | 27,472 | 26,984 | |
Notes:
(1) At January each year. Includes teachers based in schools, peripatetic teachers, advisory teachers and teachers in occasional service.
(2) Full time equivalent teacher numbers are shown to the nearest whole number.
Source:
Form 618G.
Health Service
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions (a) wards and (b) departments of hospitals have been closed in Wales in (i) 1995 and (ii) 1996; and if he will list the hospitals. [14802]
Mr. Richards: The information is not held centrally.
Hospital Beds
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to request the Welsh health planning forum to review the future supply and demand for hospital beds. [15124]
Mr. Hague: The responsibility for ensuring that the NHS has the appropriate number of beds to meet the needs of the population rests with health authorities. Health authorities regularly review the bed capacity available in their areas and through the contracting process and in discussion with NHS trusts balance the provision between emergency, planned and continuing care.
The Department's contract with the Welsh Health Common Services Authority for the services provided by the Welsh Health Planning Forum expired last year.
Paediatric Intensive Care Beds
Mr. Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the supply and demand for paediatric intensive care beds in (a) Welsh hospitals and (b) in adjoining English specialist hospitals serving adjoining areas of Wales; how many paediatric intensive care beds there are in each Welsh hospital which has them; how many beds are (i) installed but are not currently staffed and (ii) under construction; and if he will make a statement. [15141]
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Mr. Hague:
There is currently one paediatric intensive care facility at the cardiac unit at the University hospital of Wales. Other demand is met by adult units.
My Department has asked all health authorities and NHS trusts in Wales to work in partnership to review against assessed need the adequacy of the current provision for intensive and high dependency care facilities, including the requirement for dedicated facilities for children. Health authorities are due to report the outcome of this exercise, including action to address any deficiencies, by the end of this month.
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the payments of (a) salary, (b) expenses and (c) other emoluments to Mr. Glyn Davies in respect of membership of (i) the Development Board for Rural Wales and (ii) other public appointments between 1985 and 1995. [15221]
Mr. Hague:
The information is not readily available. I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 15 February. [14015]
Sir Peter Tapsell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 15 February. [14017]
The Prime Minister: This morning, I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
Council of Ministers
Mr. Steen: To ask the Prime Minister how many directives have been passed through the Council of Ministers in each of last five years. [13906]
The Prime Minister [holding answer 14 February 1996]: The Commission's most up-to-date figures for the number of Council directives in the last five years are:
1991: 68
1992: 93
1993: 66
1994: 49
1995: 31.
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