House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 5 Mar 1996 (pt 29)

Wales Tourist Board

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the names of members of the Wales tourist board, the area of home residence of each member, the date of first appointment to the board, and the date on which the current appointment expires in each instance.[17887]

Mr. Hague: The information requested is as follows:

Name Area First appointment made Current appointment expires

Mr. A. R. Lewis Mid Glamorgan 1 October 1992 30 September 1998

Mrs. G. T. Bevan South Glamorgan 13 October 1992 12 October 1998

Mr. C. R. Jackson OBE Clwyd 19 December 1990 18 December 1996

Mr. T. O. S. Lloyd Dyfed 2 June 1995 1 June 1998

Mr. J. G. McAllister Clwyd 5 May 1995 4 May 1998

Name	Area	First appointment made	Current appointment expires
Mr. A. R. Lewis	Mid Glamorgan	1 October 1992	30 September 1998
Mrs. G. T. Bevan	South Glamorgan	13 October 1992	12 October 1998
Mr. C. R. Jackson OBE	Clwyd	19 December 1990	18 December 1996
Mr. T. O. S. Lloyd	Dyfed	2 June 1995	1 June 1998
Mr. J. G. McAllister	Clwyd	5 May 1995	4 May 1998

Welsh National Opera

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will arrange to meet officials of the Welsh national opera company to discuss the implication for the future of their work in Wales of the rejection by the Millennium Commission of his proposal for a national opera house for Wales. [17879]

Mr. Hague: I have no plans to meet officials of Welsh national opera. The WNO is funded by the arts councils and any discussions should be held with them.

General Practitioners

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many doctors there are currently employed by the national health service as general practitioners in Wales; how many vacancies there are at present waiting to be filled; and if he will make a statement. [17880]

5 Mar 1996 : Column: 207

Mr. Hague: At 1 April 1995, the latest date for which data is available, there were 1,833 general medical practitioners in Wales of whom 1,710 were unrestricted principals. Information on the number of vacancies is not collected centrally.

Homeworkers

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the latest available estimate of the number of homeworkers in Wales; how many of these are regarded as self-employed; and how many as employers. [17881]

Mr. Hague: Information on homeworkers is available from the labour force survey. Estimates for spring 1995 indicate that there were 30,000 people in Wales who worked from their own homes. Some 19,000 of these were self-employed. No reliable estimate for Wales is available of the number of homeworkers who were employers.

Inward Investment

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will discuss with Invest in Britain ways in which the recent decline of inward investment in Wales can be reversed. [17883]

Mr. Hague: The absolute number of inward investment projects recorded for Wales with the Invest in Britain Bureau has, at between 60 and 70 per annum, remained relatively constant for a number of years. Our percentage share of the Great Britain total was lower in 1994-95 than in previous years, but the competition has become more intense and, at 11 per cent, it was more than double Wales' percentage share of the Great Britain population. The Welsh Office, the Welsh Development Agency, local authorities and other bodies such as the Development Board for Rural Wales and Cardiff Bay development corporation, are working together to achieve further successes. The recent announcements by Halla of Korea; STS of Japan; and Newport WaferFab of Hong Kong show that these efforts are bearing fruit.

New Manufacturing Industry

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many projects for the establishment of new manufacturing industry have been financially assisted by his Department during (a) 1994-95 and (b) the present financial year; and how many of these were located in (i) Gwynedd and (ii) Dyfed. [17888]

Mr. Hague: The number of new manufacturing projects coming forward where my Department was able to make an offer of financial assistance under the regional selective assistance scheme was as follows:

1994-95 (33)1995-96

Wales 56 45

Gwynedd 2 2

Dyfed 5 1

	1994-95	(33)1995-96
Wales	56	45
Gwynedd	2	2
Dyfed	5	1

(33)1995-96 to end February.

5 Mar 1996 : Column: 208

Transport Grant

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for what reasons there is a lower limit of £5 million on transport grant projects in Wales; and what estimate he has made of the number of schemes to strengthen road bridges in Wales to meet the new European Union requirements that fall into a category of less than £5 million. [18296]

Mr. Hague: The £5 million transport grant threshold has been agreed with the local authority associations in Wales. They are of the view that smaller schemes are properly for the discretion of local authorities and should be funded from unhypothecated resources. Local authorities are responsible for identifying the bridges which need strengthening on non-trunk roads.

Cardiff Royal Infirmary

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultation he has had with the chairman of the University of Wales Healthcare NHS trust concerning the transfer of elderly patients from the Cardiff royal infirmary to the University hospital of Wales on the night of 28 to 29 February; and what reasons were given for the transfer. [19149]

Mr. Hague: Although I have not spoken to the chairman of the trust about this matter, I understand that all patients transferred agreed to the move given that beds were needed at the Cardiff royal infirmary for patients requiring emergency treatment. The trust has apologised to the patients involved and will make every effort to avoid a repetition.

Welsh Health Common Services Authority

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what consultation he has had with the chairman of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority concerning the resignation of John Jasper from the chairmanship of Capita Managed Services and its effects on the bidding by the management buy-out group for the EstateCare Group of the authority; [19148]

Mr. Hague: None. The privatisation of the EstateCare Group is proceeding as planned. The two remaining bids by the management buy-out/Capita plc and Pell Frischman Group are currently being evaluated and this process will take account of their financial standing.

European Structural Fund

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Welsh local authorities in the European Union objective 2 and 5 regions concerning the setting up of an independent secretariat for the monitoring and assessment of European structural fund applications. [19179]

5 Mar 1996 : Column: 209

Mr. Hague: The proposal for a free-standing executive to manage European structural fund work was included in documentation tabled by the authorities and discussed at my meeting with representatives of the counties and districts in November 1995. Following my announcement to the House on 29 February 1996, Official Report, columns 1024-40, I shall be issuing a consultation document as a basis for further discussions on this subject with the local authorities and the wider partnership.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those private finance initiative schemes in respect of which the Capita Group has (a) expressed an interest and (b) submitted a bid in (i) the health sector and (ii) other sectors. [19176]

Mr. Hague: Information of this nature is treated as commercially confidential.

5 Mar 1996 : Column: 210

European Social Fund

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the European Commissioner responsible for the European social fund concerning the administration of the social fund in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [19180]

Mr. Hague: I announced on 29 February, Official Report, columns 1024-40, that responsibility for management of the European social fund in Wales would transfer from the Department for Education and Employment to the Welsh Office in January 1997. My Department will be considering with the European Commission and with the partnership detailed arrangements for this work after that date, including the possibility of delegation to the free-standing executive body it is proposed should be established to manage structural fund programmes. I discussed the matter with Commission officials during my visit to Brussels yesterday.