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Scott Inquiry

Mr. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to paragraphs D1.27 and D1.28 of the Scott report, if he will list those matters relating to the work of his Department since 1979 classified as matters about which successive administrations have refused to answer. [17418]

Mr. Lang [holding answer 26 February 1996]: The Principal Clerk to the Table Office gave evidence in 1972 to a Select Committee appointed


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Some of these subjects no longer fall within the responsibilities of my Department.

On 9 November 1979, the then Secretary of State for Trade and the Under-Secretary of State for Industry stated that it was not possible to provide an exhaustive list of subjects on which they would decline to answer and that each question would be considered on its merits, Official Report, columns 365 and 338. This is still the case.

Warren Springs Laboratory

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the research projects relating to the aviation industry undertaken by the Warren Springs laboratory in the five years prior to its closure. [19086]

Mr. Ian Taylor: The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Equipment and Furniture

Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the cost and number of items of equipment and furniture that (a) have been stolen and (b) are otherwise unaccounted for from his Department and its agencies in each of the past five years, listing by name any such items valued at £5,000 or more, and showing information technology material separately. [19040]

Mr. John M. Taylor: Details of equipment stolen or otherwise unaccounted for from the Department during the last five years are set out.

All incidents involving losses exceeding £5,000 are listed individually, to the nearest £1,000.

Value (£)
1991-92
It equipment incidents: 2430,000
Other equipment incidents: 4666,000
Items over £5,000: Theft of chairs49,000
1992-93
It equipment incidents: 1115,000
Other equipment incidents: 51,000
Items over £5,000: Theft of personal computers7,000
1993-94
IT equipment incidents: 2059,000
Other equipment incidents: 359,000
Items over £5,000: Theft of computer chips42,000
1994-95
It equipment incidents: 3569,000
Other equipment incidents: 2617,000
Items over £5,000: Theft of vehicle5,000
Theft of computer components26,000

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Nursery Education

Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will place in the Library for each of the local education authority areas participating in her scheme for early years education, the names of the providers who have agreed to supply

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existing, or new places, for the scheme together with the number of full-time equivalent places offered and the nature of their settings. [17869]

Mr. Robin Squire [holding answer 28 February 1996]: A list of providers classified by type has been placed in the Library of the House. The estimated number of four-year-olds in the maintained sector in each of the phase 1 authorities is listed below.

LEAEstimates number of four year-olds in maintained provision at January 1995
Kensington and Chelsea800
Wandsworth2,600
Westminster1,100
Norfolk6,300

Travel to Interview Scheme

Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what factors underlay her decision to extend the qualifying period of unemployment to be eligible for assistance under the travel to interview scheme from four to 13 weeks. [19101]

Mr. Forth: From April 1996, the travel to interview scheme will form part of a package of measures for people who have been unemployed for 13 weeks. It will support jobseeker's who are required to widen their search for jobs after they have been unemployed for 13 weeks and who, after the introduction of jobseeker's allowance, will be interviewed and expected to review their jobseeker's agreement at that point.

Youth Training (South Yorkshire)

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many eligible young people in (a) Doncaster and (b) the Mexborough area of South Yorkshire are currently unable to obtain a place on a youth training scheme; and what this figure was 12 months ago. [19350]

Mr. Paice: The information is not available in the format requested.

In the Barnsley and Doncaster training and enterprise council area, no young person within the youth training guarantee group was awaiting a place on youth training at January 1996. At the same time last year only one young person in the guarantee group had been waiting more than eight weeks for a training place.

Computers

Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list all cases since 1987 where his Department has bought computer capacity from (a) other Departments and (b) the private sector, giving the value of each contract and the name of the private sector contractors. [19466]

Mr. Robin Squire: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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Access to Work

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Hamilton) of 14 December 1995, Official Report, column 738, what research her Department has undertaken into how many people will not be able to participate in the access to work scheme as a result of the priority setting; and if she will review the possibility of making available extra funding for the scheme. [19321]

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. Frank Field, dated 11 March 1996:


Executive Agencies

Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment on how many occasions in each of the past five years Ministers in her Department have passed (a) hon. Members' letters and (b) hon. Members' questions to agencies for response; and what this figure is as a percentage of the total number of letters and questions received. [19427]

Mr. Robin Squire: The information requested is a matter of public record, but it could be extracted in the form requested only at disproportionate cost.

Assisted Places Scheme

Mr. Devlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what additional assisted places are to be made available, by school, in the north of England. [19622]

Mrs. Gillan: The information requested for schools already participating in the assisted places scheme is given in the table:

Number of additional entry places in September 1996
North-east
Barnard Castle school10
Central Newcastle high school5
Dame Allan's boys' school7
Dame Allan's girls' school7
King's school, Tynemouth28
Newcastle upon Tyne church high30
Polam Hall school10
Royal Grammar school5
Teeside high7
Yarm school10
North-west
Arnold school25
Austin Friars school8
Belverdere school20
Birkenhead high school5
Birkenhead school5
Bolton school boys' division10
Bolton school girls' division10
Bury Grammar school (boys)10
Bury Grammar school (girls)10
Casterton school8
Cheadle Hulme School5
Hulme Grammar school for boys5
Hulme Grammar school for girls5
King Edward VII school5
King's school Chester4
King's school Macclesfield35
Kirkham Grammar5
Manchester Grammar school10
Manchester High school for girls10
Merchant Taylors' boys' school20
Merchant Taylors' school for girls15
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar school20
Queen Mary school10
Sedbergh school15
St. Ambrose college22
St. Bede's college25
St. Bees4
St. Edward's25
Stockport Grammar school5
Stonyhurst college29
Westholme school40
William Hulme's Grammar30
Withington Girls' school3
Yorkshire and Humberside
Ashville college13
Batley Grammar school30
Bootham12
Bradford Girls' Grammar school3
Bradford Grammar school20
Giggleswick school10
Harrogate Ladies' college14
Hymers college5
Leeds Girls' high school5
Leeds Grammar school15
Mount school13
Queen Elizabeth Grammar school10
Scarborough college33
Sheffield High school for girls12
St. Peter's school5
Wakefield girls' high school10
Woodhouse Grove5

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My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will announce shortly the allocation of a further 1,100 entry places in September 1996 at 60 or so schools in England not currently participating in the scheme.


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