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Outstanding Payments

Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what values of payments were outstanding within his Department on 5 March, which were beyond the date on the invoice and, where no date was specified, older than 28 days. [20488]

Mr. Hague: The information is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Emergency Medical Admissions

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 4 March, Official Report, column 99, on the emergency admissions action plan, if his meeting with the unitary authorities to discuss budgetary constraints on levels of community care has taken place. [20362]

Mr. Hague: I have no plans to meet local authorities to discuss the provision of community care. The local government settlement is discussed each year with the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government Finance. The settlement for 1996-97 includes £146.6 million for community care, an increase of £25.2 million or 20 per cent. on 1995-96. It is for individual local authorities to decide how to use their resources in the light of local needs and priorities, and for health and local authorities to agree locally their respective responsibilities for continuing care.

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 4 March, Official Report, column 99, on the emergency admissions action plan, when he plans to publish the intensive care unit-bed review. [20363]

Mr. Hague: When all the substantive replies to the intensive care review have been received from health authorities, these will be assessed to establish whether the Department needs to offer further guidance to the NHS in Wales.

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 4 March, Official Report, column 99, what action he has taken in respect of the undertaking given in the emergency medical admissions plan to co-ordinate the general practitioner out-of-hours scheme. [20364]

Mr. Hague: Action to co-ordinate GP out-of-hours emergency admissions and improve communications with trusts and health authorities remains a matter for the appropriate family health services authority or its successor after 1 April 1996. This is covered in the statement of fees and allowances.

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 4 March, Official Report, column 99, on the emergency admissions action plan, if the community hospital working group is functioning; and what advice he will be seeking from it in relation to support roles to district general hospitals. [20365]

Mr. Hague: The review by the community hospital working group is nearing completion. Advice will be issued to the service shortly, including guidance on how community hospitals in Wales can most appropriately support district general hospitals.

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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Employment Training Agencies

Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many employment training agencies have been created since 1979; and at what costs. [17209]

Mr. Paice: Since 1990, we have set up 74 training and enterprise councils in England and they are responsible for arranging provision locally of a range of training activities. No information is collected about the number of training providers under contract to training and enterprise councils.

Student Statistics

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the proportion of (a) male and (b) female students undertaking (i) science subjects and (ii) arts subjects, (1) nationally and (2) for Staffordshire education authority. [19490]

Mrs. Gillan: All pupils of statutory school age are required to follow the national curriculum, which covers both science and arts subjects. After the age of 16, students can choose from a wide range of academic and vocational courses up to degree level and beyond. Information on the total number of male and female students following science and arts subjects under all these qualifications is unavailable either nationally or locally.

Barnsley and Doncaster Training

and Enterprise Council

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list for the Barnsley/Doncaster TEC the number of current members of the board representing (a) under 50 employees, (b) under 20 employees and (c) under 10 employees; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current arrangement. [19634]

Mr. Paice: Training and enterprise council directors do not represent particular interests; they are appointed as individuals. The TEC has been concerned to provide a balanced board, by geography, industry and commercial sector; the board is currently in the process of electing a new member.

Grant-maintained School Ballots

Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions she proposes to hold with Sheffield local education authority in respect of the prevention of interference with, and intimidation of, governors and parents during grant-maintained ballots. [20039]

Mrs. Gillan: None. The Government look to the local education authority and all other parties concerned in a ballot for grant-maintained status to ensure a fair and balanced debate for governors and parents. The Government have sought to promote this through the introduction of a code of practice on information in GM ballots. My officials have from time to time written to all chief education officers about these issues.

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In addition, all formal complaints about ballots are investigated under section 31(1) of the 1993 Education Act.

Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidelines her Department has issued to parents, governors and local education authorities to ensure fair and accurate information is available for grant-maintained status ballots. [20187]

Mrs. Gillan: Ballots for grant-maintained status are held under a voluntary code of practice which states that information for governors and parents should be objective, accurate and balanced. The code is available to parents through a departmental publication--"How to Become a Grant-Maintained School"--and was commended to governors in circular 18/93. An almost identical code has been promulgated to local education authorities by the Society of Education Officers.

Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action she proposes to take (a) in respect of the use of misleading information during balloting for grant-maintained status and (b) to ensure that balloting can take place without the interference or intimidation of governors and parents. [20038]

Mrs. Gillan: The Government are committed to ensuring a fair and balanced debate for governors and parents in ballots for grant-maintained status. A number of measures are already in place to help secure this. The voluntary code of practice on information in ballots for grant-maintained status is binding on LEA officials, officials from the Department and employees of the Grant-Maintained Schools Foundation. Measures in the 1993 Education Act enable a ballot to be declared void and re-run where it appears that there are irregularities in the conduct of the ballot or the outcome has been significantly influenced by the circulation to parents of materially misleading information.

Social Fund

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what provision will be made for the continued participation of the voluntary sector under the European social fund objective 3 programme for the period 1997 to 1999. [10029]

Mr. Forth: The voluntary sector will continue to be a partner in the European social fund objective 3 programme for the period 1997 to 1999 being able to bid for funds and having an involvement in the selection of projects.

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps she is taking to ensure that the voluntary sector organisations in receipt of grant aid under the European social fund objective 3 programme do not face a shortfall in funding in respect of 1994 payments as a result of fluctuations in the exchange rate between sterling and the ecu. [20031]

Mr. Forth: The 1994 final payment has been received from the European Commission in ecu but when converted into sterling it is insufficient to pay all final claims. Officials in the Department's European social fund unit are working with the Commission to try to make up the shortfall. Project providers are being asked to

12 Mar 1996 : Column: 566

supply information about the pattern of expenditure during 1994, which should help the European social fund unit to make a more favourable calculation of the sums due to Great Britain. The reaction of Commission officials to our approaches to date has been constructive.

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to change the allocation of resources and method of distribution under the European social fund objective 3 programme. [20028]

Mr. Forth: Officials have been asked to report by April on the possibility of managing the selection of European social fund objective 3 projects on a regional basis. Any changes will be agreed with the Commission as part of the 1997-99 programme and will involve European social fund partners.

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the European Commission in relation to delays in payments to voluntary sector organisations under the European social fund. [20030]

Mr. Forth: I have had no recent discussions with representatives of the European Commission about delays in payment of European social fund money to voluntary sector organisations. Officials in the Department's European social fund unit do, however, meet their counterparts in the European Commission on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues including delays in payment.

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