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Derelict Land (Glasgow)

Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what public funds have been spent cleaning up derelict land in the city of Glasgow (a) in 1994-95 and (b) in 1995-96. [21093]

Mr. Kynoch: The main source of public funds for the treatment of derelict land in Glasgow is the local enterprise company, the Glasgow development agency. The expenditure of local enterprise companies is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and I have asked the chairman of that organisation to write to the hon. Member.

Police

Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when police authority establishment figures were last revised; and if he will make a statement. [21100]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Statutory controls by police authorities and the Secretary of State over the authorised regular police establishments of forces were removed on 13 December 1995. The number of police officers in each force is now determined by individual chief constables.

Responsibility for the number of police civilians in each force will be determined by individual chief constables from 1 April 1996 when the statutory controls by police authorities and the Secretary of State over authorised civilian establishments are removed.

Police establishment figures were last revised for each force on the dates set out in the table.

Force	Month and year police establishment figures last revised	Month and year civilian establishment figures last revised
Central Scotland	November 1994	April 1994
Dumfries and Galloway	August 1991	March 1993
Fife	July 1990	May 1994
Grampian	August 1991	March 1995
Lothian and Borders	January 1994	April 1994
Northern	August 1995	August 1995
Strathclyde	August 1995	December 1995
Tayside	August 1995	October 1994

18 Mar 1996 : Column: 59

Glasgow Development Agency

Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was Glasgow development agency's budget in 1995, in current prices; and what is the budget for 1996. [21094]

Mr. Kynoch: The allocation of local enterprise company budgets is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.

Reconviction Rates

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the reconviction rates two years and four years after release for (a) adults, (b) 15 to 17-year-olds and (c) 18 to 21-year-olds, breaking down the figures by gender. [21018]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is not available.

Population Statistics (Hawick)

Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the level of population in the Hawick area of Roxburghshire in (a) the 1991 census population and (b) each earlier census in the last years. [19852]

18 Mar 1996 : Column: 60

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is given in the table. Hawick locality covers the urban area and is the nearest equivalent to the small burgh that existed before 1974.

	Resident population
	Hawick small burgh	Hawick locality
1961	16,324	--
1971	16,530	16,726
1981	--	16,213
1991	--	15,812

Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will estimate the recent trends in population in the Hawick area of Roxburghshire since the 1991 census; and what assessment he has made of the scale of these changes relative to corresponding changes in other towns in the Borders region; [19853]

(2) what assessment he has made of the degree of statistical variation in respect of recent changes in level of population in the Hawick area of Roxburghshire; [19855]

(3) what assessment he has made of the factors underlying the recent changes in the level of population in the Hawick area of Roxburghshire. [19856]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: In periods between censuses, population estimates are normally prepared only for local authority areas because no source provides reliable estimates of migration at small area levels. The Registrar General estimates that between mid-1991 and mid-1994, the population of Roxburgh district as a whole fell by 90 from 35,320 to 35,230. The factors underlying this change are a small set migration gain offset by an excess of deaths over births. Complete figures for Borders region and its four districts are given in the table, from which it can be seen that recent growth has mainly been in Ettrick and Lauderdale district.

18 Mar 1996 : Column: 59

Borders region: Components of population change by district; 1991-94

	Estimated population	Births	Deaths	Natural change	Estimated net civilian migration	Estimated population	Population change
	30 June 1991					30 June 1994	Number	Percentage
Borders Region	104,100	3,582	4,225	-643	2,243	105,700	1,600	1.5
Berwickshire	19,120	662	733	-71	371	19,420	300	1.6
Ettrick and Lauderdale	34,390	1,232	1,364	-132	1,232	35,490	1,100	3.2
Roxburgh	35,320	1,174	1,522	-348	258	35,230	-90	-0.3
Tweedale	15,270	514	606	-92	382	15,560	290	1.9

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Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now conduct sample surveys of recent population levels in the Hawick area of Roxburghshire. [19854]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: No.

Housing Finance

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when his Department first received reports of an adverse impact on the bids of local authorities bidding for new town housing caused by the changes in the handling of capital receipts from local authorities last year. [21060]

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Mr. Kynoch: West Lothian district council wrote to the Department on 6 December 1995. Its views, with those expressed by other parties, were carefully considered by my right hon. Friend and his decision as conveyed to the local authorities on 15 February.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what considerations led his Department not to exclude the bids lodged by local authorities involved in the bidding process for the housing stock of Scotland's development corporations from the effects of his changes in the handling of capital receipts by local authorities. [21063]

Mr. Kynoch: The Government consider it important that the overall level of local authority debt in Scotland should be reduced. My right hon. Friend's decision

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ensures that a proportion of any receipts from ex-new town stock sold by a local authority under the right-to-buy scheme will reduce that authority's debt.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what delay has been caused in the bidding process for the housing stock of Scotland's development corporations by the changes in the Scottish Office rules on the handling of capital receipts by Scottish local authorities; and when his Department decided not to exempt local authorities in the bidding process for the housing stock of Scotland's development corporations from these changes in capital receipts. [21062]

Mr. Kynoch: The transfer of the housing stocks of the development corporations is to be completed before wind-up on 31 December 1996. The decision on the treatment of local authority capital receipts will alter the time scale of the interim stages. Letters conveying my right to hon. Friend's decision not to exempt local authorities involved in the bidding process from the revised capital receipt rules were issued on 15 February 1996.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to allow the relevant existing local authorities and their successor councils to be included on the ballots for the housing stock of Irvine, Cumbernauld and Livingston development corporations. [21241]

Mr. Kynoch: The Government's policy is to admit local authorities to the ballots provided that their final bids are considered to be value for money.

Exel Logistics

Mr. Canavan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will intervene to stop the threatened job losses at Exel Logistics in Falkirk. [21154]

Mr. Kynoch: I understand that this company, which offers transport services to industry and the retail trade from 14 depots in the UK, intends to rationalise its entire UK operations. This is a matter for the commercial judgment of management in the company. The company's announcement to its work force was accompanied by the offer of counselling and of a transfer to the company's headquarters. Forth Valley Enterprise will offer to all affected by the announcement its range of retraining and counselling services.

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