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Sainsbury's, Londonderry

Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the public inquiry was held into the planning application by Sainsbury's in Londonderry; when the planning appeal commission will issue its report; and if he will make a statement. [29902]

Mr. Moss: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its chief executive, Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from T. W. Stewart to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 17 May 1996:

Mr Moss has asked me to reply to your question about the Public Inquiry into the planning application by Sainsbury's in Londonderry.
The Public Inquiry, which was held by the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC), ran from 20 February 1996 until 29 March 1996, and closing submissions were later made on 16 April 1996.You will appreciate that the report and recommendations of the Inquiry is a matter for the Chief Commissioner. However I understand from the PAC that their report is unlikely to be available before the summer.
I can assure you that when the report is received, it will be carefully considered by the Department before a final decision is reached. The PAC report will of course be made available to the public once the Department's decision has issued.

Small Firms

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firms with fewer than (a) 100, (b) 50, (c) 20 and (d) 10 employees were used by his Department in each of the last five years. [29438]

Sir John Wheeler: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

20 May 1996 : Column: 63

Goods and Services

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department paid to the private sector for goods and services in 1995-96. [29453]

Sir John Wheeler: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Ordnance Survey

Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland in 1996-97. [30308]

Mr. Moss: For 1996-97 the following performance targets have been set out for OSNI:

1. To survey 32,000 survey units in the revision programme.
2. To complete 875 data capture units representing 1,716 basic scale map sheets converted to digital format.
3. To update the digital topographical database with 93 per cent. of the updates completed within seven working days of receipt of the field data.
4. To despatch, within seven working days, 92 per cent. of orders for folded and basic scale maps.
5. To reduce unit costs so that they weighted mean percentage reduction of selected representative activities is 3 per cent.
6. To recover from the supply of goods and services, 27 per cent. of the total costs incurred by the agency.

Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency

Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what targets have been set for the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency during 1996-97. [30310]

Mr. Moss: For 1996-97, the following performance targets have been set:

	Target
Vehicle test appointments	24 days average waiting time
Driving test appointments	48 days average waiting time
Productivity (vehicle testing)	18.0 units per man per day
Productivity (driver testing)	7.9 units per man per day
Error rate	Faulty inspections not to exceed 0.20 per cent. of tests conducted
Level of complaints about booking arrangements	Less than 0.75 per cent. of applications received
Level of complaints about the conduct of tests	Less than 0.75 per cent. of applications received
Level of customer satisfaction with test procedures	At least 85 per cent. plus or minus 2 per cent. within the range of sampling error
Number of compensation payments for cancelled tests	Less than 0.4 per cent. of applications received
Composition unit cost of testing operations	£16.81

Public Record Office

Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in 1996-97. [30309]

Mr. Moss: For 1996-97, the following performance targets have been set out for PRONI:

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Efficiency

1. To reduce PRONI's composite unit cost in the areas of selecting and accessing, records listing, records storage, document production and reader service by 5 per cent. from £105.21 to £99.95.
2. To manage the agency's workload, including an anticipated 20 per cent. increase in readers and the maintenance of extended opening hours, while absorbing a 4.5 per cent. reduction in staff and ensuring that expenditure is within financial limits approved by the Department.
Quality of Service 3. To process customer queries within 10 working days of receipt in 75 per cent. of cases and within 14 working days in 96 per cent. of cases, thus improving PRONI's citizens charter commitment.
4. To upgrade 10 per cent. of 33,360 linear metres of records stored on mobile shelving at Balmoral avenue, in accordance with defined standards of archival protection.
5. With the help of a new computerised document request system to improve the speed of production to the public by reducing waiting time from 45 minutes to 40 minutes or less in 90 per cent. of cases.
Effectiveness 6. To process 335.5 linear metres of records deposited and to ensure that 100 per cent. of all new "open" material is processed within one year of receipt.

Schools (Intruders and Trespassers)

Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has to give additional powers to school authorities with regard to (a) intruders and (b) trespassers into schools; and if he will make a statement. [29905]

Mr. Ancram: The Offensive Weapons Bill, which is currently going through the House of Commons, will make it an offence to carry a knife on school premises and give the police the powers of search on school premises. These provisions will be extended to Northern Ireland. In addition, the Department of Education for Northern Ireland is urgently considering the action needed to implement in Northern Ireland the recommendations in the recent report from the working group on school security published on 14 May.

WALES

University Hospital of Wales

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the department of postgraduate medicine at the University hospital of Wales is expected to take over responsibility for all appointments to the specialist registrar grade; if pay arrangements for all specialist registrars are to be centrally funded; and what representations he has received from NHS trusts in Wales and the Department of postgraduate medicine concerning payment arrangements for (a) this grade and (b) other junior medical staff. [30191]

Mr. Hague: The postgraduate department started taking over the responsibility for operating the appointments procedures for the specialist registrar grade on 1 December 1995 in line with the timetable for commissioning the new grade in each speciality. There is 100 per cent. central funding available, in the first year only, for additional posts and thereafter the postgraduate department will continue to fund 50 per cent. of the salary

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costs. Discussions take place with NHS trusts and the postgraduate department as part of the management of these arrangements for all junior medical staff.

Higher Education

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the expenditure in Wales on higher education in real terms in each of the past 10 years. [28615]

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Mr. Hague: The expenditure on higher education in Wales for the years 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96 and the provision for 1996-97 is shown in the following table. The amounts include tuition fee income and adjustments relating to dual support provision for research. Prior to 1993-94, higher education was funded from a variety of sources, including the University Grants Committee, the University Funding Council, the Welsh Office and local authorities, and it is not possible to provide comparable expenditure figures for that period.

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£ million

1993-94		1994-95		1995-96		1996-97
Cash	November 1994 prices	Cash	November 1994 prices	Cash	November 1994 prices	Cash	November 1994 prices
282.563	287.762	313.744	313.744	311.328	302.996	314.934	298.302

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Goods and Services

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department paid to the private sector for goods and services in 1995-96. [29447]

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

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