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Pre-five Services
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he collates on the provision on (a) public and (b) private provision of pre-five services apart from those in state nursery schools and nursery classes. [30480]
Mr. Moss: The Department of Health and Social Services collates information on the number of day nursery, play group and child-minding places available in public facilities provided by health and social services boards and private facilities registered with health and social services trusts.
At 31 March 1995, the latest date for which figures are available, the position was as follows:
| Type of facility | Number of premises | Average available places |
|---|---|---|
| Day nursery | ||
| Public | 4 | 81 |
| Private | 104 | 3,083 |
| Total | 108 | 3,164 |
| Play group | ||
| Public | 10 | 270 |
| Private | 624 | 15,539 |
| Total | 634 | 15,809 |
| Child-minding | ||
| Private | 4,225 | 16,564 |
School Meals
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he has taken to improve the nutritional value of schools meals since receiving the report of the school meals project in December 1995; and if he will make a statement on his proposals for future action. [30477]
Mr. Ancram: Following consultation with the Department of Health and Social Services and the Health Promotion Agency, the Department of Education has accepted that the existing nutritional guidelines for school meals should be reviewed having regard to the guidelines issued by the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy. A working group has been set up to take this review forward. The Department for Education and Employment is in the process of preparing voluntary nutritional guidelines for school meals in England and
5 Jun 1996 : Column: 477
Wales and the working group will be liaising closely with DfEE to ensure that all available information is taken into account before final guidelines are issued.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has for education expenditure under the private finance initiative. [30478]
Sir John Wheeler: Two PFI projects for the provision of new accommodation at the North West Institute for Higher and Further Education and for the development of a new visitors centre at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum have been advertised in the Official Journal of the European Community. The Department of Education is also considering projects under the PFI for schools, other further eduction colleges, higher education institutions, libraries and its periphery activities.
Youth Training Scheme
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the numbers involved in the youth training scheme, the completion rate, the qualifications achieved and the numbers who are in or moved on to full-time work. [30379]
Mr. Ancram: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Ian Walters. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Ian Walters to Mr. Tony Worthington, dated 5 June 1996:
5 Jun 1996 : Column: 478
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me, as Chief Executive of the Training and Employment Agency to reply to your question.
In the year ended 31 March 1996, a total of 10,543 young people aged 16 and 17 years entered the Agency's Jobskills training programme which was introduced in Northern Ireland on 3 April 1995 to replace the Youth Training and Job Training Programmes. During that period 3,534 left without completing their programme, of whom 1,620 (46%) entered employment, full-time education or another form of training.
Training periods in the new programme range from 39 weeks to 156 weeks depending on the occupational area and level of qualification being followed. The large majority of young people did not join the programme until after 30 June 1995, the single school leaving date in Northern Ireland. More than 90% of the trainees are in training programmes lasting 52 weeks ore more and will not complete their training until 30 June 1996 at the earliest. Information on completion rates, qualifications achieved and numbers of trainees moving into employment will be available in due course.
However, I can provide data from the Jobskills pilot programme which operated in two areas of Northern Ireland from 1 September 1992 to 31 March 1995. A total of 7,311 people, including 4,417 young people started training in the pilot programmes. In excess of 50% of those who joined these programmes achieved a full National Vocational Qualification at Level 2 or above. To date, 68% of those who left the pilot programmes have found employment.
The figures for residual trainees in the Youth Training Programme for the year ended 31 March 1996 show that 29.8% of leavers achieved a NVQ at Level 2 or above. 7,089 young people left the programme during this period of whom 3,312 (65%) entered employment and 210 (4%) full-time education.
I hope you find this helpful.
Running Costs and Cash Limits
Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the 1996-97 running costs limit for the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments. [31798]
Sir John Wheeler: The gross running cost limit for 1996-97 for the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Departments is £787,695,000. Details of the provision for individual Northern Ireland Departments are set out in the Northern Ireland estimates published today and are available in the Library.
Performance Bonds
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his Department's policy on the use of performance bonds; in what circumstances they are used; what was the total sum paid by bond in each of the last five years; and if his Department requires bonds from businesses with fewer than (a) 100, (b) 50 and (c) 20 employees. [29500]
Sir John Wheeler [holding answer 20 May 1996]: The Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments' policy on the use of performance bonds is in accordance with HM Treasury central unit on procurement's guidance on bonds and guarantees.
The potential exists for demanding performance bonds in the allocation of construction contracts. The facility has been used by the Department of the Environment's roads service, which requests performance bonds for all contracts costing £200,000 or more which are awarded by open contract. For contracts less than £200,000, bonds may be requested where there is concern about the capacity of the lowest tenderers to perform the contracts. The roads service has had no occasion to receive payments by bond in the last five years.
The number of staff employed by businesses is not a factor in deciding whether a bond is necessary.
Cattle Slaughter Scheme
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the capacity of incinerators in the United Kingdom to dispose of culled cattle. [30412]
Mr. Boswell [holding answer 21 May 1996]: The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced in the House on 16 April that cull cows would be rendered and the resultant material disposed of by the best practical environmental option. At present there are 10 incinerators approved to burn suspect BSE cases, with an estimated capacity of 40,000 carcases per annum. Some of the limited spare capacity available in these incinerators is being used to be dispose of casualty over 30-month animals which are slaughtered on-farm.
Mr. Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the alternatives his Department has assessed other than incineration, for the disposal of culled cattle, indicating the reasons for their rejection. [30413]
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Mr. Boswell [holding answer 21 May 1996]: The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced in the House on 16 April, Official Report, columns 513-16, that cattle over 30 months would be rendered and the resultant material disposed of by the best practical environmental option. The Government have since been working intensively with the trade to examine means of disposal of the material derived from rendered carcases. A number of options for the eventual disposal of meat and bonemeal are under active consideration and in all cases full weight will be given to protection of the environment. These options include incineration, use as fuel in power generation and eventual landfill.
Agriculture Council
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Luxembourg on 3 and 4 June; and if he will make a statement. [31740]
Mr. Douglas Hogg: I represented the United Kingdom at the Agriculture Council on 3 and 4 June in Luxembourg. I was accompanied by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Welsh Office, and my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Scottish Office.
The Council considered the proposal by the Commission to lift the EU-wide export ban on United Kingdom produced gelatine, tallow and bull semen. This proposal had failed to attract a qualified majority in the EU Standing Veterinary Committee on 20 May, and the Commission therefore submitted it to the Council for a decision. The proposal was supported in the Council by nine member states but as this did not amount to a qualified majority, the Agriculture Commissioner announced that the Commission would implement the proposal under its own powers. It is likely that this will take effect from 10 June.
I presented to the Agriculture Council the United Kingdom's comprehensive eradication programme for BSE, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. I expect that the programme will be examined in detail by EU veterinary experts in the near future.
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