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Criminal Justice (Delays)

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work is in hand to reduce delay in the criminal justice process. [40180]

Mr. Howard: Following the report of the royal commission on criminal justice and the efficiency scrutiny of administrative burdens on the police, efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice process have been taken forward by officials from my Department, the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Crown Prosecution Service through the trial issues group. Nevertheless, my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor, my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General and I believe that it is now appropriate to explore additional means of reducing the time that it takes to deal with cases. We have therefore set up a review urgently to identify means of expediting the progress of criminal cases from initiation to resolution, consistently with the interests of justice. The review will examine the scope for improvements within current structures as well as those which might require new legislation. We expect a report next January.

Asylum and Immigration Act 1996

Mr. Austin-Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) communications and (b) consultations have taken place on the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 and instruments made under it, with the Commission of the European Communities and with member states under Commission decision 88/384/EEC and article 118 of the EC treaty; on what dates; by what means; and if he will place in the Library the documents concerned. [40509]

Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 14 October 1996]: None. These matters are covered by the arrangements for intergovernmental co-operation under title VI of the treaty on European Union.

15 Oct 1996 : Column: 879

Police (Health and Safety)

Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to introduce legislation to provide that police officers will be covered by health and safety requirements; [40232]

(2) when he expects the ad hoc working group on health and safety management in the police service to complete its work; [40230]

(3) when he plans to produce his Department's advice in the form of a Home Office circular on health and safety in the police force. [40231]

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 14 October 1996]: I have today announced the Government's proposals to amend the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 and the corresponding Northern Ireland legislation so that it extends to the work of police officers, police cadets and special constables. The ad hoc working group on the management of health and safety in the police service has completed the first phase of its work. We have today issued to police forces in the United Kingdom practical guidance on the application of the health and safety legislation to the duties of police officers. A copy of this guidance has been placed in the Library.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Intervention Board

Mr. Mans: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the Intervention Board performed against its targets for 1995-96; and what key performance targets Agriculture Ministers have set the agency for 1996-97. [40948]

Mr. Baldry: The information is as follows:

1995-96

	Target	Performance
Percentage of claims processed within deadlines	98.5 per cent.	99.9 per cent.
Percentage of claims processed correctly	98.5 per cent.	99.2 per cent.
Cumulative running cost efficiency gains	2.5 per cent.	3.3 per cent.
Improvement in index of productivity	6.0 per cent.	3.9 per cent.
Ratio of disallowance to EAGGF funds handled	0.4 per cent.	(28)--
To maintain expenditure within vote provision, cash and running cost limited	--	Met
New value for money savings in procurement of goods and services	6.0 per cent.	8.8 per cent.
Yield: cost ratio of anti-fraud activities	3.0:1.0	3.7:1.0

(28) A decision covering the clearance of the 1993 EAGGF accounts is still awaited.

15 Oct 1996 : Column: 880

In agreement with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, I have set the following targets for 1996-97:

	Target
Percentage of claims processed within deadlines	99.0 per cent.
Percentage of claims processed correctly	98.5 per cent.
Cumulative running cost efficiency gains	2.5 per cent.
Improvement in index of productivity	6.0 per cent.
Ratio of disallowance to EAGGF funds handled	0.4 per cent.
To maintain expenditure within vote provision, cash and running cost limited	--
New value for money savings in procurement of goods and services	6.0 per cent.
Yield: cost ratio of anti-fraud activities	3.0 : 1.0

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

School Inspections

Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for North Thanet, (Mr. Gale) of 19 December 1995, Official Report, column 1017 if she will publish the advice from Her Majesty's chief inspector on a more targeted approach in the second cycle of inspection. [39919]

Mr. Robin Squire: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 16 September that she had accepted in full the chief inspector's recommendations to move to a more targeted programme of inspection. The key elements of the new arrangements, which will take effect from the end of the first cycle, are that: each school will be subject to a full inspection within a six-year period, instead of every four years as at present: weaker schools should be inspected more frequently; seriously weak schools will be specifically identified within registered inspectors' reports; and that special visits will be made to schools which are models of good practice.

The Secretary of State has deposited copies of the chief inspector's recommendations and of her response in the Libraries of both Houses.

Teacher Training Courses

Mr Bunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the number and percentage of teachers who completed training courses in 1994, broken down by subject and in total; and who were in posts by March 1995. [39928]

Mr. Robin Squire: The table shows the number of teachers who successfully completed Bachelor of Education or Postgraduate Certificate of Education courses leading to qualified teacher status in 1994 and their position as at 31 March 1995.

15 Oct 1996 : Column: 881

	Number of completers(29) in England and Wales Calendar year 1994	1994 completers in service at 31 March 1995 in the maintained schools sector in England and Wales(30)	In service as a percentage of completers
Primary	12,643	8,756	69
	Secondary (by subject of ITT)
Maths	1,598	974	61
English	1,389	1,023	74
Science	2,089	1,384	66
Modern foreign language	1,484	1,021	69
Technology	1,526	900	59
History	649	470	72
Geography	563	421	75
Art	730	398	55
Music	447	318	71
Religious education	344	232	67
Physical education	968	656	68
Other	1,123	662	59
Total secondary	12,910	8,459	66
Total primary and secondary	25,553	17,215	67

Notes:

(29) Excludes 131 students who successfully completed School Centred Initial Teacher Training in 1994.:

² Details of service as at 31/3/95 are provisional. Includes service in the maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special education sector. Service details are available for some, but not all, teachers in the independent and further and higher education sectors. Around 1,110--per cent.--of the 1994 completers are known to have entered service in these sectors, but are not included in the table.
Source:
Database of Teachers' Records.

Nursery Voucher Scheme

Ms Estelle Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what information from Office for Standards in Education inspections of providers under the nursery voucher scheme will be made available to parents; and when. [40389]

Mr. Robin Squire: This is a matter for Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools, who heads the Office for Standards in Education. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.

Ms Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many vouchers for nursery education have not been redeemed to date during phase 1 of the nursery voucher scheme. [40385]

Mr. Squire: Nursery education vouchers were issued in respect of 14,711 children for the summer term of 1996. Of these, 1,372--some 9 per cent.--have not been redeemed.

Ms Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the difference is between the number of vouchers issued under phase 1 of the nursery voucher scheme and the number of places available in each of the four pilot areas. [40383]

15 Oct 1996 : Column: 882

Mr. Squire: The number of vouchers issued for summer term 1996 in each of the phase 1 authorities is shown in the table. Information on the number of places available for children eligible for vouchers is not held centrally.

	Number of vouchers issued
Norfolk	8,976
Kensington and Chelsea	1,151
Wandsworth	3,170
Westminster	1,414

Ms Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many providers have participated to date in phase 1 of the nursery voucher scheme. [40390]

Mr. Squire: Some 1,141 providers, of which 647 are in the private and voluntary sectors, have participated in the scheme to date.

Ms. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate she has made of the number of new providers established since the introduction of phase 1 of the nursery education voucher scheme. [40386]

Mr. Squire: Any provider that is not a maintained or independent school has to be registered under the Children Act 1989. Our records do not show whether an institution was established specifically in response to the introduction of the scheme.

Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will request each of the four local education authorities operating the vouchers scheme for pre-school education to publish an estimate of the number of places in all settings that will be required in each of their areas if 90 per cent. of eligible pupils' parents apply for vouchers. [40403]

Mr. Squire: The table shows the estimated number of eligible children in each of the phase 1 authorities and 90 per cent. thereof. These estimates of population are less reliable when broken down both by local authority area and by year group.

LEA	Estimated number of eligible children	90 per cent. of estimated number of eligible children
Norfolk	9,300	8,370
Kensington and Chelsea	1,650	1,485
Wandsworth	3,300	2,970
Westminster	1,900	1,710

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