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Child Abuse Inquiry

Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what financial assistance he plans to make available to Flintshire county council and North Wales police authority with regard to their additional costs incurred as a result of the north Wales child abuse inquiry. [1935]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: I refer the hon. Member to the Attorney-General's parliamentary answer of 29 January 1990--Official Report, column 26--and confirm that the Government will not meet the costs of substantial bodies of this kind in respect of tribunals and public inquiries unless there are special circumstances.

New Medical School

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has for a new medical school within the university of Wales at (a) Bangor and (b) Swansea. [2441]

Mr. Hague: I have no such plans.

Death Rates

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what analysis he has made of the current trends in death rates from (a) suicide, (b) road accidents, (c) violence, (d) drugs and (e) other causes for men aged (i) 15 to 24 and (ii) 25 to 44 years, relative to the targets set out in the Welsh "The Health of the Nation" publications. [2647]

Mr. Hague: There are no specific targets for men in these age groups set out in the Welsh protocols for investment in health gain. Analyses of death rates for men aged 15 to 44 years were set out in "Welsh Health", the 1995 annual report of the chief medical officer, in particular figures 2.10 and 2.11 on pages 13 and 14 respectively. The report is available in the Library of the House.

The injuries protocol does include a target for reducing the death rate from road traffic accidents for persons aged 15 to 24 years. Progress towards this target is described on page 32 of the chief medical officer's annual report.

Health Promotion

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what analysis he has made of the current trends in obesity relative to the targets for health improvement set out in Welsh "The Health of the Nation" publications; [2645]

(2) what analysis he has made of the trends in (a) drug misuse and (b) smoking among teenagers published in his chief medical officer's annual report for 1995, with particular reference to the targets set out in previous Welsh "The Health of the Nation" publications. [2646]

Mr. Hague: The chief medical officer's report for 1995 analyses current trends. Informed by the report's findings, national health gain indicators are currently being prepared, and these will feed through into the strategic plans of health authorities in 1997. This will enable health authorities to focus attention on particular problem areas and my Department to monitor action to bring about improvements.

11 Nov 1996 : Column: 36

Mortality and Morbidity Statistics

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list each of the areas of mortality and morbidity referred to in his chief medical officer's 1995 annual report where the trend since 1989 is (a) better than the targets set that year, (b) at or around the target and (c) worse than the target; and if he will make a statement. [2658]

Mr. Hague: The following areas of mortality and morbidity, referred to in the chief medical officer's annual report 1995, demonstrate a trend since 1989 which is:

(a) better than the target set:



Deaths from road traffic accidents ages 0 to 14, 65 and over
Deaths from accidents other than road traffic accidents
Deaths from coronary heart disease under the age of 65
Death from strokes under the age of 65, 65 and over
Deaths from lung cancer in men ages 45 to 64
Death from breast cancer in women ages 50 to 64
Death from cervical cancer in women ages 45 to 64
Dental injuries in children
(b) at or around the target set:
Perinatal mortality (still births and deaths in the first week of life)
Infant mortality (deaths in the first year of life)
Smoking in adults
Deaths from suicide in women
Deaths from lung cancer in women ages 45 to 65
Deaths from colorectal cancer ages 45 to 64
Dental caries in children
(c) Worse than the target set:
Low birth weight
Unmanaged refective error in people with learning disability
Untreated hearing deficit in people with learning disability
Side effects of psychotropic medication in people with learning disability
Deaths from road traffic accidents ages 15 to 24
Smoking in teenage children
Overweight and obesity
Physical exercise
Alcohol consumption
Deaths from suicide in men
Deaths from asthma under the age of 45
Treatment of decayed teeth in children
Consumption of sweets and cakes in teenage children.

General Practitioners

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of GP registrars on the GP training scheme, by (a) available places and (b) places filled in each training centre. [2644]

Mr. Hague: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of the reply in the Library of the House.

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US Military Bases

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what reports his Department obtained from the United States Government regarding the conducting of environmental compliance assessments at military bases used by United States forces in Wales. [3282]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: None. This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence.

Qualifications

Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of young people qualified in the last available year to level 3; and what comparison he has made with the percentages qualifying at a similar level in (a) England, and (b) Scotland and (c) each member of the European Union. [3040]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: Information on the percentage of young people who qualified to national vocational qualification level 3 in the last available year is not readily available. However the labour force survey for winter 1995-96 estimated that 45 per cent. of 21 to 23-year-olds in Wales were qualified to national vocational qualification level 3, advanced GNVQ or the academic equivalent of two GCE A-levels. The corresponding percentages for England and Scotland were 45 and 52 per cent. respectively, but this information is not readily available for each member of the European Union.

Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what percentage of students achieved grades A to C at A-level in 1996; and what assessment he has made of how this percentage compares with (a) England and (b) the equivalent qualifications in Scotland; [3037]

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(2) what percentage of students achieved A to C grades in GCSEs in 1996; and what assessment he has made of how this compares (a) with England and (b) with the equivalent qualification in Scotland. [3036]

Mr. Evans: I intend to publish information on examination results for 1996 in school and college performance booklets later this month.

Copies of the booklets will be sent to the hon. Member, and further copies will be placed in the Library of the House.

Booklets containing similar information will also be published for England and Scotland.

SSR Budgets

Mr. Richards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he has in place to ensure that local education authority service, strategy and regulation budgets are not transferred to local education authority-maintained schools in the form of in-year payments. [3079]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 4 November, Official Report, column 353. Were a local education authority to delegate this money to any of its schools, it would be identified in the audit of the financial statements that LEAs are required to prepare under section 122 of the Education Act 1996. Where it could be demonstrated that this had implications for the funding of grant-maintained schools, steps would be taken to ensure that they were not financially disadvantaged.

Arable Area Payments Scheme

Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by county the payments made under the arable area payments scheme in 1995. [3622]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: The information is given in the table:

11 Nov 1996 : Column: 37

	Simplified scheme		Main scheme
County	Total payments	Cereal payments	Oilseed payments	Protein payments	Linseed payments	Set-aside payments	Total
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Clwyd	800,026.12	675,097.78	88,816.01	50,314.77	3,795.78	174,216.20	992,240.54
Dyfed	1,806,674.34	1,522,674.79	261,232.71	57,839.70	70,928.34	421,522.09	2,334,197.63
Gwent	481,924.24	849,302.56	131,540.54	66,516.21	81,400.52	246,686.02	1,375,445.85
Gwynedd	335,677.34	199,583.92	14,753.47	6,289.57	0.00	67,683.53	288,310.49
Mid Glamorgan	86,467.20	238,594.61	55,767.44	11,111.69	12,859.21	58,510.28	376,843.23
Powys	703,938.20	793,113.14	105,049.37	17,467.83	343.70	184,646.26	1,100,620.30
South Glamorgan	175,555.78	580,217.37	121,566.30	7,453.30	46,668.09	145,344.22	901,249.28
West Glamorgan	126,012.48	80,950.71	11,562.34	0.00	8,129.54	33,737.69	134,380.28
Total	4,516,275.70	4,939,534.88	790,288.18	216,993.07	224,125.18	1,332,346.29	7,503,287.60

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Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the maximum, minimum and average payment made under the arable area payments scheme in 1995. [3623]

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Mr. Evans: The maximum payment was £135,569, the minimum payment £140, and the average payment £4,909.

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