---

Market Testing

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has to amend the proposed competing for quality bids and submissions programmes for market testing RAF and Royal Navy aeronautical repair facilities. [6902]

Mr. Arbuthnot [holding answer 29 November 1996]: None.

WALES

Working Hours

13. Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of men employed full-time in Wales work 48 hours or over per week. [5220]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: Based on the spring 1996 labour force survey, an estimated 32 per cent. of male full-time employees in Wales say they usually work 48 hours or more per week.

14. Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of the work force in Wales works over 48 hours a week. [5221]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: Based on the spring 1996 labour force survey, an estimated 20 per cent. of the employed work force in Wales say they usually work more than 48 hours per week.

Unemployment

15. Mr. Jacques Arnold: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on levels of unemployment in Wales. [5222]

2 Dec 1996 : Column: 535

Mr. Gwilym Jones: In October 1996, the seasonally adjusted number of persons on the claimant unemployment count in Wales fell below 100,000 for the first time since January 1991. Unemployment in Wales has fallen by 26 per cent. since December 1992.

Manufacturing Industry

16. Mr. Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the competitiveness of manufacturing industry in Wales. [5223]

Mr. Hague: I refer my hon. Friend to the report "Meeting the Challenge", published last June and available in the Library of the House.

Inward Investment

17. Dr. Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many jobs he estimates were (a) safeguarded and (b) created by inward investment in Wales in the year to 31 October. [5224]

Mr. Hague: In the period 1 January 1996 to 31 October 1996, 128 inward investment projects have been recorded promising 13,602 new jobs, 2,564 safeguarded jobs and capital investment of £2.36 billion.

Devolved Government

18. Mr. Deva: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on devolved government in Wales in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [5225]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Nine, with the majority being against the imposition of a Welsh Assembly.

Roads

19. Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent per capita on road building and maintenance in the last year; and what was the figure in 1978-79 at current prices. [5227]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Expenditure per capita on road building and maintenance in Wales, at 1995-96 prices, was £149 in 1978-79 and £164 in 1994-95, the last year for which complete information is available.

Single Currency

20. Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will commission research on the effect of the single currency on democracy and the public services in Wales. [5228]

Mr. Hague: No. We would agree to take part in a single currency only if we judged it to be in the interest of the United Kingdom as a whole to do so.

Second Severn Crossing

21. Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact of the opening of the second Severn crossing on the economy of Wales. [5229]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: The new crossing is a substantial expansion of the essential transport infrastructure, thereby significantly improving economic mobility and further

2 Dec 1996 : Column: 536

enlarging our attractiveness for inward investment, and it represents a major opportunity that Welsh businesses are increasingly taking.

Welsh Assembly

22. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received on the desirability of holding a referendum for a Welsh Assembly; and if he will make a statement. [5230]

Mr. Hague: Three since the beginning of January this year.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

23. Mr. Jessel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he has taken to combat drug and alcohol abuse in Wales. [5231]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: My right hon. Friend launched the Welsh drug and alcohol strategy, "Forward Together" on 14 May 1996: we have established a Welsh advisory committee and set up a Welsh drug and alcohol unit; and at local level the strategy will be implemented by drug and alcohol action teams.

Health Authority Funding

24. Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much non-recurring funding has been made available to health authorities in Wales in the present financial year to date. [5232]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Up to the end of October, Welsh health authorities have received a total of £20.588 million in additional non-recurring funds.

BSE

25. Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received about the impact of the BSE crisis on the rural economy of Wales. [5233]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: My right hon. Friend and I have received numerous representations on this subject; the Government have introduced measures to support the essential element of the structure of the beef industry.

Community Hospital, Porthmadog

26. Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received in respect of the construction of the new community hospital at Porthmadog; and if he will make a statement. [5234]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Two letters have been received from the hon. Member. Gwynedd Community Trust is considering propositions under the private finance initiative. A successful outcome will also depend on the support of the North Wales health authority, which is currently reviewing community hospital facilities within its area.

Male Unemployment

27. Mr. Roy Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the figure for male unemployment in (a) Newport and (b) Wales for the latest available date; and what is this figure expressed in percentage terms. [5235]

2 Dec 1996 : Column: 537

Mr. Jonathan Evans: In October 1996, the unadjusted number of males on the claimant unemployment count in the Newport travel-to-work-area was 5,087, 9.4 per cent. of the male work force. The corresponding figures for Wales were 74,279 and 10.5 per cent.

Rate Support Grant

28. Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he next expects to meet local authority leaders to discuss the 1997-98 rate support grant settlement. [5236]

Mr. Hague: At a meeting of the Welsh consultative council on local government finance on 16 December.

Public Service Employment

29. Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his latest estimate of the number of people employed in the public service in Wales; and what percentage this is of the total number employed. [5237]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: Based on the spring 1996 labour force survey, in which employees are asked to classify themselves, an estimated 325,000 employees say they work in the public sector in Wales. This represents 32 per cent. of all employees in Wales.

Low Incomes

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what data sets his Department (a) holds and (b) updates on low-income families in Wales. [6057]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Information on the distribution of household income in Wales is available from a number of official sources including the Office for National Statistics' annual family expenditure survey and the Department of Social Security's annual family resources survey. The Welsh Office does not routinely collect any additional statistics on household income.

Households (Baths)

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many householders in Wales (a) do not have their own bath and (b) do not have access to a shared bath. [6055]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: The available information from the 1991 census of population is given in the following table:

	Number of residents
Households in Wales with:
Exclusive use of bath/shower	2,776,410
Shared use of bath/shower	7,257
No bath/shower	13,507

Unemployment and Health

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the relationship between the levels of unemployment and ill health of men aged 15 to 44 years in Wales. [6063]

2 Dec 1996 : Column: 538

Mr. Gwilym Jones: While it is not possible to conclude from the 1995 Welsh health survey data whether there is a causal relationship between unemployment and ill-health, analyses indicated that for unemployed men aged 18 to 45 the mental health summary scores were generally lower--that is, worse--than those of employed men of the same age. However, there was little difference between the physical health scores for unemployed men aged 18 to 45 when compared with those of employed men of the same age. Both scores tended to be lower for men who had been unemployed for more than 12 months.

The results show that unemployed men aged 18 to 45 were more likely to be classified as being at risk of developing clinical depression than employed men of the same age and were generally more likely to have had treatment for back pain and respiratory disease.

The main results from the survey, and the definition of the summary scores, are published in Welsh health survey 1995, a copy of which is in the Library.

---