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National Forest

Mr. Booth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to report on progress in implementation of the national forest. [8090]

Mr. Clappison: I have today arranged for copies of the National Forests Company's 1996 annual report and accounts to be available in the House Library.

Valuation Tribunal Service

Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the forthcoming finance, management and policy review of the valuation tribunal service. [8089]

Sir Paul Beresford: As part of the Government's programme of regular five-yearly finance, management and policy reviews of non-departmental public bodies, my Department will conduct a thorough review of the valuation tribunal service beginning on 5 December. The first stage of the review will take the form of a prior options study. This will assess the extent to which the functions that the valuation tribunal service performs are necessary for the achievement of the Government's policies, and whether there is scope for privatising, contracting out or transferring all, or part, of its functions to another body.

The progress made by the valuation tribunal service since the previous review in 1992 will be examined and the results of that examination and of the prior options study will inform a detailed review of the service's policy and financial management systems. To minimise the uncertainty that the prior options study will cause, I expect this part of the review to be completed within six months. The time required for the more detailed review cannot be foreseen, but I would expect it also to last no longer than six months.

In carrying out the study, my Department will consult widely with all parties with an interest in the work of the valuation tribunal service.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Environmental Auditing

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his answer of 25 November, Official Report, column 82, regarding examples of improving efficiency through environmental auditing, if he will list the occasions on which environmental considerations have been taken into account in respect of procurement and accommodation management matters. [7198]

The Solicitor-General: All four Law Officers' Departments keep environmental aspects of their accommodation and procurement activities under regular review. Examples of action already taken in one or more of the Departments are: the fitting of new controls on

5 Dec 1996 : Column: 737

heating and air conditioning plant to reduce energy consumption; the use of energy efficient lamping; the installation of modern flushing systems and rapid response arrangements for reported leaks; furniture purchase contracts which specify that wood should be from sustainable resources; and the stipulation in cleaning contracts that only environmentally friendly cleaning products should be used.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

National Vocational Qualifications

Mr. Bryan Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many national vocational qualifications awarded by the end of December 1995 were achieved by (a) private sector and (b) public sector employees. [6942]

Mr. Paice: Data are not available on the number of national vocational qualifications awarded to private sector and public sector employees.

Open University

Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to introduce a right for students of the Open university to have their examination papers re-marked on appeal. [7420]

Mr. Forth: It is for the Open university, as an autonomous higher education institution, to establish its own procedures for marking examination papers and to set up appropriate appeals procedures.

Education Expenditure

Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what amounts have been requested by way of capital spending in 1997-98 by each local education authority; and what has been the total amount requested in England. [7473]

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the schools capital expenditure annual capital grants bid for each local education authority for 1997-98. [7711]

Mrs. Gillan: Each year we invite LEAs to submit their plans for education capital expenditure so that we can determine the level of their annual capital guidelines. The following table shows the total of each LEA's planned expenditure for 1997-98, as submitted to the Department in October.

Lea	Total planned expenditure (£000)
Barking and Dagenham	3,584
Barnet	8,143
Barnsley	5,361
Bath and North-east Somerset	4,,382
Bedfordshire	9,897
Berkshire	5,892
Bexley	7,787
Birmingham	53,490
Bolton	5,872
Bournemouth	7,179
Bradford	63,643
Brent	10,278
Brighton and Hove	4,311
Bristol	3,024
Bromley	3,974
Buckinghamshire	13,740
Bury	1,900
Calderdale	9,121
Cambridgeshire	27,575
Camden	4,933
Cheshire	39,356
City	0
Cornwall	9,605
Coventry	12,334
Croydon	6,736
Cumbria	20,529
Darlington	3,488
Derby	8,837
Derbyshire	30,355
Devon	38,113
Doncaster	3,527
Dorset	14,341
Dudley	5,505
Durham	49,951
Ealing	67,218
East Riding of Yorks	2,872
East Sussex	24,747
Enfield	22,652
Essex	84,555
Gateshead	10,282
Gloucestershire	31,964
Greenwich	10,568
Hackney	9,073
Hammersmith and Fulham	9,371
Hampshire	28,299
Haringey	16,573
Harrow	16,926
Hartlepool	3,921
Havering	5,851
Hereford and Worcester	10,890
Hertfordshire	27,171
Hillingdon	3,814
Hounslow	7,447
Hull	12,826
Isle of Wight	12,094
Isles of Scilly	49
Islington	8,839
Kensington and Chelsea	2,555
Kent	50,939
Kingston	5,969
Kirklees	6,795
Knowsley	2,901
Lambeth	22,534
Lancashire	34,469
Leeds	42,407
Leicester	1,486
Leicestershire	6,375
Lewisham	30,904
Lincolnshire	8,936
Liverpool	23,325
Luton	8,568
Manchester	48,375
Merton	6,552
Middlesbrough	2,198
Milton Keynes	12,179
North Somerset	5,269
North Tyneside	8,169
North Yorkshire	29,821
North-east Lincolnshire	14,471
Newcastle	5,372
Newham	10,461
Norfolk	23,979
North Lincolnshire	6,007
Northamptonshire	20,729
Northumberland	1,799
Nottinghamshire	24,672
Oldham	8,048
Oxfordshire	30,218
Poole	4,442
Portsmouth	9,438
Redbridge	12,611
Redcar and Cleveland	2,856
Richmond	4,685
Rochdale	8,669
Rotherham	4,770
Rutland	290
South Gloucestershire	8,367
South Tyneside	9,677
Salford	29,083
Sandwell	11,982
Sefton	3,521
Sheffield	51,309
Shropshire	5,981
Solihull	4,708
Somerset	12,130
Southampton	3,229
Southwark	8,260
St. Helens	5,310
Staffordshire	24,120
Stockport	6,028
Stockton on Tees	5,754
Stoke on Trent	9,147
Suffolk	21,155
Sunderland	9,010
Surrey	25,683
Sutton	8,071
Tameside	5,901
Thamesdown	5,269
Tower Hamlets	12,595
Trafford	8,957
Wakefield	27,486
Walsall	6,804
Waltham Forest	11,937
Wandsworth	4,439
Warwickshire	5,528
West Sussex	12,920
Westminster	4,853
Wigan	16,365
Wiltshire	10,760
Wirral	9,976
Wolverhampton	12,798
York	5,223
Totals	1,903,343

5 Dec 1996 : Column: 739

TREASURY

Gross Domestic Product

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the level of United Kingdom gross domestic product for each year since 1970 at (a) current prices and (b) 1996 prices; what has been the annual percentage change in United Kingdom gross domestic product at constant prices for each of these years; what was the Government take of gross domestic product in each of these years at (a) current prices and (b) 1996 prices; and what was the annual percentage change in this Government share of gross domestic product at constant prices in each of these years. [5570]

Mrs. Angela Knight: Figures for GDP at current and constant prices are published in table 1.1 of the "United Kingdom National Accounts--The Blue Book".

5 Dec 1996 : Column: 740

Government receipts as a percentage of money GDP are provided in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report". This shows that general Government receipts as a percentage of money GDP are currently lower that at any time during the last Labour Government.

Women

Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to measure and evaluate the effect of his Department's policies on women. [5478]

Mrs. Angela Knight: In July this year the model guidance on policy appraisal for equal treatment was revised and circulated at Cabinet level for Departments to adapt to their own circumstances. A copy was placed in the Library of the House. Advice based on this model will be circulated to officials in the Treasury.

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