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Fishermen's Association Ltd.
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his Department's policy in respect of meetings between (a) Ministers and (b) officials and the Fishermen's Association Ltd. [20494]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: The Department arranges meetings with representatives of fishermen's organisations as and when appropriate.
Meat Hygiene
Sir Colin Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what evidence Professor Pennington asked for from the Meat Hygiene Service in Scotland in respect of standards of hygiene in slaughterhouses as part of his inquiry. [20736]
Mr. Michael Forsyth:
This is a matter for Professor Pennington and the expert group. Information from the Meat Hygiene Service has been made available through one of the group's members and the MHS is preparing further material to supply to the group. I understand that group members have also visited slaughterhouses to observe the position at first hand.
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Sir David Steel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to implement recommendation No. 33 of the report of the Scottish Salmon strategy task force. [20815]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson:
I have sent a copy of the report to my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. No decisions on the report's recommendations will be taken until the consultation process now under way is complete.
Mr. Faulds:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the attendance figures for 1996 reported by the national museums and galleries in Scotland, broken down to the individual institutions but including their outstations, with figures in each case of the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1995. [20113]
| 1996 | Percentage change since 1995 | |
|---|---|---|
| National Museums of Scotland | 1,178,944 | +5.8 |
| National Galleries of Scotland | 990,888 | +9.9 |
Figures for the national museums of Scotland relate to the royal museum of Scotland, the museum of antiquities, the Scottish agricultural museum, the Scottish united services museum, the museum of flight, the museum of costume and the gasworks museum. The national galleries of Scotland figures relate to the national gallery of Scotland, the Scottish national portrait gallery, the Scottish national gallery of modern art, national galleries of Scotland exhibitions held in the royal scottish academy, Duff house in Banff and, for the first time, Paxton house, Berwick.
Forestry Sales (Wales)
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 12 November, Official Report, columns 151-52, if he will list the woods that have been placed on the market by Forest Enterprise in Wales since 12 November 1996, to the latest available date, indicating in each cause (a) the name of the wood, (b) the unitary authority it lies in, (c) the number of hectares it covers, (d) the date on which it was put up for sale and (e) if a public access agreement (i) has been agreed and (ii) is being negotiated. [20979]
Mr. Kynoch: The subject of the question relates to matters undertaken by Forest Enterprise. I have asked its chief executive, Mr Gordon Cowie, to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Gordon M. Cowie to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 19 March 1997:
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The Secretary of State for Scotland has asked me to reply to your Question about the sale of Forestry Commission woodlands in Wales.
There have only been three properties placed on the open market, since 12 November 1996, as follows:
| Unitary authority/name of property | Area (ha) | Date placed on market | Access agreement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhondda Cynon Taff | |||
| Hendre Rhys | 18.3 | 17 January 1997 | No |
| Powys | |||
| New Forest Plantation | 9.0 | 27 November 1996 | Yes |
| Tack Wood | 63.0 | 27 November 1996 | Yes |
Forestry Authority Schemes
Mr. Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the total payments to private landowners under forest authority schemes in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Scotland; and if he will list the 20 largest recipients in Scotland, indicating in each case the purpose of the award and the amount for each year since 1993. [20976]
Mr. Kynoch: The total payments to woodland owners by the Forestry Commission are set out in the table.
| £ million | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year ending 31 March | GB | Scotland |
| 1993 | 21.8 | 10.3 |
| 1994 | 29.8 | 13.4 |
| 1995 | 32.8 | 17.3 |
| 1996 | 32.1 | 16.3 |
| 1997(18) | 27.5 | 14.5 |
(18) To end of February.
The Forestry Commission does not keep a record of cumulative payments made to each owner. To list the 20 largest recipients would require a manual search through a very large number of individual grant scheme files. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Health Budget
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the estimated planned reduction in administrative costs projected for the Scottish health budget in each year for which a projection has been made in 1996-97 prices. [20972]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Health boards' management costs reduced by £3 million in 1995-96. NHS trusts and health boards will achieve savings of £14 million in 1996-97 and health boards will achieve savings in 1997-98 of £17 million.
Nursery Vouchers
Mr. Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give a breakdown of the costs to public funds of the nursery voucher scheme for (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98 and (c) 1998-99. [20975]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: The Government plan to spend some £3.8 million, £47.4 million and £70 million on the pre-school education voucher initiative in Scotland in the three years 1996-97, 1997-98, and 1998-99 respectively.
Crime
Mr. Kirkwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of crimes were
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carried out in each police authority in Scotland by people under the age of (a) 20 and (b) 16 years in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [21275]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
Information is not collected centrally on the estimated age of offenders responsible for recorded crimes. Information is collected on the age of offenders convicted in the criminal courts. This could not, however, be relied on to provide an answer to the question, as not all recorded crimes are cleared up by the police and most persons under 16, and some persons aged 16 and 17, suspected of offending are not prosecuted but are referred to the reporter to the children's panel.
Assisted Businesses (Political Objectives)
Mr. Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if businesses or organisations with declared political objectives can, or could obtain, financial support from (a) the Welsh Development Agency and (b) the Development Board for Rural Wales. [20611]
Mr. Hague: Support cannot be given for political purposes. Any business or organisation can apply for financial support from the WDA and/or DBRW provided the application relates to a specific project or initiative which matches the economic or environmental criteria and objectives of an appropriate WDA or DBRW scheme. Aid to some sectors is restricted or prohibited by the rules of some schemes and by EU state aid rules.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will undertake a review into the establishment of an education standard spending assessment in Wales equivalent to that which exists in England. [20526]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: With the agreement of the Welsh Local Government Association, standard spending assessments for local authorities in Wales are unhypothecated. It is for each authority to decide its spending priorities taking account of its statutory responsibilities and its own view of needs and priorities. The current system should encourage local accountability.
National Museum and Gallery of Wales
Mr. Faulds: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the attendance figures for 1996 reported by the national museum and gallery of Wales, including its outstations, with the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1995. [20112]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: A total of 819,605 persons visited the national museum and galleries of Wales during 1996, an increase of 5 per cent. compared with the number of 780,344 in 1995.
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