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Public Bodies
Dr. Wright:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which are subject
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to (a) investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, (b) scrutiny by the Audit Commission, (c) scrutiny by the National Audit Office, (d) statutory provisions for open government, (e) performance indicators and (f) provisions under the citizens charter. [20932]
Mr. Hague:
The information requested is as follows:
(a) the Arts Council of Wales (ACW), the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (CBDC), the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), the Development Board for Rural Wales (DBRW), Housing for Wales (HfW), the Residuary Body for Wales (RBW), the Sports Council for Wales (SCW), the Wales Tourist Board (WTB), the Welsh Language Board (WLB) and the Agricultural Wages Committees are all open to the scrutiny of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration;
Dr. Wright:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) annual reports, (b) annual accounts, (c) the minutes of meetings, (d) the agendas of meetings and (e) a register of members' interests; and if this is in each case (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary. [20893]
(b) the Audit Commissioner is the external auditor of the Residuary Body for Wales;
(c) the Comptroller and the Auditor General is the external auditor of all Welsh executive NDPBs except the RBW, Wales Youth Agency (WYA), HfW, and CBDC, to whose books and papers he nevertheless has access a) under the National Audit Act 1983 for the purpose of carrying out examinations on value for money, and b) by agreement, for the purpose of examining questions of regularity and propriety;
(d) all are encouraged to adopt procedures under the code of access to Government Information;
(e) all identify, publish and report against key performance measures in their annual reports other than the Higher and Further Education Funding Councils for Wales (HFEFCW), who give details in their corporate plan, which is also published.
(f) all are subject to the provisions of the citizens charter.
Mr. Hague: This information requested is as follows.
- (a) All--under statute, charter or other controlling documents. The report of work by the Agricultural Wages Committee is included in the annual report of the Agricultural Wages Board;
- (b) all except the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and the Agricultural Wages Committee--under statute or charter;
- (c) none;
- (d) none;
- (e) all have adopted or are in the process of adopting a code of practice based on the "Code of Best Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies" published by HM Treasury in June 1994 and further guidance issued by HM Treasury in January 1997. They publish or will then publish or make available such a register for inspection.
Forest Enterprise (Sales)
Ms Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each unitary authority in Wales the number of woods which Forest Enterprise intends to put up for sale by the end of the financial year 1996-97. [20980]
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Mr. Jonathan Evans:
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:
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients suffering from glaucoma were treated by general practitioners during (a) 1992-93, (b) 1993-94, (c) 1994-95 and (d) 1995-96. [21084]
Mr. Gwilym Jones:
The information requested is not held centrally.
Mr. Richards:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes he is proposing to make to the cash limits for his Department for the current financial year. [21427]
Mr. Hague:
The local authority capital cash limit--WO/LACAP--will be reduced by £6,465,000 from £518,206,000 to £511,741,000; the Housing for Wales cash limit--WO/HFW--will be increased by £6,465,000 from £96,137,000 to £102,602,000.
The transfer of £6,465,000 from the local authority capital cash limit to the Housing for Wales cash limit is in respect of work undertaken by housing associations on behalf of local authorities.
Mr. Richards:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what progress has been made with the sale of Housing for Wales's loan portfolio. [19567]
Mr. Hague
[pursuant to his reply 6 March 1997]: The purchase price will be subject to changes in the underlying portfolio and to movements in the gilt rate until completion on 26 March. I cannot therefore, give a figure for the final sale receipt until after Parliament has risen. However, I shall write to my hon. Friend when the final figure is available, and place copies of the letter in the Library of the House.
The Secretary of State for Wales has asked me to reply to your Question about the sale of Forestry Commission woodlands in the period up to the end of the current financial year.
We have no plans to market any new woodlands in Wales before 31 March 1997.
Army Training Land
Mr. Riddick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current requirement for Army training land in the United Kingdom; and what arrangements there are for the stewardship of such land. [21457]
Mr. Soames:
I have today published a document, "Striking a Balance '97", the second report on the management of the major Army training areas, following the original "Striking a Balance", published in October 1995. The new document describes the work going on in
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a number of areas to ensure that the land on which the Army trains is managed with as much sensitivity as possible to the requirements of local people.
The document also reports on the work we have done to analyse the Army's requirement for training land in the United Kingdom. This work shows that, following the return to this country of many units from Germany, and the introduction of new systems, the Army has a significant shortfall in training land in the UK. The report also shows a number of ways in which this shortfall can be reduced including by development of existing facilities and, in particular, the proposed development of Otterburn.
A copy of "Striking a Balance '97" has been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Campbell-Savours:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which countries Army sales teams were deployed in 1991. [20106]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
According to our records, Army sales teams--now called export support teams--were deployed in the following countries during 1991: Brunei, France, Morocco, The Netherlands, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Campbell-Savours:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those countries where loan service personnel were deployed in 1991. [20174]
Mr. Soames:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 March 1997, Official Report, columns 507-10.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what quantities of Fenitrothion were taken to the Gulf for use at British military establishments as part of Operation Granby in 1990-91; up to what date it was used; and what additional stocks were (a) obtained locally and (b) used; [19086]
Mr. Soames:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 4 March 1997, Official Report, columns 587-88.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his annual departmental budget was spent in Wales in each of the past five years; what (a) non-departmental Government bodies and (b) executive agencies responsible for his Department operate in Wales; and what land his Department currently (i) owns and (ii) leases in Wales, indicating the area of each site. [20707]
Mr. Soames:
It is not possible to split the total defence budget by geographical area. Defence expenditure on equipment and associated direct employment in Wales for the most recent five years for which analysis is available
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is in table 1.9 of "UK Defence Statistics 1996", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. For each financial year from 1990-91 to 1993-94 inclusive the estimated proportion of the total equipment expenditure spent in Wales was about 1 per cent. In the financial year 1994-95 the proportion is estimated to have been about 1.5 per cent.
The National Employer's Liaison Committee is my Department's only non-departmental Government body to operate in Wales.
Five Ministry of Defence agencies maintain operational establishments in Wales: the Army Initial Training Organisation; the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency; the RAF maintenance group; the RAF training group; and the Army Base Storage and Distribution Agency. In addition the Army base Repair Organisation has a contracts office in Cardiff.
The Defence Estate Organisation, which is scheduled to launch as an agency on 18 March, maintains a deputy defence land agent office at Brecon, and is responsible for the management of the defence estate throughout Wales.
(2) what quantities of Neocydal 60 EC were obtained in the Gulf by British forces in 1990 and 1991 in Operation Granby; what languages were printed on the use instructions for this insecticide; what translation facilities were available for interpreting these instructions; and what use in action was made of Neocydal. [19093]
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