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Hedgerow Regulations
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what wildlife conservation research skills will be required by local authorities in Wales to apply the proposed hedgerow regulations. [21296]
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make a statement on the protection afforded to the linnet under the draft hedgerow regulations; [21087]
- (2) what wildlife conservation expertise will be required by local authorities in Wales to apply the draft hedgerow regulations. [21094]
Mr. Jonathan Evans: The research undertaken by ADAS to develop hedgerow evaluation criteria took account of the skills and advice currently available to local authorities.
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what will be the estimated cost to each local authority in Wales of implementing the draft hedgerow regulations. [21088]
Mr. Evans: The costs of implementing the draft regulations as laid in Parliament are included within local authorities' standard spending assessments but are not separately identified.
Schot Nippon Factory
Mr. John Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he is now in a position to reply to the right hon. Member for Aberavon regarding the Schot Nippon factory and its financing. [21040]
Mr. Hague:
I have no outstanding correspondence from the right hon. Member on this matter.
20 Mar 1997 : Column: 713
Mr. John Morris:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new guidelines he has issued to the Welsh Development Agency as regards financial incentives to encourage inward investment to West Glamorgan and other areas. [21041]
Mr. Hague:
On 19 March I wrote to the chairman of the WDA to inform him of the agency's strategic targets and priorities for 1997-98; a copy has also been placed in the Library of the House.
The guidance stated that the agency should concentrate on the creation and safeguarding of jobs through inward investment and company development. Moreover, the benefits should be spread throughout Wales, particularly in the remaining areas of higher unemployment in the south Wales valleys and the western areas of Wales; the targets which have been set reflect that and the agency is expected to recognise, within UK and EC limits, the extra costs of locating in areas outside of the eastern M4 and A55 corridors.
Mr. Richards:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what estimate he has made of the number of children who will take up the nursery voucher scheme and the voucher income accruing in each local education authority area; [21075]
Mr. Jonathan Evans:
On the basis of the estimates from local education authorities of the number of voucher-bearing children in their schools in the 1997 summer term, the total annual income for each authority would be:
(2) what estimate he has made of (a) the number of children who will take up the nursery voucher scheme in (i) the private sector and (ii) the independent sector and (b) the corresponding voucher income in each local authority area. [21050]
| Authority | Estimate of numbers | £ income |
|---|---|---|
| Anglesey | 650 | 715,000 |
| Blaenau Gwent | 1,100 | 1,210,000 |
| Bridgend | 1,309 | 1,439,900 |
| Caerphilly | 2,148 | 2,362,800 |
| Cardiff | 3,400 | 3,740,000 |
| Carmarthenshire | 2,100 | 2,310,000 |
| Ceredigion | 750 | 825,000 |
| Conwy | 1,066 | 1,172,600 |
| Denbighshire | 900 | 990,000 |
| Flintshire | 1,763 | 1,939,300 |
| Gwynedd | 1,267 | 1,393,700 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 750 | 825,000 |
| Monmouthshire | 636 | 699,600 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 1,640 | 1,804,000 |
| Newport | 1,850 | 2,035,000 |
| Pembrokeshire | 1,370 | 1,507,000 |
| Powys | 1,552 | 1,707,200 |
| RCT | 2,770 | 3,047,000 |
| Swansea | 2,535 | 2,788,500 |
| Torfaen | 1,081 | 1,189,100 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 1,512 | 1,663,200 |
| Wrexham | 1,585 | 1,743,500 |
The number of voucher-bearing children in the private and independent sectors will not be known until those
20 Mar 1997 : Column: 714
vouchers are redeemed. Some 450 schools, nurseries and play groups in private and voluntary sectors are registered to take part in the voucher scheme from April.
Mr. John Morris:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 12 March, Official Report, column 240, if he will take steps to provide facilities to segregate smaller vehicles on the occasions when it is safe for them to use the bridge. [21151]
Mr. Gwilym Jones:
Due to the preceding interchanges not being suitable for upgrading to provide segregation facilities, and the fact that a suitable adjacent alternative route is available, it is not proposed to provide segregation. Efforts are being concentrated on improving driver information about closure arrangements by the provision of electronic message signing.
Mr. Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many incidents of category 1 and 2 pollution have taken place in Welsh rivers in the first (a) six months and (b) nine months of 1996-97 and in each equivalent period for the pervious five years. [21331]
Mr. Hague:
Information in the form requested is not held centrally. The Environment Agency, and its predecessor the National Rivers Authority, publishes annual reports on "Water Pollution Incidents in England and Wales", copies of which are available in the Library of the House. I understand that the report for 1996 is to be published shortly.
Mr. Betts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of bills to his Department for the financial year 1995 to 1996 were paid (a) in accordance with agreed contractual conditions and (b) within 30 days of receiving goods and services or the presentation of a valid invoice where no contractual conditions applied. [21209]
Mr. Hague:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 18 July 1996, Official Report, columns 613-14. Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of NHS general dental practitioners do not currently provide crowns and bridges. [21336]
Mr. Hague:
The information is not available centrally in the form requested. However, information on the number of dentists not claiming payment for the provision of crowns and bridges is shown in the table:
Note:
(18) Dentists not claiming for the provision of either crowns or bridges are also included in the individual totals for crowns and bridges shown in the table.
20 Mar 1997 : Column: 715
Baglan Hospital
Mr. John Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what advertisements have now been issued inviting private finance initiative tenders for the Baglan hospital; and what dates have been fixed or estimated for the next stages in the contractual arrangements. [21116]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Glan-y-Mor NHS trust placed an advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 20 February 1997. Twenty-eight companies responded and will be given a prospectus and pre-qualification questionnaire by the trust. The trust is to organise a briefing day on 25 March with the intention that completed pre-qualification questionnaires be returned by early April. This will enable a shortlist of six to eight companies to be interviewed.
Care for the Vulnerable
Mr. John Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he is in a position to reach a decision as to what steps are now to be taken in the matters regarding care for the vulnerable, referred to him by Mr. Michael Power. [21150]
Mr. Hague: I am writing to the right hon. Member today about this case.
Velodrome Cymru Centre
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the implications for the development of cycling in (a) Blaenau Gwent and (b) Wales of the decision of the national lottery panel on sport to turn down an application for funding for the Velodrome Cymru centre in the Ebbw Fach regeneration area. [21279]
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