3 Jul 1997 : Column: 217
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 3 July 1997
WALES
Economic Regeneration
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects his review of economic regeneration in Wales to be completed; and if, and in what form, he intends to publish the results. [5161]
Mr. Hain: My right hon. Friend and I intend to publish our proposals for an economic powerhouse for Wales in the White Paper which will issue before the summer recess and certainly well before the referendum. I will also be setting out my strategy for the Welsh economy in the coming months on which I will be consulting widely.
Welsh Assembly
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if there will be a requirement in job advertisements for the Welsh Assembly that fluency in Welsh would be essential or desirable. [5299]
Mr. Ron Davies: That will be a matter for the Assembly to decide.
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the date of the Welsh Assembly referendum. [6103]
Mr. Davies: The Welsh referendum will follow shortly after the Scottish. Announcements will be made in due course about the precise dates of each referendum.
School Polling Stations
Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to avoid the need to close schools for use as polling stations in the forthcoming referendum on devolution. [6073]
Mr. Ron Davies: The organisation of the poll in each local authority area is a matter for the relevant returning officer. Polling places to be used in the referendum are to be the same as those used in council elections, but the returning officer has discretion, if he considers special circumstances exist, to designate some other place for taking the poll. In areas where schools are used for polling, it is therefore open to returning officers, if they consider special circumstances to exist, to designate other places as polling places for the referendum.
Transport Policy
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to integrate transport in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [6099]
Mr. Ron Davies:
I welcome my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement on 5 June honouring our election manifesto commitment to
3 Jul 1997 : Column: 218
developing an integrated transport policy. This will, of course, embrace Wales and Welsh Office Ministers and officials will participate fully in drawing-up proposals for implementing the new policy, taking into account the views of a wide range of interested organisations.
We will, in any case, be looking closely at all transport issues in Wales during the course of the next few months, including priorities for the roads programme as part of the strategic review promised in the Welsh election manifesto. I intend to set the strategic review of the roads programme in the broader context of the development of a balanced, integrated transport policy for the Principality. The review will, therefore, consider not only the relative priority of particular routes and schemes within the programme, and the scope for altering those priorities, but wider issues including the need to manage the network more effectively and the scope to promote alternative transport modes where appropriate.
The review will consider afresh all schemes currently in the Welsh roads programme with the exception of the A55 dualling across Anglesey. In that case, I have decided that the strategic importance of the improvement is so great that it must proceed without delay subject, of course, to the successful completion of the legal and statutory procedures.
I will be initiating a process of wide public consultation on the review, and will publish a consultation document shortly. This consultation document will set out the present position, summarise the issues for consideration and suggest possible options for change, and will invite views from the widest possible range of organisations. I hope to announce the conclusions of the review next spring.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if postal votes will be available in the proposed referendum on devolution in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [6347]
Mr. Ron Davies:
Postal votes will be available in the usual way for those voters who need them for the referendum.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been his Department's expenditure in each of the last five years on the boards of non-departmental public bodies; and if he will make a statement. [6323]
Mr. Ron Davies:
Details of expenditure are published annually in the Cabinet Office publication, "Public Bodies", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the non-departmental bodies which will be abolished in the event of a Welsh Assembly; what will be the savings to public funds of this process; and if he will make a statement. [6325]
Mr. Davies:
Details of our proposals will be included in the White Paper on a Welsh Assembly which we shall be publishing shortly.
3 Jul 1997 : Column: 219
Mr. Alan Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the contracts of chairmen and chief executives of Welsh NHS trusts which terminate in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000. [6498]
Mr. Win Griffiths:
The appointments of the following chairmen terminate as listed. Details of Chief Executives' contracts are not held centrally but in the NHS generally they have permanent or three year contracts which are rolled forward annually.
| Trust | |
|---|---|
| (a) 1997-98 | |
| Mr. B. Thompson | Carmarthen and District |
| Mrs. L. George | Pembrokeshire and Derwen |
| Mr. I. Kelsall | East Glamorgan |
| Mr. R. H. Davies | Gwynedd Community Health |
| Mr. G. Drake | Gwynedd Hospitals |
| Sir Donald Walters | Llandough Hospital |
| Mr. R. Jenkins | Llanelli/Dinefwr |
| Mr. E. Rea | Mid Glamorgan Ambulance |
| Dr. G. Jones | Nevill Hall and District |
| Dr. B. Wolfenden | North Wales Ambulance |
| Mr. W. B. Davies | Rhondda Health Care |
| Mr. A. E. Robarts | Wrexham Maelor Hospital |
| (b) 1998-99 | |
| Mr. F. P. Crawley | Bridgend and District |
| Mr. D. L. Crobsy | Cardiff Community Healthcare |
| Mr. R. Hopkins | Glan-y-Mor |
| Dr. T. Williams | South and East Wales Ambulance |
| Mr. A. S. Gould | University Dental Hospital |
| Mr. D. W. C. Morgan | UHW Healthcare |
| Mr. J. P. R. Hayes | West Wales Ambulance |
| (c) 1999-2000 | |
| Ms E. Ebenezer | Ceredigion and Mid Wales |
| Mr. E. L. Fitzhugh | Clwydian Community Care |
| Mr. E. M. W. Griffith | Glan Clwyd |
| Mr. D. F. Jessopp | Glan Hafren |
| Mrs. F. N. Peel | Gwent Community Health |
| Professor Michael Vickers | North Glamorgan |
| Hon. L. A. T. Lewis | Powys Health Care |
| Mr. J. H. Button | Swansea |
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Indonesian Military and Police Personnel
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list by name and rank the Indonesian military, police, security and paramilitary police officers in respect of whom visa applications have been made to attend the International Police and Security Expo 97; and if he will identify those which were granted. [5692]
Mr. Fatchett [holding answer 27 June 1997]: We have not been asked to issue visas specifically for Indonesians attending the International Police and Security Expo 97.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas have been granted to Indonesian (a) military, (b) security, (c) police, (d) paramilitary and (e) special forces personnel visiting Britain in the last 12 months for which figures are
3 Jul 1997 : Column: 220
available; for what purpose; and what is the policy of the Government on granting visas to the above categories of personnel. [5693]
Mr. Fatchett
[holding answer 27 June 1997]: The British Embassy in Jakarta issued 29,931 visit visas for the United Kingdom last year. Statistics are not kept for the different categories of applicant and the information requested could therefore only be produced at disproportionate cost. All visa applications are processed in accordance with the criteria contained in the Immigration Rules.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from what budget the United Kingdom will fund its additional contribution to the UN. [6353]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Negotiations on the level of assessed contributions to be paid by Member States to UN budgets for 1998 and beyond will resume at the UN General Assembly in October. It is therefore too early to predict what change, if any, there might be in the level of the United Kingdom's assessed contribution.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |