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New Deal
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral answer of 21 January 1998, Official Report, column 1001, by what date the Minister expects welfare savings resulting from the New Deal in Wales to exceed the cost of the New Deal programme in Wales. [25787]
2 Feb 1998 : Column: 531
Mr. Hain:
The New Deal for 18-24 year olds started this month in Swansea and West Wales and will be extended from April to the rest of Wales. We expect the New Deal to make a real difference in improving the employability of our young people and helping them to move from unemployment into work. The impact of the New Deal and our other welfare policies will be carefully evaluated and the question of benefit savings will be considered as part of this.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much new deal money is allocated for Alyn and Deeside; if he will make a statement. [26153]
Mr. Hain:
The level of funding to be made available to the Employment Service District of North East Wales, which covers Alyn and Deeside, will depend on the take up; it is not possible to be more precise at this stage.
The New Deal will help young and long term unemployed people to secure sustainable employment. We want to give people the self-respect that comes from working and we want to give the Welsh economy the talent and skills that it needs to compete now and into the next century. Through the New Deal and our other Welfare to Work policies we will attack unemployment and the despair that it brings and help people to escape from poverty and welfare dependency.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many New Deal places he proposes for Alyn and Deeside. [26152]
Mr. Hain:
The latest forecast by the Employment Service suggests that some 400-500 placements will be required in the Local Authority area of Flintshire, which covers the Parliamentary Constituency of Alyn and Deeside, for New Deal clients aged 18-24 in the year April 1998 to March 1999.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the principal objective of the New Deal is. [26154]
Mr. Hain:
The principle objectives of the New Deal are to help young and long term unemployed people into work and to enhance their employability.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many non-career civil servants have been appointed to his Department since 1 May 1997. [25839]
Mr. Ron Davies:
The number of casual, fixed term appointees and Special Advisers appointed since 1 May 1997 is 169.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what mechanisms he has put in place to ensure the Government's objective of promoting sustainable development is reflected in the outcome of the comprehensive spending reviews for his Department. [25904]
Mr. Win Griffiths:
My right hon. Friend is currently carrying out a Comprehensive Spending Review of the Department's spending priorities. The Government's
2 Feb 1998 : Column: 532
objective of promoting sustainable development will continue to be taken fully into account as part of that Review.
Mr. Alan W. Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the average net annual income for farmers in Wales from 1990 to the present. [25788]
| Year | Income £000/Farm |
|---|---|
| 1989-90 | 12.3 |
| 1090-91 | 10.5 |
| 1991-92 | 14.0 |
| 1992-93 | 16.9 |
| 1993-94 | 18.3 |
| 1994-95 | 11.6 |
| 1995-96 | 23.2 |
Housing Starts
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many new home starts there were in (i) Flintshire and (ii) the constituency of Alyn and Deeside in 1995-96; and how many are proposed for 1998-99. [26155]
Mr. Win Griffiths: In 1995-96 there were 449 new home starts in Flintshire in all sectors. 278 of these were in the constituency of Alyn and Deeside. Information on the number of all starts proposed for 1998-99 is not available. I will write to my hon. Friend with estimated housing association starts as soon as the information is available.
School Nurses
Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many school nurses were employed by each health authority in Wales in each of the past five years. [26210]
Mr. Win Griffiths: Information concerning directly employed NHS nursing staff by area of work is collected centrally but school nurses are included with "Other community nursing staff" and not, therefore, separately identifiable. The following table shows the whole-time equivalent number of "Other 1st level community nursing staff" in post at 30 June 1997. (This excludes district nurses and health visitors.) Although they are employed by NHS Trusts they are shown in the table under the Health Authority area in which the Trust is situated.
| Health authority area | Number |
|---|---|
| Bro Taf | 109 |
| Dyfed Powys | 109 |
| Gwent | 42 |
| Morgannwg | 36 |
| North Wales | 115 |
| Total | 411 |
2 Feb 1998 : Column: 533
School Governors
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many disputes between minor authorities as to co-option on school governing bodies his Department has had to resolve in each of the last 10 years. [26156]
Mr. Hain: School governors decide who to co-opt onto their governing body. The Secretary of State has no locus in these appointments. The Secretary of State has a role when two or more town/community councils are entitled to nominate a representative to a single place on a governing body and cannot reach agreement on the appointment. In the last 5 years the Secretary of State has adjudicated in one case. Information covering the last 10 years is not readily available.
Prescription Fraud
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on prescription fraud. [26697]
Mr. Win Griffiths: The responsibility for detecting and preventing fraud in the NHS in Wales lies with Health Authorities. To assist with the detection and prosecution of fraud in the Family Health Services, including prescription fraud, I announced on 26 November the establishment of a new anti-fraud unit within the Welsh Health Common Services Authority. My officials are now working closely with Health Authorities and WHCSA to produce detailed plans of action for combating fraud in the FHS. When complete, these plans will be published.
Inward Investment
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to ensure the wider geographical spread of inward investment in Wales. [27148]
Mr. Hain: My right hon. Friend and I are determined that the whole of Wales will enjoy economic and industrial success through the attraction of inward investment and, importantly, through the growth of indigenous companies. The Welsh Office and the Welsh Development Agency will continue to focus on those areas which need the most help and we will make every effort to steer new inward investment projects to our priority areas.
Correspondence
Mr. Ian Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how long on average it takes his Department to answer letters from hon. Members; what target date his Department sets; what percentage receive replies within the target date; and what assessment he has made of how long it takes to deliver a letter after it has been typed. [27029]
Mr. Ron Davies: For the period 1 May-31 December 1997 the average length of time taken to reply to letters was 13.65 working days. The target date set by my Department is 15 working days, and the percentage which received replies within the target date was 73.5 per cent. Statistics are not kept on the length of time it takes to deliver a letter after it has been typed.
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