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Higher Education
14. Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the cost of waiving the fourth year of fees liable to be paid by students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland attending undergraduate courses at Scottish universities. [49929]
Mr. Wilson: The total estimate is some £2 million based on the latest student numbers and estimates of their family income. Of course, students from less well-off families will not pay fees in any of the four years.
21. Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations his Department has received on the waiving of the fourth year of fees liable to be paid by students from England, Wales or Northern Ireland attending undergraduate courses at Scottish universities. [49936]
21 Jul 1998 : Column: 480
Mr. Wilson:
I have received representations on the waiving of fourth year fees of those liable to pay, from student organisations, higher education representatives, Members of Parliament and others.
Miss Kirkbride:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received (a) in support of and (b) opposing the policy of introducing tuition fees for students. [49928]
Mr. Wilson:
I have received several representations both in support of and opposing the policy of introducing tuition fees. The proposal emerged from the report of the Dearing Committee which was established with cross-party support. The Committee of Scottish Higher Education Principals, for example, are in favour of the policy as a way of introducing more money into higher education.
15. Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about trends in farm income in Scotland. [49930]
Mr. Macdonald:
Farm incomes tend to fluctuate. The latest Scottish Office Statistics show that 1997 was a difficult year, despite the highest ever amount of direct support being paid to Scottish farmers, but that 1994, 1995 and 1996 were all good years for much of Scottish Agriculture.
26. Mr. Flight:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received concerning recent trends in farm income in Scotland. [49941]
Mr. Macdonald:
Farm incomes were discussed when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and my noble Friend Lord Sewel met the National Farmers Union of Scotland on 26 June.
16. Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next intends to visit a naval establishment in Scotland to discuss the future of such establishments. [49931]
Mr. Dewar:
The future of naval establishments in Scotland is primarily a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. I have no plans at present to visit a naval establishment.
17. Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the date and electoral boundaries for the next local government elections in Scotland. [49932]
Mr. Macdonald:
My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations from hon. Members, local authorities, and others both about the date and electoral boundaries for the next local government elections. We believe that the benefits of a combined poll for local authority elections and the Scottish Parliament will outweigh the disadvantages.
21 Jul 1998 : Column: 481
18. Mr. Home Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his review of the planning guidelines for opencast mining. [49933]
Mr. Wilson:
The current review of Scottish planning policy for opencast coal will be finalised following the announcement of the conclusions reached on the Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation being carried out by my right hon. Friend, the President of the Board of Trade.
19. Mr. Browne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans the Government have for the regeneration of rural town centres. [49934]
Mr. Macdonald:
Regeneration of rural town centres is a matter for local authorities and for the enterprise agencies. The Government provide a framework through National Planning Policy Guidelines, which aim to ensure that planning decisions support rural town centres and encourage good practice through projects like the Small Towns Initiative.
20. Mr. Ernie Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the chairmen of health boards to discuss the Carter review of acute services. [49935]
Mr. Galbraith:
I met the Chairmen of the East Region Health Boards on Friday 26 June, the day after the publication of the report of the Carter Review of acute services, and that was one of the subjects we discussed.
25. Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received in connection with the reconfiguration of NHS trusts in Scotland. [49940]
Mr. Galbraith:
My right hon. Friend and I have received 206 letters and one petition in connection with the reconfiguration of NHS trusts in Scotland. Copies of all the representations have been passed to the relevant health boards.
Mr. Moore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many NHS employees have retired early on health grounds in the last five years in (a) each health board and (b) Scotland. [51099]
Mr. Wilson:
The number of NHS employees in Scotland who have retired early on health grounds in each of the last five years is given in the table.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1993-94 | 1,214 |
| 1994-95 | 1,082 |
| 1995-96 | 1,064 |
| 1996-97 | 960 |
| 1997-98 | 972 |
Figures split by employer are not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
21 Jul 1998 : Column: 482
Higher Still
22. Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of the implementation of Higher Still. [49937]
Mr. Wilson: Higher Still will bring important improvements to post-16 education in Scotland which are urgently needed. To ensure that these benefits are delivered to our young people on time, over £20 million will have been directly invested in Higher Still by the time the first classes start in 1999. This investment is providing a comprehensive package of support for all Higher Still courses, as well as funding the national staff development programme.
Increasingly, though, the challenge of implementing Higher Still will become a matter for local authorities, schools and colleges. The partnership approach has led to significant progress in the past year in the development of local implementation plans. I am confident that these plans are achievable and will be achieved.
Employment (Dumfries and Galloway)
23. Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to visit Dumfries and Galloway to discuss the employment situation. [49938]
Mr. Wilson: My right hon. Friend has no immediate plans to visit Dumfries and Galloway, but is kept in close touch with developments. I met, last February, Dumfries and Galloway Enterprise to discuss economic development issues.
Special Advisers
24. Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will seek the permission of his Department's special advisers to make public their actual salaries. [49939]
Mr. Dewar: Special Advisers are paid within a national scale at a point which relates to their previous salary in their prior employment. The April 1998 salary range is £24,836-£74,954. Their salaries are negotiated individually and are confidential within this range to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned.
Caledonian MacBrayne
27. Mr. Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of Caledonian MacBrayne to discuss operational issues. [49942]
Mr. McLeish: I expect to meet the Managing Director of Caledonian MacBrayne and his colleagues on 1 September.
Fishing Industry
28. Mrs. Gorman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of the fishing industry in Scotland to discuss the prospects for the industry. [49943]
Mr. Macdonald:
My noble Friend the Minister for Agriculture, the Environment and Fisheries met representatives of the fishing industry on 11 June to discuss the introduction of Fixed Quota Allocations from 1 January 1999.
21 Jul 1998 : Column: 483
Mr. Hood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for improving the (a) status and (b) performance of the Accounts Commission; and if he will make a statement. [50868]
Mr. Macdonald:
Our Manifesto commitment confirms that we are willing to consider extra powers for the Accounts Commission, within Best Value, to monitor local authority performance and promote efficiency. The Scottish Office is currently undertaking the quinquennial Policy and Financial Management Review of the Accounts Commission. This will examine how well the Commission is working, provide reassurance that it is producing the required outputs at an appropriate price and identify any areas for corrective action.
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