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Homeless People (Emergency Shelters)
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many places have been made available by his Department as emergency shelters for the homeless over the Christmas period in each of the last five years for which figures are available, showing the locations of those places; [64306]
- (2) how many places have been planned by his Department as emergency shelters for the homeless over the forthcoming Christmas period and in what locations; [64307]
(3) what was the total expenditure for the provision of emergency Christmas shelters for the homeless over the past five years in Scotland; and what estimate he has made of the resources to be made available for the purpose during Christmas. [64308]
Mr. Macdonald: The statutory responsibility for dealing with homelessness in any area and for deciding whether any emergency shelters are required over the Christmas period or at other times of year rests with the relevant local authorities. The Scottish Office provides them with financial support that can be used for such purposes.
The Rough Sleepers Initiative was established by The Scottish Office to provide financial assistance to local authorities to help them develop accommodation and services for rough sleepers. This can include assistance, where appropriate, for emergency shelters and other direct access accommodation. £16m was allocated for this Initiative over the 3 years from 1997-98 to 1999-2000 and I recently announced additional funding of £14m to allow the Initiative to be extended to 2002. Heriot Watt and Stirling universities have been commissioned by the Department to undertake a preliminary evaluation of the Rough Sleepers Initiative and are due to report by September 1999.
Information on the number of places made available in emergency shelters over the forthcoming Christmas period and anticipated and past expenditure on emergency shelters is not held centrally.
Mrs. Ray Michie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to compensate owners of
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vehicles which are forced to use the Tarbert-Portavadie ferry service when the A83 is closed for repair during weekends in February and March 1999. [64263]
Mr. Macdonald:
The legal position that compensation is not payable in such cases is well established but, in view of the difficulties that the closures will cause in this particular instance, the option of providing a temporarily enhanced ferry service is being considered.
Mr. Prior:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much the advertisement, which was produced by the Women's Unit and aimed at preventing women within a family from being assaulted by a male member of that family, cost to produce; and under which departmental budget head the cost will fall. [64302]
Mrs. Liddell:
The Scottish Domestic Abuse Advertising Campaign, to which I think the hon. Gentleman refers, has been both initiated and funded by The Scottish Office. It is aimed at increasing public awareness of the problem of violence against women which occurs across all ages and social groups. The cost of producing the advertisement was £105,000.
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the role of the Welsh Office in respect of the appointment of members of the Board of S4C--Sianel Pedwar Cymru; and what is his policy in respect of such appointments. [63158]
Mr. Michael:
Appointments to the Board of S4C are made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. I am consulted on these appointments at the short-listing stage and before appointments are finally made.
My Department supports the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the administrative work involved in making these appointments. Two vacancies for members of S4C were advertised in July, and my Department has handled inquiries and the receipt of applications. One of my officials will chair the interview panel, which will also include the Chair of S4C and an independent member.
My policy is to offer my right hon. Friend every assistance in selecting for these appointments the persons best qualified and suited to hold them, bearing in mind the range of skills and knowledge required for the Board.
Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much the Government plans to spend on public information about the National Assembly. [63405]
Mr. Michael:
Information will be made available to the public in a number of different ways--through publication of leaflets and documents; via information on the Assembly's web site on the internet; and through the arrangements we are putting in place for broadcasting the Assembly's plenary and committee sessions.
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Provision for the first year of the Assembly has not yet been finalised. The £580,000 annual cost of the broadcasting contract, which I announced recently, will be shared between the Assembly and the resident broadcasters--BBC Wales Cymru; HTV Wales Cymru and S4C.
Additionally, my department is running an information campaign prior to the first elections for the Assembly. Some £550,000 will be spent on the first phase of this activity.
Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many ministerial visits to schools in the Monmouth constituency have taken place since 3 September 1998. [63406]
Mr. Michael:
One. I visited Croesyceiliog Comprehensive School on 11 December.
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultation he has initiated relating to future funding of United Kingdom programmes located in Wales which are currently outside the provisions of the Barnett formula; and if he will make a statement. [63477]
Mr. Michael:
The Government of Wales Act 1998 provided for the Transfer of Functions Order to be made to transfer Ministerial functions to the National Assembly for Wales. This Order was published in draft for public consultation on 12 November. Until the content of the Order has been finalised it is not possible to state with certainty what functions will transfer. Work is continuing within Government to finalise the text of the Order and to establish whether any programme's expenditure relates to those functions which will transfer. Funds will be transferred as necessary on this basis.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. [63913]
Mr. Michael:
The information requested is as follows:
All expenditure figures are to end of November 1998.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the standard spending assessment for education is per pupil in Flintshire local education authority; and if he will make a statement. [63939]
Mr. Hain:
Standard spending assessments in Wales are not earmarked for any particular service, with the exception of the police. My right hon. Friend announced on 9 December 1998, Official Report, column 229, that he proposes to provide an additional £70 million for
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education in the local government revenue settlement for 1999-2000 and the allocation for Flintshire will be announced next year.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is taking to reduce delays in the statementing of children; and if he will make a statement. [63940]
Mr. Hain:
The Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations 1994 set time limits for making assessments and statements of SEN. Latest Audit Commission figures, for 1996-97, show that less than half of the draft statements were prepared within the deadline. The Government are committed to improving performance on statementing. The approaches we intend to adopt will be set out in the Welsh Office Action Programme on SEN which is being prepared in the light of the consultation on "The BEST for Special Education" green paper. We will publish the programme early in the New Year.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much state and agency aid, including Regional Selective Assistance has been given to projects in the counties of (a) Clwyd and (b) Flintshire since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [63936]
Mr. Hain:
A range of assistance, including grant aid, has been provided by the Welsh Office, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Welsh Development Agency, the Development Board for Rural Wales, the Wales Tourist Board, the Training and Enterprise Councils, local authorities and other business development organisations. Information on all of these is not held centrally.
(a) £98,228
(b) £1,640,021
(c) £55,128
Total expenditure £1,793,377.
| Clwyd | Flintshire | |
|---|---|---|
| Regional Selective Assistance | 118.0 | 61.2 |
| Regional Investment Grant | 1.9 | 0.9 |
| Regional Innovation Grant | 3.5 | 1.5 |
In total, these grants supported some 636 different projects with a projected total investment value of around £1 billion, and which should create or safeguard over 18,000 jobs.
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