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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 23 March 1989
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Self-defence
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he has taken following the Women's National Commission's 1985 recommendation that he give attention to the need for self-defence education, as part of physical education, in secondary schools, and to the necessary training for physical education teachers.
Mrs. Rumbold : At the time of that recommendation, responsibility for determining the content of the school curriculum locally rested with individual schools, governing bodies and local education authorities as appropriate. The Education Reform Act 1988, however, establishes a national curriculum which includes physical education. Arrangements for considering the content of guidelines on PE will be set up by June 1990 with a view to beginning to implement them in schools from autumn 1992. Self-defence education may be among the matters to be considered. It will be for LEAs to determine the necessary in-service training for teachers of PE, and for teacher training institutions to decide upon the content of initial teacher training courses.
School Leavers
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the change in the proportion of school leavers in the north-west going on to further or higher education in the north-west since 1979-80.
Mr. Jackson : In 1979-80, 18.2 per cent. of leavers from maintained schools in the North-west intended to proceed to a course of further or higher education. The comparable figure for 1986-87 was 27.6 per cent.
Pupil-teacher Ratios
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the change in pupil-teacher ratios in the north-west since 1979.
Mr. Butcher : The pupil-teacher ratios in maintained primary and secondary schools in the north-west in 1979 and 1988 were as follows :
January each year |1979 |1988 |Percentage change ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Primary |23.6 |22.5 |-4.7 Secondary |16.4 |15.0 |-8.5
Indic Languages
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has
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received urging that Indic languages be specified as eligible for the modern foreign languages foundation subject ; what ethnic minority representatives and other interested parties he is meeting to discuss this matter ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Rumbold : Indic languages are among those specified as eligible for inclusion in the national curriculum, within the framework of the proposals announced by my right hon. Friend in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Knapman) on 3 March at columns 338 and 339. Since that announcement, my right hon. Friend has received a small number of representations on this matter, including one from the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden). The proposals already take account of earlier
representations about the inclusion of Indic languages, which had been received after the passage of the Education Reform Act. My right hon. Friend has no present plans to meet ethnic minority representatives or other parties, but will consider carefully any further representations made during the consultation period on the proposals.
Teaching as a Career
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will provide further resources towards recruiting people back to teaching ; and if so if he is prepared to increase the budget to its teaching as a career promotion unit.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend announced on 27 January that the remit of TASC would be extended for a further three years beyond April 1990. The future level of funding of the unit is at present under consideration. An important part of TASC's activity will continue to be to promote the re-employment of former teachers.
Teachers' Pay and Conditions
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if the gap between the rate support grant additional allocation and the net effect of improvements to teachers' pay and conditions of employment, will be met in full from central sources.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend is consulting the local authority associations and others about his proposals to give effect to the recommendations of the interim advisory committee on teachers' pay and conditions in 1989-90. Paragraph 4 of my right hon. Friend's consultative letter of 16 February made clear that the Government do not intend to revise the rate support grant settlement on account of those proposals. The additional cost to local authorities of the proposals will be offset in part by the greater than expected reduction in the employers' contributions to the teachers' superannuation scheme which my right hon. Friend announced on 10 February.
University Staff
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what additional funds have been earmarked specifically for university staff salaries for each of the years (a) 1989-90, (b) 1990-91 and (c) 1991-92 ; and what conditions have been attached.
Mr. Jackson : Following the 1987 salary settlement the Government have earmarked £67 million for the salaries
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of academic staff in institutions to be funded by the Universities Funding Council in 1989-90 on condition that the universities produce satisfactory evidence of the implementation of staff appraisal. The Government have also offered to make additional sums available over the three years for staff pay if all industrial action ceases and settlements which introduce differentiation into the pay of lecturers and technicians are agreed.Nursery and Primary Education
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total capital expenditure for nursery and primary education for each of the last 10 years in absolute cash terms and in real terms using 1979 as the base year.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information available is as follows :
|c|Local authority expenditure on nursery
and primary education|c|
|c|England only|c|
£000
|Cash |Real terms
--------------------------------------------
1979-80 |104,712 |104,712
1980-81 |135,813 |114,561
1981-82 |106,902 |82,163
1982-83 |107,998 |77,517
1983-84 |122,904 |84,310
1984-85 |144,000 |94,131
1985-86 |161,187 |99,895
1986-87 |177,768 |106,585
1987-88 |n.a. |-
1988-89 |n.a. |-
The above figures do not include expenditure for voluntary aided and special agreement primary and nursery schools, for which information is not readily available.
Teacher Training
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many students who entered initial teacher training are specialising in nursery education for each of the last 10 years ;
(2) how many students who entered all forms of initial teacher training are specialising in early years education, up to seven years old, for each of the last 10 years ;
(3) how many post graduate certificate for education students have entered initial teacher training specialised in primary school teaching for each of the last 10 years ;
(4) how many students have entered all forms of initial teacher training specialising in primary education for each of the last 10 years.
Mrs. Rumbold : Information is not available on the number of students entering initial teacher training who specialise in nursery education. The first table gives the numbers of students entering courses of initial teacher training specialising in early years education since 1986. The second table shows numbers of students entering primary courses of initial teacher training since 1982. These are the years for which, in each case, information is available.
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|c|Table 1. Recruitment to
Initial Teacher Training
Courses for Early|c|
|c|Years.|c|
|1986 |1987 |1988
-------------------------------
PGCE |292 |437 |836
BEd |1,105|1,168|1,771
|--- |--- |---
Total |1,397|1,605|2,607
Source: DES annual survey of
recruitment to initial teacher
training.
Note: Figures include all
courses of initial teacher
training for the age ranges
3-7, 3-8, 4-7 and 4-8.
|c|Table 2. Recruitment to Primary
Phase Courses of Initial
Teacher|c|
|c|Training|c|
|PGCE |BEd |Total
-----------------------------------
1982 |1,357 |5,078 |6,435
1983 |1,740 |5,682 |7,422
1984 |2,003 |6,254 |8,257
1985 |2,328 |6,466 |8,794
1986 |2,707 |6,257 |8,964
1987 |3,134 |6,970 |10,104
1988 |3,727 |7,646 |11,373
Source: DES annual survey of
recruitment to initial teacher
training.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the governors of a school seeking grant-maintained status, and where a ballot of parents has received a majority yes vote, will have the same right to comment on objections subsequently submitted by the local education authority as the authority itself has for commenting on objections to section 12 notices ; and whether this applies where the school in question is itself the subject of a section 12 notice.
Mrs. Rumbold : Objections to proposals from schools seeking grant- maintained status are submitted direct to my right hon. Friend and are not automatically shown to the governing body. However in considering the proposals my right hon. Friend takes steps to ensure that he has all the information necessary for him to make a decision, including where appropriate comments from the governing body on objections to the proposals. Proposals for grant-maintained status are treated in the same way for a school which is also the subject of a section 12 notice, but in that case both proposals are considered together.
Lecturers (Dispute)
Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action is being considered to ensure that students' examinations will not be jeopardised as a result of the current lecturers' dispute.
Mr. Jackson : This is a matter for the university authorities. I understand that they are actively considering a range of possibilities.
National Curriculum
Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if sufficient copies of the national curriculum are available in schools in preparation for September.
Mrs. Rumbold : Following the publication of national curriculum documents for mathematics and science on 14 March, initial copies were sent to schools in time to arrive before the end of their Easter term. A second instalment
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will be distributed by local education authorities after Easter, which will allow one copy for every primary teacher and secondary teacher of mathematics or science. It is intended that national curriculum documents for key stage 1 in English will be distributed to schools in early June.Derbyshire County Council
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much Derbyshire county council has spent on primary and secondary education each year since 1981-82, in total, and per pupil.
Mrs. Rumbold : The available information is given in the table :
|c|Net institutional expenditure<1> and spend per pupil<2>|c|
Primary schools Secondary schools
|Net institutional|Unit cost |Net institutional|Unit cost
|expenditure |expenditure
Year |£ million |£ |£ million |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981-82 |46.9 |575 |60.1 |795
1982-83 |49.5 |635 |65.5 |870
1983-84 |51.7 |690 |70.5 |950
1984-85 |54.1 |730 |73.6 |1,020
1985-86 |58.1 |780 |78.1 |1,125
1986-87 |65.3 |875 |86.6 |1,305
1987-88 |<3>75.2 |<3>990 |95.9 |1,530
<1>Net institutional expenditure includes the cost of salaries and wages, premises and certin supplies and
services. It does not include the cost of school meals, central administration and inspection, debt charges
or revenue contributions to capital outlay.
<2>The figures are based on LEA expenditure returns to DoE and pupil number returns to DES.
<3>The figures for 1987-88 include nursery schools.
Education Costs
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much the Government have spent on primary and secondary education each year since 1981-82.
Mrs. Rumbold : Local authorities determine their own education budgets. Rate support grant paid by the Government in support of local authority spending is not hypothecated to individual services, and education specific grants are not necessarily paid on a sectoral basis. The information requested is not therefore available.
Books (Expenditure)
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the spending on books in England per primary school child for every year for the last 10 years.
Mrs. Rumbold : While local authorities' expenditure returns to the Department of the Environment show separate figures for books, these need to be treated with caution because of differing local authority practices in allocating spending between books and equipment. The table therefore shows spending figures for books and equipment together as well as for books separately.
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|c|Expenditure per pupil on books and equipment|c|
|c|Primary schools, England, £ cash|c|
|Books and equipment|Within which, books
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1977-78 |11.40 |3.60
1978-79 |12.80 |4.20
1979-80 |14.30 |4.70
1980-81 |16.00 |5.30
1981-82 |18.20 |5.90
1982-83 |20.90 |7.00
1983-84 |22.80 |7.10
1984-85 |23.50 |7.30
1985-86 |24.90 |7.50
1986-87 |28.00 |8.20
The Government's expenditure plans for 1989-90 allow for provision per primary pupil for books and equipment to increase by 32 per cent. in cash over the 1986-87 level.
Nursery Schools
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing, by local authority areas, the number of full-time equivalent 0-4 year-olds in nursery schools in January.
Mrs. Rumbold : In January 1988 the number of full-time equivalent pupils under five in maintained nursery schools in each local education authority in England is given in the table.
|c|Full-time equivalent pupils under 5 in maintained nursery
schools|c|
|c|January 1988|c|
|Full-time equivalent
|pupils
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Barking |0
Barnet |268
Bexley |99
Brent |225
Bromley |0
Croydon |244
Ealing |275
Enfield |0
Haringey |210
Harrow |0
Havering |0
Hillingdon |60
Hounslow |0
Kingston upon Thames |150
Merton |0
Newham |515
Redbridge |0
Richmond upon Thames |36
Sutton |120
Waltham Forest |192
Inner London |3,173
Birmingham |1,592
Coventry |250
Dudley |221
Sandwell |162
Solihull |0
Walsall |436
Wolverhampton |422
Knowsley |0
Liverpool |374
St. Helens |39
Sefton |160
Wirral |146
Bolton |339
Bury |111
Manchester |473
Oldham |0
Rochdale |494
Salford |675
Stockport |507
Tameside |180
Trafford |0
Wigan |108
Barnsley |91
Doncaster |0
Rotherham |207
Sheffield |460
Bradford |355
Calderdale |65
Kirklees |332
Leeds |150
Wakefield |232
Gateshead |32
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |549
North Tyneside |178
South Tyneside |373
Sunderland |537
Isles of Scilly |0
Avon |1,194
Bedfordshire |834
Berkshire |1,081
Buckinghamshire |256
Cambridgeshire |374
Cheshire |434
Cleveland |77
Cornwall |74
Cumbria |411
Derbyshire |687
Devon |153
Dorset |0
Durham |1,354
East Sussex |143
Essex |132
Gloucestershire |0
Hampshire |130
Hereford and Worcester |0
Hertfordshire |913
Humberside |605
Isle of Wight |0
Kent |41
Lancashire |1,765
Leicestershire |25
Lincolnshire |195
Norfolk |202
North Yorkshire |186
Northamptonshire |307
Northumberland |88
Nottinghamshire |322
Oxfordshire |290
Shropshire |83
Somerset |0
Staffordshire |1,435
Suffolk |55
Surrey |252
Warwickshire |378
West Sussex |230
Wiltshire |0
England |30,501
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Examinations
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of school leavers in each education authority achieved five or more GCSE passes or equivalent qualifications, in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Butcher [holding answer 14 March 1989] : The information is given in the table. The figures relating to examination results are derived from a 10 per cent. sample of school leavers from each school. Sampling error is a major consideration where information for individual local education authorities is concerned. To help mitigate the effects of sampling error, the figures are presented in the form of a three-year aggregate covering the academic years 1984-85, 1985-86 and 1986-87.
|c|School leavers from maintained secondary schools: aggregation for|c|
|c|the academic years 1984-85, 1985-86 and 1986-87|c|
|Numbers (thousands) |Percentage achieving 5+
|graded results at GCE
|O-level/CSE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local education
authorities:
Barking |6.68 |52.99
Barnet |10.35 |81.55
Bexley |10.40 |76.54
Brent |8.68 |68.55
Bromley |10.27 |77.22
Croydon |12.88 |73.76
Ealing |9.77 |67.14
Enfield |10.40 |68.94
Haringey |6.05 |65.12
Harrow |6.01 |82.86
Havering |11.03 |72.26
Hillingdon |8.81 |77.98
Hounslow |8.31 |66.43
Kingston upon Thames |4.65 |76.77
Merton |6.13 |70.80
Newham |9.08 |57.27
Redbridge |8.29 |65.14
Richmond upon Thames |4.39 |77.45
Sutton |6.22 |81.99
Waltham Forest |7.19 |53.41
Inner London |73.43 |58.68
Birmingham |48.88 |66.67
Coventry |14.27 |69.80
Dudley |14.52 |75.96
Sandwell |14.54 |61.35
Solihull |10.82 |83.27
Walsall |14.87 |70.07
Wolverhampton |12.90 |63.72
Knowsley |7.98 |50.25
Liverpool |21.10 |53.51
St. Helens |8.87 |68.43
Sefton |13.77 |69.72
Wirral |15.47 |70.72
Bolton |12.93 |74.40
Bury |8.09 |75.28
Manchester |22.23 |51.15
Oldham |9.78 |64.93
Rochdale |9.38 |65.25
Salford |11.03 |62.65
Stockport |12.82 |70.67
Tameside |11.56 |70.42
Trafford |8.63 |73.93
Wigan |17.29 |74.67
Barnsley |11.28 |62.85
Doncaster |13.50 |67.04
Rotherham |13.54 |68.46
Sheffield |25.64 |72.19
Bradford |22.22 |57.56
Calderdale |9.01 |63.15
Kirklees |18.26 |70.04
|Leeds |30.57
Wakefield |16.09 |65.94
Gateshead |9.35 |66.42
Newcastle upon Tyne |10.32 |63.18
North Tyneside |8.85 |75.82
South Tyneside |7.14 |76.33
Sunderland |14.82 |72.81
Avon |37.28 |76.77
Bedfordshire |22.42 |76.70
Berkshire |29.00 |82.76
Buckinghamshire |24.90 |81.57
Cambridgeshire |24.31 |74.04
Cheshire |44.91 |75.46
Cleveland |29.60 |73.01
Cornwall |20.70 |77.39
Cumbria |21.55 |74.71
Derbyshire |43.65 |77.25
Devon |38.27 |73.53
Dorset |25.27 |82.43
Durham |27.86 |72.83
East Sussex |22.63 |74.68
Essex |66.24 |71.56
Gloucestershire |21.82 |78.51
Hampshire |66.78 |82.73
Hereford and Worcester |27.54 |78.36
Hertfordshire |43.45 |76.16
Humberside |41.81 |71.27
Isle of Wight |4.93 |78.09
Kent |65.93 |77.54
Lancashire |62.58 |69.45
Leicestershire |38.28 |73.51
Lincolnshire |24.93 |77.10
Norfolk |31.34 |63.59
North Yorkshire |29.25 |79.18
Northamptonshire |26.16 |77.45
Northumberland |12.90 |80.08
Nottinghamshire |46.85 |74.34
Oxfordshire |22.94 |81.17
Shropshire |19.32 |79.30
Somerset |17.79 |73.86
Staffordshire |48.29 |76.99
Suffolk |25.80 |70.16
Surrey |37.43 |83.44
Warwickshire |21.04 |81.56
West Sussex |27.20 |84.67
Wiltshire |21.43 |73.45
PRIME MINISTER
Canadian Prime Minister (Visit)
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister if during the visit of the Canadian Prime Minister to Downing street on 13 March, she discussed the prospects of the sale of British nuclear submarines to Canada.
The Prime Minister : Yes, expressing the hope that the Canadian order would go to the United Kingdom. Mr. Mulroney told me he had still to take a decision.
NHS (Clwyd)
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Prime Minister if she will visit the Rhyl offices of the National Union of Public Employees to hear its views on (a) Her Majesty's Government's proposals for the National Health Service and (b) Clwyd health authority's proposals to close Lluesty hospital, Holywell ; and if she will make a statement.
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The Prime Minister : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will be meeting a range of organisations in Wales to hear their views on the White Paper "Working for Patients".
I understand that no proposal to close Lluesty hospital has been put to Clwyd health authority. It would therefore not be appropriate for my right hon. Friend or myself to enter into any discussions at this stage.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Prime Minister (1) if she will meet the Clwyd local medical committee and representatives from 40 general practitioner practices in Clwyd to hear the views of general practitioners concerning the White Paper "Working for Patients" ; (2) if she will visit Wrexham-Mealar district hospital, Glan Clwyd district hospital and Mauceot community hospital to meet representatives of the nursing and ancillary staffs concerning Her Majesty's Government's White Paper "Working for Patients" : and if she will make a statement ;
(3) if she will meet Clwyd general practitioners to discuss their views of the National Health Service Review "Working for Patients" ; (4) if she will meet the Clwyd local medical committee at Tegfryn, Mold, Clwyd, to discuss matters concerning the National Health Service ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : No. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will be meeting a range of organisations in Wales to hear their views on the White Paper "Working for Patients".
Policing (North Wales)
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Prime Minister if she will visit North Wales police headquarters, Colwyn Bay, to meet the chief constable and the Gwynedd-Clwyd police committee to discuss police manning levels and to discuss developments in the level of crime ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I have no plans to visit the North Wales police. Since the Government took office 51 extra police posts have been approved for North Wales. The police authority has applied for the further 10 posts in 1990-91. This will be considered. It is encouraging to see that recorded crime in North Wales fell by 6 per cent. in 1988.
Hazardous Waste
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Prime Minister who is representing the United Kingdom at the global convention on the control of transboundary movement of hazardous waste ; and if she will make a statement on the remit of the United Kingdom's representative.
The Prime Minister : The United Kingdom's delegation to the diplomatic conference at Basle to draw up a convention on the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes was led by the Minister for Housing, Environment and Countryside. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment will make a statement about the conference as soon as possible.
Dangerous Substances
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Prime Minister, if she will make a statement on the role of each Government
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Department involved in the licensing of dangerous substances, the controls over the shipment of such substances, the rescuing and disposal of cargoes containing such substances in case of accident and the monitoring and clearing up of the after effects of any accident.The Prime Minister : The Department of the Environment is responsible for the general oversight of waste, including dangerous waste. A scheme for the notification of new substances is run jointly by the Health and Safety Executive and DoE. On registration of agricultural pesticides, the lead is taken by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The Department of Transport is responsible for the regulation of the carriage of dangerous goods including waste, with specialist advice from the Health and Safety Executive and the Civil Aviation Authority as necessary.
EC Directive 84/631/EEC, and the related United Kingdom regulation, deal with the transfrontier shipment of hazardous waste. International movement of dangerous substances by sea is governed by the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods) Regulations 1981 and in practice means compliance with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code.
The marine pollution control unit in DTp is responsible for dealing with spillage and clearing up after accidents. If such goods are brought ashore here for disposal they would have to be dealt with at a suitable facility by a local authority. In serious cases advice on disposal would be available from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
Tornado Aircraft
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister what discussions she has had with the Jordanian Government concerning the sale of eight Tornado aircraft to that country.
The Prime Minister : I have discussed the possible sale of Tornado to Jordan with King Hussein on a number of occasions, most recently on 13 March. I understand that the Jordanian Government, after reviewing their financial commitments, and in the light of the current economic situation in Jordan, have informed us that they would like to postpone further negotiations on the sale until more favourable circumstances prevail. This has been agreed.
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister what contacts she has had with the West German Government concerning the sale of eight Tornado aircraft to Jordan.
The Prime Minister : Since the Tornado is a collaborative project I have had occasion to have discussions with the Federal Republic of Germany authorities about financing arrangements for this possible sale.
Newspapers (Legal Proceedings)
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Prime Minister what injunctions or other legal proceedings have been brought by the Government or members of the Government against individual newspapers or publishing organisations over the last 12 days.
The Prime Minister : I am not aware of any such proceedings.
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Pamella Bordes
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Prime Minister what discussion took place between on the one hand Downing street officers or representatives of Her Majesty's Government and on the other hand representatives of national newspapers on the question of Miss Pamella Bordes between Sunday 12 March and Monday 20 March.
The Prime Minister : Downing street press officers discharge their duties as appropriate.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Junior Counsel
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Attorney-General if he will provide for the latest available 12 month period (a) the number of junior counsel regularly practising and (b) the number of junior counsel regularly practising in the criminal courts ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The number of junior counsel regularly practising is 5,343 for the 12-month period ending 1 October 1988 ; the number of junior counsel regularly practising in the criminal courts is 2,926 as at 17 March 1989 .
Figures supplied by the Bar Council based on those registered as at 1 October.
Figures supplied by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund as at 17 March 1989.
Crown Prosecution Service
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Attorney-General if he will provide for the latest available 12-month period in respect of the Crown prosecution service (a) the total number of lawyers employed, (b) the number of barristers employed, (c) the number of solicitors employed, and (d) the number of cases prosecuted in (i) the magistrates' courts and (ii) the Crown court, (e) the average cost of cases prosecuted in the magistrates' courts, (f) the average cost to the Crown prosecution service, of prosecution in the Crown court excluding counsels fees and (g) the average counsel's fee in Crown court cases ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The latest 12-month period for which the information requested is available is from January to December 1988. The information requested is as follows :
(a) 1,539.
(b) 549.
(c) 990.
(d) (i) 1,354,000 defendants.
(ii) 123,000 defendants.
(Records are kept of the number of defendants, rather than the number of cases, prosecuted in each court).
(e) £47.
(f) £170.
(g) £267.
Legal Reform
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Attorney-General what instructions the Director of Public Prosecutions has given to lawyers in the service of the Crown prosecution service on the public expression of any views they might have on the Lord Chancellor's Green Papers, and on their sending such views to the headquarters for collation.
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The Solicitor-General : The Director of Public Prosecutions has reminded all members of the Crown prosecution service that, in accordance with standard civil service practice, they should not comment publicly on matters of current political controversy. The director has expressed the view that if members of staff wish to make comments on issues raised in the Green Paper, the most appropriate course is to send them to the working party which has been set up under the chairmanship of the deputy director/chief executive to consider the Department's response to the Lord Chancellor's proposals.
Entry Clearance
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Attorney-General how many appeals against entrance clearance were upheld by adjudicators in 1987 and 1988 ; and in how many of such appeals entry clearance thereafter was issued by the relevant immigration authorities.
The Solicitor-General : In 1987, 1,612 appeals against refusal of entry clearance were upheld ; in 1988, 978 such appeals were upheld. Figures on the number of such appeals where entry clearance was subsequently granted by the immigration authorities are not available.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Miss Pamella Bordes
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he has made, or is intending to make, any changes in the vetting system for pass applications following upon the issue of a pass to Miss Pamella Bordes.
Mr. Wakeham : As the hon. Member will be aware, the House has already approved the Services Committee's Second Report, "Access to the Precincts of the House", which includes recommendations about security matters. These are in the process of implementation.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Lord President of the Council (1) what inquiries have been instituted by the authorities of the House into the issue of a pass to Miss Pamella Bordes ;
(2) whether the matter of the providing of a pass to Miss Pamella Bordes has been referred to those persons responsible for security in the House ;
(3) what instructions have been given to the police as to the nature of inquiries that should be made into the background of applications for a pass for entry to the House.
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Mr. Wakeham : It is not appropriate to comment in detail on matters of security of the House.
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