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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 28 January 1991
HOME DEPARTMENT
Magistrates Courts
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give an estimate of the cost of setting up and running the agency for administering the magistrates courts centrally, as suggested by his Department's scrutiny committee ; and what are the comparisons with existing costs.
Mr. John Patten : Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte was appointed last year to prepare such an assessment. Its report was completed in September and I refer the hon. Member to the copy that was placed in the Library at the time.
Police Searches
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Leicestershire on the circumstances surrounding the search of the home of the hon. Member for Leicester, East's constituent Mr. Peach, of 15 Rushey close, Leicester.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the chief constable of the Leicestershire constabulary that there is no record of a search being made of the home of Mr. Peach at the address given.
Women's Issues
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total annual cost of convening the ministerial group on women's issues.
Mrs. Rumbold : I regret that this information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are on the secretariat of the ministerial group on women's issues.
Mrs. Rumbold : At present servicing the ministerial group is part of the duty of five members of staff, the equivalent of three and a half full- time posts.
Prison Boilers
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total oil-fired boiler capacity within Her Majesty's prisons.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, in the year 1989-90, 41.6 per cent. of the total energy used in Her Majesty's prisons was derived from oil, representing 609,440 megawatt hours. Virtually all this would have been produced by oil-fired boilers.
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Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 with particular reference to the length of time people may be detained without trial ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The Government have reviewed the 1964 Act in the light of recommendations made by the Butler committee on mentally abnormal offenders which reported in 1975. The Government recognise that it is desirable to amend the Act by providing for an examination by a court of the case against an accused person found unfit to plead. Under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983, a person admitted to hospital following a finding of unfit to plead under the provisions of the 1964 Act may apply to a mental health review tribunal for his discharge in the first six months of his detention and at specified intervals thereafter.
Age of Consent
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the age of consent in each European Community country for heterosexuals, male homosexuals and female homosexuals ; and if he will say what consideration he is giving to the possibility of harmonising such laws within the European Community.
Mr. John Patten : The information requested is not readily available and I will write to my hon. Friend. But the treaty of Rome authorises no harmonisation role for the European Community in this sort of area.
Television Licence Fee (Evasion)
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were committed to remand centres by individual name in 1989 and 1990 for the non-payment of fines for evasion of the television licence fee, detailing in each case the amount of the fine, the length of imprisonment and whether other offences of a similar or different nature were considered at the same time ; and whether he will estimate the cost to public funds of imprisonment in each year.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information requested is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Broadcasting Ownership
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received following his announcement on 4 December 1990 about his proposed supplementary broadcasting ownership rules ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : I have received a number of representations from hon. Members and others about the proposals in my announcement on 4 December relating to dual ownership of Channel 3 licences. Some of those who wrote to me supported these proposals, but a number urged me to consider restricting co-ownership of licences for adjacent areas. I have now decided that, in addition to the proposals that I set out in that announcement, it will initially not be possible for a single person to control two
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licence areas that are contiguous. Two licence areas will be deemed to be contiguous if they are adjacent with a significant land border between them. This restriction will last only until the beginning of 1992. Between then and the end of 1993 all takeovers of Channel 3 licences will, by virtue of section 21 of the Broadcasting Act 1990, be prohibited unless they have the prior approval of the Independent Television Commission. Thereafter, it will be possible for a licensee to acquire a contiguous neighbour through takeover, provided that the two licences in question were not both in respect of areas designated as large.Broadcasting (Sporting Events)
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what list he has drawn up for the purposes of section 182 of the Broadcasting Act 1990.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Following consultation with broadcasters, the rights holders of the events concerned, the Sports Council and the Central Council of Physical Recreation, I have drawn up a list including 10 events. These are the same as the events included in the list drawn up for the purposes of section 14 of the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984 which were set out in a written answer on 12 July 1985. They are :
(1) The Commonwealth Games when held in the United Kingdom. (2) Cricket Test Matches involving England.
(3) The Derby horse race.
(4) The FIFA World Cup Finals.
(5) The FA Cup Final.
(6) The Grand National horse race.
(7) The Olympic Games.
(8) The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
(9) The Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
(10) Additionally in Scotland, the Scottish FA Cup Final. I am continuing to consult the interests concerned over possible changes to the list and will announce my conclusions in due course.
Bomb Scares
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is given to police forces about how they should involve the owners and/or
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managers of (a) private property and (b) public property when searching for explosive material during a bomb scare.Mr. Lloyd [holding answer 24 January 1991] : Advice is given to police forces by the crime prevention centre at Stafford. However, the nature of the advice given by police forces will depend on local circumstances and needs. Crime prevention officers are attached to all forces and they will be glad to give advice to anyone who seeks it on the searching of buildings for explosive material during bomb scares.
Police Statistics
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable for the number of personnel employed by South Yorkshire police authority (a) in total and (b) for each division or equivalent, for each year since 1979, distinguishing civilian personnel separately.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The tables show the available information. No records were kept of the strength at divisional level before 1982 or of civilian staff strength at divisional level before 1985.
South Yorkshire Police
Table 1
Police and civilian strength (at 31
December)
|Police |Civilian|Total
---------------------------------------------
1979 |2,644 |863 |3,507
1980 |2,842 |891 |3,733
1981 |2,874 |800 |3,674
1982 |2,875 |768 |3,643
1983 |2,858 |789 |3,647
1984 |2,873 |871 |3,744
1985 |2,850 |818 |3,668
1986 |2,846 |939 |3,785
1987 |2,934 |947 |3,881
1988 |2,941 |977 |3,918
1989 |2,941 |1,004 |3,945
1990 |2,981 |1,020 |4,001
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Table 2
Strength by police division
(at 31 December)
|1982|1983|1984|1985|1986|1987|1988|1989|1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A Division
Police |479 |452 |488 |490 |509 |497 |504 |491 |490
Civilian |- |- |- |116 |138 |136 |133 |135 |138
B Division
Police |378 |361 |369 |375 |385 |386 |386 |397 |392
Civilian |- |- |- |90 |98 |97 |97 |101 |107
C Division
Police |378 |364 |380 |380 |378 |386 |388 |383 |392
Civilian |- |- |- |87 |108 |112 |112 |107 |110
D Division
Police |453 |448 |454 |453 |443 |438 |456 |446 |455
Civilian |- |- |- |78 |89 |83 |82 |82 |83
E Division
Police |281 |283 |284 |286 |285 |299 |300 |294 |298
Civilian |- |- |- |56 |57 |57 |56 |54 |54
F Division
Police |285 |277 |284 |281 |286 |293 |304 |304 |304
Civilian |- |- |- |54 |62 |60 |63 |65 |64
Headquarters
Police |569 |646 |558 |524 |524 |555 |560 |577 |594
Civilian |- |- |- |335 |387 |402 |434 |460 |464
Recruits in training |52 |27 |56 |61 |36 |80 |43 |49 |56
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Private Summons
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Attorney-General what guidelines he has issued to the Treasury Solicitor on his appearance at magistrates courts for hearings relating to applications for private summons taken out against Government Ministers.
The Attorney-General : None. The Treasury Solicitor handles such matters in accordance with the ordinary arrangements for the representation of Government Ministers in relation to legal proceedings by or against them in an official capacity.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Attorney-General what was the cost to public funds of the appearance of the Treasury Solicitor at a hearing in Bath and Wansdyke magistrates court in 1990 relating to an application for a private summons taken out by Diana Francis and Joan Staines against the right hon. Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher).
The Attorney-General : The cost to public funds was £796.80.
Marital Rape
Mr. Carrington : To ask the Attorney-General what powers are available to the prosecuting authorities where the anonymity of a victim of marital rape is prejudiced as a result of publication or broadcast of the name of the accused.
The Attorney-General : Under section 4 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976, as amended by section 158 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, after a person is accused of a rape offence it is an offence to publish or broadcast matter likely to lead members of the public to identify a woman as the complainant in relation to that accusation. The publication or broadcast of the name of a husband accused of raping his wife is likely in particular cases to lead to the identification of the complainant. The prohibition applies during the whole of the woman's lifetime, unless the courts make a specific direction to the contrary. It is a defence that the woman has given written consent for the matter to appear, but the defence is not available if any person has unreasonably interfered with her peace or comfort with intent to obtain the consent. The maximum penalty is a £2,000 fine.
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Attorney-General what was the average waiting time from the appeal being made against an attendance allowance decision and the appeal decision for the years 1988, 1989 and 1990.
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The Attorney-General : The office of the social security commissioners does not record information on the average waiting times for decisions on appeals in relation to individual categories of benefit.
PRIME MINISTER
Lithuania and Latvia
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make direct representations to the President of the Soviet Union concerning recent actions by the Soviet Government in Lithuania and Latvia ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : We have made our concerns known very clearly to the Soviet authorities, both bilaterally and in conjunction with partners and allies. There should be no doubt of our condemnation of the actions of Soviet troops in Vilnius and Riga and their tragic consequences. We call urgently on the Soviet authorities to withdraw their troops and to negotiate seriously with the elected authorities in the Baltic states.
Lobby Reporters
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister if he will change the terms under which parliamentary lobby reporters are briefed by his press secretary so that information may be attributed to the Prime Minister's office in place of Government sources.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Saudi Arabia (Mail)
Mr. Beith : To ask the Prime Minister whether he will take steps to ensure that mail can be got through to United Kingdom civilians working in Saudi Arabia from their families, using military postal facilities if necessary and where possible.
The Prime Minister : In spite of delays caused by difficulties with air services, the Post Office is making every effort to operate the best possible service to Saudi Arabia and mail is getting through. The Ministry of Defence would be willing to consider what help it could provide, if this becomes necessary.
Royal Prerogative
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will bring forward proposals to institute a system for notifying (a) Parliament and (b) the electorate when the royal prerogative has been exercised ; (2) if he will make it his policy to introduce legislation to ensure that the authority of Parliament is required for (a) the declaration or continuation of war and (b) other exercises of the royal prerogative ;
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(3) if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce ministerial responsibility to Parliament for the powers currently exercised by the royal prerogative.The Prime Minister [holding answer 25 January 1991] : No.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements exist for the Prime Minister to be notified when the royal prerogative is used.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 25 January 1991] : With very few exceptions, the royal prerogative comprises powers that are now exercised by Ministers subject to the constitutional conventions.
Declaration of War
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister (1) what would be the effects of an official declaration of war on the maintenance of an Iraqi diplomatic capability in the United Kingdom ;
(2) whether the United Kingdom is at war with Iraq ;
(3) what representations he has received concerning parliamentary consideration of the declaration of war.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 25 January 1991] : The United Kingdom is not in a state of war with Iraq. British forces are engaged, together with the armed forces of Kuwait and other coalition partners, in hostilities against Iraq under the authority of the United Nations Security Council. The rules of international law applying in cases of armed conflict apply to these hostilities, notably the Geneva protocol of 1925 and the four Geneva conventions of 1949. We will observe our obligations under those treaties scrupulously and expect the Government of Iraq to do the same.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Advisory Companies
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley of 17 January, Official Report, column 571, if he will list the wide range of groups from which he seeks advice on presentational aspects of policy ; which of them are paid and which unpaid ; what are their terms of reference in each case ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hurd : A complete list of all groups from which the FCO seeks advice could be compiled only at disproprtionate cost. The following are illustrative examples :
Mr. E. R. I. Allan OBE, is employed as a consultant to advise on British official participation in international exhibitions. The British Atlantic Committee and Peace Through NATO advise on the presentation of defence and
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disarmament issues. This advice is informal and unpaid although BAC and PTN do receive grant aid from the government.Hariri Page were commissioned in 1990 to advise on methods of evaluating information work overseas, including market research techniques, targeting, training and reporting procedures. Moon Communications has recently completed a consultancy on the management of FCO publications. This included the production of a design manual to ensure consistency of presentation, advice on specific publications and technical assistance on visual presentation.
Shandwick PLC have provided advice on an informal and unpaid basis on public and media response to the Gulf Crisis. Young and Rubicam have provided advice on public perceptions of the crisis on the same basis.
Latvia
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent meeting with the Soviet ambassador about the situation in Latvia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs summoned the Soviet charge on 21 January to underline our concern over the actions of Soviet troops in Riga on 20 January which resulted in a number of deaths. He again urged the Soviet authorities to withdraw their troops from the streets in the Baltic republics and to engage in serious negotiation with the democratically elected authorities in the republics.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Reading Standards
Mr. Bellotti : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what studies have been undertaken into the connection between standards of reading in primary schools and borrowing levels of books from public libraries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : I am aware of no such studies.
GCSE
Mrs. Currie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the proportions of pupils gaining grades A to C in General Certificate of Secondary Education in (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) a modern language in 1990, by rank order of education authority.
Mr. Fallon : Information for 1990 is not yet available. The table gives information for leavers from maintained schools, for each local education authority, aggregated over the three years 1987-89.
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Maintained school leavers in England
Aggregation over 1987, 1988, 1989
Percentage of leavers with grades A-C at GCSE/O-level/CSE
Modern foreign languages Mathematics English
Local education authority |rank |rank |rank
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barking |5.3 |(95) |17.5 |(93) |25.8 |(95)
Barnet |25.8 |(4) |44.5 |(1) |50.5 |(4)
Bexley |14.5 |(47) |33.6 |(16) |41.3 |(32)
Brent |14.8 |(44) |27.0 |(63) |39.0 |(44)
Bromley |18.1 |(19) |33.1 |(22) |43.8 |(18)
Croydon |14.3 |(50) |26.8 |(66) |39.5 |(41)
Ealing |11.1 |(82) |27.0 |(62) |32.1 |(79)
Enfield |18.8 |(16) |33.3 |(19) |42.1 |(27)
Haringey |10.8 |(84) |19.3 |(91) |29.9 |(89)
Harrow |18.1 |(18) |41.0 |(3) |55.2 |(1)
Havering |12.7 |(68) |29.7 |(46) |39.3 |(42)
Hillingdon |12.0 |(73) |31.6 |(32) |37.8 |(54)
Hounslow |15.7 |(38) |30.4 |(42) |40.3 |(39)
Kingston upon Thames |20.8 |(9) |32.6 |(27) |50.3 |(5)
Merton |17.6 |(24) |30.1 |(44) |38.3 |(50)
Newham |9.0 |(92) |18.9 |(92) |29.0 |(91)
Redbridge |13.8 |(54) |30.1 |(45) |38.2 |(51)
Richmond upon Thames |23.2 |(6) |36.0 |(10) |44.3 |(15)
Sutton |29.1 |(1) |43.7 |(2) |50.3 |(6)
Waltham Forest |9.7 |(90) |16.2 |(95) |26.2 |(93)
Birmingham |12.2 |(70) |21.2 |(84) |32.9 |(77)
Coventry |11.5 |(79) |25.1 |(72) |34.8 |(67)
Dudley |16.0 |(35) |28.0 |(55) |36.8 |(63)
Sandwell |8.1 |(93) |16.5 |(94) |26.1 |(94)
Solihull |20.5 |(10) |34.6 |(13) |45.8 |(11)
Walsall |14.0 |(53) |24.2 |(76) |34.8 |(68)
Wolverhampton |11.6 |(75) |20.8 |(86) |32.5 |(78)
Knowsley |3.9 |(96) |14.4 |(96) |18.9 |(96)
Liverpool |10.8 |(83) |20.6 |(88) |31.2 |(84)
St. Helens |13.5 |(59) |26.9 |(64) |33.1 |(76)
Sefton |16.3 |(34) |29.4 |(48) |43.3 |(20)
Wirral |17.1 |(27) |29.6 |(47) |40.8 |(38)
Bolton |16.7 |(30) |33.3 |(18) |43.0 |(23)
Bury |14.4 |(49) |35.3 |(12) |43.1 |(22)
Manchester |9.9 |(89) |20.1 |(89) |28.3 |(92)
Oldham |13.3 |(64) |22.2 |(82) |29.0 |(90)
Rochdale |10.5 |(85) |25.1 |(73) |34.7 |(69)
Salford |12.2 |(72) |24.7 |(75) |37.7 |(56)
Stockport |16.9 |(29) |33.1 |(24) |46.9 |(8)
Tameside |14.4 |(48) |30.7 |(39) |41.1 |(34)
Trafford |26.1 |(3) |35.8 |(11) |44.1 |(16)
Wigan |19.2 |(15) |33.1 |(23) |40.9 |(36)
Barnsley |10.3 |(86) |23.3 |(77) |30.5 |(87)
Doncaster |11.2 |(80) |26.8 |(65) |31.7 |(81)
Rotherham |14.7 |(45) |25.7 |(70) |34.4 |(70)
Sheffield |13.7 |(57) |25.0 |(74) |37.6 |(57)
Bradford |13.4 |(61) |20.8 |(85) |31.3 |(83)
Calderdale |13.2 |(65) |22.8 |(78) |34.2 |(71)
Kirklees |17.6 |(25) |27.2 |(60) |37.8 |(53)
Leeds |14.5 |(46) |25.2 |(71) |34.0 |(75)
Wakefield |11.5 |(78) |22.3 |(81) |31.3 |(82)
Gateshead |10.1 |(78) |22.1 |(83) |30.4 |(88)
Newcastle upon Tyne |12.2 |(69) |20.7 |(87) |31.8 |(80)
North Tyneside |13.7 |(56) |28.0 |(54) |39.7 |(40)
South Tyneside |12.9 |(67) |27.9 |(57) |34.2 |(72)
Sunderland |9.7 |(91) |22.4 |(79) |31.0 |(85)
Inner London Education Authority |10.1 |(88) |20.1 |(90) |30.8 |(86)
Avon |15.6 |(39) |30.2 |(43) |42.1 |(26)
Befordshire |14.2 |(51) |27.9 |(56) |39.0 |(45)
Berkshire |21.3 |(7) |36.3 |(9) |44.4 |(14)
Buckinghamshire |26.8 |(2) |39.1 |(5) |49.2 |(7)
Cambridgeshire |20.2 |(12) |30.8 |(37) |41.2 |(33)
Cheshire |17.8 |(21) |30.6 |(40) |41.6 |(30)
Cleveland |13.6 |(58) |29.2 |(51) |36.5 |(65)
Cornwall<1> |14.2 |(52) |33.1 |(21) |45.7 |(13)
Cumbria |15.3 |(41) |32.5 |(29) |36.9 |(62)
Derbyshire |13.4 |(62) |28.8 |(52) |36.9 |(60)
Devon |13.3 |(63) |29.3 |(49) |39.2 |(43)
Dorset |17.8 |(22) |31.5 |(33) |42.2 |(25)
Durham |11.2 |(81) |26.0 |(69) |35.7 |(66)
East Sussex |15.9 |(36) |33.5 |(17) |45.7 |(12)
Essex |17.4 |(26) |34.2 |(14) |41.6 |(28)
Gloucestershire |19.8 |(13) |32.7 |(26) |43.9 |(17)
Hampshire |16.4 |(32) |34.1 |(15) |41.6 |(29)
Hereford and Worcester |16.7 |(31) |30.8 |(36) |42.4 |(24)
Hertfordshire |21.3 |(8) |36.9 |(7) |46.8 |(9)
Humberside |13.8 |(55) |26.7 |(67) |34.1 |(73)
Isle of Wight |7.2 |(94) |22.3 |(80) |34.0 |(74)
Kent |18.0 |(20) |32.5 |(30) |41.0 |(35)
Lancashire |15.9 |(37) |30.5 |(41) |38.3 |(49)
Leicestershire |11.5 |(77) |29.2 |(50) |38.6 |(47)
Lincolnshire |16.9 |(28) |31.4 |(34) |38.1 |(52)
Norfolk |13.4 |(60) |32.5 |(28) |37.8 |(55)
North Yorkshire |23.8 |(5) |36.6 |(8) |45.9 |(10)
Northamptonshire |11.6 |(76) |26.5 |(68) |36.9 |(61)
Northumberland |15.1 |(42) |32.8 |(25) |41.6 |(31)
Nottinghamshire |12.2 |(71) |27.1 |(61) |36.5 |(64)
Oxfordshire |16.4 |(33) |31.8 |(31) |40.8 |(37)
Shropshire |17.7 |(23) |31.1 |(35) |43.3 |(21)
Somerset |15.5 |(40) |30.7 |(38) |38.5 |(48)
Staffordshire |13.2 |(66) |27.2 |(59) |37.0 |(59)
Suffolk |11.9 |(74) |27.7 |(58) |37.0 |(58)
Surrey |19.8 |(14) |39.6 |(4) |52.9 |(2)
Warwickshire |18.4 |(17) |33.2 |(20) |43.6 |(19)
West Sussex |20.3 |(11) |38.1 |(6) |50.5 |(3)
Wiltshire |14.8 |(43) |28.7 |(53) |38.7 |(46)
England |15.3 |29.4 |38.9
<1>Includes the Isles of Scilly.
Local Authority Borrowing
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the increase or decrease in local authority borrowing power for education for each local education authority for the next financial year in order of (a) cash magnitude and (b) as a percentage of last year's borrowing power.
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Mr. Fallon : The information requested is shown in the table. No conclusions should, however, be drawn from a comparison of annual capital guidelines received by an LEA in any two years. Our distribution of annual capital guidelines is made on the basis of the consistent application of objective criteria and each LEA's annual capital guidelines reflects the extent to which its plans for spending on schools and colleges match these criteria in the year in question.
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LEA
--------------------------------------------------------
Leeds
Essex
East Sussex
Kent
Derbyshire
Dudley
Oldham
Lancashire
Rochdale
Hampshire
Wigan
Tower Hamlets
Newham
Oxfordshire
Lincoln
Kirklees
Buckinghamshire
Northampton
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Durham
Bromley
Surrey
Gateshead
Cumbria
Manchester
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
Wolverhampton
Lewisham
Sunderland
Kingston
Hounslow
Croydon
Newcastle
Enfield
Bexley
Stockport
Birmingham
Brent
Hereford and Worcestershire
Ealing
North Yorkshire
Bury
Sutton
Isle of Wight
Tameside
Shropshire
Westminster
Coventry
Hammersmith
Calderdale
Somerset
Warwickshire
Bolton
South Tyneside
Barking
Walsall
Sefton
Wirral
City<1>
Hertford
Harrow
Islington
Barnet
Norfolk
Haringey
West Sussex
Solihull
Hillingdon
Isles of Scilly
Cornwall
Kensington
Wandsworth
Lambeth
Sandwell
Cleveland
Bradford
Richmond
Bedfordshire
Salford
Doncaster
North Tyneside
Camden
Rotherham
Cheshire
Hackney
Humberside
Avon
Redbridge
Knowsley
Sheffield
Barnsley
Berkshire
Dorset
Wiltshire
Gloucester
St. Helens
Merton
Wakefield
Greenwich
Waltham
Havering
Liverpool
Southwark
Leicester
Cambridge
Devon
Trafford
<1> CITY percentage not possible as 1990-91 ACG £0,000,
Note: It is important to note that Solihull, Cornwall
and Tower Hamlets are to receive additional allocations
as Supplementary Credit Approvals in 1991-92.
Solvent Abuse
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he has taken in schools to discourage children from the abuse of solvents and lighter fuels ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon : The orders for national curriculum science and technology require that pupils should understand the risks associated with abuse of solvents, their effects on the human body and the need for their safe storage and use. More broadly, the National Curriculum Council has recommended that solvent and other substance misuse should be a key component in schools' health education programmes. The Department of Education and Science is supporting up to £7 million LEA expenditure in 1990-91 on preventive health education, including education about solvent abuse ; and has contributed funding towards the production of a schools' video and other resources on this subject. The Department has also issued guidance to LEAs and schools on the safe handling of volatile substances.
BA Fine Art Courses
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many undergraduate places were available on full-time BA fine art courses in each of the years 1979 to date ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Information is not held centrally on the number of places which, within the total resources at their disposal, institutions decide to make available.
Discretionary Awards
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the value for each local education authority, in 1990 prices, of discretionary awards for the years 1979-80, 1984-85 and the latest available year.
Mr. Eggar : The data requested are shown in the table.
£ thousands
Local education authority |1979-80 |1984-85 |1988-89
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barking |310 |520 |546
Barnet |1,412 |1,039 |493
Bexley |656 |758 |363
Brent |2,268 |3,752 |2,819
Bromley |905 |714 |805
Croydon |810 |771 |948
Ealing |1,518 |943 |1,425
Enfield |572 |458 |556
Haringey |85 |1,158 |<2>-
Harrow |742 |537 |518
Havering |806 |537 |514
Hillingdon |897 |654 |485
Hounslow |563 |362 |228
Kingston upon Thames |327 |189 |203
Merton |375 |201 |345
Newham |513 |1,050 |885
Redbridge |951 |631 |440
Richmond upon Thames |830 |641 |646
Sutton |663 |386 |307
Waltham Forest |760 |593 |753
ILEA |17,703 |19,635 |18,962
Birmingham |1,698 |1,022 |1,653
Coventry |972 |1,077 |650
Dudley |509 |551 |<1>-
Sandwell |658 |849 |1,010
Solihull |414 |313 |431
Walsall |585 |366 |1,202
Wolverhampton |377 |479 |384
Knowsley |959 |1,528 |1,111
Liverpool |2,213 |2,914 |2,689
St. Helens |295 |312 |744
Sefton |635 |673 |672
Wirral |1,035 |1,643 |1,445
Bolton |1,109 |1,315 |1,063
Bury |871 |955 |1,225
Manchester |2,764 |2,026 |<2>-
Oldham |390 |782 |838
Rochdale |619 |414 |732
Salford |972 |1,160 |780
Stockport |1,271 |618 |1,085
Tameside |468 |437 |360
Trafford |600 |576 |884
Wigan |814 |225 |415
Barnsley |611 |739 |1,229
Doncaster |788 |865 |778
Rotherham |<1>- |323 |116
Sheffield |1,661 |2,600 |4,178
Bradford |2,207 |2,306 |2,702
Calderdale |487 |490 |555
Kirklees |1,403 |2,438 |2,738
Leeds |1,852 |1,881 |2,999
Wakefield |457 |987 |<2>-
Gateshead |490 |408 |501
Newcastle upon Tyne |788 |478 |460
North Tyneside |905 |1,158 |1,049
South Tyneside |383 |435 |650
Sunderland |881 |1,447 |1,397
Isles of Scilly |50 |1 |1
Avon |2,479 |3,732 |5,228
Bedfordshire |1,245 |1,021 |1,380
Berkshire |1,451 |2,060 |2,748
Buckinghamshire |1,670 |1,512 |1,676
Cambridgeshire |1,514 |1,576 |1,560
Cheshire |2,967 |4,196 |4,600
Cleveland |1,321 |2,577 |3,397
Cumbria |1,479 |2,197 |3,013
Derbyshire |1,910 |3,364 |2,932
Devon |3,920 |4,773 |5,077
Dorset |2,278 |3,222 |4,014
Durham |728 |1,487 |1,693
East Sussex |3,387 |1,094 |1,265
Essex |12,925 |4,519 |4,190
Gloucestershire |2,569 |2,999 |2,857
Hampshire |6,662 |4,836 |6,172
Hereford and Worcester |1,559 |1,554 |1,310
Hertfordshire |3,589 |3,212 |3,694
Humberside |3,309 |4,526 |4,456
Isle of Wight |468 |476 |481
Kent |6,081 |<1>- |4,787
Lancashire |3,725 |7,221 |6,748
Leicestershire |2,276 |4,696 |5,691
Lincolnshire |1,254 |2,401 |2,340
Norfolk |3,433 |2,754 |2,693
North Yorkshire |3,924 |6,747 |4,572
Northamptonshire |1,720 |1,352 |1,085
Northumberland |1,185 |1,473 |591
Nottinghamshire |3,671 |5,776 |4,408
Oxfordshire |1,605 |1,323 |1,715
Shropshire |1,503 |1,721 |1,813
Somerset |1,133 |961 |1,460
Staffordshire |279 |2,913 |2,820
Suffolk |2,296 |2,403 |2,323
Surrey |4,020 |2,121 |1,912
Warwickshire |1,795 |1,661 |1,487
West Susses |2,064 |1,323 |40
Wiltshire |1,962 |2,397 |1,919
Notes to table:
1. The data are based on R01 spending returns submitted by local authorities in England to the Department of the Environment.
2. <1> denotes cases in which authorities did not enter a sum on their spending returns. <2> denotes that data are not available
because no spending return was received.
3. The data relate to spending on discretionary awards as currently categorised for the purpose of the spending returns, that is,
spending on awards made under Section 1(6) or Section 2 of the Education Act 1962 (as amended) other than awards to 16-19 year
olds.
4. The data have been repriced to 1990-91 prices using the current GDP deflators.
Teachers' Pay
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessments have been made by his Department of the likely impact on (a) teacher recruitment, (b) teacher retention and (c) wage rates of a decision by an individual local education authority to leave the national machinery for the determination of teachers' pay and conditions.
Mr. Eggar : The Government believe that individual local education authorities should be free to determine the pay and conditions of their teachers locally, subject to approval by the Secretary of State of a proposal from the authority to that effect. I should expect such an authority to take account of local prospects for recruitment and retention in setting salary levels.
Charging Regulations
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to publish his Department's survey of the implications of the charging regulations under the Education Reform Act 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to him on 21 November 1990, Official Report, column 117. The results of the survey will not now be available until February.
Marine Science and Technology
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to respond to the report of the co-ordinating committee for marine science and technology, published in 1990.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I have today sent a copy of the Government's response to the committee's chairman. I have arranged for copies of the response to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Bangladesh
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's response to the report of the European Court of Auditors on European Community aid to Bangladesh ; and what action will be taken by the United Kingdom as a result.
Column 386
Mrs. Chalker : I have read with interest the European Court of Auditors' report on European Community aid to Bangladesh and the Commission's response to that report. A number of the criticisms contained in the ECA report reflect our own concerns about the need for improvements in the Commission's overall systems and practices. We shall pursue these concerns vigorously through the existing committee structure and in our bilateral contacts with the Commission.
Namibia
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support he is currently giving to new and expanding businesses and other job-creation schemes in Namibia.
Mrs. Chalker : At the request of the Namibian Government, we have focused our assistance initially on education and police training. We are now exploring with the Government of Namibia the scope for assistance to other sectors and, in doing so, will take careful account of the possibilities for employment creation. I shall discuss our aid to Namibia with members of her Government during my two-day visit this week, and on my return report to the House if progress has been made.
Afghanistan
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much aid Her Majesty's Government gave in 1989 and 1990 for (a) Afghan refugees in Pakistan and (b) humanitarian and development needs within Afghanistan ; what plans he has for future aid ; and what estimates he has of the total aid provided by international donors in 1989, 1990, and commitments for 1991, for the support of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
Mrs. Chalker : British aid for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and for humanitarian and development needs within Afghanistan, is provided through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental organisations. Amounts provided in 1989 and 1990 are set out in the table. No decisions have yet been made on allocations for 1991.
|1989 |<1>1990
|£ million|£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Afghan refugees in Pakistan |4.8 |3.2
Humanitarian and developmental needs
within Afghanistan |2.5 |1.1
<1> estimate
Decisions on future aid will be made in the light of developments in Afghanistan and the needs of the refugees.
Details of total aid provided by international donors for Afghan refugees in Pakistan are not available. The following figures for 1989, the latest year for which figures are available, have been provided by the major international agencies :--
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