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Column 231
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 22 March 1991
NORTHERN IRELAND
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of his Ministers has been given responsibility for energy use by his Department ; and what is his brief regarding energy efficiency.
Mr. Needham : I am responsible to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State both for energy matters, including energy efficiency, and for the environment.
My specific brief on energy efficiency is to promote the continuous implementation of effective energy efficiency measures throughout the Northern Ireland economy. To that end I published an important consultative paper on energy efficiency last December. It promotes energy efficiency in the context of environmental conservation ; calls for committed action now by all interested parties ; and sets out--by way of example--an extensive range of initiatives being taken by Government including increased financial support for both low-income families and the industrial and commercial sectors. A copy of the consultative paper has been placed in the Library. Responses to the consultative paper are now being analysed and will be reflected in an energy strategy paper to be published later this year.
In the public sector Northern Ireland has had its own inter departmental committee on energy efficiency since 1984. It promotes and co-ordinates public sector initiatives, reports annually to my right hon. Friend and sets targets for continuous improvement. In addition, I represent Northern Ireland on the United Kingdom-wide ministerial group on energy efficiency chaired by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy.
On 6 March my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland issued a personal message to all public sector employees in Northern Ireland exhorting them to practise energy efficiency not only at work but at home, in their leisure, social and recreational pursuits. My right hon. Friend wishes to be kept informed of progress.
Job Clubs
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will establish a job club in Carrickfergus ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : No. There are job clubs in nearby Larne, Newtownabbey and Belfast. Unemployed people who have to travel to make use of job clubs have their fares reimbursed and so are not out of pocket.
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Housing
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the number of persons on the waiting list of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for accommodation in Belfast districts 2 and 7 and each housing area in Castlereagh in both 1979 and 1991.
Mr. Needham : This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and I am advised by its chief executive that the information requested is not available before 1981. However, at the end of February 1981 and February 1991 the number of persons on the waiting list was as follows :
District |February 1981|February 1991 -------------------------------------------------------- Belfast 2 |1,463 |1,036 Belfast 7 |1,308 |1,184 Castlereagh 1 |570 |289 Castlereagh 2 |1,178 |518
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Local Management of Schools
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the budget allocation per unit for local management of schools in (a) Wigston, (b) South Wigston and (c) Oadby ; what is the average budget allocation per unit for schools in the city of Leicester ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon : The information requested is not available for Leicestershire as the authority did not operate a scheme for the local management of its schools in the 1990-91 financial year. We do not yet have a copy of the authority's budget statement for 1991-92 ; it is under a duty to publish that statement by 31 March.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the proportion of children at schools in Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston that come from out of the catchment area ; and what consideration he has given to the implications of this on LMS funding to these schools.
Mr. Fallon : The Department has no information on the sources of pupils attending schools in these districts. Under local management of schools, pupils of the same age are funded on the same basis irrespective of their source. If they come from a neighbouring authority, that authority will pay a recoupment charge to the providing authority.
Capital Grants
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from Cleveland county councillors about capital grants for schools.
Mr. Fallon : I met Cleveland's education committee chairman and the chief education officer on 11 March to discuss their ACG allocation for 1991-92.
European Integration
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list (a) the new teaching activities in European integration with effect from the
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beginning of the 1991-92 academic year and (b) the new European chairs financed and supported under the terms of the Jean Monnet project 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Alan Howarth : The EC has awarded grants under the Jean Monnet project to United Kingdom higher education institutions in support of the following activities :
(a) Permanent courses
1. Bristol Polytechnic ; Europe : The Single Market and Beyond ; 2. University of Essex ; History of European Integration ; 3. University of Essex ; The External Relations of the Community ;
4. University of Ulster ; European Integration ;
5. University of Ulster ; History of European Integration ; 6. University of Dundee ; The Structure and Operations of the Community ;
7. University of Durham ; The European Community : an interdisciplinary introduction ;
8. University of Glasgow ; The impact of European integration on Social Policy ;
9. University of Glasgow ; Transport, Public Policy and European Integration ;
10. Huddersfield Polytechnic ; The Economics of European Integration ;
11. Liverpool Polytechnic ; European Integration ;
12. Goldsmith's College, University of London ; Economics of the EC ;
13. Goldsmith's College, University of London ; The Government and Politics of the European Community ;
14. Polytechnic of East London ; European Integration--from World War II to 1992 ;
15. University of Manchester ; The Economics of European Integration ;
16. Nottingham Polytechnic ; Economics of the European Community ; 17. University of Nottingham ; Harmonisation of Law in Europe ; 18. University of Oxford ; European Social Policy ;
19. University of Keele ; Prospects for Europe ;
European Modules
1. Queen's University of Belfast ; The European Community ; 2. Anglia Higher Education College ; European Integration ; 3. North East Wales Institute ; Introduction to EC studies ; 4. Coventry Polytechnic ; Introduction to the EC ;
5. Napier Polytechnic ; European Studies ;
6. Huddersfield Polytechnic ; European Community Institutions ; 7. University of Hull ; European Community Environmental Law ; 8. University of Leicester ; The Economics of the EC ;
9. Polytechnic of Central London ; European Studies ;
10. Manchester Polytechnic ; European Integration--the legal dimension ;
11. Staffordshire Polytechnic ; European Studies ;
(b) European Chairs
1. University College of Wales ; Monnet Lectureship in European Integration ;
2. University of Birmingham ; Lecturer in European Economics ; 3. University of Bristol ; The Monnet Chair/Lectureship for European Community Studies ;
4. University of Hull ; "Chair" in European Integration ; 5. University of Leicester ; Jean Monnet Lecturer in European Community Law ;
6. Ealing College of Higher Education ; The Jean Monnet Principal Lectureship in Community Studies ;
7. University College London ; "Chair" in European Economics and Integration ;
8. Newcastle-upon-Tyne Polytechnic ; "Chair" in the Law and Policy of the European Community ;
9. University of Salford ; Lectureship in the History, Politics and Culture of the EC ;
10. University of York ; Jean Monnet Senior Lecturer in
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European Economics ;11. University of Strathclyde ; Jean Monnet Chair of European Law.
Teacher Appraisal
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he intends to publish (a) the draft regulations on teacher appraisal and (b) the draft circular of guidance on teacher appraisal ; if he will list those interested bodies which he intends to consult on both the draft regulations and the draft circular ; and if he will indicate how much time will be allowed for such consultations.
Mr. Fallon : My right hon. and learned Friend intends to initiate consultations shortly on draft regulations and a draft circular on school teacher appraisal. He intends to allow some four weeks for such consultations and to consult the following bodies.
Association of County Councils
Association of Metropolitan Authorities
Welsh Joint Education Council
Assistant Masters' and Mistresses' Association
National Association of Head Teachers
National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers National Union of Teachers
Professional Association of Teachers
Secondary Heads Association
Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru (National Association of Teachers of Wales)
Catholic Education Council
Free Church Federal Council
General Synod of the Church of England Board of Education London Board of Jewish Religious Education
Methodist Division of Education and Youth
Grant Maintained Schools
Grant Maintained Schools Trust
National Association of Governors and Managers
Institute Laue-Langevin
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the future of United Kingdom funding of the Institute Laue-Langevin in Grenoble.
Mr. Alan Howarth : As part of its review of forward commitments, the Science and Engineering Research Council announced on 7 February that it could not continue to support both the Institut Laue-Langevin and the ISIS (RAL) neutron facility at the current levels. To help it take the matter further the council has established a review panel to assess the United Kingdom's requirements for neutrons over the coming years and the most effective way of providing them.
Education Resources
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures he is taking to ensure that more resources are delegated to schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon [pursuant to his reply, 21 February 1991, Official Report, c. 235-39] : The national average of responses retained by LEAs on central administration in 1990-91 as a percentage of the potential schools budget should read 4.06 per cent., rather than 5.26 per cent. as quoted in the table at column 238. The individual LEA figures quoted in the table remain correct.
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PRIME MINISTER
Voluntary Bodies
Mr. Paice : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the total amount paid in grants by Government Departments to voluntary bodies during the financial year 1989-90 ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : Government funding to voluntary organisations in 1989-90 amounted to £2.36 billion. Of this, £1,681 million was payments to housing associations ; £204 million was payments under major employment and training schemes ; £373 million went to support provision of services and a wide range of activities and projects by a variety of voluntary organisations. The amount spent under individual departmental programmes is as follows :
-------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Defence
Education and Science
Employment
Youth training scheme
Employment training
Other programmes
Energy
Environment
Direct grants
Urban programme
Housing corporation
Countryside Commission
Nature Conservancy Council
Rural Development Commission
Sports Council
UK 2000 project grant fund
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Overseas Development Administration
Health
Direct grants
Health Education Authority
Home Office
Direct grants
Equal Opportunities Commission
Commission for Racial Equality
Lord Chancellor's Department
Northern Ireland Office
Direct grants
Housing associations and societies
Economic Development Grants:
Action for community employment
Community workshops
Community volunteer schemes
Youth Community project
Youth Help
Sports Council for Northern Ireland
Scottish Office
Direct grants
Urban programme
Housing associations
Countryside Commission for Scotland
Highlands and Island Development Board
Sports Council for Scotland
Social Security
Trade and Industry
Transport
Welsh Office
Direct grants
Urban programme
Joint Finance/Care in the Community
Housing associations and societies
Development Board for Rural Wales
Sports Council for Wales
Grand total
Excluding payments under major employment and training schemes and to housing association and societies funding has increased in cash terms by 8.3 per cent. over the level of provision in 1988-89. In the period between 1979-80 and 1989-90 the level of this Government's support for voluntary bodies has risen by 114 per cent. in real terms.
I am placing in the Library of the House a list of voluntary bodies funded by Government in 1989-90, other than those funded under the youth training scheme and employment training, housing programmes and the urban programme or via non-departmental public bodies.
Security Commissioner (Report)
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Prime Minister when the Commissioner appointed under the Security Service Act 1989 will present his first annual report ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : A copy of Lord Justice Stuart-Smith's first annual report, for 1990, has been laid before the House today in accordance with section 4(6) of the Security Service Act 1989. The confidential appendix to the report has been excluded from that copy in accordance with section 4(7) of the 1989 Act. I am grateful to the commissioner for his work in reviewing the issue of warrants and note that he is satisfied that the Secretaries of State have properly exercised their powers under the Act.
Troops (Homecoming)
Mr. Mates : To ask the Prime Minister how the Government intend (a) to mark the safe homecoming of British troops who contributed to the liberation of Kuwait, (b) to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in that cause and (c) to honour those who gave gallant and meritorious service.
The Prime Minister : A service of remembrance and thanksgiving will be held in Glasgow cathedral in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen on Saturday 4 May.
The Lord Mayor and the Corporation of London will host a reception at Guildhall on Friday 21 June for members of British forces. It will be preceded by a march through the City at which Her Majesty the Queen will take the salute.
Her Majesty the Queen has approved the award of a Gulf medal for those who served in the region. She has also agreed that there should be a Gulf honours list, to be published at the end of June, for those who displayed gallantry and gave meritorious service.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
Carers
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he will take to ensure that all full-time carers are granted the right to regular breaks, and that those carers wishing to take up such breaks in the company of their clients are given additional resources.
Mr. Scott : The main social security benefit available to carers is invalid care allowance (ICA). ICA is payable to people who give up the opportunity for full-time work to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person receiving attendance allowance. ICA can remain in payment for up to four weeks in any period of 26 weeks while the carer or the person cared for is on holiday, or the caring role is temporarily suspended for some other reason. Breaks in caring can total as much as 12 weeks in a 26-week period, if the breaks are due to the carer or the disabled person undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution.
Social Security Spending
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total amount spent on social security in the United Kingdom, in actual and at 1990 prices, for each year since 1978-79 ; and what was the percentage increase or decrease for each year.
Miss Widdecombe : Details of social security spending in Great Britain are given in the table. Information about social security spending in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Grand total social security spending
£ million
Year (outturn) |Cash |At 1990-91 |Real terms
|prices |percentage increase
|over preceding year
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |16,602 |41,953 |-
1979-80 |19,616 |42,483 |1.3
1980-81 |23,751 |43,469 |2.3
1981-82 |28,963 |48,341 |11.2
1982-83 |33,000 |51,426 |6.4
1983-84 |36,881 |54,933 |6.8
1984-85 |39,949 |56,627 |3.1
1985-86 |43,488 |58,460 |3.2
1986-87 |46,841 |60,886 |4.2
1987-88 |48,939 |60,327 |-0.9
1988-89 |49,721 |57,121 |-5.3
1989-90 |52,661 |56,874 |-0.4
1990-91 (estimated) |59,001 |59,001 |3.7
1991-92 (plans) |66,167 |62,422 |5.8
Note: Reduction in real terms expenditure for the years 1987-88 and 1989-90 was due to the effect
of reduced levels of unemployment.
Unemployment Costs
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the total current cost of unemployment to the Exchequer, including benefits, redundancy fund payments, administrative costs, lost revenue and any other identifiable costs.
Mr. Jack : Benefit expenditure on the unemployed is expected to be £4,850 million in 1990-91. The cost of administering unemployment benefit in 1989-90, the latest
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year for which figures are available, was £176 million. For other benefits it is not possible to identify separately the administration costs attributable to the unemployed.Redundancy fund payments are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment, who advises that in 1990-91 redundancy fund payments totalled £141 million. Estimates of tax revenue forgone are not available.
Cold Weather Payments
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the number of people in receipt of cold weather payments in each of the Scottish and English regions and Wales for each of the last five years ; and what was the cost of these, by regions.
Mr. Scott : Information on the number of people in receipt of cold weather payments, together with their costs, for the period 1985-89 is available in the Library.
Information for 1989-90 and 1990-91 will be placed in the Library as soon as it is available.
Water Rates
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will introduce legislation to provide a water rate rebate system for those on low incomes ;
(2) if he will introduce an additional element into the income support system to give extra payments to all persons who have water bills in excess of £50 per adult person in that household.
Mr. Scott : We have no plans to do so. Income-related benefits are intended to cover all normal living expenses, including those for utilities such as water and fuel.
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