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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 24 April 1991
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Evidence Acts
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Attorney-General if he will examine the use of the law of evidence Act by local authorities, and give guidelines on the practice of not having officers present in the court on all occasions for which a formal application is made under the Act ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : I have been asked to reply.
The Evidence Act 1938 and the Civil Evidence Act 1968, to which I assume the hon. Gentleman refers, apply to local authorities in the same way as to everyone else. I am not therefore aware of any evidence of need for such an examination or such guidelines.
Assault Cases
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Attorney-General whether he plans any changes in the procedures employed in preparing prosecution cases in incidents of assault where the victim or the only witness is mentally defective.
The Attorney-General : No. I am satisfied that the existing criteria contained in the code for Crown prosecutors, together with the internal procedures adopted by the Crown prosecution service in reviewing cases, are sufficient to promote considered and proper decisions.
Judicial Review
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Attorney-General if it is the normal practice for potential beneficiaries from the outcome of cases of judicial review to have to make concurrent applications.
The Attorney-General : Potential beneficiaries from the outcome of judicial review may make concurrent applications if they wish to do so. However, in cases involving a number of potential beneficiaries it is not unusual for one of their number to apply for judicial review in order to test the arguments to be advanced.
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General whether any studies have been undertaken by or on behalf of the Lord Chancellor's Department into the privatisation or contractorisation of any services within its responsibilities.
The Attorney-General : As required by the "next steps" initiative, the Lord Chancellor's Department considered the options of privatisation and contracting out in relation to the Land Registry and the Public Record Office when considering their suitability for executive agency status. In both cases the most appropriate way forward was found to be the granting of executive agency status. The Land
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Registry was established as an executive agency in July 1990 and the Public Record Office will follow in April 1992. The Lord Chancellor's Department has contracted out nearly all basic services such as cleaning and catering and, in addition, has contracted out the Registry of County Court Judgments and the investment manager function of the Public Trust Office.Like other Departments, the Lord Chancellor's Department keeps under review the options of privatisation and contractorisation in respect of a wide range of its functions.
ENVIRONMENT
Property Services Agency
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether, prior to the offer for sale, Property Services Agency services will be structured into two separate businesses ; (2) if he will make a statement on the progress towards privatisation of Property Services Agency services.
Sir George Young : Property Services Agency services were restructured last autumn into two main businesses, one dealing with project management and design and the other with maintenance. This will make it possible for Property Service Agency services to be offered for sale in more than one part, but final decisions on sale have not yet been taken. The businesses continue to make progress in reducing staff and costs in order to become competitive.
National Rivers Authority
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the National Rivers Authority expects to publish the results of its 1990 national survey.
Mr. Baldry : I understand that the NRA intends to publish results this autumn for comparison with those from the 1985 river quality survey.
Common Dog Whelk
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on why the common dog whelk has not re-established itself around the Isle of Wight since the banning of tributyl and the reasons for the differential between the island and other areas.
Mr. Baldry : The dog whelk is the most sensitive species to TBT contamination. Use of TBT-based paints on yachts until the ban in 1987 caused many populations to decline, especially in areas, such as the south coast, of intense yachting activity. Since the ban, there have been gradual improvements in water quality. However, the dog whelk has only limited ability to disperse and recolonise areas which were heavily impacted. Thus, it is likely to be some time before the Government's monitoring programme is able to demonstrate recovery of this species. There are surviving populations along the south coast of the Isle of Wight, but these have not contributed to any significant extent to the recolonisation of grossly affected areas. This is no different from the situation in other parts of the country where similar conditions prevail.
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Drinking Water Quality
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a comprehensive list of every agreement that has been made with a water company for relaxation of any of the standards in the EC drinking water directive, together with dates by which compliance is required.
Mr. Baldry : My right hon. Friend has not entered into any agreements with water companies for the relaxation of standards. He has authorised relaxations of certain standards in certain circumstances under regulation 4 of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989, which implements article 9 of the drinking water directive ; and he has accepted undertakings from companies under section 20 of the Water Act 1989 where he was satisfied that the company was taking all appropriate action to secure or facilitate compliance with a particular standard.
Details of all authorisations and undertakings are available on the public register maintained by water companies. Copies of them are included in the register maintained by the Director General of Water Services and are available in the Library. In most cases compliance must be achieved by not later than 1995.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish full information about compliance with drinking water quality standards in every water supply zone.
Mr. Baldry : Each water company maintains a public register which contains full information for each water supply zone about the results of analysis of all sampling carried out by the company under the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989. Individuals are able to obtain copies of register entries from the companies. The first annual report of the drinking water inspectorate, to be published later this year, will summarise the extent to which each water company has complied with the requirements of the regulations in its water supply zones.
St. John Ambulance Brigade
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what facilities he is making available to staff in his Department to contribute to the appeal that has been launched for people with the name of John to help raise £5 million for the St. John Ambulance Brigade.
Mr. Heseltine : My Department is in contact with the St. John Ambulance Brigade and will be giving publicity to the "Over to you, John" appeal through its in-house journal.
Benzene
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to establish an air pollution monitoring network in the United Kingdom to include the monitoring of benzene levels and other hydrocarbons.
Mr. Baldry : My Department has been carrying out limited monitoring of United Kingdom levels of hydrocarbons, including benzene, for several years as part of a programme of research developing the technology for measuring these pollutants.
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As announced in the environment White Paper, the Government aim to expand the existing urban monitoring networks. A first stage of this expansion is to be implemented early next year and will include two additional sites measuring benzene and other hydrocarbons.Leeds Development Corporation
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the level of actual expenditure by Leeds development corporation on publicity and promotion in 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, and the proposed level of expenditure in 1991-92 ; and if he will list the main elements of expenditure under the heading of publicity and promotion.
Mr. Key : Leeds development corporation's expenditure on publicity and promotion was £223,000 in 1988-89, £324,000 in 1989-90 and £480, 000 in 1990-91. For 1991-92 the proposed level of expenditure is £500,000. The main elements of expenditure under the publicity and promotion heading are marketing of the urban development area and Leeds in general ; the marketing of specific sites ; publications ; exhibitions ; and community liaison.
Audible Bird Scarers
Mr. Gale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish a revised code of practice relating to the use of audible bird scarers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : As soon as our work in responding to the recommendations of the noise review working party will allow. The recommendations include three on codes of practice.
Water Supplies
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures his Department has taken to assess the impact of the mild winters on domestic water supplies this summer in Chelmsford ; and whether his Department expects any disruption to the supply of water.
Mr. Baldry : Such assessments are primarily for the water companies to make in conjunction with the National Rivers Authority, but I understand that in areas affected by shortages, including Chelmsford, companies expect to maintain supplies with selective restrictions on less essential uses until rainfall brings a substantial recovery in resources.
Standard Spending Assessment Handbook
Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to make available his Department's publication entitled "The Standard Spending Assessment Handbook 1991-92".
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend has today placed copies of this document in the Library of the House. Copies have also been sent to every local authority in England and to the local authority associations.
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Green Belt
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received concerning the development of redundant hospital sites in green belt areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 23 April 1991] : My Department issued a consultation paper on this subject on 11 March. The closing date for responses is 13 May. To date, 25 responses have been received.
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to introduce a scheme for classifying green belt sites according to their environmental and amenity value.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 23 April 1991] : No. Such a scheme could imply that some parts of the green belt were less protected than others.
Council House Sales, Harrogate
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of council houses sold to tenants of Harrogate borough council.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 23 April 1991] : A table showing the available information on total sales for each English local authority since 1979-80 was recently placed in the Library. In the case of Harrogate borough council, almost all the reported sales have been to sitting tenants.
Industrial Sites (Noise)
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the maximum level of decibel noise laid down as reasonable for a B1 and B2 classification of an industrial site.
(2) what categories of industrial site are required to operate at a decibel level not exceeding 30 decibels.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 23 April 1991] : Industrial sites are not categorised by reference to decibel levels in planning, pollution control, or environmental protection legislation. Planning conditions may impose particular noise limits in individual cases.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Truancy
Sir Gerard Vaughan : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will empower the governing bodies of schools as well as local education authorities to initiate prosecutions in cases of truancy.
Mr. Fallon : My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so. Truancy needs to be tackled vigorously. Local education authorities have the power to prosecute the parents of truants, and it is important that they should use that power in appropriate cases.
Foreign Teachers
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list by local education authority (a) the number of foreign teachers recruited from abroad who are teaching in schools for the latest date he has available and (b) the countries they come from.
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Mr. Fallon : The information required is not collected centrally. From records held, out of 397,200 teachers in full-time service in local authority-maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools--England and Wales, March 1988--1,300 were trained outside the United Kingdom. Details of the countries in which they were trained are not readily available. The country in which they were trained is not necessarily their country of origin.
Insurance
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of state for Education and Science what estimates he has on the total cost of insurance premiums and insurance claims made by the education authorities in England in relation to teacher absence for reasons of sickness in 1988, 1989 and 1990 ; and what information he has as regards the first quarter of 1991.
Mr. Eggar This information is not available centrally.
School Library Books
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what average amount per pupil has been spent on school library books by Durham education authority each year since 1987.
Mr. Fallon : Information on school library books is not collected separately, but is contained within a figure for local education authority spending on text and library books. Figures returned by local education authorities for spending on books need to be treated with caution because of differing local authority practices in classifying spending between books and equipment. The table therefore shows, for each year for which information is available, spending figures for books and equipment together as well as for books separately.
Durham-Expenditure per pupil
Year |Books and
|Equipment|Books
|£ |£
----------------------------------------
1986-87 |30.68 |9.42
1987-88 |33.92 |10.27
1988-89 |44.87 |12.38
St. Thomas More High School
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussions there have been between Her Majesty's inspectorate, the Catholic church and Tameside metropolitan borough council about lack of space and facilities for the national curriculum at St. Thomas More high school, Denton.
Mr. Fallon : There has been no discussion between Her Majesty's inspectorate and the Salford Roman Catholic diocesan schools commission. There has been discussion between Her Majesty's inspectorate and the school and between the Department and the Salford Roman Catholic diocesan schools commission and Tameside metropolitan borough council.
School Buildings
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out, by local education authority, the level of capital spending on school buildings in 1978-79 and 1984-85, and the latest available years.
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Mr. Fallon : The readily available information is shown in the table.Capital spending by LEAs on school buildings (£ million cash) ------------------------------------- Barking |.5 |2.1 |1.3 Barnet |1.4 |.9 |2.6 Bexley |1.3 |2.2 |3.2 Brent |1.3 |1.8 |.6 Bromley |.7 |2.4 |6.6 Croydon |.8 |1.3 |5.0 Ealing |1.2 |.7 |1.6 Enfield |1.6 |.7 |4.0 Haringey |.9 |1.0 |3.3 Harrow |1.3 |.9 |2.6 Havering |.4 |.9 |3.4 Hillingdon |2.1 |1.4 |7.8 Hounslow |2.0 |2.5 |5.5 Kingston |.2 |.4 |1.7 Merton |.7 |.9 |2.4 Newham |2.5 |4.5 |2.9 Redbridge |1.3 |1.8 |4.0 Richmond |.7 |1.2 |.8 Sutton |.3 |1.3 |3.1 Waltham Forrest |1.5 |.9 |6.4 ILEA |12.7|10.4|21.3 Birmingham |2.8 |8.3 |4.2 Coventry |2.3 |1.5 |8.2 Dudley |1.5 |4.0 |3.6 Sandwell |1.8 |1.3 |.6 Solihull |1.2 |1.1 |2.1 Walsall |2.4 |2.1 |2.8 Wolverhampton |2.0 |1.0 |1.9 Knowsley |.8 |1.3 |1.2 Liverpool |1.9 |1.6 |9.7 St. Helens |2.5 |1.4 |1.5 Sefton |1.4 |1.2 |1.7 Wirral |.8 |2.2 |4.7 Bolton |1.0 |1.3 |2.2 Bury |1.8 |.6 |1.0 Manchester |1.1 |5.3 |8.6 Oldham |1.0 |1.5 |2.2 Rochdale |2.0 |1.2 |2.5 Salford |1.9 |1.8 |3.3 Stockport |.8 |.9 |2.8 Tameside |1.2 |1.8 |2.4 Trafford |.4 |.6 |1.4 Wigan |2.4 |1.8 |3.7 Barnsley |2.0 |.1 |1.7 Doncaster |1.5 |.7 |.8 Rotherham |1.6 |1.3 |2.2 Sheffield |1.6 |9.1 |9.0 Bradford |2.2 |11.2|10.6 Calderdale |1.3 |1.5 |3.3 Kirklees |1.9 |4.0 |2.9 Leeds |3.9 |5.2 |15.1 Wakefield |2.3 |1.3 |5.6 Gateshead |1.1 |2.4 |3.0 Newcastle |1.4 |1.6 |4.4 North Tyne |1.2 |1.3 |2.8 South Tyne |1.4 |3.3 |2.5 Sunderland |1.4 |2.4 |4.9 Isles of Scilly |.1 |0.0 |n/a Avon |3.0 |4.3 |6.5 Bedfordshire |5.7 |2.3 |4.4 Berkshire |4.9 |9.0 |n/a Buckinghamshire |4.1 |8.6 |6.3 Cambridgeshire |5.9 |6.8 |15.4 Cheshire |10.4|8.3 |21.9 Cleveland |3.3 |3.5 |5.1 Cornwall |4.3 |3.3 |6.5 Cumbria |1.7 |4.0 |5.2 Derbyshire |6.1 |8.5 |11.5 Devon |4.0 |6.7 |11.3 Dorset |3.4 |3.2 |3.5 Durham |2.8 |3.2 |3.7 East Sussex |2.8 |6.3 |10.2 Essex |11.6|7.1 |n/a Gloucestershire |2.9 |4.2 |5.8 Hampshire |11.6|16.1|24.6 Hereford and Worcester |5.1 |2.9 |n/a Hertfordshire |3.1 |8.0 |10.7 Humberside |7.7 |6.0 |11.1 Isle of Wight |1.2 |.6 |1.8 Kent |9.2 |5.3 |11.4 Lancashire |6.1 |5.0 |10.6 Leicestershire |4.6 |4.9 |10.2 Lincolnshire |3.1 |5.2 |6.7 Norfolk |4.9 |4.6 |6.8 North Yorkshire |4.5 |8.5 |6.1 Northamptonshire |5.3 |4.4 |4.8 Northumberland |2.7 |1.3 |1.7 Nottinghamshire |5.9 |3.9 |n/a Oxfordshire |1.4 |2.3 |6.1 Shropshire |3.5 |2.2 |4.2 Somerset |1.8 |2.5 |n/a Staffordshire |8.4 |5.5 |7.7 Suffolk |5.1 |4.0 |10.1 Surrey |5.1 |9.1 |18.4 Warwickshire |2.5 |2.4 |3.3 West Sussex |2.2 |5.4 |7.2 Wiltshire |1.8 |5.5 |3.7 Notes: 1. n/a indicates data not available. 2. Expenditure is given in cash terms, rounded to the nearest £ 0.1 million; it includes provision from within the Department of the Environment's urban programme, and covers nursery, primary, secondary and special education.
Further Education Colleges
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will place in the Library instructions given by his Department in relation to proposed contracts entered into by local education authorities concerning the assets of further education colleges since his statement in March.
Mr. Eggar : After my right hon. and learned Friend's statement, an official of the Department wrote to all chief education officers. Copies of this letter have been placed in the Library today. Further guidance will be issued shortly, and will also be placed in the Library.
Schools (Asbestos)
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department will undertake a survey on the levels of asbestos in schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon : Risk of exposure to asbestos in buildings, including schools and colleges, was reported to be low by a Government working party in 1987. It is for local education authorities and other responsible bodies to judge the need for surveys in schools. In 1986 the Department distributed updated guidance on asbestos in educational establishments, including advice about the circumstances under which a survey might be required.
Haberdashers' Aske's CTC
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what specific mechanism has been incorporated in paragraph 8(ii) of the funding agreement for the Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college for agreeing the value of the 99-year lease to be granted on the sites to be used for the purposes of the college.
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Mr. Eggar : Paragraph 8 provides for the value of the lease to be agreed in writing between the Secretary of State and the CTC, after reference to the district valuer, at the time it is granted. If agreement is not reached, the value is to be determined by an expert appointed by agreement between the two parties, or if such agreement is not reached, one appointed by the president of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the cost of this being borne equally between the two parties.Higher Education (Expenditure)
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what the Government have spent (a) per student and (b) per graduate of higher education in each year since 1978-79 in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms, indexed so that 1978-79 equals 100.
Mr. Alan Howarth [holding answer 22 April 1991] : Estimated public funding per student is shown for those higher education students at universities in Great Britain and polytechnics and colleges in England. Data are given for the financial years 1980-81 through to 1988-89. Data on cost per graduate are available from 1981-82 and are for higher education students in universities and polytechnics only for academic years.
Higher education: public funding per
full-time equivalent student
|Cash |Real index
|(£ )
--------------------------------------------
1980-81 |3,490 |100
1981-82 |3,700 |97
1982-83 |3,960 |97
1983-84 |4,040 |94
1984-85 |4,150 |92
1985-86 |4,240 |89
1986-87 |4,360 |89
1987-88 |4,600 |89
1988-89 |4,840 |87
Higher education: cost per graduate (first
degrees only)
|Cash |Real index
|(£ )
1981-82 |9,900 |100
1982-83 |10,300 |98
1983-84 |11,000 |100
1984-85 |11,500 |99
1985-86 |12,100 |99
1986-87 |12,800 |101
1987-88 |13,600 |102
1988-89 |13,800 |96
Higher education : cost per graduate (first degrees only)
Cash
(£) Real index
1981-82 9,900 100
1982-83 10,300 98
1983-84 11,000 100
1984-85 11,500 99
1985-86 12,100 99
1986-87 12,800 101
1987-88 13,600 102
1988-89 13,800 96
The unit public funding figures are calculated by dividing estimated aggregate expenditure by financial year full-time equivalent student numbers.
The cost per graduate estimates reflect both recurrent and equipment costs. They exclude research and superannuation costs. The figures are necessarily approximate. Account is taken of average course length and the costs associated with those who fail to complete their course successfully. The real-terms indices have been calculated using the gross domestic product deflator.
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PRIME MINISTER
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total sum paid out in fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation by the Cabinet Office in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.
The Prime Minister : No expenditure has been incurred by the Cabinet Office on fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation since 1979-80 and none is planned for 1991-92.
Senior Civil Servants (Degrees)
Mr. Page : To ask the Prime Minister if he will numerate those Under Secretaries who have engineering, science or mathematics degrees ; and what percentage that is of the total.
The Prime Minister [pursuant to his reply, 19 February 1991, c. 89] : Information now available records 110 Under Secretaries--22 pecent. of the total--with degrees in one or more of these subjects. Twenty -seven have engineering degrees, 70 have science degrees and 16 have mathematics degrees.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Police Escorts
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to the costs and other consequences of police escorts for wide and heavily loaded vehicles ; if he has considered whether this work can be taken over by public companies and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Association of Chief Police Officers has recently reviewed the current arrangements for providing police escorts for wide and heavily loaded vehicles. Its report is expected shortly and we shall consider any recommendations which the association may make.
Marriage Guidance
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to make available additional Government funding for Relate marriage guidance for the financial years 1992 to 1995.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : This is under consideration as part of the current public expenditure survey.
Public Order Act
Mr. Nicholls : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Hicks) of 6 February, Official Report, column 141 and to the hon. Member for Teignbridge of 14 February, Official Report, column 547, and to his letter to the hon. Member for Teignbridge of 26 March, when he expects to announce the results of his review of section 39 of the Public Order Act 1986.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : We expect to announce our conclusions on section 39 very soon.Non-animal Testing
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department is taking to promote non-animal tests for cosmetics.
Mrs. Angela Rumbold : Before any project licence is granted, the applicant must show that he or she has considered alternatives not using living animals for any of the procedures. In the particular case of cosmetics, licences are granted only for the safety testing of these substances, generally in order to satisfy national and international regulatory and legal requirements for the protection of the public.
The Home Office, although not itself responsible for these regulations, will continue to support moves to encourage regulatory bodies to review their requirements so that they do not entail unnecessary testing on living animals.
In addition, the Home Office funds research into ways of reducing, refining or replacing the use of living animals in scientific procedures. Since the research scheme was established, some 10 projects have been funded, one of which was concerned with refining eye irritancy testing. This project may have particular implications for the safety testing of substances used in cosmetics, as well as many other products.
Fire Service
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those stations which the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority proposes to close and remove pump appliances from operational service.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : This is at present wholly a matter for the London fire and civil defence authority. It will not become one for Ministers unless the authority submits proposals for closures of fire stations or reductions in the number of operational firefighters or firefighting appliances in accordance with the terms of section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will quantify the savings in mobilising time from fire stations in London that are currently being achieved by the CMC mobilising project in the London fire brigade.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The main objective of the London fire and civil defence authority's central mobilising project was to replace three centres and their outdated equipment with one which, with modern technology, would maintain high standards of emergency response throughout London. I am satisfied that this objective has been met.
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