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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 4 February 1992
TRANSPORT
Radioactive Materials
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what data on radioactive materials transported into and within the United Kingdom is routinely collected by his Department.
Mr. McLoughlin : Data supplied about consignments of radioactive materials that have to be notified to the Department of Transport before shipment were detailed in the reply given to the Hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes) on 29 January.
Macclesfield Relief Road
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work on the new north-south relief road in Macclesfield to be completed.
Mr. Chope : I expect the section of road between Flash lane and Hibel road to open to traffic on 10 February. Work on the remaining section between Hibel road and Mill lane should be completed shortly after Easter.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the reasons for the delay in completing the new north-south relief road in Macclesfield.
Mr. Chope : Additional contract works, difficulties with the diversion of statutory undertakers apparatus and the late delivery of the Middlewood way footbridge are the main reasons for the delay in completion.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which supplier was commissioned by his Department to provide the Middlewood way footbridge for the north-south relief road in Macclesfield ; at what cost this contract was placed ; when it will be fulfilled ; and why it was late in delivery.
Mr. Chope : The Middlewood way footbridge was included in the Department's contract for the relief road with Fairclough Civil Engineering at an estimated cost of £370,000. I expect work on the bridge to be completed in the next two weeks. The reasons for the delay in delivery are matters between Fairclough's and its suppliers.
Lorry Drivers (Diabetes)
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many lorry drivers who treat their diabetes by injections of insulin have had their HGV licences revoked since April 1991.
Mr. Chope : Forty insulin treated drivers had their large goods vehicle--previously HGV--licence entitlement revoked between August and December last year. Prior to that, no manual or computer summary record was kept of the numbers of insulin revocations.
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Motor Taxation
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total revenue raised from motor taxation in each year from 1979 to 1992 ; and what is the estimated revenue for 1992-93.
Mr. Rifkind : The figures are as follows :
Motoring Taxation (United Kingdom)
£ million
|Vehicle |Fuel Duty |Total
|Excise Duty
------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |1,162 |2,667 |3,829
1980-81 |1,360 |3,338 |4,698
1981-82 |1,618 |4,425 |6,043
1982-83 |1,840 |5,030 |6,870
1983-84 |1,997 |5,414 |7,411
1984-85 |2,264 |5,871 |8,135
1985-86 |2,426 |6,253 |8,679
1986-87 |2,520 |7,302 |9,822
1987-88 |2,599 |7,651 |10,250
1988-89 |2,767 |8,501 |11,268
1989-90 |2,948 |8,556 |11,504
1990-91 |2,923 |9,455 |12,378
1991-92 |<1>2,957 |<1>11,000 |<1>13,957
<1> Revenue for 1992-93 will depend on tax rates in that
year.
Vehicle Excise Duty
Sir Gerard Vaughan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to the arrangements similar to United Kingdom vehicle excise duty applicable in each of the other countries of the European Community.
Mr. Chope : Information on the vehicle taxes imposed by other EC countries can be found in "World Road Statistics 1986-1990", published by the International Road Federation. A copy is held in the Library.
Sir Gerard Vaughan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the categories of vehicle in respect of which vehicle excise duty is chargeable ; what is the current rate for each such category ; when was the most recent change in respect of each category ; what was the previous rate ; and what was the revenue derived from each such category in the latest convenient period.
Mr. Chope : The categories and current rates are set out in Form V149, available from post offices and vehicle registration offices. I attach a copy for my hon. Friend.
For road taxation revenue purposes, these categories fall into five vehicle classes. The estimated VED revenue for each is published in "The allocation of road track costs 1991/91", a copy of which is available in the Library.
The 12-montly rate for cars and light vans was £90 prior to 1985. Rates for motor cycles were increased by between £5 and £10 in 1991. The tax structure for taxis, buses and coaches was reorganised in 1989, with increases of between £47.50 and £395 related to passenger-carrying capacity.
The VED structure for goods vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes was simplified in 1990, involving increases in rates of between £20 and £470 for 140,000 lorries and reductions of between £30 and £570 for 3,800 vehicles. Rates for 320,000 lorries remained the same. The "other vehicles" class comprises recovery vehicles, special machines--mobile cranes, and so on--and "special types"--exceptionally large or heavy vehicles. The rate for recovery
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vehicles was increased by £25 and the rate for special machines by £14 in 1991. The rate for "special types" was increased in 1990 by £150.Motorway Services
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that Mercury telephone boxes are installed at all motorway service areas in the United Kingdom. Mr. Chope Leases for motorway service areas--MSAs--in England, require as a standard the provision of public telephones. The choice of supplier is a matter for the MSA operator. MSAs in Wales and Scotland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland respectively.
Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress he has made towards (a) increasing competition in the provision of services on motorways and (b) increasing the number of service areas on motorways.
Mr. Chope : The citzens charter announced the Government's intention to deregulate the provision of motorway service areas with the aim of providing more services more quickly. Detailed proposals will be announced shortly.
Norwich Southern Bypass
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) who specified the mix of materials which has been found to be faulty in the construction of the Norwich southern bypass ; and if (a) his Department, (b) the consulting engineers or (c) the contractors are liable for the resulting cost ;
(2) what is the estimate of the cost of remedial work on the Norwich southern bypass following the discovery of a faulty mix of materials in its construction.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 27 January 1992] : The Department's specification for highway works which incorporates British standards is used on all its trunk road contracts including Norwich southern bypass. It lays down criteria for road materials which allow contractors and suppliers a wide choice to encourage the use of local and low cost sources of raw materials to minimise transportation and environmental costs. At Norwich each of the four contracts is using a different combination of ingredients for the bituminous mix. The sources of supply for each varies and some local Norfolk aggregates are being used.
The particular combinations of aggregates and bituminous binder used in the heavy duty macadam exhibited unexpected deformation causing a suspension of work while the possible causes were investigated.
Adjustments have been made to the mixes within the British standard to provide a material which has greater resistance to deformation. The extent and apportionment of any additional costs will be resolved under the terms of the contract.
Present indications are that the completed bypass will be opened to traffic by the original contract completion date.
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HOME DEPARTMENT
External Frontiers Convention
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the external frontiers convention with the universal declaration of human rights, the international covenant on civil and political rights, the European convention on human rights, ILO conventions 97 and 143, the Helsinki final act and the Paris charter and the Council of Europe social charter.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : We have no reason to believe that the draft external frontiers convention, signature of which has been held up by disagreement with the Spanish Government over a provision concerning application to Gibraltar, is in breach of any of the United Kingdom's international obligations.
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the external frontiers convention with the European convention on the legal status of migrant workers and the international convention on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and their families.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The United Kingdom is not a party to either of the conventions on migrant workers.
Working Men's Club (Membership Application)
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate the allegation that applications for membership of a Birmingham working men's club featured in the recent Commission for Racial Equality case were made without the applicant's knowledge ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : The conduct of formal investigations and the issuing of non-discrimination notices are matters for the Commission for Racial Equality.
Births (Airports)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children since 1981 have been born in the departure lounges of airports at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Leeds/Bradford and (d) Manchester ; and how many such babies were affected by provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Home Office does not keep records of how many children were born in airport departure lounges, but any child born in such a place would be affected by the British Nationality Act 1981, section 1 of which determines whether or not the child has acquired British citizenship by birth.
Mentally Disordered (Press Coverage)
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he received a copy of the Matthew Trust report on the Press Complaints Commission and BBC regarding media coverage of the mentally disordered and distressed ; and whether he will make a statement.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. Friend received the report on 14 January. He has noted its conclusions and the director of the Matthew Trust will be receiving a reply shortly.Prison Ships
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to the reintroduction of prison ships ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : On Monday 3 February, there were 1,221 prisoners held in police cells. My right hon. Friend has asked the prison service to examine a range of options for reducing this number. Among other possibilities, officials will be investigating the use abroad of floating facilities to house prisoners. However, we have no plans at this stage to introduce such facilities here.
Births (British Citizens)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children born in the United Kingdom since 1981 are not British citizens.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : This information is not available.
Spring Hill Prison
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether following the recent escape from Springfield prison he will institute an immediate inquiry into security at the prison.
Mrs. Rumbold : I assume that the hon. Member is referring to Spring Hill prison.
The prisoner who absconded from Spring Hill prison on 5 December 1991 has now been recaptured. Security at Spring Hill is appropriate for an open prison. The allocation of prisoners to open prisons always carries with it an element of risk.
Electronic Tagging
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he proposes to introduce electronic tagging of offenders under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 ;
(2) what progress has been made towards implementation of electronic tagging of offenders.
Mr. John Patten : Our proposals will be announced shortly.
International Criminals
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now take steps to ensure that international criminals serve their sentences in a high security environment.
Mrs. Rumbold : Offences committed abroad are already taken into account in the categorisation and allocation process. That process is set out in circular instruction 7/1988, a copy of which is in the Library.
Prison Closures
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has reached a decision as to (a) whether Warrington young offenders institution and
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(b) which other prison department establishments, are to close following the estate review 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Rumbold : I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary gave my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) on 30 January at column 647.
Prison Security
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now implement all recent recommendations for improving prison security.
Mrs. Rumbold : Chapter 2 of the White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice", Cm 1647, set out the Government's plans for improving security in prison service establishments. Those plans are being implemented. As to the recent report of an audit of security in prison service establishments holding category A prisoners, conducted by Mr. Ronald Hadfield and Mr. Gordon Lakes, I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) on 16 December 1991 at column 13.
European Year of Elderly People
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home department what plans his Department is making for the European year of elderly people and solidarity between the generations in 1993.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health is leading the Government's work on this, in conjunction with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security : I refer my hon. friend to his reply. He is drawing up plans in consultation with a wide range of national voluntary and professional bodies, statutory authorities and other relevant Government Departments.
Immigration Rules (Marriages)
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the procedures followed by registrars who conduct marriages so as to ensure that there is no evasion of immigration rules.
Mr. Dorrell : I have been asked to reply.
Superintendent registrars are statutory officers exercising functions under the Marriage and Registration Acts under the direction of the Registrar General. They are not immigration officers. If a superintendent registrar has good reason to suspect that the proposed marriage of a person from abroad has been arranged for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls he/she is instructed to report the facts to the Registrar General. If the Registrar General is satisfied that the marriage is purely one of convenience then the facts will be passed on to the Home Office.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
Civil Servants
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what departments and numbers of civil servants are due to be relocated to the north-west in future plans ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The table lists, with likely timings, the plans which departments have announced for relocating or locating civil service jobs away from the south-east which have still to be implemented or completed.
Department and Dispersal location |Number of |Likely timing
|posts
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inland Revenue, Birkenhead |170 |1992
Social Security Child Support Agency, Birkenhead |500 |1993
Customs and Excise, Liverpool |1,301 |1990-95
Customs and Excise, Manchester |390 |1990-95
Employment Group, Runcorn |613 |1990-93
Employment Group, Bootle |61 |1992
Land Registry, Birkenhead |110 |1992-93
|-------
Total number of posts |3,145
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list by department the number of civil service jobs to be relocated in the west midlands, specifying the geographic location of the areas to which they will move and detailing the dates upon which it is planned to make these relocations.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Department of Social Security and the Home Office have announced plans for relocating or locating civil service jobs in the west midlands which have yet to be implemented. The Department of Social Security will be opening a Child Support Agency Office in Dudley from 1 April 1993, creating 500 new administrative jobs. The Home Office will be relocating 12 posts from the forensic science service to Birmingham within the next 18 months.
Income Tax
Mr. Beith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much 1p on the basic rate of income tax would yield in 1992-93 in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.
Mr. Maude : Increasing the basic rate of income tax to 26 per cent. would yield about £1.95 billion, at 1992-93 levels of income. Separate information for England, Scotland, and Wales is not available.
Board of Inland Revenue
Ms. Walley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer further to his answer of 28 January, Official Report, column 487, when he expects to make his decision on proposals relating to the review of management and trading and the review of the organisation and structure of the Board of Inland Revenue ; and what consultation he has undertaken.
Mr. Maude : I have nothing to add to my answer of 28 January at column 487.
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Excise Duties
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the implementation of EC single market legislation associated with excise duties.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Commissioners of Customs and Excise have issued draft Finance Bill clauses relating to holding and movement of goods subject to excise duties to relevant trade representative bodies for consultation. I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.
Customs and Excise
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the terms of reference of the study commissioned from University college, Cardiff, concerning the efficiency of the Customs and Excise Agency in its service at airports and seaports ; when he expects it to be completed ; when it was initiated ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 3 February 1992] : The Economic and Social Research Council sponsored Mr. E. Maguire, Professor R. Morgan and Mr. C. Kemp to research complaints to and against central Government Departments. The immigration service and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise were selected to be researched, in a project which started on 1 October 1989. Research was completed in September 1991. A draft report has been produced, and is with the Government Departments to identify factual inaccuracies before publication.
The terms of reference of the research were to construct a comprehensive picture of complaints received in all areas of the Department, analyse the grievance mechanisms, examine internal attitudes towards complaints, and examine any managerial or policy making use made of complaints patterns or outcomes. The research therefore extended far wider than the efficiency of the service at airports and seaports, although this area was covered in two small exercises seeking travellers' and complainants' views through questionnaires.
The survey of travellers concluded that most had no contact with officers of Customs and Excise, and of those who did have contact, most rated the officers positively. The sample of complainants found that few were happy with the responses that they had received from the Department, but nearly half felt that they had achieved something and more than half were impressed by some aspects of the response--especially its speed and the quality of the written reply.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Nursery Education
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many places in nursery schools and classes were provided by local education authorities in 1990-91 and 1991-92 in England and Wales ; how many of these places were (a) full time and (b) part time ; and what was the total number of full-time equivalent places provided.
Mr. Eggar : Information on the number of pupils in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes in primary
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schools in each local education authority in England in January 1991, the latest date for which information is available, is given in the table. The table also contains information about the number of pupils under five in infant classes in maintained primary schools. Information on schools in Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Wales.Column 107
All pupils under the age of 5 in maintained nursery and primary schools as at January 1991
Nursery schools Nursery classes in Other pupils under 5All pupils in nursery and
primary schools infant classes in prprimary schools
schools
Number of pupils Number of pupils Full-time
Total equivalent
|Full-time|Part-time|Full-time|Part-time|Full-time|Part-time|pupils |of pupils
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City |0 |0 |13 |7 |11 |0 |31 |27.5
Camden |105 |44 |432 |454 |525 |0 |1,560 |1,311.0
Greenwich |352 |323 |237 |2,121 |961 |30 |4,024 |2,787.0
Hackney |61 |111 |760 |1,241 |719 |8 |2,900 |2,220.0
Hammersmith and Fulham |240 |333 |397 |483 |467 |12 |1,932 |1,518.0
Islington |143 |131 |848 |697 |642 |12 |2,473 |2,053.0
Kensington and Chelsea |165 |88 |389 |164 |307 |5 |1,118 |989.5
Lambeth |193 |250 |550 |1,329 |919 |53 |3,294 |2,478.0
Lewisham |100 |130 |363 |1,825 |865 |80 |3,363 |2,345.5
Southwark |182 |288 |622 |1,519 |911 |19 |3,541 |2,628.0
Tower Hamlets |441 |252 |990 |842 |805 |2 |3,332 |2,784.0
Wandsworth |112 |97 |612 |1,460 |839 |21 |3,141 |2,352.0
Westminster |78 |84 |421 |377 |410 |13 |1,383 |1,146.0
Barking |0 |0 |37 |1,353 |1,269 |0 |2,659 |1,982.5
Barnet |18 |487 |43 |1,827 |1,972 |96 |4,443 |3,238.0
Bexley |20 |160 |0 |791 |870 |0 |1,841 |1,365.5
Brent |178 |70 |333 |1,778 |1,919 |0 |4,278 |3,354.0
Bromley |0 |0 |1 |142 |1,039 |7 |1,189 |1,114.5
Croydon |47 |386 |0 |446 |2,494 |19 |3,392 |2,966.5
Ealing |20 |564 |29 |2,579 |2,199 |3 |5,394 |3,821.0
Enfield |0 |0 |0 |1,437 |2,003 |22 |3,462 |2,732.5
Haringey |206 |36 |344 |1,777 |1,688 |3 |4,054 |3,146.0
Harrow |0 |0 |0 |950 |1,487 |41 |2,478 |1,982.5
Havering |0 |0 |9 |228 |864 |910 |2,011 |1,442.0
Hillingdon |0 |120 |0 |3,011 |52 |69 |3,252 |1,652.0
Hounslow |0 |0 |1,755 |2,385 |9 |2 |4,151 |2,957.5
Kingston upon Thames |69 |144 |10 |865 |466 |465 |2,019 |1,282.0
Merton |0 |0 |2 |2,314 |828 |195 |3,339 |2,084.5
Newham |42 |967 |52 |2,579 |0 |783 |4,423 |2,258.5
Redbridge |0 |0 |39 |844 |818 |17 |1,718 |1,287.5
Richmond upon Thames |8 |52 |0 |630 |32 |985 |1,707 |873.5
Sutton |0 |240 |0 |1,247 |46 |1 |1,534 |790.0
Waltham Forest |53 |262 |101 |2,061 |817 |0 |3,294 |2,132.5
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total Greater London |2,833 |5,619 |9,389 |41,763 |29,253 |3,873 |92,730 |67,102.5
Birmingham |840 |1,514 |2,047 |5,713 |9,721 |0 |19,835 |16,221.5
Coventry |50 |318 |29 |1,825 |2,766 |7 |4,995 |3,920.0
Dudley |9 |300 |120 |2,371 |1,223 |25 |4,048 |2,700.0
Sandwell |143 |108 |197 |3,941 |2,709 |31 |7,129 |5,089.0
Solihull |0 |0 |0 |1,673 |1,746 |18 |3,437 |2,591.5
Walsall |92 |671 |36 |3,389 |2,364 |5 |6,557 |4,524.5
Wolverhampton |0 |821 |1 |3,046 |1,056 |4 |4,928 |2,992.5
Knowsley |0 |0 |8 |2,252 |1,569 |0 |3,829 |2,703.0
Liverpool |163 |424 |524 |5,181 |4,429 |0 |10,721 |7,918.5
St. Helens |5 |68 |0 |1,534 |1,542 |0 |3,149 |2,348.0
Sefton |1 |316 |1 |2,080 |2,361 |0 |4,759 |3,561.0
Wirral |23 |283 |2 |1,873 |2,870 |0 |5,051 |3,973.0
Bolton |59 |450 |311 |2,223 |2,406 |0 |5,449 |4,112.5
Bury |68 |72 |193 |1,075 |1,505 |1 |2,914 |2,340.0
Manchester |431 |133 |3,975 |2,791 |2,148 |2 |9,480 |8,017.0
Oldham |0 |0 |780 |1,491 |2,183 |0 |4,454 |3,708.5
Rochdale |52 |884 |129 |980 |1,923 |0 |3,968 |3,036.0
Salford |534 |362 |1,610 |725 |1,993 |0 |5,224 |4,680.5
Stockport |157 |717 |0 |626 |2,316 |13 |3,829 |3,151.0
Tameside |0 |341 |31 |2,084 |1,981 |4 |4,441 |3,226.5
Trafford |0 |0 |0 |1,509 |1,633 |0 |3,142 |2,387.5
Wigan |28 |157 |12 |1,851 |2,702 |119 |4,869 |3,805.5
Barnsley |0 |179 |6 |2,746 |998 |3 |3,932 |2,468.0
Doncaster |0 |0 |64 |3,306 |2,787 |0 |6,157 |4,504.0
Rotherham |0 |387 |252 |2,276 |1,100 |0 |4,015 |2,683.5
Sheffield |135 |656 |288 |4,512 |2,046 |388 |8,025 |5,247.0
Bradford |200 |307 |193 |5,055 |2,532 |443 |8,730 |5,827.5
Calderdale |0 |0 |317 |1,366 |1,650 |0 |3,333 |2,650.0
Kirklees |3 |539 |2 |3,668 |2,088 |0 |6,300 |4,196.5
Leeds |14 |272 |78 |7,116 |3,104 |582 |11,166 |7,181.0
Wakefield |0 |459 |101 |3,570 |1,695 |116 |5,941 |3,868.5
Gateshead |8 |57 |17 |1,539 |1,606 |0 |3,227 |2,429.0
Newcastle upon Tyne |578 |142 |717 |1,524 |2,244 |2 |5,207 |4,373.0
North Tyneside |65 |231 |28 |2,389 |1,565 |7 |4,285 |2,971.5
South Tyneside |19 |753 |10 |1,453 |1,520 |0 |3,755 |2,652.0
Sunderland |58 |945 |12 |2,149 |2,681 |0 |5,845 |4,298.0
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total Metropolitan districts |3,735 |12,866 |12,091 |92,902 |82,762 |1,770 |206,126 |152,357.0
Avon |862 |684 |369 |2,458 |7,343 |5 |11,721 |10,147.5
Bedfordshire |255 |1,108 |344 |3,352 |978 |805 |6,842 |4,209.5
Berkshire |129 |2,019 |86 |3,396 |329 |43 |6,002 |3,273.0
Buckinghamshire |1 |509 |0 |1,724 |907 |1,924 |5,065 |2,986.5
Cambridgeshire |90 |565 |39 |1,276 |5,377 |118 |7,465 |6,485.5
Cheshire |30 |801 |40 |4,541 |8,113 |12 |13,537 |10,860.0
Cleveland |0 |146 |42 |8,655 |5,397 |163 |14,403 |9,921.0
Cornwall |25 |87 |1 |1,435 |1,759 |1,510 |4,817 |3,301.0
Cumbria |1 |869 |0 |2,020 |3,728 |25 |6,643 |5,186.0
Derbyshire |147 |1,337 |599 |6,604 |3,778 |1,482 |13,947 |9,235.5
Devon |42 |254 |118 |2,245 |3,556 |275 |6,490 |5,103.0
Dorset |0 |0 |0 |781 |1,023 |3,448 |5,252 |3,137.5
Durham |216 |2,290 |42 |3,487 |4,525 |28 |10,588 |7,685.5
East Sussex |3 |294 |4 |1,058 |2,211 |2,261 |5,831 |4,024.5
Essex |19 |236 |114 |2,040 |6,064 |84 |8,557 |7,377.0
Gloucestershire |0 |0 |15 |0 |4,050 |32 |4,097 |4,081.0
Hampshire |0 |339 |0 |1,610 |5,640 |577 |8,166 |6,903.0
Hereford and Worcester |0 |0 |117 |1,172 |2,178 |32 |3,499 |2,897.0
Hertfordshire |88 |1,598 |43 |6,422 |3,957 |417 |12,525 |8,306.5
Humberside |202 |899 |594 |6,540 |4,853 |142 |13,230 |9,439.5
Isle of Wight |0 |0 |5 |175 |912 |1 |1,093 |1,005.0
Kent |0 |84 |27 |1,773 |7,247 |3,415 |12,546 |9,910.0
Lancashire |103 |3,297 |3 |3,534 |12,074 |6 |19,017 |15,598.5
Leicestershire |0 |50 |1,583 |3,810 |3,266 |647 |9,356 |7,102.5
Lincolnshire |88 |211 |64 |828 |4,104 |25 |5,320 |4,788.0
Norfolk |2 |399 |0 |460 |3,056 |1,769 |5,686 |4,372.0
North Yorkhire |33 |334 |126 |2,905 |4,100 |357 |7,855 |6,057.0
Northamptonshire |15 |584 |62 |2,181 |5,060 |36 |7,938 |6,537.5
Northumberland |19 |115 |38 |2,204 |2,399 |18 |4,793 |3,624.5
Nottinghamshire |17 |549 |217 |12,311 |1,838 |228 |15,160 |8,616.0
Oxfordshire |67 |1,007 |69 |1,368 |421 |286 |3,218 |1,887.5
Shropshire |0 |168 |0 |1,255 |1,669 |473 |3,565 |2,617.0
Somerset |0 |0 |36 |51 |3,631 |52 |3,770 |3,718.5
Staffordshire |952 |1,015 |1,434 |2,760 |7,792 |206 |14,159 |12,168.5
Suffolk |6 |90 |0 |2,700 |2,399 |38 |5,233 |3,819.0
Surrey |92 |326 |5 |2,346 |3,083 |223 |6,075 |4,627.5
Warwickshire |0 |755 |2 |1,300 |3,856 |15 |5,928 |4,893.0
West Sussex |13 |505 |19 |111 |1,926 |32 |2,606 |2,282.0
Wiltshire |0 |0 |0 |520 |2,059 |156 |2,735 |2,397.0
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total Non-metropolitan counties |3,517 |23,524 |6,257 |103,408 |146,658 |21,366 |304,730 |230,581.0
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
England |10,085 |42,009 |27,737 |238,073 |258,673 |27,009 |603,586 |450,040.5
Private Schools
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to extend the citizens charter so as to cover any grievance which a parent might have against a private school ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 110
Primary Schools
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are his estimates for the increases in public spending necessary if all primary schools in England were to have a maximum limit of (a) 30 and (b) 32 on class sizes.
Mr. Fallon : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett) on 24 January at column 343.
Column 111
Pupils (Learning by Rote)
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidance he gives (a) to local education authorities and (b) to Her Majesty's inspectors regarding the desirability of pupils learning multiplication tables by rote ; and what representations he has had on the matter.
Mr. Eggar : The national curriculum sets out what is to be taught in schools, and this includes the requirement for pupils to learn mutiplication tables up to 10 times 10. It is for teachers to decide how to deliver the curriculum, and I have not given any guidance on how pupils should learn their tables, nor received any
representations on the subject.
PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 4 February.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
Hong Kong
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 28 January, Official Report, columns 503-4, how many of the Ministers listed, other than the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and himself, took part in party political activities during their visit in addition to their official duties.
The Prime Minister : This information is not centrally recorded and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Further to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 28 January, at columns 503- 4, the list of ministerial visits omitted the visit to Hong Kong of Lord Brabazon, Minister of State for Transport, in February 1991.
Column 112
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Skelmersdale
Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the assistance available from his Department and the European Community for trade and industry projects in Skelmersdale new town.
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