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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 5th February 1993
EDUCATION
Primary Schools
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidelines the Government issue on the optimum size of primary schools.
Mr. Forth : The Government have issued no guidelines on the optimum size of primary schools.
Universities, Wales
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what formula will be used in determining the proportion granted to the Wales higher education funding council of the Department for Education budget for universities.
Mr. Boswell : The expenditure programmes of the Department and the Welsh Office were adjusted at the time of the 1992 autumn statement to take account of the changed responsibilities for the funding of universities.
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Adjustments of this kind are only one component of the public expenditure survey process leading to a decision by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales about the funds available for the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.Schools Inspectors
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools is making towards maintaining a register of those competent to lead inspection teams.
Mr. Forth : This is a matter for Ofsted ; I have asked Professor Sutherland to write to my hon. Friend.
Key Stage 1
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children aged seven years in each local education authority area are allowed to proceed beyond key stage 1, level 3.
Mr. Forth : Every child at the end of key stage 1 who has demonstrated through the statutory assessments that he or she has reached the targets for level 3 should be taken on by his or her teachers to the targets appropriate for the next level. The following table indicates by LEA the percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 1 in 1992 who reached level 4.
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Key stage 1: Testing 7 year olds in 1992 England
Percentages of pupils who have reached level 4
|English Level 4 |Mathematics Level 4|Science Level 4 |Technology Level 4
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Camden |0.7 |0.1 |0.1 |0.0
Greenwich |0.4 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Hackney |0.8 |0.0 |0.1 |0.0
Hammersmith |0.6 |0.2 |0.0 |0.0
Islington |0.4 |0.0 |0.0 |0.1
Kensington and Chelsea |0.4 |0.1 |0.0 |0.0
Lambeth |1.1 |0.1 |0.3 |0.4
Lewisham |0.5 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Southwark |0.6 |0.0 |0.2 |0.0
Tower Hamlets |0.7 |0.0 |0.1 |0.5
Wandsworth |0.1 |0.0 |0.3 |0.0
Westminster |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1
Barking |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Barnet |0.6 |0.1 |0.1 |0.0
Bexley |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Brent |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Bromley |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Croydon |0.5 |0.0 |0.1 |0.0
Ealing |1.3 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Enfield |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Haringey |0.4 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Harrow |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Havering |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Hillingdon |0.3 |0.0 |0.2 |0.0
Hounslow |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Kingston upon Thames |0.0 |0.1 |0.0 |0.0
Merton |1.4 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Newham |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Redbridge |0.3 |0.0 |0.1 |0.1
Richmond upon Thames |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Sutton |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Waltham Forest |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Birmingham |0.1 |0.0 |0.1 |0.0
Coventry |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Dudley |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Sandwell |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.1
Solihull |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Walsall |0.1 |0.1 |0.0 |0.0
Wolverhampton |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Knowsley |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Liverpool |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
St. Helens |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Sefton |0.2 |0.1 |0.1 |0.0
Wirral |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Bolton |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Bury |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Manchester |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Oldham |0.3 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Rochdale |0.3 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Salford |0.0 |0.0 |0.1 |0.0
Stockport |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Tameside |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Trafford |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Wigan |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Barnsley |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Doncaster |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Rotherham |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Sheffield |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Bradford |0.5 |0.1 |0.1 |0.0
Calderdale |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Kirklees |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.1
Leeds |0.4 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Wakefield |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Gateshead |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Newcastle Upon Tyne |0.4 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
North Tyneside |0.1 |0.1 |0.0 |0.0
South Tyneside |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Sunderland |0.1 |0.1 |0.0 |0.0
Avon |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Bedfordshire |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Berkshire |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Buckinghamshire |0.4 |0.1 |0.1 |0.0
Cambridgeshire |0.1 |0.0 |0.1 |0.0
Cheshire |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Cleveland |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Cornwall and Isles Scilly |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Cumbria |0.3 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Derbyshire |0.3 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Devon |0.5 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Dorset |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Durham |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
East Sussex |0.5 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Essex |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Gloucestershire |0.2 |0.1 |0.0 |0.0
Hampshire |0.3 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Hereford and Worcester |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Hertfordshire |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Humberside |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Isle of Wight |0.5 |0.3 |0.5 |2.5
Kent |0.3 |0.0 |0.1 |0.0
Lancashire |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Leicestershire |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Lincolnshire |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Norfolk |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
North Yorkshire |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Northamptonshire |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Northumberland |0.0 |0.0 |0.1 |0.0
Nottinghamshire |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Oxfordshire |0.4 |0.1 |0.0 |0.0
Shropshire |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Somerset |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Staffordshire |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Suffolk |0.3 |0.0 |0.2 |0.0
Surrey |0.3 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
Warwickshire |0.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0
West Sussex |0.5 |0.0 |0.1 |0.0
Wiltshire |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |0.2
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Special Educational Needs
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring in legislation to give parents of children with special needs the right to state a preference for their child's school from amongst local education authority special or ordinary schools, grant-maintained schools and schools run by a recognised charity ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The Education Bill, currently before Parliament, significantly extends the rights of parents of children with special educational needs over the school their child should attend. It enables parents of children with special educational needs to express a preference for the maintained school which should be named in a statement or to make representations in favour of a non-maintained or independent school. In all cases, if the local education authority does not comply with the parents' wishes, parents may appeal to the special educational needs tribunal, whose rulings will be binding.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish for each local education authority the number of appeals made against statements of special educational need ; and what is the estimated cost of running the appeals system in each local education authority in each of the last three years.
Mr. Forth : The information requested is not available centrally.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will provide information on the staffing and other costs which go to making up his estimate of setting up the tribunal system for hearing appeals about statements of special educational needs.
Mr. Forth : We shall be consulting on the details of the tribunal's establishment and procedures. Initial estimates are based on the Department's own experience of staffing and administrative costs in handling appeals and reflect consultation with other Departments which sponsor tribunals.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Smoking
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if consideration will be given to reviewing the policy on smoking within the Palace of Westminster, following the recent case involving Stockport council ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Michael J. Martin : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stoke on Trent, North (Ms. Walley) on 1 February at column 64.
Abbreviated Automatic Dialling
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee on what date abbreviated automatic dialling to the European Commission ceased ; and when it will be restored.
Mr. Michael J. Martin : The only disruption of the abbreviated dialling system for the European Commission occurred recently when its telephone number was changed without notice. The new number was encoded as soon as it was known. Extra numbers have now been added ; and a revised list of European institution exchanges accessible by abbreviated dialling will be circulated as soon as possible.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Radiation Emergencies
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken in his Department to implement the Public Information for Radiation Emergencies Regulations 1993.
Mr. Atkins : None. The enactment cited is not extant in Northern Ireland.
Population
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the latest estimates by the Registrar General of Populations of those aged 17 years and over, plus 63 per cent. of those aged 16 years, for each district council area and parliamentary constituency, together in each case with the equivalent year's electoral registration figures expressed in numbers and as a percentage of relevant population.
Mr. Hanley : The information is set out in the tables. It is the same as that which I provided to the hon. Gentleman in my letter of 18 November 1992, a copy of which was placed in the Library. Electoral registration figures for 1993-94 will not be available until the new register is published on 15 February. Mid-year population estimates for 1992 will not be available until the summer.
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Table A: Parliamentary Constituences
Constituency |Column 1: estimated |Column 2: registered|Column 2 as a
|population aged 17 |electors (1992-93 |percentage of
|and over plus 63 |Register, |Column 1
|per cent of 16 year |qualifying date 15
|olds (as at 30 June |September 1991)
|1991)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast East |54,655 |53,375 |97.7
Belfast North |54,931 |55,587 |101.2
Belfast South |55,368 |52,556 |94.9
Belfast West |54,960 |55,280 |100.6
East Antrim |64,621 |63,739 |98.6
East Londonderry |78,930 |76,912 |97.4
Fermanagh and South Tyrone |70,489 |71,472 |101.4
Foyle |77,264 |75,970 |98.8
Lagan Valley |76,053 |73,688 |96.9
Mid Ulster |71,186 |70,410 |98.9
Newry and Armagh |68,837 |68,716 |99.8
North Antrim |71,096 |70,217 |98.8
North Down |70,201 |69,604 |99.1
Strangford |71,468 |69,855 |97.7
South Antrim |71,334 |68,292 |95.7
South Down |78,592 |77,371 |98.4
Upper Bann |68,675 |68,422 |99.6
|------- |------- |-------
Total |1,158,660 |1,141,466 |98.5
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Table B: District Council Areas
District Council |Column 1: estimated |Column 2: registered|Column 2 as a
|population aged 17 |electors (1992-93 |percentage of
|and over plus 63 |Register, |Column 1
|per cent of 16 year |qualifying date 15
|olds (as at 30 June |September 1991)
|1991)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antrim |32,678 |30,227 |92.5
Ards |49,086 |49,089 |100.0
Armagh |37,019 |36,222 |97.8
Ballymena |42,671 |42,091 |98.6
Ballymoney |17,725 |17,610 |99.4
Banbridge |24,704 |24,891 |100.8
Belfast |212,332 |209,126 |98.5
Carrickfergus |24,683 |24,527 |99.4
Castlereagh |48,405 |47,505 |98.1
Coleraine |38,000 |37,138 |97.7
Cookstown |21,581 |21,637 |100.3
Craigavon |54,855 |54,520 |99.4
Derry |64,643 |63,309 |97.9
Down |41,656 |40,656 |97.6
Dungannon |31,854 |32,354 |101.6
Fermanagh |38,636 |39,112 |101.2
Larne |22,536 |22,318 |99.0
Limavady |20,608 |19,282 |93.6
Lisburn |72,538 |69,472 |95.8
Magherafelt |25,391 |25,611 |100.9
Moyle |10,700 |10,509 |98.2
Newry and Mourne |57,870 |58,207 |100.6
Newtownabbey |56,057 |55,155 |98.4
North Down |55,272 |54,464 |98.5
Omagh |31,889 |30,973 |97.1
Strabane |25,271 |25,319 |100.2
|------- |------- |-------
Total |1,158,660 |1,141,324 |98.5
HOME DEPARTMENT
Satellite Television
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints he has received from those members of the public who have paid for de-coders which enable them to receive a satellite programme called "Red Hot Dutch."
Mr. Jack : None have so far been addressed to the Home Office.
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Obscene Publications Act
Dr. Spink : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had with groups representing women, parents, children, the police, the legal profession, the churches and the retail trade about reform of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : We receive frequent representations both from groups and from individuals on the subject of obscenity and are aware of the concern which is felt in many quarters. The application of the Obscene Publications Act is kept under constant review and we are currently considering, in consultation with the police, the Crown prosecution service and other Government Departments, whether any changes in practice might be made to improve the enforcement of the law.
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Sri Lankan Refugees
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of Sri Lankan refugees seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom on 25 January.
Mr. Charles Wardle : On 31 December 1992, around 4,450 applications by Sri Lankan citizens, excluding dependants, for asylum in the United Kingdom were awaiting a decision. Specific information for 25 January 1993 is not available.
Police, Greenwich
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis indicating the change in the number of police officers available for service in the London borough of Greenwich in each of the last two years.
Mr. Charles Wardle : On 29 December 1992 the policing strength within the London borough of Greenwich was recorded as 261 and for the same date in 1991 it was 281. Between these dates the method of manpower recording changed. There has, in fact, been no reduction in the number of police officers available for operational duty.
Customs Barriers
Mr. Dicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take action to ensure that the removal of customs barriers between Great Britain and continental EC countries does not lead to a flood of automatic weapons being brought into the United Kingdom.
Mr. Charles Wardle : All European Community states are bound by the EC weapons directive, which came into effect on 1 January 1993. Under the directive the possession of automatic firearms is prohibited throughout the Community.
Also under the directive, movements of other firearms are subject to a new licensing system. As before, anyone purchasing a firearm in another EC state must have prior permission from the police to bring it into the United Kingdom. But in addition to this, notice of each transfer of a firearm to this country will now be sent to my Department via a new Community-wide information system. The information will be passed to police and customs officers who will investigate any apparent irregularities.
Mr. Salman Rushdie
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is Her Majesty's Government's current policy on the protection of Mr. Salman Rushdie from terrorism ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : It remains the policy that protection should be provided where it appears appropriate in the operational judgment of the chief officer of police. In Mr. Rushdie's case decisions on the level of police protection to be provided are a matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
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Female Prison Officers
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female prison officers are employed in prisons in the United Kingdom ; and how they are deployed throughout the service.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : At the end of December 1992, there were 1,967 female prison officers employed in prison service establishments in England and Wales--41 principal officers, 126 senior officers and 1, 800 officers. A total of 682 were employed in female establishments, 1,124 in male establishments and 161 in dual-sex establishments.
Beckard Pollitzer Ltd.
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his decision to contract out the warehouse and distribution function of the supply and transport branch of his Department to Beck and Pollitzer Ltd.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend to her question on 4 February.
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision has been made for compensation to be payable to Beck and Pollitzer should his Department withdraw from the contracting out of supply and transport functions of the Home Office.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No provision has been made for compensation to be paid to Beck and Pollitzer.
Prison Service Dog Section
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to market-test the prison service dog section ; what consideration he has given to the applicability of the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations 1981 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The prison dog service is one of the candidates in my Department's current market testing programme. Work on this project is due to commence on 8 March. As part of it we will be considering the applicability of the TUPE regulations.
Mr. Bashir Uddin
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider compensation to Mr. Bashir Uddin following his acquittal of assault at the Inner London Crown court ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : If Mr. Bashir Uddin applies to the Home Office, his application will be carefully considered in accordance with the current relevant arrangements for the payment of ex-gratia compensation which were described by my right hon. Friend, the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) on 29 November 1985 at column 691-92.
Safer Cities Programme
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what grant aid budget those safer cities projects due to close in March 1994 have for the financial
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year 1993-94 ; how much of this each project has already committed ; and what money is available within each project for new initiatives.Mr. Jack [holding answer 4 February 1993] : Each of the 16 projects due to close in March 1994 has £100,000 available in grant funding in 1993-94 to support local crime prevention schemes. The records of approved schemes held at the Home Office show the following amounts already committed and still available for initiatives. Plans to use uncommitted expenditure may already be at a fairly advanced stage locally.
Project |Amount committed|Amount available
|from £100,000
|(£ thousand) |(£ thousand)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Birmingham |42.1 |57.9
Bradford |32.1 |67.9
Bristol |0.0 |100.0
Coventry |92.9 |7.1
Hartlepool |108.6 |0.0
Hull |96.9 |3.1
Islington |0.0 |100.0
Lewisham |54.6 |45.4
Nottingham |76.4 |23.6
Rochdale |21.4 |78.6
Salford |80.7 |19.3
Sunderland |12.5 |87.5
Tower Hamlets |35.0 |65.0
Wandsworth |31.5 |68.5
Wirral |56.0 |44.0
Wolverhampton |50.3 |49.7
In addition, each of these projects has access to further funds in 1993-94 from a central pool of £500,000 which has been set aside to assist the development locally of continuing structures for the maintenance of multi- agency crime prevention work.
Immigration
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of individuals who are given work permits are eventually given leave to remain indefinitely.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 2 February 1993] : In recent years, the number of acceptances for settlement after four years employment with a work permit has represented around 12 to 14 per cent. of the total number of non-trainee work permits (both for long and short-term employment), issued four years previously.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Income Support
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the Benefits Agency's decision not to pay income support to the Woolwich constituent national insurance No. PW130335D following the decision by the social security appeal tribunal on 28 October 1992.
Mr. Burt : I understand that Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency has already replied directly to the hon. Member, advising that the independent adjudication officer intends to appeal to the commissioner about his constituent's case.
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Retirement Pensions
Mr. Mandelson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures estimating, on the same basis as estimates made in "Options for Equality in State Pension Age", the cost of a split retirement scheme in which the basic pension is payable at age 60 years and SERPS at age 65 years assuming an alignment of contracting-out terms with the new pension ages, giving figures for (a) 2015, (b) 20205, (c) 2035 and (d) 2045.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is in the table.
Year |Cost
|(£ million)
------------------------------------
2015 |600
2025 |600
2035 |400
Notes:
1. Figures given at 1990-91 prices.
2. Information for 2045 not
available.
3. Figures refer to net public
sector borrowing requirement cost.
National Insurance Contributions
Mr. Mandelson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost in (a) 1993-94, (b) 2015, (c) 2025, (d) 2035 and (e) 2045 of abolishing national insurance contributions for men aged 60 to 65 years.
Miss Widdecombe : The cost in income foregone to the national insurance fund of abolishing the employee national insurance contributions for men aged 60 to 65 would be as follows :