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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 25 June 1993
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Contract and Estate Law
Mr. McFall : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what expressions of concern he has received (a) from small businesses and (b) from others about the current law of privity of contract and estate in England and Wales ;
(2) what representations he has received in support of the reform of privity of contract and estate.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Lord Chancellor has received a considerable number of expressions of concern about the law in this area, the majority from small businesses and organisations representing their interests ; but there have also been representations from landlords and property investors. It would not be practicable to list the representations that have been received. The Lord Chancellor is well aware of the respective interests of both tenants and landlords, and has already announced the Government's decision to implement the Law Commission's recommendations in this area for future leases.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Sunday Trading
Sir George Gardiner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account will be taken, in any reform of the law on Sunday trading, of public demand for all shops to be free to open for some period during the day on Sundays.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : We intend to offer Parliament a choice between the four main options for reform of Sunday trading law. Hon. Members will no doubt take publc opinion into account before choosing between these options.
Immigration
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the total number of non-United Kingdom nationals admitted for settlement in the United Kingdom in each year since 1982, indicating whether these originated in (a) the new Commonwealth, (b) the Republic of Ireland, (c) eastern Europe and (d) elsewhere ; and if he will give an estimate of what proportion of this total was of working age.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The numbers of persons accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom, by nationality, are published in table 14 of the Home Office Command Paper "Control of Immigration : Statistics, United Kingdom 1990" (Cm 1571) for the years 1982-89 and in table 1 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin Issue 14/93 "Control of
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Immigration : Statistics--Third and Fourth Quarters and Year 1992" for 1990-92. Copies of both these publications are in the Library. These figures do not include citizens of the Republic of Ireland, who are generally able to move freely within the common travel area. The readily available information on age is for non-EC nationals accepted for settlement on removal of the time limit on their stay (ie subsequent to initial admission for a limited period) in 1992. These acceptances comprised the large majority of total settlement in 1992 (88 per cent.). Around 80 per cent. were aged between 16 and 60.New Age Travellers
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he is giving local authorities to assist them in coping with large-scale acts of trespass on local authority or private land by new age travellers this summer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : In 1991 we issued a leaflet giving general guidance to land owners, including local authorities, relating to trespass on land and we encourage all local authorities to liaise closely with the police if they suspect that any land in their areas is vulnerable to mass trespass. Officials have met representatives of the Malvern Hills district council and Salisbury district council to discuss their applications to the Home Secretary for orders under section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986.
Custody Officers
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on the number of physical attacks against custody officers within each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1985.
Mr. Maclean : The information requested is not collected centrally.
Illegal Employment Prosecutions
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been initiated in the last five years for the illegal employment of non-EC persons who do not possess a work permit.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Although it is an offence to take work in breach of conditions of stay, employers do not commit an offence simply by virtue of employing such people.
Wolds Remand Centre
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inmates were involved in the incident at the Wolds remand centre on 11 and 12 June ; how many staff were on duty at the time and how many extra staff were called in ; what is the value of the damage done by inmates during the course of the incident ; for what reason the emergency services were called ; and if he will call for a detailed inquiry.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange a reply.
Letter from Mr. D. Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated24 June 1993 :
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The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking about an incident at the Wolds Remand Prison on 11th and 12th June.49 prisoners, all in one unit, refused to return to their cells at lock-up on 11 June. 23 staff were on duty at the time. Contingency plans were put into operation, but for obvious reasons it is our policy not to give operational details of them for any establishment. It is standard procedure for emergency services to be alerted to an incident. The unit was quiet by 0015 and complete control was secured by 0135. The value of the damage caused by prisoners is put at £8, 000. The Home Office controller, based at Wolds, monitors the contractor's performance and will provide a full report ; the incident on11 June does not merit a separate inquiry.
TRANSPORT
New Age Travellers' Vehicles
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 3 July 1992, Official Report, column 726 , what recommendations the vehicle inspectorate and the police forces have received underlying the policy of prohibiting from road use vehicles (a) not carrying tax discs or (b) which are unroadworthy ; and if he will make a statement on any extra measures he is taking in respect of expected movements of new age travellers in the coming summer.
Mr. Key : The vehicle inspectorate normally imposes an immediate prohibition on vehicles which are in a dangerous condition. This prevents or restricts their use on the road until the defect has been rectified. Where there is a lesser defect, it may impose a delayed prohibition, which comes into effect only if the defect has not been rectified within a specified time limit. The police can only impose immediate prohibitions. Policy on prohibitions is a matter for chief constables, but generally the police use the same criteria as the vehicle inspectorate in deciding whether a defect is serious enough to merit an immediate prohibition. There are no powers for either the police or the vehicle inspectorate to prohibit vehicles not displaying valid tax discs.
Most of the vehicle inspectorate enforcement resources are used to ensure that lorries, buses and coaches are safe, although some private vehicles are checked with police co-operation. No extra measures by the vehicle inspectorate are planned at present in respect of new age travellers. The deployment of police resources is a matter for chief constables.
However, vehicles not displaying valid tax discs may be stopped by the police and the keepers prosecuted/fined. The maximum penalty is £1,000 or five times the annual rate of duty whichever is the greatest. Furthermore, a valid tax disc cannot be obtained unless the keeper is in possession of a valid roadworthiness test certificate.
Rail Privatisation
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria he will use to judge the effectiveness and value for money of his rail privatisation proposals.
Mr. Freeman : Our proposals are intended to enable the railways to provide a higher quality of service, with greater responsiveness to customers' needs, and to offer better value for money to the public who travel by rail.
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Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements he has made to ensure that business travellers will still be able to use rail warrants to pay for tickets after the franchising of rail passenger services.
Mr. Freeman : Future participation in warrant schemes will be a matter for negotiation with operators. Arrangements to facilitate this are still under discussion.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which authority will become responsible, under his proposals for the privatisation of BR, for handling telephone inquiries for the inquiry bureaux currently operated by British Rail ; and what steps he is taking to ensure that they continue to provide information for the whole of the national rail network.
Mr. Freeman : The provision of co-ordinated passenger information over the telephone is still under discussion. If necessary, it will be possible to impose suitable obligations through licences or franchise agreements.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that rail franchise operators will continue to accept Inter-Rail and Rail Europe Senior railcards after privatisation of British Rail.
Mr. Freeman : Franchisees will be required to honour existing tickets. Future participation in international ticketing offers will be a matter for commercial negotiation, as it is now for British Rail, within joint industry arrangements as necessary.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the first rail passenger franchises to be offered to the private sector ; and which services these will be.
Mr. Freeman : I expect the first franchises to be offered to the private sector in 1994. These are likely to be the seven service groupings announced in February. The Victoria-Gatwick express is in the vanguard of the restructuring process and is expected to be offered to the private sector ahead of other services.
Rail Services (East Anglia)
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to seek discussions with British Rail over changes in levels of services announced in Norfolk and Suffolk ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : None. British Rail must be free to match service levels to demand. I understand that the changes in the winter Sunday services reflect the high cost of providing these lightly-used services, many of which cater for a largely seasonal trade.
Disabled Rail Travellers
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to place a duty on the Rail Regulator to consult the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee with the view of drawing up a national code of practice for disabled rail travellers.
Mr. Freeman : It is our intention to bring forward an amendment to the Railways Bill which places such a duty on the Regulator.
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Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Sir Keith Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations about the channel tunnel rail link his Department has received since 23 March from (a) the county of Kent and (b) the borough of Ashford.
Mr. Freeman : Until 24 June, 650 from the county of Kent and from Kent Members of Parliament, including 384 from Ashford postal addresses and from the hon. Member for Ashford. A separate total of representations from within the borough boundaries is not readily available.
Railway Rolling Stock
Sir Keith Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with British Rail about their proposed order for rolling stock allowed for in the lease finance announced in last October's financial statement.
Mr. Freeman : British Rail is currently considering what rolling stock to acquire on lease using the £150 million facility made available in last year's autumn statement. The choice between the two options--dual-voltage Networkers for Network SouthEast or IC225s for the west coast main line--is entirely a matter for British Rail in the light of negotiations with suppliers and lessors. I expect a decision in the summer.
I will support further leasing deals provided that they comply with the Treasury's guidelines.
EDUCATION
Environmental Policy
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his Department's policy on the purchase and use of (a) recycled paper, (b) low-energy light bulbs, (c) tropical hardwoods, (d) peat and (e) cars with catalytic converters.
Mr. Robin Squire : The Department's policy is to take full account of the environmental implications of all decisions involving the purchase and use of resources. An environmental policy statement has been issued to all staff which reaffirms our commitment to increase the use of recycled paper, reduce and eventually eliminate the use of non-renewable resources, and to reduce the use of hazardous substances.
Further and Higher Education
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what statistics he has on the percentage of students who take up further and higher education in each EC country.
Mr. Boswell : In 1992-93 some 71 per cent. of 16-year-olds and 55 per cent. of 17-year-olds participated in full-time education in schools, sixth-form colleges and further education colleges in England. In the same year the age participation index in Great Britain (defined as the number of young home initial entrants to higher education expressed as a percentage of the averaged 18 to 19-year-old population) was some 28 per cent. Further details are
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shown in tables 17 and 21 of the Departmental Report, CM 2210. Comparisons with certain EC countries are shown on pages 16 and 17 of "Education Statistics for the United Kingdom", 1992 edition, a copy of which is in the Library.Public Appointments
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the names, occupations and current employers of those who currently hold positions in each public body to which he makes appointments ; if he will make a statement on the considerations taken into account when making such appointments ; and if he will list details of the posts and salaries or allowances payable which have changed since the publication of "Public Bodies 1992".
Mr. Boswell : The names of those who have been appointed to the Department's public bodies are given in the table, together with details of changes as they apply to posts, salaries or allowances since publication of "Public Bodies 1992". Information relating to occupations and current employers of appointees could be supplied only at disproportionate cost, but we are satisfied that the members of our public bodies represent an appropriately wide range of backgrounds and are appointed on the basis of their aptitude, merit and suitability.
Membership of DFE public bodies with details of changes to posts, salaries or allowances made since 1 April 1992--
Business and technology education council
Chairman :
Mr. Parry Rogers
Members :
Mrs. Gillian Armitage
Mr. Barry Barker
Mr. Derek Betts
Dr. John Capey
Mr. Richard Davies
Mrs. Patricia Haikin
Mr. Garry Hawkes
Dr. Philip Hunter
Mr. Michael Lickiss
Mr. Morton Neal
Mr. Keith Ratcliffe
Mr. John Spence
Ms Lynda Purser
Mr. John Stoddard
Central bureau for educational visits and exchanges
Chairman :
Mr. J. A. Carter
Members :
Mr. D. A. L. Avery
Mr. R. Bailess
Mr. M. Brackenbury
Mrs. P. G. Collings
Mr. I. Fraser
Mrs. S. Greenfield
Mr. D. J. Hatfield
Mr. N. H. Holmes
Mrs. A. Longley
Rev. D. Peacock
Dr. R. Rix
Mrs. J. Shackleton
Mr. B. Tanner
Dr. P. Troughton
Appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
One additional member appointed since 1 April 1992.
Centre for information on language teaching
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Chairman :Professor Martin Harris
Members :
Mr. Jim Beadle
Mrs. Madeleine Bedford
Dr. Ann Dowling
Mr. Barry Jones
Mr. David Jones
Ms. Janet Little
Mr. David Mallen
Ms Mary Ryan
Ms Valerie Stone
Professor Gareth Thomas
Mr. Richard Townsend
Appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Council for the accreditation of teacher education Chairman : Professor Sir William Taylor
Members :
Professor Robin Alexander
Mr. John Burn
Sister Vincent Duggan
Dr. Richard Evans
Mrs. Gay Firth
Professor Malcolm Frazer
Ms. Carolyn Hayman
Mr. Douglas Keith
Mr. Anthony Lenney
Mr. Derek Mortimer
Professor Anthony O'Hear
Mr. Anthony Pellegrini
Mrs. Margaret Pritchard
Mr. Robin Reeve
Mr. Rod Scarth
Mr. Martin Tims
Mr. Martin Turner
Mr. Anthony Wates
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Wilson
Four additional members appointed since 1 April 1992
Education assests board Chairman :
Sir Tom McDonald, Increase to £24,030 pa--part-time appointment Chief Executive :
Mr. H. S. Hoare (ex-officio), Increase to £47,424 pa--full-time appointment
Members :
(Members receive an honorarium of £153 pd)
Mr. B. C. Arthur
Mr. K. J. Bridge
Ms. K. Buckley
Mr. H. E. Couch
Mr. J. M. Edwards
Miss A. Lees
Mr. P. S. Lewis
Mr. G. Locke
Mr. A. N. Solomons
One additional member apponted since 1 April 1992
Further education funding council for England Chairman : Mr. Robert Gunn, £33,170 pa--part-time appointment
Chief Executive :
Dr. William Stubbs, £84,227 pa--full-time appointment
Members :
(Members receive an honorarium of £4,000 pa)
Mr. Nicholas Bennett
Mr. Anthony Cann
Dr. John Capey
Mr. Anthony Close
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