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Sir Hector Monro : Levels of charge and decisions about discounts will be matters for the new water and sewerage authorities. Their charging schemes will be subject to consultation with and approval by the Customers Council.
Procurators Fiscal
Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the procurators fiscal in Scotland, the districts which they cover and their administrative addresses.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information is given as follows :
Procurator Fiscal |District |Address
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. D. Vannet |Aberdeen |Inverlair house, West North
|street, AB9 1AL
A. T. W. Wilson |Airdrie |Sheriff court, Graham street,
|ML6 6EE
I. D. Douglas |Alloa |Sheriff court, FK10 1HR
Mrs. B. Bott |Arbroath |Aitken house, 15 Hill street,
|DD1 1BR
N. G. O'Brien |Ayr |29 Miller road, KA7 2AX
A. J. M. Colley |Banff |Sheriff court, AB4 1AU
I. Henderson |Campbeltown |Sheriff court, PA28 6AN
E. B. Russell |Cupar |Sheriff court, KY15 4LS
D. R. Hingston |Dingwall |Sheriff court, Ferry road,
|IV15 9QX
H. T. Westwater |Dornoch |Sheriff court, IV25 3FD
J. Cardle |Dumbarton |3 High street, G82 1NB
D. J. Howdle |Dumfries |Sheriff court, Buccleuch street,
|DG1 2AN
D. K. Heywood |Dundee |15 West Bell street, DD1 1HD
R. T. Hamilton |Dunfermline |Sheriff court, Carnegie drive,
|KY12 7HW
D. L. Webster |Dunoon |Sheriff court, PA23 8BQ
A. R. G. Fraser |Duns |Sheriff court, TD11 3DU
R. F. Lees |Edinburgh |3 Queensferry street, EH2 4RB
G. K. Buchanan |Elgin |Sheriff court, IV30 1BU
G. E. Scott |Falkirk |Mansionhouse road, Camelon,
|FK1 4LW
J. F. McKay |Forfar |Sheriff court, DD8 3LA
Mrs. A. Neizer |Fort William |Sheriff court, PH33 6BR
A. C. Normand |Glasgow |10 Ballater street, G5 9PS
C. C. Donnelly |Greenock |Sheriff court, Port Glasgow
|road, Bogston PA15 2AA
A. J. P. Reith |Haddington |15 Lodge street, EH41 3DX
W. G. Carmichael |Hamilton |Cameronian house, 3/5 Almada
|street, ML3 0HG
W. W. Orr |Inverness |2 Baron Taylor's street,
|IV1 1QL
A. R. G. Fraser |Jedburgh |Sheriff court, TD8 6AR
J. G. McGlennan |Kilmarnock |St. Marnock street, KA1 1DZ
F. R. Crowe |Kirkcaldy |3 East Fergus place, KY1 1XG
F. Walkingshaw |Kirkcudbright |Sheriff court, DG6 4JW
D. K. Adam |Kirkwall |Sheriff court, KW15 1PD
S. R. Houston |Lanark |Sheriff court, ML11 7NE
D. K. Adam |Lerwick |Sheriff court, ZE1 0HD
H. R. Annan |Linlithgow |Stuart house, 181/201 High
|street, EH49 7EN
C. B. McClory |Lochmaddy |Sheriff court, PA82 5AE
B. R. Maguire |Oban |Sheriff court, PA34 4AL
J. D. Friel |Paisley |106 Renfrew road, PA3 4DX
R. F. Lees |Peebles |Sheriff court, EH45 8SW
I. A. McLeod |Perth |52 Tay street, PA1 5TR
I. S. McNaughton |Peterhead |70 St. Peter street, AB4 6QD
C. B. McClory |Portree |Sheriff court, IV51 9EH
C. C. Donnelly |Rothesay |Sheriff court, PA20 9AB
D. MacNeill |Selkirk |Sheriff court, TD7 4LE
K. Valentine |Stirling |Sheriff court, FK8 1NH
E. K. Barbour |Stonehaven |Sheriff court, AB3 2JD
Mrs. D. Wilson |Stornoway |County buildings, PA87 2JF
F. Walkingshaw |Stranraer |Sheriff court, DG9 7AA
H. T. Westwater |Tain |1 Tower street, IV19 1DY
A. N. MacDonald |Wick |Sheriff court, KW1 4AJ
Civil Servants (Outside Appointments)
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many job offers were reported by staff in his Department under the requirements of the rules on the acceptance of outside appointments in each of the last 10 years by (a) staff of grade 3 and above, (b) staff below grade 3, (c) staff in sections concerned with procurement or contract work, under section 15 of the rules of 1 February 1993 and (d) staff in other sections, under section 14; and how many of these reports were followed by an application to join the company concerned.
Mr. Lang : The information is set out in the table :
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|Staff of |Staff below |Staff Employed in |Staff |Subsequent
|or contract work |Sections
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |- |1 |- |1 |1
1986 |1 |2 |- |3 |3
1987 |1 |2 |- |3 |2
1988 |- |1 |- |1 |1
1989 |- |3 |- |3 |2
1990 |- |4 |- |4 |3
1991 |- |3 |- |3 |3
1992 |4 |1 |- |5 |5
1993 |- |1 |- |1 |1
1994 |- |1 |- |1 |1
EDUCATION
Special Educational Needs
15. Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the costs involved in the implementation of the code of practice on special educational needs.
Mr. Forth : The guidance in the code should not give rise to additional costs : it reflects current good practice in identifying and assessing special educational needs and should result in the more effective and efficient use of existing funding. The Government have introduced new grant for education and training support in 1994-95 to help schools develop special educational needs policies in the light of the code of practice.
17. Mr. Hall : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of children who will require additional learning support including those who will require statements as a result of the implementation of the code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs.
Mr. Forth : Paragraph 2 : 2 of the code of practice reflects the long-standing estimate that some 20 per cent. of pupils will have special educational needs at some stage of their school career. The purpose of the code of practice is to help ensure that these pupils' needs are appropriately met. Most children's needs will be met in mainstream schools without the making of a statement.
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Dearing Report
16. Mr. David Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what has been the response of the teacher unions and associations following the publication of the Dearing report on the national curriculum and testing.
Mr. Robin Squire : The Dearing report was broadly welcomed by the teacher associations. Following its publication in January, all but one of the associations called off their boycott of the national tests.
National Curriculum
18. Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the teaching of British history within the national curriculum.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend published his proposals for a revised history curriculum on 9 May. Those proposals put British history at the heart of the curriculum. The proposals are the subject of a public consultation which will last until the end of July. Following the consultation, he proposes to make an order which will require schools to teach the new history curriculum from September 1995.
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received concerning the proposals for his study of English in the national curriculum.
Mr. Robin Squire : The Department has received seven letters on the proposals for English since they were published for consultation on 9 May. The consultation is being managed by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, and consultees have been asked to respond to
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the authority rather than to the Department. The authority will be advising me on the outcome of the consultation later in the year.GCSE
19. Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of young people achieved five or more GCSE passes at grades A to C last year ; and what was the equivalent figure for 1989.
Mr. Robin Squire : Some 41 per cent. of 15-year-olds in England achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A to C in 1993, compared with 33 per cent. in 1989.
Nursery Education
20. Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what research he has funded on the value of nursery education.
Mr. Robin Squire : This Department has not directly funded any research into the value of nursery education recently.
22. Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received on improving the provision of nursery education.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend has received a large number of representations on nursery education in recent months.
28. Mr. Simpson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list in order the 10 local education authorities that provide the highest number of places for nursery education for the under-fives per head of population and the 10 which provide the lowest number ; and what plans he has for bringing the level of provision of the worst up to that of the best.
Mr. Robin Squire : The table shows the local education authority areas in England, which, in January 1993, had the highest and lowest participation rates for pupils under five in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes in maintained primary schools. In addition, many children under five are taught in infant classes in primary schools ; these are not included in the figures given. Information about nursery places is not held centrally. My right hon. Friend has made it clear that we are looking at possible ways of extending the opportunities for children under five as resources allow and within our policy of promoting choice, diversity, quality and cost-effectiveness. This may thus incorporate all aspects of under-five provision and not simply be limited to maintained nursery schools and classes. We will announce our conclusions when we are ready to do so.
Percentage of children under five
attending maintained nursery schools
and nursery classes in maintained
primary schools
January 1993
LEA |Percentage
--------------------------------------
Newham |64
Walsall |60
Cleveland |57
Sandwell |57
Manchester |57
Merton |57
North Tyneside |55
Salford |54
Wolverhampton |54
South Tyneside |53
Tower Hamlets |53
Gloucestershire |0
Bromley |2
Somerset |3
Wiltshire |4
West Sussex |5
Hampshire |5
Norfolk |5
Kent |5
Dorset |5
Essex |6
Havering |6
Secondary School Places
23. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department proposes to end the allocation of secondary school places by random selection.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has made it clear that he does not consider random selection to be an appropriate way of allocating school places. It is, however, for local education authorities to determine arrangements for admission to county and voluntary controlled schools. I understand that Lancashire LEA has decided to consult parents and others on a proposal that the use of random selection for admission to schools in Burnley and Ormskirk be discontinued.
Gulbenkian Report
24. Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he has given to the Gulbenkian report on discretionary awards.
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend is still considering this report.
Truancy
25. Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the tables on truancy published last year by his Department.
Mr. Forth : The Government attach particular importance to regular school attendance. The tables published in November 1993 showed that significant amounts of valuable learning time were being lost due to unauthorised absence. Rates of unauthorised absence also varied widely between individual LEAs and schools. In order to obtain the full picture on pupil absence we are extending the publication requirement in 1994 to include authorised as well as unauthorised absence. The publication of absence data is an important part of a school's accountability to parents and the wider community.
Primary School Overcrowding, Redbridge
26. Mr. Gapes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he next plans to visit the London borough of Redbridge to discuss primary school overcrowding.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend has no such plans at present.
Column 475
Student Support
27. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will introduce new measures to improve financial support for students in further and higher education.
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend makes satisfactory arrangements to provide support through mandatory awards and student loans for most students domiciled in England and Wales on designated courses in higher education. Provision of support for other students in further and higher education is a matter for LEAs and other award-making bodies. Access funds are available for full-time students in particular financial difficulty.
Private Sector Finance
29. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to encourage the injection of private sector finance into state-funded education.
Mr. Boswell : The Department has established a task group to co- ordinate work to promote and monitor the expansion of opportunities for private finance in education. We shall be publishing an information pack designed to encourage wider investment, and are reviewing the possibility of further action.
Responsible Citizenship
30. Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that schools nurture in their pupils an appreciation of responsible citizenship.
Mr. Forth : Schools have a statutory responsibility under section 1 of the Education Reform Act 1988 to promote pupils' spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development, and to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experience of adult life.
Further Education Colleges
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many representations his Department has received from schools expressing concern that further education
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colleges are now encouraging 15 and 16-year- old school students to take A-levels in college rather than a school sixth form.Mr. Boswell : The Department has received some representations from schoolteacher organisations and others about the general question of pupils transferring from schools to colleges in the FE sector. The Department has made it clear that we would expect pupils of compulsory school age to be admitted to FE colleges only exceptionally, where it was clearly justified in the individual case. The Department has also received representations from eight schools proposing that the requirement on schools to distribute information about local colleges to pupils in key stage 4 should be extended to include information about post-16 provision in neighbouring schools.
Parental Choice
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received regarding (a) parental choice and (b) appeal procedure in relation to (i) primary schools and (ii) secondary schools in each case ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : A large number of representations are made to the Department each year about parental choice, school admissions and appeal procedures. Many are from individual parents seeking information or advice. Because of their varied nature, no record is kept of the total number of such approaches.
Graduates
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what have been the numbers of students graduating from (a) universities and (b) polytechnics in each of the last five years.
Mr. Boswell : The table below shows the number of first degree graduates from former universities Funding Council-funded universities, the Open university, former Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council-funded polytechnics--including Scottish central institutions--and FE and HE colleges in Great Britain in each of the last five academic years for which information is available.
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