Written Answers of 17 December 1987

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Licensed Conveyancers
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Attorney-General whether Her Majesty's Government will accept and implement the recommendation in the first report of the ad hoc conveyancing committee chaired by Professor Julian Farrand which was submitted to the Lord Chancellor in September 1984 to the effect that the Council for Licensed Conveyancers should make periodical reports to the Lord Chancellor and to licensed conveyancers, notwithstanding that no such requirement was imposed by the Administration of Justice Act 1985.

  The Attorney-General
  No. This matter was carefully considered at the time and was discussed during the passage of the Administration of Justice Bill. There is no reason to depart from the conclusions which were reached then.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Attorney-General how many new licences were issued by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers with effect from 1 December to(a) persons then already in practice as non-solicitor conveyancers providing services directly to the public, (b) solicitors in professional practice as such, either as principals or as employees, (c) persons, not themselves solicitors, employed by solicitors in professional practice, (d) persons employed by local authorities or (e) others not in any of these categories.

  The Attorney-General
  As at 10 December 1987, the figures are(a) 34; (b) 1; (c) 81; (d) 10; (e)

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Attorney-General how many licensed conveyancers who are(a) in independent practice offering services directly to the public, (b) in professional practice as solicitors, either as principals or as employees, (c) not being solicitors, employed by solicitors in professional practice, (d) employed by local authorities or (e) not in any of those categories, have not renewed their licences for the period beginning 1 December.

  The Attorney-General
  As at 10 December 1987, the figures are(a) 2; (b) 8; (c) 8; (d) 0; (e)

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Attorney-General how many conveyancers now holding licences issued by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers are(a) in independent practice offering services directly to the public, (b) solicitors in professional practice as such, either as principals or as employees, (c) not being solicitors, employed by solicitors in professional practice, (d) employed by local authorities or (e) not in any of these categories.

  The Attorney-General
  As at 10 December 1987, the figures are(a) 107; (b) 21; (c) 175; (d) 26; (e)

  Conveyancing
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Attorney-General what recommendations for action have been received by Her Majesty's Government from the Law Commission in consequence of the appointment by the Law Commission at the request of the then Lord Chancellor of a conveyancing standing committee two years ago.

  The Attorney-General
  The Law Commission's report No. 161 on leasehold conveyancing was published in May last year following a recommendation by the conveyancing standing committee. The committee endorsed the commission's recommendation in Law Commission report No. 148 that the register of title at the Land Registry should be made open to public inspection. The committee has also considered and responded to the working papers which led to the Law Commission reports Nos. 163, 164 and 166 (which all concern the transfer of land).

  Sale of Land
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Attorney-General what progress has been made by the Law Commission's conveyancing standing committee, appointed in early 1985 at the request of the then Lord Chancellor and chaired by Professor Julian Ferrand, towards implementing the recommendation in the second report of the ad hoc conveyancing committee chaired by Professor Julian Ferrand, which was submitted to the Lord Chancellor in January 1985 that within two or three years of being established the conveyancing standing committee should produce a sale of land Act, with a prescribed form of contract and including the codification and embodiment of all the terms implied by common law and the relevant relieving rules of equity.

  The Attorney-General
  The main objective of the conveyancing standing committee was to achieve real improvements in conveyancing practice and procedure within two years. For this purpose the committee has concentrated on matters of practice not requiring legislation.

  Official Secrets Act
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will provide a consolidated list updated to the most convenient date of proceedings commenced under section 2 of the Official Secrets Act since 1 August 1978 in the manner set out in appendix 2 to the Franks report and the reply to the hon. Member for Barking (Ms. Richardson) on 1 August 1978,Official Report, columns 230–31.

  The Attorney-General
  The details of proceedings that have been commenced under section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 since 1 August 1978 are as follows:

  1978
  A former corporal in the intelligence corps knowingly passed on information relating to military and defence establishments to two journalists who were deliberately seeking to obtain secret information. Charges were also brought under section 1 but were withdrawn during the trial. They were all convicted under section 2. The former corporal was given a six month sentence suspended for two years. The two journalists were conditionally discharged for three years but ordered to contribute £2,500 towards the costs.

  1979
  A superintendent in the criminal intelligence branch of the Metropolitan police communicated confidential papers of substantial intelligence value about two men suspected of

  607
  involvement in international crime to a business man interested in this material. The business man concerned had died by the time the police officer was tried. The police officer was also charged with offences of corruption arising out of the same facts. He was convicted of wrongful communication of information at the Central Criminal Court and fined £500. He was acquitted of the corruption offence.

  1979
  A senior examiner in bankruptcy engaged in examining the affairs of a professional criminal allowed the criminal to see a confidential report and copy from it. The civil servant was prosecuted in the magistrates' court and was given a three-month prison sentence suspended for one year and fined £500.

  1980
  A civil servant in the Ministry of Defence was charged in connection with his retention of a number of cassette tapes which had confidential information encoded on them. The proceedings were withdrawn at the Crown court.

  1981
  An employee of the Department of Health and Social Security and a private detective were convicted summarily of communicating and retaining personal information about members of the public stored on the DHSS computer. Both defendants were ordered to undertake 180 hours of community service and pay £25 each towards the prosecution's costs.

  1981
  An ex-detective who had been involved in the Yorkshire Ripper inquiry disclosed to a journalist confidential information that had come into his possession during the inquiry. He pleaded guilty before the magistrates and was fined £750 and ordered to pay £200 towards the prosecution's costs.

  1982
  An able seaman retained in his possession after his discharge a notebook containing confidential information, which he subsequently threatened to sell to an Eastern bloc embassy. He was convicted at the Central Criminal Court and sentenced to three months' imprisonment.

  1982
  A retired Army captain was prosecuted for failing to take reasonable care of secret orders for use in time of war or civil emergency. He was convicted in the Crown court and given a 12-month sentence suspended for two years. He was also convicted of offences of theft, for which he was fined.

  1982
  A second secretary at the British embassy in Tel Aviv communicated confidential information to an official in the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv. She pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court and was given a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

  1982
  A CID officer passed details of criminal convictions to an inquiry agent, having obtained the details from the police national computer and criminal record office. The inquiry agent compiled reports for his clients containing this information. The inquiry agent pleaded guilty before the magistrates to five offences under section 2 and was fined a total of £500. The CID officer elected to be tried at the Crown court. The examining magistrate dismissed all but one of the summonses. The prosecution decided there was no merit in proceedings on the remaining summons and it was withdrawn.

  1983
  An information officer employed by the Central Office of Information failed to take reasonable care of a number of confidential briefs prepared for the United Kingdom delegate attending a ministerial meeting in Brussels. The contents of these briefs subsequently appeared in the press. He pleaded guilty in the magistrates' court and was fined £500.

  1983
  A former employee at the British high commission in Bangladesh took home confidential material because of pressure at work. He pleaded guilty at the magistrates' court and was fined £1,200.

  1984
  A serving police officer misused the police national computer to provide unauthorised details of car ownership. He was fined £100 at the Crown court.
  608
  1984
  A civilian terminal operator on the police national computer disclosed locations of burglaries to a burglar alarm company. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted and fined £200 at the magistrates' court. A number of appeals have been refused. In 1987 he was refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords.

  1984
  A clerk working in the private office of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office leaked two minutes relating to cruise missiles to a national newspaper. She pleaded guilty at the Crown court and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment.

  1985
  A member of a financial group at the Home Office directorate of industries and farms (DIF) investigating the relationship of the Home Office with a private company gave confidential documents to a suspect in the police inquiry—a fellow civil servant in DIF. He was committed for trial at Crown court. From the committal proceedings it appeared that his defence would be that he had a discretion to pass these documents to a fellow civil servant. After taking counsel's advice it was decided that the prosecution should not continue.

  1985
  A civil servant in the Ministry of Defence leaked a copy of an MOD paper re the Belgrano to an MP. He was charged with communicating information to an unauthorised person. Issues raised at the subsequent trial by the defence were whether the MP was a person to whom the defendant was authorised to communicate the information and whether such a disclosure was in the interests of the state. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

  1985
  A solicitor was tried twice at the Crown court on two counts of endeavouring to persuade a police officer to communicate confidential police files to him. At the conclusion of each trial the jury failed to agree. The prosecution decided to proceed no further and offered no evidence.

  1986
  Four people were prosecuted for being concerned with obtaining and copying classified technical manuals to facilitate identification of marine components. Their alleged purpose was to trade in such components with the Argentinian navy. Three defendants were convicted at the Crown court, fined £400 and given various terms of imprisonment. One defendant subsequently had his conviction quashed on appeal.

  1986
  A clerk in the Department of Health and Social Security gave personal information about claims made by the husband of a local councillor to a rival councillor. The clerk pleaded guilty at the Crown court and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment suspended for two years. The councillor pleaded not guilty but was convicted at the Crown court. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment suspended for two years.

  1987
  A civilian employee at New Scotland Yard gave a person details of police vehicles for £50. He pleaded guilty at the magistrates' court and was sentenced to two months' imprisonment suspended for two years.

  1987
  A former soldier who had served in Northern Ireland was charged with offences of retaining and communicating documents. The material was very sensitive and would have been of considerable assistance to terrorists. He pleaded guilty at the Crown court and was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.

  1987
  A journalist obtained police documents about a suspect from an unidentified source. He was charged with unlawfully receiving a document knowing or having reasonable ground to believe at the time of receipt that the document was communicated to him in contravention of the Act. At the trial at the Crown court the defence submitted that he would give evidence that he knew that the documents should not have been passed to him and the passing of them might have been a disciplinary offence by the communicator, but that he did

  609
  not know that it was an offence under the Act. In the absence of proof of knowledge of contravention of the Act, the trial judge upheld the defence submission of no case to answer.

  Press and Public Relations
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations offices of the Law Officers' Departments; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  The Attorney-General
  At present there are five staff employed in the press and public relations office of the Lord Chancellor's Department. It is planned that there will be six staff employed at this point in 1988.

  My own Department, the Law Officers' Department, has no such office or staff.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by the Law Officers' Departments on press and pulic relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  The Attorney-General
  The estimated expenditure by the Lord Chancellor's Department on press and public relations for 1987–88 is £29,700.

  Detailed decisions on expenditure for 1988–89 have not yet been taken but £31,000 is anticipated.

  My own Department, the Law Officers' Department, makes no expenditure on press or public relations.

  Advertising
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by the Law Officers' Departments on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  The Attorney-General
  The figures for the Lord Chancellor's Department for 1987–88, excluding associated staff costs, are as follows:

  Estimated Expenditure

  1987–88 £

  Television Advertising

  Nil

  Radio Advertising

  Nil

  Newspaper Advertising

  15,000

  Other Promotional Material

  45,000

  Detailed decisions on expenditure for 1988–89 have not yet been taken but no increase in expenditure over that for 1987–88 is anticipated. My own Department, the Law Officers' Department, makes no expenditure on advertising or other promotional material.

CIVIL SERVICE

  Registered Homes Tribunal
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will list the names and occupations of the members of the panel of experts of the Registered Homes Tribunal.

  Mr. Luce
  The names and occupations of the persons on the panel of experts appointed by the Lord President of the Council under the Registered Homes Act 1984 are as follows:
  610
  Registered Homes Act 1984

  Members of Panel of Experts

  Name and occupation

  Mrs. Carole Alford—Matron/Owner of 2 Nursing Homes in Eastbourne.

  Geoffrey Arthur Banner—Retired Director Social Services.

  Robert Bessell — Managing Director, Retirement Security Ltd.

  Mrs. Susan Blanchard — Managing Director, Belvedere Hospital, Scarborough.

  Miss Mary Blincoe—Director of Nursing Services.

  Dr. G. R. Brackenridge — DMO, Northallerton Health Authority.

  Mrs. Mary Edna Astill Brown—Part-time Administration work.

  Dr. S. W. Brown — Consultant in Charge of Medical Services, David Lewis Centre.

  Michael Peter John Burrell — Retired Rest Home Proprietor.

  John Rupert Allen Chawner—Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Gwynedd DHA.

  K. Coleman — Divisional Director, Westminster Social Services.

  Miss Betty Cowell — Retired Principal, Midwife Teachers Training College, Kingston upon Thames.

  Miss Rosalind Davies — Director, British Nursing Association.

  Miss R. Dawson-Shepard—Volunteer Counsellor.

  Geoffrey Stephen Dunn —Part-time Consultant, Cheshire Foundation Housing Association.

  Dr. A. McL Gordon—Medical Director, The Retreat.

  Mrs. Barbara Joyce Gray — Retd. Senior Lecturer, University of Birmingham.

  Robert Guest — District Nursing Officer, Gt. Yarmouth and Waveney Health Authority.

  Jack Hanson—Retd. Director Social Services.

  Miss Dorothy Harris—Director of Nursing Services.

  Mrs. Mary Grace Joynson—Senior Director and Director of Childcare, Dr. Barnadoes.

  Dr. D. L. Kerr—Chief Executive, Manor House Hospital.

  Mr. B. A. Maurice—Consultant Surgeon.

  Dr. Stanley McDougall — Specialist in Community Medicine.

  Michael McGeorge—National Nursing Officer, British Red Cross Society.

  G. H. Neal—Director for Mencap.

  Miss Margaret Nurse—Retd. Rest Home Proprietor.

  Dr. J. R. Oxley—Physician-in-Charge, Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy, Hon. Physician, National Hospital for Nervous Diseases.

  Mrs. Mary Parker — Matron-Partner at three Nursing Homes.

  Miss Marjorie Mary Hatton Phillips — Retd. Local Government Officer.

  Mervyn Hugh Phillips — Chief Executive, Clwyd County Council.

  Miss Margaret Pilbeam — Chief Nursing Officer, Eastbourne Health Authority.

  David R. Prettyman—Senior Staff Officer, Mental Health/Physically Handicapped Section, Haringey Social Services.

  Dr. R. K. Rao — Secretary, Crosby Nursing Home Chairman, Laughton Rest Home.

  Mr. John J. Regan—Head of Home, Le Court, Leonard Cheshire Foundation Home.

  Mrs. Irene Shepherd—Assistant Director Nursing Services.

  David Smith—Director of Nursing, St. Andrews Hospital, Northampton.

  John Ingram Stephens—Retd. Assistant Director of Social Services.

  Professor Olive Stevenson — Professor of Social Work Studies.

  Ms. Emma Tait—Group Homes Manager.

  Mr. A. L. Tooley — Consultant Surgeon, South Tees District, Cleveland.

  Miss Kay Wells — Centre Organiser, British Red Cross Society.

  Mrs. Maureen White—RCN Senior Officer, Trent Region.

  Dr. J. H. B. Williams — Medical Director, Mount Edgecumbe Hospital.

  Miss Margaret Olive Woodier—Freelance Consultant.

THE ARTS

  Business Sponsorship Incentive Scheme
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what progress the business sponsorship incentive scheme has made in the north-west; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Luce
  Twenty three arts organisations in the north-west have received awards under the BSIS since it began in 1984; £340,000 raised in sponsorship has been matched by £170,000 BSIS, giving a total of £510,000 new money for the arts in the region.

  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what plans he has to improve the effectiveness of the business sponsorship incentive scheme in Wales.

  Mr. Luce
  Thirty two arts organisations in Wales have already benefited under the BSIS, which has channeled £556,000 new money to the arts in Wales. I have agreed to support the opening of a Welsh office for the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts to promote the scheme and I hope this will open in the new year.

  Financing
  Mr. Flannery
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the proposed level of financing for the arts in Yorkshire in 1988–89; and what are the comparative figures for each of the last five years.

  Mr. Luce
  The level of financial support for the arts in Yorkshire is not determined centrally. Grants are made to Yorkshire arts organisations by the Arts Council, the British Film Institute, the Museums and Galleries Commission and the Crafts Council. In 1983–84 Yorkshire received £4,251,943 from these four bodies; in 1984–85, £4,542,710; in 1985–86, £5,477,704; in 1986–87, £6,848,620; and in 1987–88, £7,057,380. Figures for 1988–89 are not yet available. In addition, the arts in Yorkshire receive considerable support from local authorities, in association with Yorkshire Arts.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Regional Aid
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any plans to carry out a review of regional aid policy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  We are in the process of reviewing a wide range of the Department's work, including regional policy. We expect to make an announcement about the outcome in the new year.

  Steel Industry
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish statistics for the total tonnages achieved in the British steel industry since 1977 and any comparable information available to him about the Japanese steel industry.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information available is as follows:
  612

  Crude steel production United Kingdom and Japan

  (million Tonnes)

  Year

  United Kingdom

  Japan

  1977

  20·5

  102·4

  1978

  20·3

  102·1

  1979

  21·5

  111·7

  1980

  111·3

  111·4

  1981

  15·3

  101·7

  1982

  13·7

  99·5

  1983

  15·0

  97·2

  1984

  15·1

  105·6

  1985

  15·8

  105·3

  1986

  14·8

  98·3

  1 United Kingdom steel strike.

  Source: International Iron and Steel Institute.

  Matthew Brown (Insider Dealing)
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has received a report from the stock exchange surveillance department as to the investigation into alleged insider dealing in the shares of Matthew Brown immediately prior to the recent announcement of the bid for that company by Newcastle Breweries.

  Mr. Maude
  No.

  Regional Aid
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much he has paid out in the current year in(a) regional development grant and (b) regional selective assistance; and how much he expects to pay in 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91 for each regional area of England and Wales.

  Mr. Atkins
  Payments of regional development grant (RDG) and regional selective assistance (RSA) by my Department in each region of England and Wales in the current financial year to date are as follows:

  1£ million

  Area

  RDG

  2RSA

  North East

  38·7

  11·8

  North West

  34·3

  7·7

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  12·8

  10·8

  East Midlands

  4·0

  1·3

  West Midlands

  —

  8·8

  South West

  4·7

  2·8

  Total England

  94·5

  43·2

  Wales3

  0·5

  1 Provisional figures to end November 1987.

  2 RSA industrial and training grants only. Figures for business improvement services scheme and exchange risk guarantee scheme are not available on a regional basis. Provisional figures for expenditure by my Department on these schemes in 1987–88 to end November are £9·8 million and £11·3 million respectively.

  3 Nearly all expenditure on regional assistance in Wales is the responsibility of the Welsh Office.

  Information about planned expenditure on regional assistance in 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91 will be published in the public expenditure White Paper in January.

  MANWEB Report
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for what reason the annual report for the year ended 31 March of the MANWEB area of the Electricity Consultative Council was not distributed until December.

  Mr. Maude
  The area electricity consultative councils are under no statutory obligation to publish an annual report, although my Department encourages them to do so. I understand that a number of factors contributed to the delay in this case, including pressure of other work, printing delays, and the need for translation into Welsh.

  Origin Marking
  Mr. Page
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he will publish proposals for successor arrangements on origin marking to replace the Trade Descriptions Act 1972.

  Mr. Maude
  My Department is writing to interested parties seeking views on a draft order for this purpose under section 8 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Libraries.

  Post Office (Procurement Policy)
  Mr. Patnick
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made by the Post Office in the implementation of the recommendations made in the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report on the Post Office's procurement activities; and if he will make a statment.

  Mr. Butcher
  In January the Post Office produced its initial response to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report published in October last year (Cmnd. 9912) and a statement was made to the House in April on progress to date and arrangements for follow-up to the report. This recorded that a detailed timetable for implementation of the recommendations had been agreed with the Post Office and that the Post Office would prepare progress reports in October 1987 and October 1988. The statement also noted that the Post Office had partially rejected one of the recommendations which related to arrangements for paying advertising agencies. My Department, in consultation with the MMC, subsequently agreed to accept the Post Office's response on this.

  I have now received the Post Office's report on progress to October 1987 and I am placing copies in the Library of the House. Good progress has been made to date. Nearly half the MMC's 49 recommendations have already been implemented and most of the remainder are on course for implementation according to timetable. The Post Office has reduced stock levels as recommended by the MMC and has introduced improvements in various areas of procurement, although there has been some delay with a few of the recommendations because the planned computerised purchasing system is being reviewed, following the reorganisation of the Post Office into separate businesses.

  My Department will continue to monitor the Post Office's progress in implementing the MMC's recommendations.

ENVIRONMENT

  Channel Tunnel
  Mr. Aitken
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to assess the environmental effects on Kent of the proposed high-speed rail link between London and the planned United Kingdom Channel tunnel terminus at Cheriton.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I must apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in replying to his question. I have written today to my hon. Friend to account for the delay.

  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply he received from my hon. Friend, the Minister for Public Transport, on 2 November. This indicated that British Rail had not brought forward any proposals for a high-speed rail link between London and the planned United Kingdom Channel tunnel terminus at Cheriton and that the results of its study into options for augmenting route, seating and terminal capacity in Kent were not expected until June 1988.

  Should British Rail subsequently produce proposals for such a rail link, its plans—including any environmental effects—would be the subject, in the first instance, of consultation with the relevant local authorities and other bodies and, ultimately, if they were to proceed, would require British Rail to promote a private Act of Parliament, as is normal for development by the board.

  Planning Appeal (Lichfield)
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the reason for the delay between 22 September, when the appellant's agent was notified, and 21 October, when the Lichfield district council was notified, of his inspector's decision to allow a development for retail purposes of the former Chamberlain and Hill site, Beacon street, Lichfield, under section 36 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971;

  (2) if he will indicate the reasons for the delay between 16 June when the appellant's agent was notified, and 10 July, when the Lichfield district council was notified, of his inspector's decision in respect of a planning appeal under section 36 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  It is standard practice for copies of inspectors' decision letters on planning appeals to be dispatched to all interested parties simultaneously. There is no evidence on the papers to suggest that the copy letters to the council in these cases were not dispatched along with those to other parties. However, the staff concerned have been reminded of the importance of ensuring that the correct procedure is followed.

  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why his Department's Tollgate house, Bristol, office has not replied to the letter of 21 October, from the chief executive and secretary of the Lichfield district council regarding receipt of planning appeal decisions under section 36 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971, specifically relating to appeals T/APP/K3415/A/87/62807/P4 and AAP/N3400/A/87/59088/59051.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  There is no record of Lichfield district council's letter of 21 October having been received in the Department's Bristol office. The chief executive and secretary wrote again on 25 November and the Department replied on 1 December.

  Water Rates
  Mr. Clay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what the percentage rise in average water rates for Great Britain has been between 1979 and the latest date available in(a) cash terms and (b) real terms.

  Mr. Moynihan
  Average household bills of the English water authorities have increased by 134 per cent. in cash terms and 35 per cent. in real terms, between the charging periods 1979–80 and 1987–88, reflecting the rising trend of capital expenditure and the improvement in self-financing ratios. Charges for water services in Scotland and Wales are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales respectively.

  Land Disposal
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications for consent to dispose of land under section 32 of the Housing Act 1985 he has received from each housing authority in England; and which of the applications received his consent.

  Mrs. Roe
  In view of the large number of such applications this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Ridley
  A total of 47 staff were employed in the press and public relations office of my Department (including PSA) at 1 December 1987. The distribution of manpower for 1988–89 has not yet been settled.

  Rates
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has in respect of(a) the number of people in England and Wales paying domestic rates in full or in part, (b) the number of spouses of (a), (c) the number of local electors in England and Wales and (d) the number of people in England and Wales aged over 18 years not paying domestic rates who are not spouses of those paying rates.

  Mr. Howard
  The information is as follows:

  a. The latest estimate is 16·5 million.

  b. Based on data contained in the family expenditure survey I estimate there are about 10 million households with two adults where a rate is presently paid in whole or in part.

  c. The latest available information, from 1987 registers, is 37·9 million.

  d. Precise information is not available, although an approximation could be calculated from (a), (b) and (c) above. However, this information comes from a number of sources, which are not necessarily calculated on a mutually consistent basis.

  Richmond Terrace
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total cost of providing 616
  ministerial accommodation in Richmond Terrace; and what accommodation facilities are now available for each minister.

  Mr. Chope
  It is not practicable to identify the cost of providing ministerial accommodation within the total cost of the Richmond house project which I announced on 8 December. The allocation of ministerial accommodation within the building is for the occupying department, but the terrace restoration provides rooms suitable for Ministers and their support staff and for a number of senior officials.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many Ministers will have offices in the Richmond Terrace building, what is the estimated cost of fitting-out each ministerial office; what facilities additional to normal office facilities each such office contains; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  Six Ministers at the Department of Health and Social Security will have offices in Richmond house. It is not practical to identify separately the cost of providing their accommodation. In addition to the normal office accommodation and in accordance with normal practice, the Secretary of State's office, has been provided with adjoining toilet facilities.

  House Building
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many(a) private houses and (b) local authority dwellings of (i) one bedroom, (ii) two bedrooms, (iii) three bedrooms and (iv) four or more bedrooms have been (1) started, (2) completed or (3) started and completed in each month in 1987, and in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Roe
  Information about the numbers of bedrooms in new dwellings is reported only at the completion stage. The annual figures for 1979 to 1986 appear in table 6.8(c) of "Housing and Construction Statistics" 1976–1986, which is available in the Library. Quarterly figures are available for 1987 and are as follows:

  Dwellings completed: England

  Number of bedrooms

  1st quarter

  2nd quarter

  3rd quarter (provisional)

  Local authorities and new towns

  1

  2,045

  1,596

  1,746

  2

  1,108

  1,115

  1,443

  3

  686

  632

  896

  4 or more

  92

  69

  85

  All

  3,931

  3,412

  4,170

  Private owners

  1

  4,421

  4,138

  3,501

  2

  9,212

  9,538

  9,035

  3

  13,968

  14,006

  13,408

  4 or more

  7,893

  7,777

  8,353

  All

  35,494

  35,459

  34,297

  Council House Sales
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table in the Official Report, showing (a) the number of local authority-owned properties sold to tenants under the right-to-buy

  617
  legislation and (b) that figure as a percentage of the total number of properties owned by each authority, for (i) Greater London, (ii) metropolitan areas outside London, (iii) English non-metropolitan areas and (iv) English local authority areas, broken down by (1) one-bedroom dwellings, (2) two-bedroom dwellings, (3) three-bedroom dwellings and (4) four or more bedroom dwellings.

  Mrs. Roe
  Information on the number of bedrooms in the dwellings sold by local authorities is not available centrally. The total right-to-buy sales up to June 1987 reported by each authority appear in the table placed in the Library on 11 December in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Stamford and Spalding (Mr. Davies).

  Lambeth (Direct Labour Organisation)
  Mr. William Shelton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the light of the further recent allegations of malpractice in Lambeth council's direct labour organisation and the resignation of five senior council officers, he will now disband entirely the council's direct labour organisations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  My right hon. Friend has powers, under part III of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, to take action against direct labour organisations that fail to meet their financial targets, but not against other sorts of inefficiency or malpractice. Under those powers my right hon. Friend has directed that Lambeth borough council may not award any new major construction work to its DLO, and is considering the council's special report on financial failures on minor new construction work. The matters referred to by my hon. Friend do not relate directly to financial failures, and are, therefore, for the council's auditors and the police to deal with.

  Severe Weather
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he plans any special arrangements to assist financially those local authorities which may face severe weather conditions in their areas during the winter months; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  Local authorities are expected to make provision in their budgets for dealing with severe winter weather conditions, on the basis of previous experience. In the event of an emergency, arrangements already exist—the Bellwin scheme — to provide special financial assistance if the Government consider that authorities would otherwise incur an undue financial burden in providing relief and carrying out immediate works to safeguard life or property or prevent suffering or severe inconvenience to affected communities. These arrangements have been brought into effect in relation to damage caused by the storm which hit the south and east of England on 16 October.

  Local Authorities (Building Control)
  Mr. Patnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take in the light of evidence that some local authorities are bringing improper pressure to bear on builders to make use of their 618
  own building control services rather than those provided by the National House Building Council; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Trippier
  The Building Act 1984 includes specific provisions to enable approved inspectors other than local authorities to certify compliance with the requirements of the building regulations. The approval of the NHBC for certain classes of work has introduced a welcome element of competition into the building control system that is improving efficiency. I have, therefore, been concerned to learn of complaints that a number of local authorities are seeking to put pressure on builders to make use of their own building control services rather than those of the NHBC. In particular, I regard it as wholly improper for a local authority to disregard the clear will of Parliament by seeking to impose such a requirement when disposing of land for housing development. My advice is that this practice is open to challenge in the courts, and I hope that the NHBC or a purchaser who does not want to accept such a requirement will challenge it. If such a challenge were to fail, the Government would consider bringing forward amending legislation.

  It is also wrong for a local authority to threaten to require the opening up of site drainage work before permitting a connection to be made to the main sewer simply because the work has been inspected and certified by the NHBC rather than by the authority's own officers. Finally, I am advised that a planning condition requiring the use of local authority building control services in connection with the permitted development would be invalid. In the event of an appeal to the Secretary of State, it is to be expected that such a condition would not be upheld and it is likely that costs would be awarded against the local planning authority if an inquiry were held and an application for costs were made. It would be equally improper for a local authority to delay consideration of a planning application unless its own building control services are to be used.

  Enterprise Zones
  Mr. Baldry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans the Government have for further enterprise zones; and if he will make a statement about the progress of the experiment.

  Mr. Ridley
  The first enterprise zones have been in existence for six years and are over halfway through their 10-year life. A number of proposals for new zones and zone extensions have been submitted and I have, therefore, been considering, in conjunction with colleagues in other Departments, the future of the enterprise zone experiment. In this, we have been assisted by the report of consultants who have evaluated the experiment in Great Britain on our behalf and whose report is shortly to be published. (A similar study is nearing completion in respect of the Northern Ireland enterprise zones). The latest annual monitoring report will be pubished at the same time.

  These two publications will show that the zones have been successful in varying degrees in regenerating economic activity in areas which had hitherto seen steady decline for several years. On the zones in Great Britain the number of firms has gone up by 125 per cent.; about 60 per cent. of the land in the zones has been developed with over 4·6 million sq m of floor space, mostly industrial and commercial; in consequence, overall employment in the

  619
  zones has more than doubled. The zones have also boosted the economies of the areas in which they are located by the additional activity they have generated. These substantial achievements must, of course, be set against the costs of the experiment, which by the end of 1986 amounted to just under £300 million for the British zones.

  Enterprise zones were among the first of the steps the Government took on being elected in 1979 towards lifting the burdens on business and enterprise. They have been the flagship of deregulation and they have helped to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit that is now a welcome feature in many parts of the United Kingdom economy. We have subsequently developed a wide range of other measures to stimulate development in areas adversely affected by changes in the local economy: urban development corporations, urban development grants, and urban regeneration grants are among the more important. We are also applying the enterprise zone planning regime more widely in the form of simplified planning zones.

  We are now able to select from this range of measures the ones most suited to the needs of a particular area. In the light of this, and in the light of our assessment of the enterprise zone experiment, we have concluded that a general extension of the experiment is not desirable. In many circumstances, other measures will be more cost effective. I should make it clear that existing enterprise zones will be unaffected by this decision.

  Nevertheless, we recognise that there may be exceptional circumstances where the creation of a new enterprise zone or the extension of an existing zone might still be the best way of tackling a particular and localised problem. Whether or not this is so would depend upon the nature and severity of the problem, the likely cost-effectiveness of an enterprise zone in contributing to its solution (in particular compared with the other measures now available), and the extent to which the authorities and agencies concerned can ensure that the zone is a success.

  I do not intend to designate further enterprise zones in response to the proposals I have received for new zones, or extensions to existing zones, in England. My right hon. Friends will consider proposals for new zones or extensions in other parts of the United Kingdom.

  National Rivers Authority
  Mr. Baldry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is in a position to announce his conclusions on the policy and consultation paper on the National Rivers Authority which was published in July.

  Mr. Ridley
  There were nearly 350 responses to the Government's consultation paper from a wide range of organisations and environmental interests. The proposal to create a National Rivers Authority to take over water authorities' regulatory and river basin management functions after privatisation of their main functions was widely welcomed.

  I have today placed in the Library of both Houses copies of the responses of those who agreed that their responses could be published, together with a memorandum which sets out the Government's decisions on the issues raised in the consultation paper.

  The memorandum reaffirms our commitment to the creation of a National Rivers Authority. We consider it essential that the regulatory functions of the water
  620
  authorities remain in the public sector, together with the broader range of river functions. These functions —water resource planning and control, land drainage and flood protection, the protection of the water environment, and the improvement and development of fisheries, and navigation, where it applies—must be the responsibility of a public body, answerable to Ministers and to Parliament.

  The National Rivers Authority will have full statutory responsibility for these functions, including responsibility for operational work. The Government do not consider that it is appropriate for the NRA's role to be limited to a purely regulatory or auditing role. However, it is not necessary for all the operational work associated with the NRA's functions to be carried out by the NRA's own employees. The Government anticipate that a significant amount of work will be contracted out by the NRA on the basis of fully competitive contracts. The NRA will be required to ensure that as much of its work as possible is done on the basis of competitive tendering. The basis of the contracts for such work will have to take full account of the market conditions and the nature of the work. It will be open to the privatised utility companies to compete for such work, but it would not be acceptable for the NRA to be dependent on the privatised utility companies for the carrying out of such work as part of their conditions of appointment or licence, though, in the short term, special transitional arrangements between the NRA and the privatised utility companies may be required in some areas in respect of some functions.

  The NRA will be separate from the director-general of water services, and will be a non-departmental public body, with a board of up to 12 members. The chairman and eight members will be appointed by me; two by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and one by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. Details of the organisation, and the arrangements for the representation of regional interests are outlined in the memorandum.

  The NRA will be constituted immediately after the main legislation to allow for the privatisation of the water authorities has received Royal Assent. Before then, substantial preparations are needed within each water authority. The Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Bill, currently before Parliament, will give water authorities express powers to prepare themselves for privatisation and restructuring. I am asking each water authority to prepare proposals for a scheme of organisation on the basis of guidelines which will be issued by my Department, and to submit it to me within a month of Royal Assent to the Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Bill.

  In order to advise on each authority's proposals for reorganisation, my right hon. Friends and I propose to appoint an advisory committee, to be called the National Rivers Authority Advisory Committee. The terms of reference are to advise us on the implications for the water authorities of the reorganisation needed to provide a separate organisational structure for their water and sewerage functions, and the functions that will be performed by the new National Rivers Authority, to advise on the acceptability of the scheme proposed by each water authority, and to ensure that it will enable the NRA adequately to fulfil the tasks proposed to be allocated to

  621
  it. I shall make a further announcement about the chairman and other members of this committee as soon as possible.

  I am confident that these arrangements will enable water authorities to start soon on the necessary preparations for privatisation and restructuring so as to provide for the successful transfer to the private sector of the vast majority of the jobs in the water industry, together with the transfer of the regulatory and river basin management functions of water authorities in an important new national authority in the public sector.

  Landlord and Tenant Act 1987
  Mr. Madel
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is now in a position to say when he expects the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 to come into operation.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  My right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales have made the first commencement order for the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 which brings into effect on 1 February 1988 the whole of parts I and VI (dealing respectively with the right of first refusal and information to be supplied to tenants), section 45 (the powers of housing associations as regards the management of leasehold property) and some incidental provisions. They hope to make a further commencement order in March 1988.

PRIME MINISTER

  North of England
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Prime Minister, when she next intends to visit the north of England.

  The Prime Minister
  I have at present no plans to do so.

  Crown Estate Commissioners
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government have any plans to amend the Crown Estate Act 1961 in relation to the powers of the Crown Estate Commissioners; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  I have no plans to do so.

  Brownsover, Rugby
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to make an official visit to Brownsover, Rugby.

  The Prime Minister
  I have at present no plans to do so.

  World Peace
  Sir David Price
  To ask the Prime Minister in the light of the recent discussions between President Reagan and Mr. Gorbachev, and the signing of the intermediate nuclear forces treaty, what is her estimate of the prospects for securing progress towards world peace in 1988; and what part she expects to be able to play in the process.

  The Prime Minister
  At the Washington summit, apart from signature of the INF treaty, progress was made in talks on 50 per cent. reductions in United States and Soviet strategic arms. The Government fully support this aim,622
  and the other Alliance arms control priorities of a global ban on chemical weapons and the elimination of the imbalance of Warsaw pact and NATO conventional forces in Europe. Lasting confidence between East and West will also require progress on human rights and regional problems including Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Her Majesty's Government will continue to play an active role in seeking a safer world.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Prime Minister what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of the Cabinet Office; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  The Prime Minister
  Eighteen staff are presently employed by the Cabinet Office, including the Central Statistical Office and the office of the Minister for the Civil Service, and 10 Downing street on press and public relations activities. We expect to employ the same number of staff on these activities at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Prime Minister what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by the Cabinet Office on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  The Prime Minister
  The Cabinet Office does not expect to incur any expenditure on promotional advertising on television, radio or in newspapers in either 1987–88 or 1988–89. The latest estimate of expenditure on other promotional material in 1987–88 by the Cabinet Office, including the Central Statistical Office and the Office of the Minister for the Civil Service, as well as on such services provided to the Office of Arts and Libraries, is £40,000. An estimated £36,000 is expected to be spent on promotional material in 1988–89.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Prime Minister what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by the Cabinet Office on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  The Prime Minister
  The information is not available in the precise form requested. The latest estimate of expenditure on press and public relations in 1987–88 by the Cabinet Office, including 10 Downing Street, the Central Statistical Office and the Office of the Minister for the Civil Service, as well as on such services provided to the Office of Arts and Libraries, is £515,000. An estimated £521,000 is expected to be spent on these activities in 1988–89.

  London Transport
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Prime Minister how many times in an official capacity, she has(a) travelled on and (b) visited the buildings of (i) London Underground and (ii) London Buses.

  The Prime Minister
  I am not able usually to undertake such journeys. I visited the scene of the disaster at King's Cross underground station on 19 November.

  Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will take initiatives in support of the paragraph in the intermediate nuclear forces treaty acknowledging the obligations of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics under article VI of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, in the light of the fact that the United Kingdom is the third depository state under the non-proliferation treaty.

  The Prime Minister
  No. A United Kingdom initiative in the context of a bilateral US/Soviet agreement would not be appropriate.

  Engagements
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 17 December.

  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 17 December.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 17 December.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 17 December.

  The Prime Minister
  This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Patrick John Elwood
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken arising from the petition presented to Parliament by the hon. Member for Nottingham, North regarding Patrick John Elwood, currently imprisoned.

  Mr. John Patten
  The matter raised in the petition was investigated and it was decided that no action should be taken.

  Prisoners (Complaints)
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to expedite consideration of complaints in respect of inmates of Her Majesty's prisons submitted by hon. Members.

  Mr. John Patten
  During the last year the systems for managing and monitoring the consideration of matters raised by hon. Members, including complaints submitted by them on behalf of inmates, have been reviewed and improved, resulting in a substantial reduction in the average time taken to reply to hon. Members' letters.

  Firearms Certificates
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many new applications for the issue of part 5 firearms certificates were granted during the period from 1 January 1979 until 31 December 1979, and in each subsequent year for the same period;
  624
  (2) how many new applications to renew the issue of part 5 firearms certificates were granted during the period from 1 January 1979 until 31 December 1979, and for each subsequent year for the same period;

  (3) how many new applications for the grant of part 5 firearms certificates were refused from 1 January 1979 until 31 December 1979, and for the same period in each subsequent year;

  (4) how many part 5 firearms certificates remained current and in force on 31 December 1979, and on that date in each subsequent year;

  (5) how many new applications for the issue of part 5 firearms certificates during the period from 1 January 1979 until 31 December 1979, and for each subsequent year for the same period, were subsequently withdrawn by the applicants prior to either the grant of or the refusal to issue the certificate being given.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The information requested is not kept on an annual basis and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. There are currently 641 section 5 authorities in existence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

  Sex Discrimination
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what representations his Department has received since 1977 calling for the amendment of section 51 of the Sex Discrimination Act;

  (2) what representations his Department has received since 1977 calling for the repeal of section 51 of the Sex Discrimination Act.

  Mr. John Patten
  In 1986 the Equal Opportunities Commission published a consultative document "Legislating for Change?" which identified the possible need for amendment to section 51. The commission has recently completed consideration of the responses and we expect to receive its proposals for amending the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 in the early part of 1988.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Hurd
  The present complement, of all grades, for the Home Office press office is 18 and is currently under review.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by his Department on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  Mr. Hurd
  During 1987–88 it is estimated that a total of £8·6 million will be spent on paid publicity of all kinds. Approximately £5·1 million of this will be for television, press, and other advertising. A more detailed breakdown cannot be given at this stage.

  For 1988–89 there is provision for £8·7 million to be spent on paid publicity of all kinds. No further details are available at present.
  625
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of the Metropolitan police; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the number of staff of all grades employed on press functions is 43. No major changes in the level of staffing are expected in the next 12 months.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by the Metropolitan police on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the latest figures for 1987–88 are as follows:

  £

  Television Advertising

  Nil

  Radio Advertising

  6,000

  Newspaper Advertising

  1,573,000

  Other promotional material

  1,034,000

  The estimate of expenditure for 1988–89 has not yet been decided.

  Coal Industry Dispute
  Sir Geoffrey Finsberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments due to the Metropolitan police are still outstanding from provincial forces in respect of the National Union of Mineworkers strike; what action he proposes to take to obtain immediate payment; and what interest will become payable to the Metropolitan police to compensate for the delays.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the only outstanding payment for mutual aid supplied during the miners' dispute is the difference between the amount of £6,106,266·79 paid by Nottinghamshire and the sum of £6,734,248·79 claimed by the Metropolitan police.

  The Metropolitan police have asked my right hon. Friend to make a determination in respect of the claim under section 14(4) of the Police Act 1964. We are considering this. No interest payments can be included in a determination.

  Greater Manchester (Chief Constable)
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet the chief constable of Greater Manchester to discuss his recent remarks on corporal punishment.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  There are no plans for my right hon. Friend to do so.

  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether the Greater Manchester police 626
  authority have sought his approval for calling upon the chief constable of Greater Manchester to retire in the interests of efficiency under section 5 of the Police Act 1964;

  (2) if he will consider requesting the Greater Manchester police authority to call upon the chief constable of Greater Manchester to retire in the interests of efficiency under section 29 of the Police Act 1964.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  No.

  Police Authorities (Surplus Arms)
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why arms surplus to the requirements of police authorities are not placed at the disposal of the services.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I understand that police firearms are not usually compatible with military requirements. Nevertheless, we are considering whether steps should be taken to offer surplus police firearms to the armed forces.

  Childrens Television Programmes (Imports)
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ban the importation of the children's television programme "Captain Power" and the "Soldiers of the Future."

  Mr. Renton
  It is entirely a matter for the broadcasting authorities to decide whether individual programmes contravene their programme standard obligations. I understand that this programme has been considered by the Cable Authority, which sees no objection to the programme itself but would want to reconsider the matter in the context of any related advertising or marketing of products in the United Kingdom.

  Independent Television Production Quotas
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the breakdown of negotiations relating to independent television production quotas, between the independent television companies and independent producers, he will review the position in the light of American experience; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Renton
  We welcome the steps taken by the IBA to explore with the parties to the negotiations the scope for their resumption. We are, however, keeping the position under close review.

  Haverigg prison, Cumbria
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the security arrangements at Haverigg prison, Millom, Cumbria, following the recent escapes of prisoners.

  Mr. John Patten
  As is the standard practice, inquiries will be made into the circumstances of the escapes and we shall consider, in the light of the findings, whether arrangements need to be changed.

  Shops Act 1950
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State tor the Home Department what representations his Department
  627
  has received since 1977 calling for the repeal of section 37 of the Shops Act 1950, as amended by the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963, which requires a seat to be provided behind the counter for the use of women employed as shop assistants.

  Mr. John Patten
  No such representations have been received by either the Home Office or the Department of Employment. I should add that section 37 of the Shops Act 1950 was repealed in 1964 by the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 except in relation to premises which are in a covered market place.

  Guildford and Woolwich Pub Bombings
  Mr. John M. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress the Avon and Somerset constabulary are making in their inquiries into the new statements presented to him concerning the Guildford and Woolwich pub bombings case; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hurd
  I understand that the Avon and Somerset police have encountered certain difficulties in interviewing witnesses and in obtaining access to documents; and that in consequence they have thought it necessary to write to solicitors representing the four convicted persons to express their concern. As a result, the inquiries are, unfortunately, taking longer than had been expected.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mr. Hurd
  Staff and associated costs of the Home Office press office in 1987–88 are estimated at £300,000. The estimated costs for 1988–89 will depend on the outcome of a review of the complement.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by the Metropolitan police on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the latest estimate of staffing and accommodation costs of the directorate of public affairs and spending on recruitment and other advertising and other promotional literature for 1987–88 is £4,836,926. The level of expenditure for 1988–89 has not yet been decided.

  Foreign Visitors
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many(a) men, (b) women and (c) children have been refused visas to visit the United Kingdom since the introduction of visa control on five countries in October 1986; and if he will set out his answer in tabular form for each of the five countries;

  (2) how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) children have been granted visas to visit the United Kingdom from the five countries which became subject to visa control in October 1986, listed in tabular form; in how many cases, in each category shown above, applications were made to
  628
  extend visits; and in how many cases such extensions were for (a) a month, (b) two months, (c) three months, (d) four months, (e) five months and (f) six months or more.

  Mr. Renton
  [holding answer 8 December 1987]: Information on applications for a visa to visit the United Kingdom is given in the following table; separate information on men, women and children is not available centrally. The information available on persons applying for an extension of stay as a visitor cannot comprehensively identify all those applicants who were originally admitted with a visit visa or after the introduction of the visa requirement.

  Persons applying for a visa to visit the United Kingdom

  Number of persons

  Applications Granted1

  Refused initially

  Bangladesh

  October 19862 to September 1987

  6,730

  1,940

  India

  October 19862 to September 1987

  92,080

  4,360

  Pakistan

  October 19862 to September 1987

  48,850

  6,200

  Ghana

  October 19863 to September 1987

  9,350

  2,350

  Nigeria

  February4 to September 1987

  34,800

  2,530

  1 Including applications granted on appeal.

  2 Including applications for entry clearance in the period 1 to 14 October.

  3 Including applications for entry clearance in the period 1 to 22 October.

  4 Data are not available prior to 1 February 1987, when the visa requirement for Nigerians was introduced.

  Anabolic Steroids
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of convictions during the last 10 years for the unlicensed sale of anabolic steroids under the Medicines Act.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  In the last 10 years there have been four convictions under the Medicines Act for the illegal sale or supply of anabolic steroids. One conviction involved three separate charges.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public realtions office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Eggar
  The number of staff employed in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office news department and
  629
  Overseas Development Administration press office is 19·5. The number employed at this point in 1988 will depend on the workload prevailing at the time.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by his Department on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotion material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  Mr. Eggar
  Foreign and Commonwealth Office estimates of expenditure on advertising and other promotional material for 1987–88 are:

  £

  FCO Diplomatic Wing

  195,000

  FCO Aid Wing

  351,000

  Total

  546,000

  Detailed decisions on expenditure for 1988–89 have not yet been taken, but the overall figures are expected to be:

  £

  FCO Diplomatic Wing

  230,000

  FCO Aid Wing

  352,000

  Total

  582,000

  Expenditure relates mainly to advertising for recruitment, publicity to promote overseas the entitlement of certain British residents overseas to vote in British and European Parliament elections, and general promotional literature.

  A disaggregation of these figures to identify the medium used is not available.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mr. Eggar
  Total expenditure on press and public relations for 1987–88 is estimated as follows:

  £ million

  Payment to Central Office of Information for overseas information material and related activities

  19·2

  Other information services

  0·9

  Running costs of the Diplomatic Wing Information/News Departments

  2·0

  Running costs of Aid Wing Information Department

  0·2

  Detailed decisions on expenditure for 1988–89 have not yet been taken, but the overall figures are expected to be:

  £ million

  Payment to Central Office of Information for overseas information material and related activities

  19·0

  Other information services

  0·9

  Running costs of the Diplomatic Wing Information/News Departments

  2·1

  Running costs of Aid Wing Information Department

  0·3

  £ million

  1987–88

  1988–89

  Cost of information staff at overseas posts

  17·6

  18·3

  630

  £ million

  1987–88

  1988–89

  Total

  39·9

  40·6

  Most of this expenditure is incurred in carrying out the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's responsibilities for the projection of Britain's image, and Her Majesty's Government's policies in overseas countries.

  Diego Garcia
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the base on Diego Garcia has been used by United Kingdom forces in the Gulf; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  It is not our practice to comment on operational matters.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether the United States of America used the base at Diego Garcia to reinforce its armed forces in the Gulf prior to August; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) whether United States minesweeper helicopters are permanently based on Diego Garcia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  It is not our usual practice to comment upon details of operations by United States forces.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any United Kingdom minesweeping helicopters are permanently based on Diego Garcia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  The Royal Navy does not have any minesweeping helicopters.

  Falkland Islands (Fisheries)
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 11 December,Official Report, column 324, if he will place in the Library a copy of any relevant documents, papers, requirements and guidelines relating to the issue of fishing licences in the Falkland Islands conservation zone available to the renewable resources assessment group at Imperial college when determining the conservation requirements governing the issue of licences.

  Mr. Eggar
  I shall arrange to have placed in the Library of the House soon scientific papers relevant to the work of the renewable resources assessment group (RRAG) for the Falkland Islands Government in determining the conservation requirements for the Falkland Islands interim conservation and management zone (FICZ). RRAG receives through the Falkland Islands Government daily reports of catches from those vessels licensed to fish in the FICZ. This information is also monitored by the Falkland Islands Government's scientific observers.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will now list the United Kingdom holders of licences to fish in Falklands waters in each round since the introduction of the 150 mile fisheries zone around the Falklands in 1986.

  Mr. Eggar
  A list of United Kingdom companies allocated licences for the 1987 and 1988 seasons for the
  631
  Falkland Islands interim conservation and management zone is as follows. Finfish allocations for 1988 have not yet been completed. Where licences have been allocated to joint ventures involving United Kingdom firms, the name of the JV company is shown in brackets.

  1987 first season: 1 February-30 June

  Marr (Falklands) Limited (StanMarr Limited)

  Witte-Boyd Holdings (SWB Fishing Limited)

  Caley International Limited (StanCal Limited)

  Falconview Limited (Falconview Fisheries Company Limited)

  Berkeley Sound Shipping Company (Stankor Limited)

  Sasasco (Stanco Limited)

  Scofish International Limited (Clipper (Falklands) Limited)

  Auscot Limited

  Coalite

  Fishing Explorer Limited

  International Fisheries Investment Limited

  SFP Enterprises

  South Atlantic Fisheries Limited

  1987 second season: 1 July-31 December

  Fishing Explorer Limited

  International Fisheries Investment Limited

  Baomar (UK) Limited

  1988 squid licence allocations (season ends 30 June)

  Marr (Falklands) Limited (StanMarr Limited)

  Drop-out rate (final registration to exams) for each faculty in the undergraduate programme 1977 to 1986

  Calendar year

  Arts

  Social Science

  School of Education

  Maths

  Science

  Technology

  1P/E

  2U

  1977

  21·0

  23·8

  25·5

  32·9

  25·4

  28·5

  30·7

  —

  1978

  20·8

  24·9

  26·6

  31·6

  28·4

  30·2

  36·1

  —

  1979

  23·5

  25·5

  28·9

  33·3

  27·9

  30·8

  38·5

  —

  1980

  24·4

  25·9

  28·5

  32·3

  29·8

  30·6

  35·8

  32·3

  1981

  22·9

  24·4

  24·7

  29·9

  26·4

  29·2

  34·9

  34·5

  1982

  20·3

  22·3

  24·4

  30·5

  25·0

  26·4

  31·9

  24·5

  1983

  19·9

  22·2

  25·6

  27·0

  23·7

  24·7

  32·4

  21·5

  1984

  19·4

  20·5

  25·2

  24·7

  22·0

  24·8

  31·0

  22·5

  1985

  21·0

  22·4

  24·6

  25·6

  22·9

  25·8

  32·8

  18·4

  1986

  21·3

  23·4

  24·5

  27·1

  23·9

  26·5

  27·3

  20·7

  Notes:

  (a) The Open University is a distance teaching institution and therefore its statistics are difficult to relate to those produced by conventional universities.

  (b) The drop-out rates for Open University students could be due to non-academic reasons such as financial and family problems.

  (c) The figures for 1977 to 1981 are not directly comparable with those of 1982 onwards.

  1 P/E—Post experience courses.

  2 —U type courses which are interdisciplinary/interfaculty.

  Workers Educational Association
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how the Government's support to the Workers Educational Association is calculated; and if he will make provison to protect this funding in areas where high unemployment affects fee income.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Department's grant provided for the Workers Educational Association districts in the current academic year totals £2,496,900. This represents the grant allocated initially for 1986–87 increased to take account of anticipated changes in costs. It is allocated to individual districts on the following basis:

  (i) a flat sum allocated to each district to contribute to the salary costs of the district secretary and office expenses;

  (ii) a special activities fund designed to allocate resources to districts for specific purposes; and

  (iii) allocations to each district based on a count of student hours.

  632

  Witte-Boyd Holdings (SWB Fishing Limited)

  Caley International Limited (Stancal)

  Berkeley Sound Shipping Company (Stankor)

  Auscot Limited (Fortuna Limited)

  Seaboard Offshore (Seamount Limited)

  Hughes Group

  International Fisheries Investment Limited

  Fishing Explorer Limited

  Coalite

  A copy of the Falkland Islands Government's announcement of squid licences for all successful applicants for the first season in 1988 will be placed in the Library of the House.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Open University
  Mr. Rathbone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the drop-out rate among Open University students for each of the last 10 years, broken down by the year of study and type of course.

  Mr. Jackson
  The percentage of students finally registering each year who did not take their end of year examinations is shown in the following table.

  The special activities fund arrangements allow for districts to apply for compensation for fee remissions to unemployed students. My right hon. Friend is quite prepared to consider any proposals from the Workers Educational Association for adjusting the funding formula if this is thought to be necessary.

  Nursery Schools
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was(a) the total public expenditure on nursery schools and classes in each year from 1975 to 1985 and (b) the total public expenditure on these services as a percentage of the gross domestic product for England and Wales for each of these years.

  Mr. Dunn
  The available information relates to an estimate of total net recurrent expenditure by local education authorities in England on under-fives in
  633
  maintained schools from 1976–77 and is shown in the table. Each amount has been expressed as a percentage of the total United Kingdom gross domestic product.

  LEA expenditure on under-fives1

  Year

  Net recurrent expenditure £ million cash

  Percentage of GDP (rounded to three decimal places)

  1976–772

  127

  0·098

  1977–78

  128

  0·085

  1978–79

  146

  0·084

  1979–80

  177

  0·085

  1980–81

  222

  0·094

  1981–82

  241

  0·093

  1982–83

  274

  0·096

  1983–84

  296

  0·096

  1984–85

  331

  0·101

  1985–86

  350

  0·097

  1 Information is given for under-fives as a group because separate figures for nursery classes in primary schools is not available.

  2 1976–77 is the earliest year for which figures are readily available.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The number of staff employed in the information branch of the Department of Education and Science at 15 December 1987 was 38. Detailed plans for the next financial year remain to be determined.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by his Department on(a) television advertising. (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The latest figures for estimated spending on advertising and other promotional literature for the current financial year 1987–88 are as follows:

  £

  Television

  Nil

  Radio

  Nil

  Newspapers

  280,000

  Other promotional material (publications, videos, exhibitions etc.)

  1,459,000

  Plans for expenditure in 1988–89 have yet to be finalised.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The latest estimated expenditure for the current financial year on press and public relations, including staff costs is £2,300,000. Plans for expenditure in 1988–89 have yet to be finalised.

  Rock Ferry School, Birkenhead
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Educational and Science what is the standard number of pupils for first year entrance to Rock Ferry school, Birkenhead, under section 15 of the Education Act 1980.
  634
  Mr. Dunn
  The standard number for Rock Ferry high school is 210 pupils.

  European University, Florence
  Mr. Buchan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what contribution was made by the United Kingdom to the European university in Florence in the latest financial year; how many students attended the university; and how many of those students were British.

  Mr. Jackson
  The contribution made by the United Kingdom Government to the European university institute in the last financial year was £1,059,000. Of the 190 students at the institute in the last academic year, 21 were from the United Kingdom.

  CERN
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to make a statement on the United Kingdom's membership of CERN.

  Mr. Jackson
  The report of the CERN review group, chaired by Professor Abragam, has just been received, and is today being presented formally by him to a meeting of the CERN council. The report, a copy of which is being placed in the Library, will now be the subject of detailed analysis prior to a substantive discussion of it, planned for the February meeting of the CERN council. At today's meeting the United Kingdom delegate will explain that the United Kingdom will wish to remain a full and active member of CERN provided that a sound basis for doing so in the future can be established.

  ESRF
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he proposes to decide on United Kingdom funding of the planned ESRF (synchrotron radiation) facility at Grenoble.

  Mr. Jackson
  I wrote to the chairman of the ESRF provisional council on 11 December informing 11 him of the United Kingdom's willingness to fund a 10 per cent. share of the construction costs of the proposed European synchrotron radiation facility. Discussions with other prospective partners are continuing.

  Agriculture and Food Research Council
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research funds he proposes to distribute to the Agriculture and Food Research Council; and what is his estimate of the total of departmental allocations to the Council.

  Mr. Jackson
  My right hon. Friend is currently considering the advice of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils on the allocation of the additional money for science in 1988–89 announced on 3 November. He expects to announce his decision on allocations shortly.

  The Agriculture and Food Research Council will also receive funds from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for commissioned work. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has still to confirm the total research that he will be commissioning in 1988–89.

  Geological Surveying
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he proposes to implement the recommendations of Sir Clifford Butler's report on geological surveying.

  Mr. Jackson
  There is nothing further that I can add to my reply to my hon. Friend, and my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Latham) on 29 October 1987 at column 365.

  National Curriculum Mathematics Working Group (Report)
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will publish the interim report of the national curriculum mathematics working group; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  I am publishing the interim report of the national curriculum mathematics working group today. I am grateful to the group for the work it has done to date, but hope for a more rapid rate of progress over coming months in its further work on attainment targets and programmes of study for mathematics. Copies of the report and of my response are being lodged in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Education Expenditure
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on expenditure to be supported by education support grant in 1988–89.

  New starts approved for 1988–89

  Activity

  Total allocation (£ million cash)

  Number of LEAs to be supported

  1. IT in Schools1

  19·0

  All

  2. Provision of Books and equipment for GCSE examination courses

  10·0

  All

  3. The teaching of mathematics in schools

  4·6

  All

  4. The teaching of science and technology as part of primary education

  2·9

  56

  5. Action to combat the misuse of drugs

  2·3

  94

  6. Computer Aided Engineering1

  2·2

  21

  7. Management information in FE Colleges

  2·0

  31

  8. Education for a multi-ethnic society

  1·5

  50

  9. Provision of records of achievement

  1·2

  7

  10. Learning by achievement1

  1·1

  26

  11. Support for parents in the teaching of children under five with special educational needs

  1·1

  35

  12. Open Learning1

  1·0

  40

  13. The planning, development and co-ordination of provision to meet the educational needs of the unemployed

  0·9

  26

  14. Diversification of first foreign language1

  0·3

  10

  15. The development of information technology at FE Establishments

  0·2

  6

  Total

  50·3

  —

  1 New activities for 1988–89.

ENERGY

  Electricity Transmission (Costs)
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what response the Central Electricity Generating
  636
  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The Government intend to support expenditure of £115·5 million in England through education support grant in 1988–89. £81 million of Exchequer grant will be paid in all, and every local education authority will benefit from the programme. Grant will be paid at the rate of 70 per cent. of approved expenditure except for the special extension of the project on records of achievement, where it will be paid at 50 per cent.

  Within the overall figure of £115·5 million, £40·5 million of expenditure on schemes of midday supervision will be supported and about £25 million of continuing expenditure on projects began in earlier years of the programme. The amount available for new starts will be just over £50 million, which will be spread across 15 activities. Five of these activities are featuring in the programme for the first time. They are: information technology in schools; a pilot project to broaden the range of languages learnt by pupils in secondary schools as their first foreign language; schemes for the organisation of leisure time activities of vocational benefit to young persons known as learning by achievement; the development of vocational open learning provision, and the provision of equipment for use in the teaching of computer aided engineering on technician courses.

  The Department is writing to local education authorities today to inform them of the levels of expenditure which I have approved for activities to be supported in 1988–89. The table sets out for the 15 activities in which new starts are now approved the levels of expenditure to be supported next year and the numbers of authorities for which I have approved projects.

  Board has made to the report by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on the efficiency and costs of transmission of electricity.
  637
  Mr. Michael Spicer
  The Central Electricity Generating Board has sent me its first response to the report which was published on 26 June this year. Copies of the response have been placed in the Library.

  The commission found that the CEGB generally managed its transmission function efficiently in the interests of its customers and in discharge of its statutory duty, but identified several areas of weakness and one major failure. However, the commission did not consider that in respect of any of the matters investigated the board was at the time pursuing a course of conduct which operated against the public interest. The commission recognised the high level of technological competence which the board displayed in the transmission of electricity, but drew attention to the importance of developing an equally high standard of general management, particularly in the absence of competitive pressures.

  Accordingly, the commission made a large number of recommendations, mainly aimed at improvements in general management in the area of transmission. The CEGB's response summarises the action which the board plans to take. There were five areas which the commission recommended should have priority:

  Clearer definition of Board responsibilities
  The CEGB has explained the collective and individual responsibilities of executive board members. I attach importance, as does the board, to a clear definition of responsibilities at all times.

  Future management of the Five Centre Grid Control Project
  The board acknowledges that serious mistakes were made in the original two-tier grid control project; and has taken steps to ensure that the revised five centre project will be carried out efficiently. My Department will wish to keep in touch with the progress of the project.

  Year to year changes in transmission plans
  and

  Fluctuations in estimated plant and equipment requirements
  The board will he reviewing recent changes and fluctuations to see whether firmer indications of requirements can be given to suppliers. I believe that it is important that there should be an informed relationship between the hoard and suppliers, though set in the context of maximising the scope for competition. I note that the commission endorsed the CEGB's practice of basing its investment planning and appraisal decisions on the costs and benefits which will accrue to electricity consumers.

  Approach to budget setting
  The board accepts the need for a rigorous approach to budget setting. My Department will take a close interest in the board's re-examination of the scope for applying priority-based budgeting to expenditure on transmission.

  The commission considered that the board was wrong not to have undertaken a formal assessment of costs and benefits before embarking on reorganisation of its production activities. I attach importance to the action which the board is taking to evaluate and achieve the cost savings which reorganisation has made possible.

  The board will be reporting to me next summer on progress achieved in implementing the recommendations.

  Government Buildings (Lighting)
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy to what extent he has promoted the findings of his energy 638
  efficiency demonstration scheme's expanded project file 69 on lighting controls for installation in the Government's main buildings and where the Government are the principal tenant.

  Mr. Peter Morrison
  My energy efficiency office actively promotes the efficient use and control of lighting in buildings. The Property Services Agency is fully aware of the project referred to by the hon. Member and other advisory material on energy efficient lighting.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Parkinson
  The staffing of my Department's press office (including the public inquiry point and support staff) is 11. Staffing levels are presently under review.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by his Department on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  Mr. Parkinson
  Provisional figures for expenditure by my Department in 1987–88 in the following areas are:

  £ million

  (a) Television advertising

  Nil

  (b) Radio advertising

  Nil

  (c) Press advertising, including newspapers

  1·85

  (d) Other promotional material

  1·16

  This estimate includes £450,000 in respect of publicity in connection with the collection of the second call on British Gas shares. This sum was excluded from that given in the previous answer on 17 July, at column 647 for the sake of consistency with the figures given in that answer for 1986–87.

  Detailed decisions on expenditure for 1988–89 have not yet been taken.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mr. Parkinson
  The estimated expenditure for 1987–88 is £359,000.

  The figures include:

  (i) forecast expenditure by the press office:

  (ii) staff costs (salaries, accommodation and common services) for all permanent information service and support staff currently in post in the press office, including the public inquiry point.

  Staffing levels are currently under review; therefore detailed decisions have not been made for 1988–89.

  Opencast Executive
  Mr. Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how many (i) administrative and (ii) productive employees were engaged in the activities of the Opencast Executive in(a) Wales, (b) England and (c) Scotland for each of the years 1980 to 1987; and if he will make a statement;
  639
  (2) how many sites are (a) currently coaled by the Opencast Executive in (i) Wales, (ii) England and (iii) Scotland and (b) were so worked in each of the years 1980–1987.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  This is a matter for the British Coal Corporation and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.

  Nuclear Power
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards proposals by the Central Electricity Generating Board to build new nuclear generating capacity, in the context of the overall development of national electricity supplies.

  Mr. Parkinson
  In August of this year I received an application from the CEGB for my consent to build a pressurised water reactor nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. The CEGB has also informed me that it expects shortly to submit applications for my consent to build new coal-fired power stations at Fawley in Hampshire and at West Burton in Nottinghamshire.

  The Government are satisfied that there will be a need for considerable new generating capacity before the end of the century. By then, many existing power stations will have been retired. The days of overcapacity in electricity supply are rapidly coming to an end, and new capacity must be planned now if supplies are to be maintained. Electricity demand is steadily rising as economic activity revives.

  Secure supplies of electricity are vital to the nation's well-being. We cannot afford to risk dependency on one source of power alone. There is an obvious need for diversity in the nation's power sources to which nuclear power can make a valuable contribution. It provides independence from the uncertainties of future prices of fossil fuels. My right hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Walker), attached substantial importance to the need for greater fuel diversity in giving his consent in March of this year for the Sizewell B PWR. In the ensuing debate of 11 May the House recognised the important contribution that nuclear energy is making and will continue to make to the strength of the British economy. The proposals to privatise the industry which I shall bring before the House in due course will take the need for diversity fully into account.

  The Government are satisfied that the PWR can provide nuclear energy safely. The Sizewell B decision was made only after the most careful and painstaking independent assessment of the issues by the inquiry inspector. In June of this year the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate also completed its assessment of the safety issues for the Sizewell B design with the granting of a nuclear site licence. The safety of that PWR design has been exhaustively examined and found to be acceptable. The NII will, of course, have to continue to be satisfied, through the licensing process, in respect of individual projects and, in particular, with the examination of those safety issues which are site specific in their nature.

  However, without further nuclear stations, the nuclear component in our electricity supplies will decline as the existing Magnox stations are retired. The CEGB made it clear at the Sizewell B public inquiry that, in the event of receiving consent for the Sizewell B PWR, it would wish
  640
  to proceed with a small family of PWRs based on the Sizewell B design. Each future power station application will be considered on its merits. The Hinkley Point C proposal is the first of these and I shall announce, in due course, the details of the public inquiry which will assist me in my decision on the CEGB's application.

  Subject to receiving the necessary safety, environmental and other consents, these stations will contribute, along with other generating options, including further coal-fired stations and renewable resources, to meeting the nation's requirement for additional generating capacity.

SCOTLAND

  "Prosecuting Sexual Assault"
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to introduce legislation to give effect to the recommendation of his Department's report, "Prosecuting Sexual Assault"; and if he will issue guidance to the courts.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend to the right hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan (Mr. Milian) on 28 October 1987, at column 144.

  Prisons (Damage)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the estimated cost of damage caused in the recent prison disturbances in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information is as follows:

  £ thousands

  Shotts (26–27 September 1987)

  186

  Peterhead (28 September to 3 October 1987)

  92

  Perth (4–6 October 1987)

  96

  374

  Prisons (Disturbances)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many inmates have been charged with offences against prison rules following the recent prison disturbances in Scotland; how many have been found guilty; and what awards have been given.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Charges, or adjudications by governors or visiting committees, for alleged offences under the Prison (Scotland) Rules 1952 do not proceed if the same allegations are subject to independent criminal investigation.

  Allegations of offences during recent incidents at Shotts prison (26–27 September), Peterhead (28 September to 3 October) and Perth prison (4–6 October) are the subject of investigation by the police and procurators-fiscal. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the nature or possible outcome of these investigations, or any criminal, proceedings which might result.

  Scottish Transport Group
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has proposals to privatise the Scottish Transport Group or any of its subsidiary companies during the next two years; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) on 3 December 1987 at column 669.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the profit or loss of the Scottish Transport Group and each of its subsidiary companies in each year from 1983–84 and 1986–87; and what is the projected profit or loss for 1987 and 1989.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish Transport Group's annual accounts are prepared on a calendar year basis. The profit for the calendar years 1983 to 1986 inclusive is shown on page 28 of the group's annual report and accounts for 1986, a copy of which is available in the Library. Profit figures for each of the group's subsidiary companies for the calendar years to 1986 are contained in the annual reports of the companies, copies of which are deposited with the Registrar of Companies. Projected profits for both the current year and future years are matters of commercial confidence.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the value of all assets held by the Scottish Transport Group and each of its subsidiary companies.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The value of all assets held by the Scottish Transport Group is set out in the group's annual report and accounts, a copy of which is available in the Library. Figures for each of its subsidiary companies are contained in the annual accounts of each of the companies, copies of which are deposited with the Registrar of Companies.

  Armed Forces (Casualties)
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects detailed guidance relating to armed forces casualties, and to host nation arrangements, as referred to in paragraph 4.4 of the Scottish Home and Health Department's circular SHHD/DGM (1987)41, "Emergency Planning in the National Health Service: Health Service Civil Planning" to become available.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply of Friday 11 December to the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Mr. Galbraith).

  Nursery Schools
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was(a) the total public expenditure on nursery schools and classes for each year from 1975 to 1985 and (b) the total public expenditure on these services as a percentage of the gross domestic product of Scotland for each of these years.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information available on total public expenditure on nursery schools and classes is as follows:
  642

  £ million

  1976·77

  12·6

  1977·78

  13·1

  1978·79

  12·3

  1979·80

  13·5

  1980·81

  16·5

  1981·82

  18·4

  1982·83

  22·2

  1983·84

  22·0

  1984·85

  24·0

  1985·86

  26·2

  Note: Comparable figures for 1975–76 are not available.

  The percentage which these sums represent of estimated Scottish GDP is 0·1 for each year.

  Nurseries and Playgroups
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was(a) the total public expenditure spent on local authority day nurseries, local authority playgroups and grants to the voluntary sector for provision for under-fives for each year from 1975 to 1985 and (b) the total public expenditure on these services as a percentage of the gross domestic product of Scotland for each of these years.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information available on expenditure by social work authorities on children's day care services, including payments to voluntary bodies and individuals, is as follows:

  £ million

  1975–76

  3·0

  1976–77

  4·0

  1977–78

  4·1

  1978–79

  5·0

  1979–80

  6·0

  1980–81

  8·2

  1981–82

  9·1

  1982–83

  110·2

  1983–84

  111·0

  1984–85

  111·6

  1985–86

  112·4

  1 Estimate.

  The percentage which these sums represent of estimated Scottish GDP is 0·04 up to 1979–80, rising to 0·05 thereafter.

  Grants are also made by central Government to voluntary social work organisations. However, the exact amounts from such grants which are devoted to provision for under-fives are not available.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Rifkind
  At 1 December 1987 the number of staff in the information officer grades employed in the Scottish Information Office was 23. Decisions have yet to be taken on the precise disposition of staff in the Scottish Office for 1988–89.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by his Department on(a) television advertising,

  643
  (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  Mr. Rifkind
  Estimated expenditure by my Department on television, radio, newspaper advertising and promotional material in the current year is £134,500, £58,000, £493,000 and £549,800 respectively.

  Detailed decisions on expenditure by media have not yet been taken, but I expect the overall publicity figure to be £1,353,600.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mr. Rifkind
  The estimated running costs of the Scottish Information Office for 1987–88 are £1·7 million. Decisions on the expenditure estimate for 1988–89 have still to be taken.

  Rating Reform
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimates he has made of the financial implications for each of the Scottish regions of the introduction of a uniform non-domestic rate.

  Mr. Lang
  No such estimates have been made. There are no plans to introduce a separate uniform non-domestic rate for Scotland.

  Mr. Graham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether those in receipt of supplementary benefit will pay 20 per cent. of their poll tax liability.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 26 October 1987]: I am sorry not to have replied to the hon. Member more quickly. The information requested is as follows.

  Those receiving income support, which will replace supplementary benefit in April 1988, will receive the maximum rebate of 80 per cent. The levels of income support will be adjusted to take account of the average 20 per cent. minimum contribution.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give his latest estimate of the national average community charge in Scotland at current prices; if he will give the formula for his calculation; and if the rebate system as it applies in Scotland will be based on this figure.

  Mr. Lang
  I refer to the information contained in my reply to the hon. Member on 1 December, at columns 519–22. The calculations are based on the replacement of the income from domestic rates in 1987–88. Under the proposed community charge rebate scheme, rebates will be calculated on the basis of the actual personal community charge payable in each local authority area.

  NHS (Expenditure)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the percentage change in National Health Service expenditure for the years 1987–88, 1988–89 and 1989–90 after correcting for(a) National Health Service pay and prices deflator and (b) demographic deflator; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Forward plans for spending are made on a cash basis and no specific assumptions are made 644
  about pay and price movements for individual programmes. Estimates are made of the effect of demographic changes on demand for hospital and community health services but these are not appropriate to the National Health Service as a whole.

  As my right hon. and learned Friend announced on 9 December, we plan to spend some £2,393 million on the National Health Service in Scotland next year and to provide a further increase of over £100 million in each of the two following years. These figures reinforce the Government's commitment to the National Health Service and should allow for the continued development and improvement of health services in Scotland over the planning period.

  Heroin
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what action his Department is taking in conjunction with police authorities to eliminate the distribution of heroin in Scotland;

  (2) what advice he has given to police authorities in relation to the suppression of heroin abuse; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  No specific advice has been given to police authorities on the suppression of heroin misuse as this is an operational matter for chief constables. But, as indicated in "Tackling Drug Misuse: a summary of the Government's strategy", a copy of which is in the Library, we regard action to combat drug misuse as commanding a high priority from all the agencies involved.

  To support the police in their efforts to curb drug misuse, my right hon. and learned Friend has approved increases in authorised establishments to enable drug units to be formed in all eight Scottish forces. There are now around 100 officers specifically engaged in drugs work in Scottish forces compared to about 30 in 1979. In addition, the strength of the Scottish crime squad was increased by 21 officers in 1986 to allow the formation of drugs wings based in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The rate of specific police grant was increased from 50 to 51 per cent. with effect from 1986–87 in recognition of the demands, including the need to tackle drugs misuse, upon police resources.

  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many deaths atttributed to heroin abuse have been recorded in each year since 1977.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The international classification diseases categories do not identify whether a death is due to heroin abuse. The following figures show all deaths where heroin was mentioned in the underlying cause.

  Number

  1977

  —

  1978

  —

  1979

  —

  1980

  4

  1981

  3

  1982

  1

  1983

  5

  1984

  10

  1985

  7

  1986

  5

  645
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what reports he has received about recent deaths in the Glasgow area from heroin abuse; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  None. I understand that the circumstances surrounding four recent deaths in Glasgow apparently associated with heroin misuse are being investigated by the procurator fiscal in Glasgow who will in due course submit a report to the Crown Office.

  Scottish Development Agency
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much he has paid to the Scottish Development Agency in 1987–88; and how much he expects to pay in 1988–89. 1989–90 and 1990–91.

  Mr. Lang
  The Government's contribution to the Scottish Development Agency for 1987–88 is estimated at £94.9 million. Information about the industry programme for 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91 will be published in the public expenditure White Paper. Further details will be given in the "Scottish Commentary" and in the annual Supply Estimates.

  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, pursuant to his answer of 14 December, he will give the total amounts paid to projects in the Dumbarton constituency by the Scottish Development Agency in each year from 1979 to 1983 in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms based on 1986–87 prices, showing the percentage changes in payments between years.

  Mr. Lang
  This information is not available.

  Parole
  Sir Hector Monro
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for a review of the parole system in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. and learned Friend gave to the hon. Member for Caithness and Sutherland (Mr. Maclennan) on Wednesday 16 December.

  General Practitioners (Ancillary Staff)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total cost in the last full year for which figures are available of the 70 per cent. direct reimbursements to unrestricted principals in general practice under the ancillary staff scheme for ancillary staff salaries, and a breakdown of the cost for each health board; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  At 31 March 1987, the latest date for which this information is available, the details are as follows:

  Health Board

  £

  Ayrshire and Arran

  975,518

  Borders

  288,554

  Argyll and Clyde

  803,575

  Fife

  712,729

  Greater Glasgow

  1,434,337

  Highland

  725,657

  Lanarkshire

  888,950

  Grampian

  1,217,550

  646

  Health Board

  £

  Orkney

  58,729

  Lothian

  2,027,388

  Tayside

  1,047,791

  Forth Valley

  719,217

  Western Isles

  136,431

  Dumfries and Galloway

  330,076

  Shetland

  65,083

  Total

  11,431,765

  General Practitioners
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total, and a breakdown for each health board, of the number of unrestricted principals in general practice, as at 1 October 1986; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information is set out in the table:

  Unrestricted principals in post

  Scotland

  3,271

  Health Board

  Argyll and Clyde

  296

  Ayrshire and Arran

  238

  Borders

  69

  Dumfries and Galloway

  107

  Fife

  192

  Forth Valley

  183

  Grampian

  293

  Greater Glasgow

  631

  Highland

  152

  Lanarkshire

  301

  Lothian

  494

  Orkney

  21

  Shetland

  18

  Tayside

  249

  Western Isles

  27

  Cold-related Deaths
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of hypothermia and cold-related deaths in each year since 1979 for(a) the Tayside region and (b) the Dundee district authority area.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information is as follows:

  Deaths mentioning hypothermia: Tayside region and Dundee district 1979 to 1986

  Year

  Tayside

  Dundee

  1979

  23

  8

  1980

  20

  9

  1981

  18

  8

  1982

  18

  10

  1983

  17

  11

  1984

  15

  5

  1985

  23

  8

  1986

  20

  7

  Housing Statistics
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will provide a breakdown of the numbers of(a) flats and (b) houses which are (i) two apartments or less, (ii) three apartments, (iii) four apartments and (iv) five apartments or more, for each of the following (a) local authorities, (b) the Scottish Special Housing

  647
  Association, (c) new town development corporations, (d) housing associations and (e) other private rented accommodation;

  (2) if he will provide the average weekly rents for (a) flats and (b) houses which are (i) two apartments or less, (ii) three apartments, (iii) four apartments and (iv) five apartments or more, for each of the following (a) local authorities, (b) the Scottish Special Housing Association, (c) new town development corporations, (d) housing associations and (e) other private rented accommodation;

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Information on the breakdown of numbers of dwellings and average weekly rents into houses and flats is not collected centrally. Scottish Development Department statistical bulletin HSIU No. 29 "Public Sector Rents in Scotland 1986–87", available in the House Library, contains information on average annual rents by dwelling size.

  Rents
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide the average registered rents and change on previous rent for(a) housing association tenancies, (b) private furnished tenancies and (c) private unfurnished tenancies, in a form similar to the table on page 37 of "Scottish Housing Statistics 1986".

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information available for 1987 is for the first half year only as follows:

  Rent registration: average registered rents and change on previous rents

  1987 (January-June)

  Mean registered rent £ per annum

  Change on mean previous rent per cent.

  Number of cases

  Housing Associations:

  First Registrations

  1,047

  40

  1,281

  Re-registrations

  1,052

  19

  5,535

  Private:

  Furnished Tenancies

  1,821

  +22

  566

  Unfurnished Tenancies

  First Registrations

  1,090

  31

  427

  Re-registrations

  838

  36

  2,878

  All registrations

  871

  39

  3,305

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list the average weekly household expenditure on rent as a percentage of average weekly earnings of tenants of(a) local authorities, (b) the Scottish Special Housing Association, (c) new town development corporations, (d) housing associations and (e) other private rented accommodation;

  (2) if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the gross average weekly earnings of tenants renting accommodation from (a) local authorities, (b) the Scottish Special Housing Association, (c) the new town development corporations, (d) housing associations and (e) other private landlords.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is not available. Scottish Development Department statistical bulletin HSIU No. 29, "Public Sector Rents in Scotland 1986–87", a copy of which is 648
  available in the House Library, contains information comparing local authority average weekly rents with the average gross weekly earnings of a full-time adult manual employee in Scotland.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the estimated numbers of tenants of(a) local authorities, (b) the Scottish Special Housing Association, (c) new town development corporations, (d) housing associations and (e) other private sector landlords who are in receipt of rent rebates or rent allowances for (i) certificated cases and (ii) standard cases.

  Mr. Portillo
  I have been asked to reply.

  I shall let the hon. Member have such information as is available as soon as possible.

  Earnings
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the gross average weekly earnings, exclusive of overtime, for(a) registered general nurses, (b) firemen, (c) postmen, (d) waiters and waitresses, (e) shop assistants, (f) ambulancemen, (g) agricultural workers and (h) construction workers.

  Mr. Lang
  The following information is available from the results of the new earnings survey:

  Average gross weekly earnings (including overtime) of full-time employees on adult rates

  Scotland, April 1987

  £ per week

  Manual men

  Non-manual men

  Industry:

  Agriculture, forestry and fishing

  132·6

  —

  Construction

  176·8

  248·3

  These results are subject to sampling errors.

  The survey cannot provide reliable estimates of the corresponding figures for women, nor for the specific occupations listed.

  The new earnings survey reports, available in the Library of the House, provide information for Great Britain as a whole for some of the occupations listed.

  Springhill Farm Sewage Station
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many appeals he has received against the proposal to allow consent to make emergency discharges of screened sewage effluent into Tollcross burn from the proposed sewage pumping station at Springhill farm, Baillieton, Glasgow; if he will list all appellants in the Official Report; and if he will call in this application.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Two requests for call-in have been received. The appellants are as listed. A decision on whether or not to call in the application will be made early in the new year.

  1. Shettleston Community Council.

  2. Sandyhills East Community Council.

  Sea Transport Services
  Mr. Allan Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for shipping subsidies for sea transport services to Scotland in 1988–89; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Rifkind
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the Estimates, I propose to make available in 1988–89 total
  649
  subsidy provision of £11·84 million. The deficit subsidy provision for Caledonian MacBrayne will reduce in line with recent trends in the company's improved performance to £6·54 million. The estimated requirement to continue the fare reduction support for P and O services to Orkney and Shetland is increased to £4·1 million. On the basis of budgets submitted by coastal bulk shippers within the tariff rebate subsidy scheme, the funding requirement next year will be £1·2 million.

  The proposed level of subsidy provision reflects the Government's continuing commitment to assisting the essential sea transport services to the west coast islands and the northern isles.

  Education Statistics
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the numbers of pupils from Edinburgh, South constituency who obtained places in further education in each year from 1977 to 1987; and if he will express that number as a percentage of the age group for that year.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 26 October 1987]: The information is not readily available.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Nationalised Industries
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the accounting policies of nationalised industries in the light of the discussions which have taken place on the report, "Accounting for Economic Costs and Changing Prices", published in August 1986.

  Mr. Major
  Successive Governments have pointed out the desirability of making due allowance for changing prices in company accounts. This is particularly important in businesses where, as in a number of the nationalised industries, assets are long lived and where rates of return based on historic cost arc inadequate as measures of economic performance.

  The nationalised industries have been at the forefront of the application of current cost accounting. The Government have welcomed this and note that some of the
  650
  industries that have been privatised, in particular those subject to regulation, have decided to maintain current cost accounts. We have noted that the Director General of Telecommunications has proposed that British Telecommunications should publish information on current cost profits.

  When the Government published the report of the advisory group, "Accounting for Economic Costs and Changing Prices" they said that sponsor Departments and the Treasury would discuss the general principles described in the report, their merits and their practical application with individual nationalised industries, the nationalised industries' chairmen's group and other interested parties. Discussions with the individual industries and with the chairmen's group have now taken place. There have also been comments by the accountancy bodies and wider discussions.

  These discussions have been at a technical level throughout. The majority of corporations have recognised the need to measure economic costs and have indicated ways in which some of the recommendations in the report to that end need modification for practical application. Suggestions have also been made as to how some of the recommendations might he further developed. The discussions have identified certain problems which require further study. They have shown the conditions under which modified historical cost accounts can he used to measure economic performance. These are that in those accounts the revaluations should cover all assets and be regularly updated, and that revalued assets are consistently treated in both the profit and loss account and balance sheet. The discussions have underlined the importance of the distinction made in the report between industries with a substantial degree of influence over their prices—the "price-makers"; and industries whose prices are determined in competitive markets — the "price-takers". The Government are satisfied with the outcome of the discussions and do not propose to take any immediate action. The discussions have been useful in confirming that the present accounting policies of nationalised industries go a long way towards the objective of providing measures of economic costs and that some further progress is in prospect. Present accounting policies should be maintained and reviewed in a year or two so that they continue to develop in ways which fulfil this objective.

  Britoil
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he is giving to exercising his power as a special shareholder in Britoil under article 71B of that company's articles of association.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  I am currently considering whether any of the circumstances provided for under article 71B of Britoil's articles of association apply in the present situation.

  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to use Her Majesty's Government's special share in Britoil to prevent any takeover by any other company; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  If a takeover bid were made the Government would consider all the circumstances and then decide whether it would be appropriate to use the powers of the special share.

  Value Added Tax (Report)
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has completed his consideration of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise report of its review of value added tax and other aspects of free zones; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lilley
  I have considered very carefully the Customs' report of the review which was announced in the White Paper "Building Businesses … Not Barriers". I have also borne in mind the representations I have received concerning free zone rules. Some of the changes sought by free zone operators would be contrary to European Community legislation and others would be contrary to the interests of fair competition with the rest of the economy.

  I have concluded that the existing rules are generally equitable and are soundly based. There is no evidence that they discourage the entrepot trade which the free zones were designed to encourage.

  However, I have decided that one change to the present rules is desirable to allow greater flexibility to free zone traders. Where goods manufactured in free zones are removed to the rest of the United Kingdom, import VAT is presently charged on their full value, including the value of United Kingdom materials, labour and overheads. This system of charging import VAT on United Kingdom elements is unique to free zones and was introduced to avoid the need for possibly complex calculations to ascertain the import VAT due on the imported elements alone. I am prepared to accept traders' assurances that such calculations can be made without undue difficulty. I propose to remove the anomaly and allow traders to pay import VAT on the imported elements only. However, traders may continue to pay tax on the full value if they prefer to avoid the need to support a claim to a lower value.

  The necessary amendments to the Free Zone Regulations 1984 (SI 1984 No. 1177) will be laid before the House shortly.
  652

  Coinage (Consultation)
  Mr. Greg Knight
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the results of the public consultation on the coinage; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lawson
  In July this year the Royal Mint issued a consultation pamphlet "The United Kingdom Coinage". This set out four options for making the coinage lighter. Comments were invited from the general public and from those with special interests such as the blind and elderly, those who handle large amounts of coins, and the manufacturers and users of coin operated machines.

  The consultation period ended in September. More than 3,000 replies were received. A majority of those who commented on the options favoured that in which the 5p is replaced by a coin similar to the old sixpence, and the lop with one similar to the existing 5p. This was option 4 in the pamphlet. Having carefully considered the responses to the consultation, I have decided to introduce new 5p and 10p coins, as in option 4. This will reduce the overall weight of the coinage considerably. It will also complete the change from the pre-decimal coins.

  The precise specifications for the new coins will be announced later, after further consultation about the details with the blind and with manufacturers of coin-operated machines. The new 5p will be issued first, probably in 1991 to give plenty of notice of the change, and the 10p will be issued two or three years later. The new coins will be issued with the same designs as the present coins.

  On 12 November 1984 I informed the House that I had instructed the Bank of England to cease issuing £1 notes after the end of that year, but that the notes would continue to be legal tender for at least a further year. That further period has long since elapsed, and there are now very few series D £1 notes still in active circulation. Accordingly, the Bank is announcing today that, after 11 March 1988, series D Bank of England £1 notes will cease to be legal tender. This announcement does not affect the status of £1 notes issued by Scottish banks.

  Government Manpower
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of staff in post in central Government Departments at 1 October.

  Mr. Major
  At 1 October 1987 there were 585,070 staff in post in central Government Departments. Of these, 509,133 were non-industrials and 75,937 were industrials.

  Rating Reform
  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether payment by employers or other of the community charge for occupants of Government homes, ministerial homes, charitable homes, convenants and monasteries will be treated as a taxable benefit and as a taxable expense for those who pay it.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: Where there is an employer-employee relationship a benefit chargeable to income tax will arise for the employee if the employer pays the community charge on his behalf. In other circumstances the tax treatment of the payment of the community charge on behalf of another

  653
  person will depend on the particular facts. The employer will normally be able to claim a deduction for the payment in calculating his profits for tax purposes.

  Taxation
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to reduce the percentage of earnings taken in income tax, national insurance contributions and indirect taxes below the level pertaining in 1978–79.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: The Government have already succeeded in reducing the percentage of earnings taken in taxes and national insurance contributions from the levels reached in 1981–82. Those levels reflected the need at that time to give priority to the control of public borrowing. It remains the Government's aim to bring taxes down further when prudent to do so.

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much income tax was repaid to children under 18 years of age as a result of tax claims made on their behalf for the 1985–86 financial year.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: I regret that this information is not available centrally.

  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the number of persons paying tax under schedule D for the last 10 years for which information is available.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: The information readily available for a full 10-year period covers those who were both liable to tax on their total income and had a source of schedule D case I or II (self-employment) income. Where husband and wife in a taxpaying couple each has a source of schedule D case I or II income, they are counted separately in the table:

  Year

  Number of persons (million)

  1976–77

  1·9

  1977–78

  1·9

  1978–79

  2·0

  1979–80

  2·0

  1980–81

  2·0

  1981–82

  2·1

  1982–83

  2·2

  1983–84

  2·2

  1984–85

  2·3

  1985–86

  2·4

  Profit-related Pay
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many profit-related pay schemes had been submitted for approval to the Inland Revenue under the provisions of section 1 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 1987 as at 30 November.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: By the end of November 363 applications for registration of profit-related pay schemes had been received by the Inland Revenue.

  Privatisation
  Mr. Doran
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his latest estimate of receipts from the privatisation of state-owned enterprises over each of the next four financial years.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: There is no change to the estimate given in the 1987 Autumn Statement.

  British Telecom
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he expects to raise any money from the sale of any British Telecom shares in 1988–89.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: No decisions have yet been taken about individual sales in 1988–89.

  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the value of his remaining shareholding in British Telecom.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: At market close on 14 December the value of the Government's residual holding of ordinary and preference shares in British Telecom was some £6·65 billion.

  Mortgage Interest Tax Relief
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the total cost to the Treasury in 1987–88 of mortgage interest tax relief, if such relief were restricted to base rate income tax; and if he will estimate the regional share of mortgage interest tax relief, restricted to base rate income tax, based on the most recent available data from the family expenditure survey.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: The cost of mortgage interest relief in 1987–88 is estimated to be about £4¾ billion, of which £330 million relates to the cost of relief at income tax rates in excess of basic rate.

  For a regional distribution of mortgage interest relief based on data from the family expenditure survey (FES), I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply which I gave the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on 22 July at columns 233–34. As the sample size for the FES is relatively small, estimates of the regional distribution of mortgage interest relief at basic rate based on the F'ES would not be significantly different from the distribution of total mortgage interest relief.

DEFENCE

  Housing (BAOR)
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he intends to provide the additional funds to improve the standards of housing for service men in the British Army on the Rhine; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Funds are already provided for the improvement of accommodation for service men in BAOR, and modernisation programmes both for single living accommodation and for married quarters have been running for some years. These are continuing and
  655
  although I would wish to provide additional funds to complete them more quickly they must compete with other priorities within the defence budget, and with other demands in the BAOR building programme.

  Munster Garrison
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the maintenance and repair of ordnance in the Munster garrison of the British Army of the Rhine is to be carried out under cover and within modern workshops; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The improvement of the maintenance and repair facilities at Waterloo barracks, Munster is presently planned for the mid-1990s. This is part of a long-term programme of work to modernise working conditions in many of those barracks we occupy in BAOR which were not designed for the sophisticated and heavy equipment now in service. The work has to compete with other priorities within the Army budget and this project must in turn compete with other building demands in BAOR. All priorities are kept under regular review, but I do not see any prospect yet for bringing this project forward in the programme.

  Service Hospitals
  Mr. Jessel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide in the Official Report full lists of (a) all Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force hospitals and (b) all service establishments which contain in-patient hospital facilities, listing in each case the number of beds established, the number of beds occupied on any recent convenient date, the nursing establishment and the relative number of nurses currently employed.

  Mr. Freeman
  There are 18 service hospitals:

  Navy

  RNH Haslar

  RNH Plymouth

  RNH Gibraltar

  Army

  QEMH Woolwich

  CMH Aldershot

  DKMH Catterick

  MW Belfast 1

  BMH Berlin

  BMH Dharan

  BMH Hannover

  BMH Hong Kong

  BMH Munster

  BMH Rinteln

  Royal Air Force

  PARAF (H) Wroughton

  TPOWRAF (H) Ely

  PMRAF (H) Halton

  RAF (H) Akrotiri

  RAF (H) Wegberg

  1 Military wing attached to Musgrave Park civilian hospital.

  There are no in-patient hospital facilities at other service establishments. I shall answer shortly with the statistical information required for each hospital.

  Mr. Jessel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many beds in service hospitals facilities are now occupied by National Health Service patients; and what are the present arrangements for funding the care of such patients.
  656
  Mr. Freeman
  The average daily bed occupancy of NHS in-patients at United Kingdom service hospital facilities of the third quarter 1987 was 649, which included 121 service dependants. NHS patients are currently admitted subject to resources being available and treated without charge to the NHS. Exceptionally ex-service far east prisoners of war are treated on an extra cost basis and, at RAF hospital Ely, NHS patients are treated in 65 reserved beds under a local contract with the district health authority.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988;

  (2) what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations offices of the armed forces; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Mr. Hayes) on 16 November 1987, at columns 446–47. No significant change in the number of staff employed by the defence public relations staffs of the Ministry of Defence is envisaged in the next year.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by his Department on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89;

  (2) what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by the armed forces on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what is the estimated expenditure in each area for 1988–89.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  This information is not held centrally. I shall write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89;

  (2) what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by the armed forces on press and public relations for (a) 1987–88; (b) 1988–89.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply which my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman) gave to him on 17 July 1987, at column 676. The estimate for 1988–89 is similar to that for 1987–88.

  Nuclear Weapons
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy,Official Report, 23 November, column 36, if he will list what information he has as to the specific numbers of both nuclear warheads and launch vehicles to be withdrawn in accordance with the intermediate nuclear forces treaty.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  The INF treaty provides for the withdrawal of 859 US missiles and 283 launchers; and 1,752 Soviet missiles and 845 launchers. While for the
  657
  purposes of the treaty all missiles are deemed to carry nuclear warheads, in practice a proportion may be armed with conventional or chemical warheads; and some non-deployed missiles included in these figures may not be equipped with warheads. A full breakdown of the missiles and equipment to be eliminated is contained in the memorandum of understanding on data, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

  Conventional Forces
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give his latest estimate of the conventional balance of forces between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Warsaw pact, including manpower, tanks, artillery, anti-tank weapons, aircraft, aircraft carriers and submarines.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  I refer the hon. Member to annex A of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1987," pages 61–66.

  Gateway Motor Auctions (Stirling) Ltd.
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, mindful of the fraud perpetrated on his Department by Gateway Motor Auctions (Stirling) Ltd. in 1985 and 1986, he has instituted any changes in the monitoring of vehicle disposals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Yes, I am aware of the embezzlement by the directors of the company, but it would not be in the public interest to disclose details of changes in the Department's monitoring and auditing arrangements.

  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations he has made into the accounting procedures applied by his Department in its dealings with Gateway Motor Auctions (Stirling) Limited in 1985 and 1986; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Following an investigation of the circumstances, not yet complete, procedures have been

  1983 Per cent.

  1984 Per cent.

  1985 Per cent.

  1986 Per cent.

  Division O: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

  5

  6

  5

  6

  Classes 41 and 42: Food, Drink and Tobacco

  10

  9

  10

  8

  Source: Labour Force Surveys, spring each year.

  Benefits
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if, pursuant to his answers of 9 November,Official Report, columns 49–50, relating to unemployment benefit and vacancies; he will institute the collection and collation of information regarding vacancies and applicants for unemployment benefit, in order to identify those claimants available for work in occupations for which vacancies exist.

  Mr. Lee
  The basic objective of the recent merger between the unemployment benefit service and the jobcentre service is to bring together the work of both
  658
  strengthened, and further safeguards are being explored for inclusion in the arrangements when these are renewed in 1988.

  Mr. Frank McGrath
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he takes to ensure that Mr. Frank McGrath, assistant director of technical costs in his Department is not in breach of his contract with the Government as a result of his appointment as an instructor of courses run by Lion International, or in breach of any requirement for confidentiality on matters relating to his Department.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Departmental procedures require staff wishing to publish articles or give lectures to seek prior approval. The text of any material to be published, or lecture notes, are also cleared before hand. Mr. McGrath sought and obtained approval to give a talk, in his own time, at a seminar run by Lion International, in March 1986, and has given similar talks since then. No breach of contract or confidentiality is involved.

EMPLOYMENT

  Food and Agriculture Industries
  Dr. Reid
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the unemployment rate in the food and agriculture sectors of the British economy for each year since 1983.

  Mr. Lee
  Information on the previous industry of unemployed claimants is not collected.

  The information available from the labour force survey does not permit unemployment rates by industry to be calculated on a basis comparable with whole economy unemployment rates, because at least one third of the unemployed did not give a previous industry, mainly because they had not had a job in the previous three years.

  Unemployment rates calculated for those recording a previous job in the industries concerned are as follows

  organisations to provide a more coherent and effective service for unemployed people. As part of the integration process the new employment service is examining more effective ways of bringing suitable vacancies to the attention of claimants.

  Textile and Knitwear Industry
  Sir John Farr
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the quality and quantity of job training for the textile and knitwear industry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My Department does not collect detailed information on the amount or nature of training
  659
  undertaken by individual employers. This reflects the Government's view that responsibility for training rests primarily with industry. Although I am generally satisfied that there is a commitment to training in the textile and knitwear industry, I believe that greater investment is called for if the industry is to be competitive in world markets.

  Agricultural Machinery
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to introduce legislation concerning agricultural machinery safety mechanisms.

  Mr. Nicholls
  There is already legislation on the safety of agricultural machinery. I understand that the European Commission is preparing a proposal for a directive to harmonise the laws of the member states relating to the safety of machines, including those used in agriculture. Meanwhile, I have no plans to introduce further legislation.

  Rhymney Benefit Office
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations his Department has received about the closure of the Rhymney benefit office, Mid Glamorgan; and whether he will reconsider the decision to close, in the light of more representations.

  Mr. Lee
  Representations were received from the hon. Member, Rhymney community council, the Rhymney Valley district council and the Rhymney branch of the Labour party. The decision to close the office was made after careful consideration of all the local circumstances which remain unchanged. I see no reason to reconsider the decision.

  Miss Ira Celia Utieyione (Work Permit)
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will review the decision communicated on 3 December 1987 by Karen O'Toole, on behalf of the overseas labour section of the Department of Employment, to Peter Hey of the South Sands hotel, Salcombe, in respect of his application for a work permit for Miss Ira Celia Utieyione, reference SS/8714617, to employ her as an overseas national trainee, in the light of further information contained in a letter from Mr. Hey to the hon. Member for South Hams on 7 December 1987, sent to his Department on 10 December 1987.

  Mr. Lee
  I shall review the decision and write to my hon. Friend.

  Women and Young People
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what representations his Department has received since 1977 calling for the repeal of regulation 6(1)(vii) to (xi) of the Pottery (Health and Welfare) Special Regulations 1950 which prohibits women and young persons from employment in specified processes which may expose them to clay and silica dust;

  (2) what representations his Department has received since 1977 calling for the repeal of section 205 of the Public Health Act 1936 for England and Wales and the fifth schedule of the Factories Act 1961 for Scotland, which prohibit the employment of a woman in a factory within four weeks of giving birth;
  660
  (3) what representations his Department has received calling for the denunciation of International Labour Organisation convention 45; Underground Work (Women) and European Social Charter article 8(4)(b);

  (4) what representations his Department has received since 1977 calling for the repeal of section 93 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 which prohibits women and young people from lifting, carrying or moving a load so heavy as likely to cause injury at a mine;

  (5) what representations his Department has received since 1977 calling for the repeal of section 124(1) of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 and section 21(1) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, which prohibits the employment of women below ground in mines;

  (6) what representations his Department has received since 1977, calling for the repeal of section 4 of the Factories Act 1961, which prohibits the employment of women and young persons in certain processes connected with lead manufacture in factories;

  (7) what representations his Department has received since 1977 calling for the repeal of regulations 6(1)(i) to (vi) of the Pottery (Health and Welfare) Special Regulations 1950, which prohibit women and young people from employment in specified processes involving lead.

  Mr. Nicholls
  No record has been kept. However, these provisions were included in the 1979 Equal Opportunities Commission report "Health and Safety Legislation: Should we distinguish between men and women?"

  In addition, the European Commission communication "Protective Legislation for Women in the Member States of the European Community" (COM(87)105 final) drew attention to the fact that much protective legislation was contrary to the equal treatment directive (Council directive 76/207/EEC). The Government have issued a consultative document on "Restrictions on Employment of Young People and the Removal of Sex Discrimination in Legislation" which examines such legislation, suggests possible ways forward and seeks views.

  Steel Industry
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish statistics for the number of(a) fatal and (b) other accidents in the British steel industry since 1977 and any comparable information available to him about Japan.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The available information for reported accidents to employees in the iron and steel industry in Great Britain is as follows. Comparable figures for Japan are not available.

  Reported occupational injuries to employees in the iron and steel industry (Minimum List Heading 311 of Standard Industrial Classification 1968) in Great Britain

  Resulting in:

  Death

  Major injury2

  Absence from work of over three days3

  1977

  32

  ֵ

  11,050

  1978

  24

  ֵ

  10,264

  1979

  27

  ֵ

  9,183

  19801

  7

  ֵ

  5,365

  1981

  14

  318

  5,640

  661

  Resulting in:

  Death

  Major injury2

  Absence from work of over three days3

  1982

  19

  247

  4,505

  1983

  7

  223

  ֵ

  1984

  15

  230

  ֵ

  1985

  7

  246

  ֵ

  ֵ Not available.

  1 Figures affected by three month national steel strike (January to March).

  2 As defined under the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1980.

  3 For 1977–80, as reported to Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate; for 1981–82, resulting in claims for industrial injury benefit.

  Figures for 1986–87 are provisional and were collected under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985 (RIDDOR). This introduced a wider definition of "major injuries" and there are no figures available for the iron and steel industry so that the wider category of "metal manufacturing" is used. The figures under that category are 16 fatalities, 533 major injuries and 3,814 "over three days" injuries.

  Labour and Social Affairs Council
  Mrs. Peacock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the European Community Labour and Social Affairs Council held in Brussels on 1 December.

  Mr. Lee
  I represented the United Kingdom at the Council.

  We welcome the adoption by the Council of conclusions on action to combat long-term unemployment which arise from the action programme on employment growth (adopted under the British presidency in December 1986). The conclusions suggest a series of specific measures which might be taken by member states towards reducing the levels of long-term unemployment and invite the Commission to present an action programme.

  An action programme on the training of young people for adult and working life was adopted. The programme aims to provide all young people in the Community with up to two years vocational training; the Government welcome particularly its emphasis on projects which encourage the development of enterprise.

  The Council adopted a resolution on safety, health and hygiene at work which sets valuable guidelines for applying the provisions of article 118A of the treaty of Rome; this is a new article introduced under the Single European Act, which gives the Council power, acting by a qualified majority, to adopt minimum requirements for the health and safety of workers. The Council adopted a common position—the first stage in the co-operation procedure with the European Parliament—on a draft directive to proscribe four specified carcinogens.

  Other matters discussed, but not conclusively, included a fresh action programme for the vocational and social integration of people with disabilities, and a draft directive on protection from the risks of exposure to benzene.

WALES

  Mentally Handicapped People
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new provisions have been made by his Department during this past three years to improve dental care for mentally handicapped people in Gwynedd under the all-Wales strategy for mentally handicapped persons; how much money has been provided from strategy resources for each such initiative; and if he will list them, noting the date at which they are expected to be fully operational.

  Mr. Grist
  Under the all-Wales strategy, all providers of services are expected to promote access for people with a mental handicap to the facilities available to the community at large, including dental care. In addition to the generality of funding we are making available to the Gwynedd health authority, my right hon. Friend is providing on a recurrent basis £24,500 for the authority to employ three whole-time equivalent dental hygienists working solely with people with mental handicaps. For further details about these services the hon. Gentleman might care to contact the general manager of Gwynedd health authority.

  Health Authorities (Expenditure)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales at what frequency during the course of a financial year health authorities in Wales are required to submit their current account expenditure figures to his Department; whether they are also required to compare such actual year to-date expenditure with a calendarised year to-date budget; and whether his Department monitors the performance against budget of these authorities, in global terms or by departmental performance.

  Mr. Grist
  The Department's role in monitoring is related to the totality of the resources available to each authority. Control and monitoring of individual budgets within the notified allocations is the management responsibility of health authorities.

  The Department monitors the financial performance of health authorities through a financial information system designed to provide and update information about cash expenditure in relation to allocated resources. At the start of each financial year, each authority provides the Department with a cumulative monthly profile of its anticipated demands for cash within the totality of its notified cash limit allocations. This is revised on a regular basis to take account of any change to the authority's spending plans, or any adjustment to its notified cash limit. Cumulative cash expenditure returns, submitted on a monthly basis, are then compared with this profile so that any overspend can be identified and early action taken, in consultation with the authority concerned, to recover the situation.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the likely budget overspending in the current financial year of each of the nine health authorities in Wales, respectively, on the basis of the la test information available to him; and if he will identify any additional loan finance which he is making available to each of these authorities to enable them to remain solvent during the current financial year.

  Mr. Grist
  The information is as follows:
  663

  Revenue resources cash overspending/ (underspending)1

  £ million

  Clwyd

  0·06

  East Dyfed

  0·49

  Gwent

  1·49

  Gwynedd

  1·49

  Mid Glamorgan

  1·66

  Pembrokeshire

  0·20

  Powys

  (0·07)

  South Glamorgan

  (0·19)

  West Glamorgan

  0·29

  1 Based on the monthly returns to the 31 October of actual cash spending against profiles of expected cash spending provided by health authorities.

  Health authorities have a duty to contain their expenditure within notified cash limits and I do not therefore expect any authority to overspend in cash terms at the end of the year. In recognition of their financial problems, I have made loans of £1 million available to Gwent and Gwynedd health authorities in the current financial year.

  Welsh Office Staff
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many persons are employed(a) full time and (b) part time in his Department in dealing with health responsibilities; and what were the comparable numbers so engaged in May 1979.

  Mr. Grist
  The numbers are available only in respect of staff dealing with health and social services responsibilities and are:

  1 May 1979

  1 December 1987

  Full-time

  320

  257

  Part-time

  5

  19

  Total (full-time equivalent)

  322½

  266½

  In addition, staff in the Department's central services divisions provide relevant support services including health statistics.

  Regional Aid
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the total expenditure in the current financial year on regional policy in Wales; and what is the financial provision for such spending being made for the financial year 1988–89.

  Administrative and clerical employees of Welsh health authorities

  1987

  1986

  1985

  1984

  1983

  1982

  1981

  1980

  Whole time

  Part time

  Whole time

  Part time

  Whole time

  Part time

  Whole time

  Part time

  Whole time

  Part time

  Whole time

  Part time

  Whole lime

  Part time

  Whole lime

  Part time

  Clwyd

  629

  278

  606

  284

  610

  227

  591

  195

  557

  173

  583

  204

  590

  191

  566

  170

  East Dyfed

  461

  112

  469

  99

  454

  95

  461

  81

  447

  82

  427

  80

  545

  116

  544

  111

  Pembrokeshire

  141

  66

  140

  52

  142

  49

  137

  44

  123

  45

  106

  38

  Gwent

  696

  481

  692

  449

  719

  405

  731

  371

  698

  367

  705

  330

  715

  298

  695

  310

  Gwynedd

  440

  154

  444

  174

  443

  150

  427

  139

  387

  127

  391

  118

  386

  108

  386

  96

  Mid Glamorgan

  893

  353

  890

  310

  886

  290

  883

  275

  879

  251

  867

  254

  872

  245

  865

  234

  Powys

  176

  37

  156

  31

  158

  31

  160

  25

  166

  24

  151

  29

  158

  27

  149

  24

  South Glamorgan

  1,124

  601

  1,081

  564

  1,120

  573

  1,104

  547

  1,145

  538

  1,117

  522

  1,112

  521

  1,088

  514

  West Glamorgan

  673

  251

  654

  241

  634

  206

  622

  159

  621

  142

  616

  123

  619

  114

  609

  112

  Dyfed (Traffic Volumes)
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has as to the increase in traffic volumes in the Dyfed county council area over the past five years; what representations have been made by the
  664
  Mr. Grist
  Estimated expenditure for 1987–88 on regional selective assistance and regional development grants in Wales totals £98 million. Expenditure plans for 1988–89 will be shown in the 1988 public expenditure White Paper and details of the regional selective assistance and regional development grants provision in the Supply Estimates.

  Health Authorities (Wage Awards)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing for each of the nine health authorities in Wales the estimated cost of the absence of central funding of wage awards by his Department over the past two years.

  Mr. Grist
  The cost of pay awards borne by district health authorities over the past two years in excess of central funding is estimated as follows:

  1986–87 £ million

  1987–88 £ million

  Clwyd

  0·453

  0·403

  East Dyfed

  0·292

  0·258

  Gwent

  0·573

  0·482

  Gwynedd

  0·300

  0·261

  Mid Glamorgan

  0·669

  0·584

  Powys

  0·132

  0·117

  South Glamorgan

  0·770

  0·659

  West Glamorgan

  0·454

  0·405

  Pembrokeshire

  0·093

  0·091

  Note: Estimates based on actual settlements for review bodies' staff (ie medical and dental, nurses and midwives and the professions allied to medicine) and for other staff at 6 per cent. settlement has been assumed for 1986–87 and a 5 per cent. settlement for 1987–88. Firmer estimates for other staff would require detailed information from individual authorities about the staff in post and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Health Authorities (Staff)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing for each of the health authorities in Wales the number of(a) full-time and (b) part-time staff who are employed on administration for the latest date for which figures are available, together with corresponding figures for each of the past seven years.

  Mr. Grist
  The requested information, which relates to all administrative and clerical staff employed by health authorities in Wales at 30 September each year, is given in the following table.

  council; and if he will make a statement on the finance made available over the past five years and in the settlement year 1988–89 for its transport programme.
  665
  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Information on traffic volumes in the Dyfed county council area is not available but I have recently met representatives of Dyfed county council to discuss other highway matters.

  Since 1983–84 capital allocations to the county council for expenditure supported by transport supplementary grant have totalled £22·9 million. The 1988–89 TSG settlement for Dyfed amounts to £1·904 million. Since 1985–86 provision for transport expenditure falling outside the TSG criterion has been covered by the overall formula capital allocations to counties for all other services. From 1985–86 for Dyfed these amounted to £28·6 million. For 1988–89 the provision is £11·1 million.

  Dyfed (Approved Projects)
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what projects of regional or national importance have been approved for Dyfed in each of the past five years and in the year 1988–89.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  Since 1983 Dyfed county council has received one allocation for a project of regional or national importance (PRNI) of £0·9 million (1987–88—1989–90) in respect of the A4139 route 9 access road to the Pembroke dock enterprise zone. Preseli Pembrokeshire and South Pembrokeshire district councils have received allocations of £0·8 million (1984–85–1985–86) and £1·55 million (1984–85—1987–88) respectively for enterprise zones.

  In addition, Dyfed county council has received a special project allocation in respect of Haverfordwest college of education of £3·930 million (1987–88—1989–90).

  Gwynedd Health Authority
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether Deloitte, Haskins and Sells management consultancy division is being retained to give any further advice or assistance to his Department, or directly to the health authority, following the recent completion of its final report on the financial position of the Gwynedd health authority.

  Mr. Grist
  I have agreed to the contract with Deloitte, Haskins and Sells being extended to the end of this financial year so that it can provide further support and assistance to Gwynedd health authority in developing its action plan for achieving financial balance.

  Steelworkers
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will initiate a study of the effects in the Newport area of redundancy and premature retirement on the mental and physical health of steelworkers and their families; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  No such study is planned.

  Public Bodies (Appointments)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the number of persons whom he nominates to each of those public bodies in respect of which he(a) has sole responsibility for making all or a majority of appointments and (b) has responsibility for making a minority of appointments, or some or all of the appointments, jointly with other Ministers;
  666
  (2) when he will be appointing members, or a member, to those public bodies in Wales in respect of which he has responsibility for making all or some appointments himself, or jointly with other Ministers, and in each case how many members he will be appointing and what proportion of his appointees on that body they represent.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

  National Museum of Wales
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future of the industrial department of the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  The future of the industry department is linked with that of the Welsh industrial and maritime museum which must be considered in the context of the wider proposals for the Cardiff bay.

  Cancer
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the incidence of various forms of cancer in the areas of each general practice in Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in each year since 1957.

  Mr. Grist
  Data are not available in the form requested. The available information relates to the district of Meirionnydd for the period 1974 to 1983 and is shown in the following table.

  Number

  Average1

  Standardised registration rate (Wales = 100)

  Oesophagus

  40

  14·6

  114

  Stomach

  145

  46·2

  109

  Colon

  157

  50 0

  126

  Rectum

  76

  24·2

  86

  Pancreas

  46

  14·6

  90

  Lung

  233

  74·2

  88

  Female Breast

  247

  149·7

  134

  Cervic Uteri

  34

  20·6

  91

  Uterus

  27

  16·4

  110

  Ovary

  37

  22·4

  111

  Prostrate

  80

  53·7

  105

  Bladder

  45

  14·3

  68

  All leukaemias

  45

  14·3

  124

  All malignancies

  1,735

  552·5

  103

  1 Annual registration rate per 100,000 population.

  Land Disposal
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many applications for consent to dispose of land under section 32 of the Housing Act 1985 he has received from each of the housing authorities in Wales; and which of the applications received his consent.

  Mr. Grist
  This information is not readily available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

  Nursery Schools
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was(a) the total public expenditure spent on nursery schools and classes each year from 1975 to 198:5 and (b) the total public expenditure on these services as a percentage of gross domestic product for each of these years.
  667
  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Estimated expenditure on educational provision for all under-fives, whether in nursery or primary schools in Wales, and the relevant percentages of GDP for each year are as follows:

  Expenditure £ million (cash)

  Percentage of GDP

  1976–77

  14·8

  0·011

  1977–78

  15·2

  0·010

  1978–79

  16·5

  0·009

  1979–80

  18·3

  0·009

  1980–81

  25·0

  0·011

  1981–82

  26·1

  0·010

  1982–83

  27·4

  0·010

  1983–84

  28·7

  0·009

  1984–85

  29·3

  0·009

  1985–86

  32·3

  0·008

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by his Department on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The total spending in 1987–88 on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material is £576,500.

  Health authority

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Clwyd

  1,401

  1,539

  1,525

  1,546

  1,743

  1,803

  1,819

  East Dyfed

  955

  900

  839

  1,025

  1,041

  1,153

  1,170

  Gwent

  1,149

  1,346

  1,073

  1,314

  1,260

  1,060

  1,542

  Gwynedd

  947

  887

  881

  958

  878

  1,301

  1,374

  Mid Glamorgan

  1,896

  2,022

  1,900

  2,327

  2,358

  2,333

  3,482

  Pembrokeshire

  —

  —

  —

  16

  24

  36

  17

  Powys

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  South Glamorgan

  1,455

  1,713

  1,439

  1,715

  1,860

  1,772

  1,708

  West Glamorgan

  951

  1,071

  983

  1,097

  1,101

  1,210

  1,315

  As in other areas of NHS activity, these data show that levels of patient throughput have increased significantly in recent years.

  Hospital Eye Service
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many general practitioners referrals of patients to the hospital eye service there were in each of the years from 1980.

  Mr. Grist
  Information for the number of patients who were prescribed a pair of glasses by the hospital eye service in Wales is given in the following table. It is not possible to say how many of these patients were referred by their general practitioners.

  Number

  1980

  14,164

  1981

  14,508

  1982

  12,479

  1983

  12,143

  1984

  12,333

  1985

  12,701

  19861

  11,660

  1 Provisional estimate.

  668
  For 1988–89 detailed decisions on expenditure by media have not yet been taken but I expect the overall publicity figure to be about £700,000.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The total estimated expenditure on press and public relations in 1987–88 is £1,047,500. This figure includes expenditure on salaries and accommodation for all the information grades and support staff.

  The total estimated expenditure on press and public relations in 1988–89 is £1,198,000. The figure includes expenditure on salaries and accommodation for all the information grades and support staff.

  Eye Disease
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list area by area in Wales the numbers of treatment for eye diseases recorded in each of the years since 1980; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  Information for the number of in-patients and day cases treated in the specialty of opthalmology by the NHS, is given in the following table.

  University Grants Committee
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has met the chairman of the University Grants Committee in the last four weeks.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  I have spoken to him on one occasion.

  St. David's Forum
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether the participation of senior civil servants of his Department(a) on the steering committee of the St. David's forum and (b) in the particular meeting of the St. David's forum at the Cliff's hotel, Gwbert-on-Sea, Dyfed, on the weekend of 28–29 November, was with his permission.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  My predecessor agreed to Welsh Office participation in the forum, which has my continued support.

  Privately Owned Housing
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to respond to the Select Committee on Welsh Affairs' report on the condition and repair of privately owned housing in Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  I am glad to be able to tell the hon. Gentleman that the Government's response to the Select Committee report on this subject has been presented to the Committee today. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Clwyd Health Authority (Headquarters Extension)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the proposed cost of the planned extension to the headquarters of the Clwyd health authority.

  Mr. Grist
  This is a matter of operational policy for Clwyd health authority and I suggest that the hon. Gentleman writes to the district general manager.

  Cancer Patients, Clwyd
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to enable cancer sufferers in Clwyd to receive treatment in Clwyd as opposed to treatment in Wirral; how many Clwyd patients have been treated in England for cancer for each of the years 1980 to 1987; what consultations he has had with English health authorities and hospital consultants on the prospects of treatment for cancer in Clwyd; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  The Welsh Office published in 1988 the report of a comprehensive review of regional services, including radiotherapy and medical oncology, delivered to patients in north Wales. The Department's decisions on the report were announced, following consultation, in 1987. Discussions have been held with officials of Clwyd health authority on the report's recommendations, including the funding of medical oncology in the district. Representatives of the Welsh Office and Clwyd and Gwynedd health authorities are to meet officials of Mersey regional health authority in the new year to discuss the report and in particular the Department's intention to commission a study of options for improving the provisions of cancer services to north Wales patients. Information on the number of Clwyd residents receiving treatment in England for cancer is not readily available.

  Children with Special Needs
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will allocate extra funds to Clwyd health authority in order to appoint two more speech therapists and two more physiotherapists to deal with children with special needs.

  Mr. Grist
  The bid submitted by Clwyd district health authority under the joint finance arrangements for the funding of two speech therapists and two physiotherapists is currently under consideration alongside all other joint finance bids. Decisions will be announced in the new year.

  Speech Therapy
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will order a review of joint financing in Wales 670
  and make available extra funds to authorities in Wales with a view to making urgent improvements to speech therapy provision.

  Mr. Grist
  The number of whole-time equivalent speech therapists in Wales has doubled since 1979. The determination of staffing levels is the responsibility of district health authorities using their discretionary resources and applications for central funding such as joint finance as appropriate.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will undertake a tour of language units in Clwyd schools to meet parents, teachers and speech therapists to discuss improvements in the staffing provision in speech therapy.

  Mr. Grist
  No. The determination of appropriate staffing levels in speech therapy is the responsibility of the district health authority.

  Lluesty Hospital, Holywell
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will allocate extra cash to Clwyd health authority to avert ward closures at Lluesty hospital, Holywell.

  Mr. Grist
  It is for the management of Clwyd health authority to provide the most effective service within the resources provided. Any proposal for a substantial permanent variation in service at Lluesty hospital would be subject to the usual consultation arrangements.

  Physiotherapy (Clwyd)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will allocate extra cash to Clwyd health authority for physiotherapy provision in Clwyd hospitals, and in particular Mancot community hospital.

  Mr. Grist
  The only application that the Welsh Office has received from Clwyd health authority for funding physiotherapist posts is a joint finance bid for two posts which is currently under consideration.

  Deeside Community Hospital
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet representatives of Clwyd health authority with a view to establishing a firm date for the start of the building of Deeside community hospital and to restoring the proposed hospital to its original size and projected cost.

  Mr. Grist
  No. Our officials have already discussed with representatives of Clwyd district health authority the implications of their capital programme and a further meeting has been arranged for January. Proposals for Deeside community hospital will form a part of that discussion. Responsibility for the funding scale and timing of service developments in Clwyd rests with the health authority.

  Welsh Language
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has as to how many independent schools in Wales teach Welsh as a second language; and how many pupils attend these classes.
  671
  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Comprehensive information is not available.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has as to how many independent schools in Wales provide education through the medium of Welsh for all or part of the curriculum.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  No independent schools in Wales provide education through the medium of Welsh.

  Children's Play
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he is taking to encourage the development of children's play in Wales.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  Following the liquidation of Playboard in March of this year, a panel was set up drawn from the voluntary sector, the Welsh Counties Committee, the Committee of Welsh District Councils and the Sports Council for Wales to advise on the allocation of £50,000 earmarked for expenditure in 1987–88 and on the way forward for children's play in Wales. The panel has recently reported and I have decided that for this financial year I will make the following allocations.

  (a) £35,000 will be made available to help equip play resource centres. These centres which provide play equipment such as inflatable castles etc. on loan to groups working in the community. I am seeking bids from voluntary and public bodies to utilise these funds.

  (b) £10,000 will be provided to the Wales Play Association to help towards their set-up costs and to undertake a training initiative.

  (c) £5,000 will be made available to help establish the organisation to take forward children's play in the longer term.

  For the longer term, I have asked the Committee of Welsh District Councils to set up a management committee to act as a host body for the development of children's play in Wales.

  Radioactive Waste
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much low and intermediate radioactive waste is produced in National Health Service hospitals in Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: Virtually all the waste from the use of radioactive substances in medical practice consists of low or very low-level material, which is disposed of in accordance with licensing conditions and local arrangements. Details of such disposals are kept by district health authorities, but are not held centrally. Any waste not suitable for disposal, including the very small quantities of intermediate-level wate in the form of redundant radioactive sources, is stored and disposed of as appropriate utilising the national disposal service. The amount is included in the national waste inventory published in the annual reports of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, which are available in the Library.

  Press and Public Relations
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.
  672
  Mr. Peter Walker
  18½ under the Director of Information. At present no change is envisaged for 1988.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Social Fund
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether all the legislation necessary for the operation of the social fund and the reformed structure of income-related benefits in Northern Ireland after April 1988 is now in place; if he has any plans in the near future to bring forward legislation by Order in Council on matters of social security; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  The main primary legislation necessary for the operation of the social fund and the reformed structure of income-related benefits in Northern Ireland after April 1988 is already in place; the necessary subordinate legislation will be in place shortly. In addition, it is proposed to make an Order in Council containing social security provisions for Northern Ireland corresponding to those for Great Britain contained in the Social Security Bill.

  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what advice he is giving to officers administering the social fund in areas in Northern Ireland as to the procedure to be adopted in the event of their exceeding their allocations for grants and loans before the end of a year, and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  No such advice will be necessary. Each social security office will be expected to contain its payments within the amounts allocated.

  Equal Opportunities (Northern Ireland)
  Mr. Charles Wardle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the next report on the monitoring of equal opportunities within the Northern Ireland Civil Service will be published.

  Mr. Stanley
  The second report of the Northern Ireland Civil Service's equal opportunities unit is being published today and copies have been placed in the Library.

  The report shows that there is a continuing increase in both the numbers of women and in the numbers of Roman Catholics within the Northern Ireland Civil Service. Between 1 January 1985 and 1 January 1987, the overall proportion of women increased by 0·4 percentage points to 49·5 per cent. and at the higher grade levels (staff officer equivalent and above) by 2·0 percentage points to 13·1 per cent. The overall proportion of Roman Catholics increased by 1·1 percentage points to 33·7 per cent. and at the higher grades by 1·9 percentage points to 21·5 per cent. The numbers of registered disabled staff (228) declined from the 1985 position of 265 officers and their proportion of total staff fell from 1·2 per cent. to 1 per cent.

  The report provides an analysis undertaken on behalf of the Civil Service Commission for Northern Ireland which demonstrates that the service is attracting applicants from all sections of the community. Compared with earlier years, women and Roman Catholics form a greater proportion of staff entering at executive officer level and above; there is an expectation that entrants at this level will progress to the higher reaches of the service.
  673
  The report contains an account of the extension of monitoring arrangements to industrial staff and provides a breakdown of the composition of this group.

  The report breaks new ground by analysing in detail the various stages of two major recruitment competitions and indicates how this work will be developed. It also contains the first in-depth analysis of an occupational group—the training centre staff of the Department of Economic Development.

  As in the first report, the unit describes how it intends to develop its work, building on the comprehensive foundations already laid. I hope that this important report will be widely read and studied. It represents an extremely thorough, comprehensive and open examination of personnel practices within the Northern Ireland Civil Service and provides further evidence of the Government's concern to ensure that fair employment is a reality in Northern Ireland.

  Job Release Scheme
  Miss Widdecombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future of the job release scheme and new workers scheme in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Viggers
  In line with the action taken to end both those schemes in Great Britain I have decided that both schemes will close in Northern Ireland from 31 January 1988. All existing applications for job release will be considered if a proposed date of early retirement is no later than 31 January 1988 except that applications with a release date of up to 31 March 1988 may be considered in exceptional circumstances. In relation to the new workers scheme applications can be considered under this scheme only if the job to be supported starts on or before 31 January 1988 and all other conditions are met. Applications must be received at the Department of Economic Development within 13 weeks of the date the job started.

  Heart Operations
  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what information is available as to indicate the

  Operations performed during quarter ending

  March 1984

  June 1984

  September 1984

  December 1984

  March 1985

  June 1985

  September 1985

  December 1985

  March 1986

  June 1986

  September 1986

  December 1986

  Operations affecting Myocardium

  36

  46

  29

  28

  32

  18

  12

  8

  21

  45

  34

  40

  Insertion of pacemaker

  34

  51

  43

  46

  42

  48

  49

  41

  34

  41

  41

  38

  Heart valve replacement

  18

  18

  10

  10

  12

  10

  3

  4

  12

  26

  13

  12

  Operations on Septum within Heart Cavity

  10

  11

  3

  2

  5

  1

  5

  12

  3

  6

  Other Heart operations

  16

  20

  4

  8

  3

  9

  1

  4

  13

  13

  8

  9

  Total

  114

  146

  89

  94

  94

  85

  66

  57

  85

  137

  99

  105

  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what figures are available to him to indicate average waiting periods for heart surgery in Northern Ireland in relation to those in regions in Britain and elsewhere in the European Economic Community.
  674
  current waiting lists in Northern Ireland for each category of heart operation at present and at each quarter since December 1983;

  (2) what information is available to indicate the number of patients on the waiting list for heart operations since December 1983 who have died before having their operation.

  Mr. Needham
  The table shows the total waiting list for cardiac surgery at the end of each quarter since December 1983. A recent review of waiting lists means that the figure at 30 September 1987 is not comparable with those at earlier dates. Information is not held centrally on the type of operation required by patients on the waiting list or on the number of patients who die before their operation.

  Waiting list for cardiac surgery

  Number

  31 December 1983

  444

  31 March 1984

  476

  30 June 1984

  428

  30 September 1984

  431

  31 December 1984

  389

  31 March 1985

  457

  30 June 1985

  434

  30 September 1985

  359

  31 December 1985

  468

  31 March 1986

  454

  30 June 1986

  459

  30 September 1986

  407

  31 December 1986

  409

  31 March 1987

  442

  30 June 1987

  447

  30 September 1987

  607

  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what figures are available to indicate by category and by hospital the number of heart operations performed in each quarter since December 1983.

  Mr. Needham
  The royal Victoria hospital is the only hospital in Northern Ireland which carries out cardiac surgery. The numbers of heart operations notified to the Department through the hospital activity analysis scheme are shown below.

  It is estimated that this scheme captures data on 90 per cent. of cases treated at the royal Victoria hospital.

  Mr. Needham
  The table shows the number of patients on the cardiac surgery waiting list at 30 September 1987 by waiting time.
  675

  Waiting time

  Number

  Less than three months

  124

  Three and less than six months

  72

  Six and less than 12 months

  112

  One and less than two years

  114

  Two and less than three years

  54

  Three years and over

  131

  Total

  607

  Because of regional differences in the designation of cardiac and thoracic surgery, it is not possible to compare the Northern Ireland figures with those for other parts of the United Kingdom or the European Economic Community.

  Heart Disease
  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what figures are available to him to indicate the rates of heart disease in Northern Ireland in relation to those in regions in Britain and elsewhere in the European Economic Community.

  Mr. Needham
  The table shows the age-standardised mortality rates from ischaemic heart disease in 1980 for males and females for those countries for which data were available. These details have been extracted from figures produced by the World Health Organisation and they represent the most recent information available in its data bank.

  Age-standardised mortality from ischaemic heart disease in 1980 Rates per 100,000 population aged 40–69 years

  Country

  Males

  Females

  United Kingdom

  Northern Ireland

  630

  191

  Scotland

  592

  208

  England and Wales

  482

  136

  Republic of Ireland

  499

  160

  Denmark

  392

  112

  Netherlands

  323

  78

  Name of organization(where known)

  Current membership (where known)

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  £

  £

  £

  Central Voluntary Headquarters Organisations

  Boys' Brigade

  24,388

  55,185

  61,080

  64,830

  Children's Community Holidays

  1,250

  26,885

  27,765

  28,845

  Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme

  8,000

  14,080

  14,680

  19,535

  Girls' Brigade

  23,734

  47,800

  48,470

  53,375

  Girl Guides

  6,526

  25,347

  33,855

  43,480

  International Voluntary Service

  465

  15,500

  16,945

  23,185

  NI Association of Boys' Clubs

  14,750

  49,015

  50,240

  52,770

  NI Association of Youth Clubs

  40,000

  149,230

  158,318

  174,029

  NI Scout Council

  13,184

  58,455

  60,510

  64,966

  Practical Action

  —

  19,925

  23,740

  22,352

  Physically Handicapped and Able Bodied

  1,800

  12,641

  18,480

  25,017

  NIAYC—Playboard Unit

  —

  4,500

  32,000

  31,350

  St. John's Ambulance Brigade

  1,120

  15,949

  11,395

  10,735

  Standing Conference of Youth Organisations

  —

  36,210

  52,128

  91,525

  SCOYO Information Unit

  —

  35,325

  36,270

  Nil

  Share Centre (Discovery '80 Ltd.)

  —

  Nil

  7,125

  9,109

  Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster

  3,365

  38,000

  41,140

  42,910

  YMCA Headquarters

  5,900

  26,468

  20,900

  27,434

  YMCA Glenriver

  —

  18,760

  16,720

  30,400

  Smaller headquarter organisations

  Army Cadet Force

  1,900

  2,018

  1,895

  1,982

  Belfast Girls' Club Union

  3,500

  9,818

  11,579

  11,960

  676

  Country

  Males

  Females

  Federal Republic of Germany Belgium

  314

  75

  Belgium

  264

  72

  Italy

  212

  53

  France

  137

  30

  "Change of Heart" Campaign
  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress of the "Change of Heart" campaign.

  Mr. Needham
  There has been widespread interest throughout the community in the "Change of Heart" programme since it was launched in October 1986. A number of initiatives have been developed involving a wide range of organisations and interests in public services, business, the voluntary sector and the community.

  An integral part of the programme is the centrally organised publicity and advertising campaign which supports and complements the work of the numerous people involved in local initiatives.

  Initial research suggests that the public are starting to make the necessary changes, in relation to life style factors such as smoking, diet and exercise.

  Youth Organisations (Grants)
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the amounts paid by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland to the headquarters of voluntary youth organisations during the last three years; if he will give for each organisation getting support, the approximate current membership of these groups; and if he will list the amounts of grants and payments made by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland to youth organisations during the last three years.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: The available information is as follows:
  677

  Name of organization

  Current membership (where known)

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  £

  £

  £

  Brian Boru

  —

  583

  2,408

  853

  Down and Connor

  2,500

  1,655

  15,439

  14,503

  Catholic boy scouts of Ireland

  Dromore

  —

  49

  172

  608

  Derryowen

  970

  4,031

  952

  1,757

  Sperrinvale

  —

  Nil

  653

  446

  Aileach

  —

  532

  Nil

  Nil

  Erne

  —

  1,516

  1,923

  2,464

  British Red Cross

  —

  608

  Nil

  Nil

  Armagh

  1,025

  1,560

  2,170

  4,209

  Catholic girl guides of Ireland

  Down and Connor

  1,403

  3,636

  2,872

  4,700

  Dromore

  576

  894

  1,132

  1,058

  Derry and Raphoe

  1,650

  124

  660

  200

  Church Lads' and Church Girls Brigade

  —

  5,480

  3,783

  3,797

  Church Youth Service Council

  —

  5,972

  10,986

  16,275

  Corrymeela

  —

  10,945

  12,693

  11,144

  Down and Connor Youth Council

  —

  22,130

  16,244

  11,343

  MENCAP (Gateway Club)

  —

  4,220

  3,060

  7,698

  Guysmere Camp

  —

  679

  957

  1,298

  Irish Methodist Association of Youth Clubs

  3,000

  4,359

  2,786

  3,326

  Lisburn Sea Cadets

  —

  403

  410

  538

  Ocean Youth Club

  2,588

  5,970

  6,225

  7,425

  Save the Children

  —

  17,961

  13,912

  9,305

  Voluntary Service Belfast

  —

  17,776

  16,921

  17,653

  Youth Hostel Association NI

  —

  9,666

  11,357

  11,369

  NI Youth Workers' Association

  —

  492

  Nil

  Nil

  Belfast Sea Cadets

  —

  Nil

  1,350

  Nil

  Northern Ireland Youth Forum

  400

  27,926

  31,600

  34,384

  Other Grants (Junior Sports etc.)

  —

  260,963

  198,396

  159,854

  Equal Opportunity Unit
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his response to the proposal from the Northern Ireland Council on Disability for an equal opportunity unit to be established by the council and resourced by the Department of Economic Development; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer 15 December 1987]: The question is currently under consideration. When a decision is made it will be delivered to the Northern Ireland Council on Disability.

  Youth Training Scheme
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many accidents, with details of fatalities, there have been in each of the last three years' operation of the youth training programme.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer, 15 December 1987]: Recorded accidents in youth training programme for the last three years are as follows:—

  Number

  1985–86

  178

  1986–87

  231

  11987–88

  161

  1 To date.

  The majority of accidents fall under the following categories (a) cuts, (b) bruising, (c) sprains and (d) minor burns. There have been no fatalities.

  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has as to the destination of 678
  youth training programme leavers for each of the last three years; and of those who found employment, how many were with the firm who provided the training.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer 15 December 1987]: Of those leavers from full-time training schemes whose destination was known the following information applies:

  To Employment

  To Further Education

  To Unemployment

  Per cent.

  Per cent.

  Per cent.

  1984–85

  55

  3

  42

  1985–86

  57

  3

  40

  1986–87

  55

  4

  41

  Employer-led partnerships provide training for less than 20 per cent. of full-time YTP trainees. Separate records have not been kept of the number who find jobs with the employer who provided them with full-time training.

  Schemes (Relationship)
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of the relationship between action for community employment and community volunteering schemes, and national schemes, such as UK 2000, neighbourhood emergency action, crime prevention initiatives, and so on.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: Although there is no formal relationship between the action for community employment and community volunteering schemes in Northern Ireland and the national initiatives promoted by Manpower Services Commission

  679
  through the community programme in Great Britain, there are nevertheless many similarities and continuing contacts between the respective officials.

  Community Care
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his Department's policy towards providing places under each action for community employment and community volunteering scheme for community care activities.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: Sympathetic consideration is given to proposals from sponsors seeking places for community care activities. Approximately 30 per cent. and 66 per cent. respectively of action for community employment and community volunteering scheme places support such activities.

  Action for Community Employment
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give further information on the 100-place enterprise scheme under the action for community employment programme and its progress; and how it will be evaluated.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: Since the ACE enterprise pilot scheme was launched in May 1987 60 applications have been received. To date 20 candidates have been selected to participate.

  The scheme will be evaluated by departmental economists to assess the degree to which the ACE network can assist ACE workers move into self-employment.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if in relation to the action for community employment and community volunteering schemes, he will give the following information,(a) the annual budget for each of the schemes over the years since they started, (b) the current number of schemes, the places in each and their geographical distribution across Northern Ireland, (c) the number of managing agents in each scheme, the number of places in each managing agency and their location by name of sponsoring agent and address, (d) the categories of work undertaken under each scheme, (e) the criteria by which applications to be accepted on to the scheme as a sponsor are assessed and (f) the criteria by which schemes are evaluated by his Department and the training policy and training budget for each scheme.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: The information is as follows:

  (a)

  £ million

  ACE

  CVS

  £

  £

  1981–82

  1·67

  —

  1982–83

  5·24

  —

  1983–84

  10·6

  0·3

  1984–85

  13·56

  0·53

  1985–86

  17·84

  0·5

  1986–87

  28·54

  0·6

  1987–88

  28·84

  0·63

  (b) ACE 356 sponsors with 6,411 places approved.

  CVS 21 sponsors (including 3 managing agents) with 2,024 volunteers.
  680

  Geographical distribution

  ACE

  District council areas

  Places2

  Antrim

  112

  Ards

  59

  Armagh

  118

  Ballymena

  109

  Ballymoney

  2

  Banbridge

  54

  Belfast1

  2,529

  Carrickfergus

  141

  Coleraine

  96

  Cookstown

  111

  Craigavon

  242

  Derry

  638

  Down

  235

  Dungannon

  402

  Fermanagh

  135

  Larne

  110

  Limavady

  69

  Lisburn

  148

  Magherafelt

  102

  Moyle

  36

  Newry and Mourne

  541

  North Down

  111

  Omagh

  169

  Strabane

  122

  1 Includes Castlereagh and Newtownabbey.

  1 At 30 November 1987.

  CVS

  Jobmarket areas1

  Places2

  Antrim

  66

  Armagh

  16

  Ballymena

  16

  Ballymoney

  —

  Ballynahinch

  —

  Banbridge

  16

  Bangor

  108

  Belfast

  995

  Carrickfergus

  46

  Coleraine

  62

  Cookstown

  14

  Downpatrick

  7

  Dungannon

  1

  Enniskillen

  34

  Kilkeel

  57

  Larne

  33

  Limavady

  2

  Lisburn

  115

  Londonderry

  160

  Lurgan

  24

  Magherafelt

  4

  Newcastle

  6

  Newry

  152

  Newtownards

  37

  Omagh

  32

  Portadown

  3

  Strabane

  18

  1 When the computerisation of records in Community Projects Branch has been completed all statistics will be provided on a District Council basis.

  2 At 31 October 1987.

  (c) There are no managing agents in the ACE Scheme. The following managing agents operate within CVS.
  681

  Volunteers

  Belfast Managing Agent, Bryson House, Bedford Street, Belfast

  91

  Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust, Murray House, Belfast

  410

  Waterside Churches for Community Needs, 6 Shipquay Street, Londonderry

  113

  (d) The following are the main categories for work undertaken by each scheme.

  Environmental/Conservation

  Community Care

  Community Arts

  Administration/Clerical

  (e) Applications are accepted from sponsors who promote projects that satisfy the aims and objectives of the appropriate scheme and who demonstrate to the Department's satisfaction that they have the capability to manage an ACE/CVS project.

  (f) Each scheme is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they are managed in an effective and efficient manner and that they meet their aims and objectives.

  Sponsors in both ACE and CVS are encouraged to develop and implement comprehensive training and development programmes for workers and volunteers. Costs of ACE workers attending approved external training courses are funded at 100 per cent. Within CVS there is a training budget based on £30·00 per full time volunteer per year.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if in relation to action for community employment and community volunteering schemes, he will give(a) the criteria by which applications from the waiting list for each scheme are assessed, (b) the number of people with a registered disability with places on each scheme, (c) the breakdown of males and females on each scheme, (d) the breakdown by religious affiliation on each scheme, (e) whether the two schemes are subject to the rules of the Fair Employment Agency and (f) how he intends to apply the new policy guidelines on fair employment to sponsors of the two schemes and what monitoring arrangements are being set up; and if he will list the sponsoring agents of the community volunteering scheme by name, address and number of volunteer hours, as well as the budget for the community volunteering scheme, broken down into such local areas as is convenient.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: The information is as follows:

  (a) The following are the types of projects which are favoured in assessing applications from the waiting list:

  (i) Projects that promote the development of self sustaining employment.

  (ii) Projects from areas where the existing level of ACE provision is lower than the local incidence of long term unemployed.

  (iii) Projects that provide a service to disadvantaged groups in the community.

  (iv) Projects with an emphasis on unskilled work.

  (b) In September 1987 there were 32 disabled people in ACE. It is not known how many of these were registered disabled.

  Information in the form requested is not readily available for the community volunteering scheme.

  (c) ACE: Male 57 per cent. Female 43 per cent. Information in the form requested is not readily available for the CVS.

  (d) Information on the breakdown by religious affiliation of participants in ACE and CVS is not held by the Department.

  (e) Sponsors of both ACE and CVS are subject to the provision of the Fair Employment (NI) Act 1976.

  (f) Copies of the new policy guidelines have been issued to all sponsors. Although these guidelines are voluntary the Fair Employment Agency is under a statutory obligation to have regard to the guidelines in considering whether or not equality of opportunity has been provided.

  682
  The information about CVS sponsoring agents is as follows:

  Name and address and volunteering target hours

  Budget £

  Bryson House, Bedford street, Belfast

  Scheme 1 110,000

  76,000

  Scheme 2 98,000

  45,000

  (Managing Agency)

  Belfast Women's Aid, 46 Ulsterville avenue, Belfast

  60,000

  42,000

  Confederation of Community Groups, 2 Bridge street. Newry

  40,000

  26,000

  Extern, 46 University street, Belfast

  51,000

  36,882

  The Flax Trust, Flax street, Belfast

  40,000

  27,923

  Gingerbread, 171 University street, Belfast

  30,000

  21,793

  North Down Volunteer Bureau, 91 High street, Bangor

  38,000

  25,500

  NIACRO, 22 Adelaide street, Belfast

  112,000

  79,235

  NI Women's Aid, 143A University street, Belfast

  29,000

  10,440

  PHAB, 76 University street, Belfast

  30,000

  18,022

  Praxis, 143 University street, Belfast

  13,500

  8,888

  Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Patrick's Hall, Barrack street, Coalisland

  30,000

  21,975

  Upper Springfield Family Support Group, 31 Ardonagh parade, Belfast 11

  13,500

  8,299

  Voluntary Services Belfast, 72 Lisburn road, Belfast

  155,000

  85,000

  Voluntary Services Lisburn, 50 Railway street, Lisburn

  25,000

  13,552

  Waterside Churches Committee for Community Needs, 6 Shipquay street, Londonderry

  Scheme 157,000

  33,500

  Scheme 2 11,000

  54,500

  (Managing Agency)

  Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust, Murray House, Murray street, Belfast

  100,000

  64,000

  (Managing Agency)

  Conservation Volunteers, The Pavilion, Ravenhill road, Belfast

  12,000

  9,125

SOCIAL SERVICES

  NHS Charges
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he plans to impose charges on any further National Health Services services.
  683
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans for legislation to require National Health Service patients in hospitals or visiting a general practitioner to pay for any services; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  We have no such plans.

  Mr. Clay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what the percentage rise in(a) prescription charges, (b) minimum dental charges and (c) maximum dental charges has been between 1979 and the latest date available in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms.

  Mr. Newton
  Between 1979 and 1987 prescription charges rose by 433 per cent. in cash terms and by 207 per cent. in real terms. The maximum charge for a single course of dental treatment rose by 219 per cent. in cash terms and 84 per cent. in real terms. There is no minimum charge.

  Moss Side Special Hospital
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what are the recorded number of instances of self-mutilation among women patients at Moss Side special hospital, for the previous 12 months;

  (2) what are the recorded numbers of instances of the use of seclusion, and the recorded number of hours women patients have been held in seclusion, at Moss Side special hospital, for the previous 12 months.

  Mrs. Currie
  In the 12 months from 1 December 1986, the recorded number of instances of self-mutilation among women patients at Moss Side hospital was 250. The recorded number of instances of seclusion was 1,573 of which 975 related to women patients. The recorded number of hours spent in seclusion by women patients was 17,302, which included seclusion during the night hours. Eighty per cent. of the total time spent in seclusion by women patients was accounted for by nine of them. There are at present 198 men patients and 86 women patients at Moss Side. Over the past year or so, the hospital has admitted a number of grossly disturbed, delinquent young women who suffer from psychopathic disorder, in many cases associated with mental impairment. Self-mutilation is a behavioural symptom often exhibited by women patients and had been a marked feature of the behaviour of the young women before they were admitted to Moss Side. Slow modification of this behaviour accounts in part for the high use of seclusion among this group. The hospital is trying to minimise the extent of self-mutilation and seclusion among women patients by management of the patient mix and the opening in October this year of an extra ward for women patients.

  Operations (Cost)
  Sir Eldon Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the approximate average cost to the National Health Service of the following operations (i) heart transplant, (ii) kidney transplant, (iii) liver transplant, (iv) heart by-pass, (v) heart valve replacement, (vi) hysterectomy, (vii) hip replacement, (viii) knee replacement, (ix) in vitro fertilisation and (x) abortion.

  Mrs. Currie
  We do not routinely make estimates of the costs of individual operations. Such information as is available for seven of the operations listed is based on 684
  special studies. This has, where necessary, been revalued to take account of inflation. Details of treatments and length of stay in hospital may have changed since the studies were done. The figures are therefore only approximate.

  £

  Heart transplant

  115,000

  Kidney transplant

  27,400

  Coronary artery bypass graft

  3,300

  Heart valve replacement

  5,000

  Hysterectomy

  31,200

  Total hip replacement

  3,300

  Abortion

  170

  1 Including additional costs in the year of operation.

  2 Based on 1981 study.

  3 Based on 1982 study.

  Nurses
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many nurses have undertaken advanced training courses which lead to specialisation in fields such as intensive care in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Newton
  I regret that information is not available in the form requested prior to 1985. The numbers of registered nurses entering selected specialised post-basic training courses since 1985 are as follows:

  Number of nurses entering selected post-basic training courses Year ending 31 March: England

  1985

  1986

  1987

  General intensive care

  649

  436

  502

  Coronary care

  71

  60

  61

  Renal care

  134

  132

  140

  Operating department nursing

  353

  272

  249

  Special intensive care of the newborn

  287

  278

  393

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many nurses were in training in each of the past 10 years.

  Mr. Newton
  I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. However, the number of nurses commencing basic nurse training in each of the past 10 years is as follows:

  Intake of students and pupils to basic nurse training year ending 31 March: England

  Students

  Pupils

  Total

  1978

  18,200

  11,210

  29,410

  1979

  22,600

  12,770

  35,370

  1980

  20,540

  12,080

  32,620

  1981

  19,630

  11,290

  30,920

  1982

  20,200

  11,600

  31,800

  1983

  18,950

  10,890

  29,840

  1984

  17,670

  7,300

  24,970

  1985

  19,210

  6,320

  25,530

  1986

  18,600

  5,100

  23,700

  1987

  18,430

  4,390

  22,820

  Notes:

  (1) Actual figures for England are not available prior to 1984. Figures are therefore assumed to be 95 per cent. of those for England and Wales.

  (2) Figures are rounded to nearest 10.

  (3) The decline in the number of pupils undertaking enrolled nurse training is partly due to the uncertainty about the future of such training, whose cessation has been proposed by the UKCC in Project 2000.
  685
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what financial incentives exist to encourage nurses to undertake more advanced nursing training which leads to specialisation in such fields as intensive care.

  Mr. Newton
  Currently there are specific financial incentives though post-basic training and expertise may improve prospects of promotion. Recently, the Nursing and Midwifery Staffs Negotiating Council has reached agreement on new grading definitions for nursing and midwifery staff designed to recognise and reward clinical skills appropriately.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many nurses left the National Health Service other than at retirement age in each of the last five years;

  (2) what is the average number of years worked by nurses in the National Health Service.

  Mr. Newton
  I regret that the information requested is not available.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total level of expenditure on pay for nurses, in cash and constant 1986–87 prices, in each year since 1973.

  Mr. Newton
  Following is the information requested derived from the annual accounts of health authorities in England and for 1973–74, those of their predecessor hospital authorities:

  National Health Service staff salaries and wages: Nurses and midwives

  Per annual accounts £ million

  At 1986–87 prices £ million

  1973–74

  416

  1,732

  1974–75

  744

  2,596

  1975–76

  965

  2,679

  1976–77

  1,112

  2,728

  1977–78

  1,206

  2,597

  1978–79

  1,354

  2,634

  1979–80

  1,649

  2,745

  1980–81

  2,294

  3,221

  1981–82

  2,511

  3,211

  1982–83

  2,713

  3,236

  1983–84

  2,828

  3,225

  1984–85

  3,034

  3,314

  1985–86

  3,210

  3,307

  1986–87

  3,495

  3,495

  Notes:

  1. The figures for the earlier years have been expressed at 1986–87 prices by the use of the Gross Domestic Product deflator.

  2. The figures for 1973–74 are not comparable to those for later years as prior to National Health Service re-organisation (1 April 1974) responsibility for community health and ambulance services rested with local government authorities.

  3. The figures for 1974–75 include an element of estimation being based on an incomplete return from health authorities.

  4. Expenditure on non-National Health Service staff (agency, etc.) nurses and midwives is excluded.

  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what the levels of nursing staff were in(a) Sunderland district health authority, (b) Durham district health authority and (c) Hartlepool district health authority in the years 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985–86.

  Mrs. Currie
  The information requested is given in the table.
  686

  NHS Nursing and midwifery staff in post1at 30 September of each year Whole time equivalent2

  District Health Authority

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1985

  Sunderland

  2,490

  2,570

  2,520

  2,580

  2,590

  Durham

  1,100

  1,090

  1,110

  1,160

  1,160

  Hartlepool

  790

  790

  780

  790

  840

  Source: DHSS Annual census of NHS non-medical manpower.

  1 Includes qualified nurses and midwives, learners and unqualified staff. Agency staff are also included.

  2 Figures are independently rounded to nearest 10 whole-time equivalents.

  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to set up an inquiry into the health of nurses; what are the present arrangements for monitoring their health; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: It is for employing health authorities in discharging their responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to promote, maintain and improve the health and well-being of all staff. Arrangements for the monitoring of staff health is a matter for individual authorities in the light of local circumstances.

  Laboratory Scientific Officers
  Sir Anthony Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will issue an instruction to the official side of the Whitley council to negotiate the pay of laboratory scientific officers in the National Health Service on the same basis as employees engaged in therapy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  The pay of most staff engaged in therapy is the subject of recommendations by the pay review bodies, rather than negotiation, and I do not think it would be appropriate to constrain the Whitley Council negotiating arrangements in the way my hon. Friend appears to have in mind. However, I understand that the relevant council will embark on negotiations about a new pay and grading structure for medical laboratory scientific officers in the new year.

  Housing Benefit Supplement
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claimants are receiving housing benefit supplement.

  Mr. Portillo
  Information on the current number of recipients is not available, but we estimate that during the course of the 1986–87 financial year some 400,000 people received housing benefit supplement.

  AIDS
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if, pursuant to the answer of 4 December,Official Report, column 759, he will take steps to collect the available information on the proportions of homosexuals presenting themselves for treatment at sexually transmitted diseases clinics in (a) London and (b) the rest of England who are found to be HIV positive.

  Mr. Newton
  There are difficulties in securing accurate information on the proportions of homosexuals presenting
  687
  for treatment at genito-urinary medicine clinics who are HIV positive because individuals may not admit to being homosexual or those who do may not agree to be tested for HIV. However, details of all positive HIV tests in England and Wales are reported in confidence to the Communicable Diseases Surveillance Centre. Where available this includes information on the risk behaviour of the individual involved. From next year it is proposed to collect from genito-urinary medicine clinics the numbers of new cases of HIV infection presenting. Clinicians will be asked, where possible, to distinguish those infections which are thought to be homosexually acquired. Details of negative tests are not sought (with the exception of data required for special studies) because of the great deal of work that would be involved.

  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if, pursuant to his answer of 4 December,Official Report, column 759, he will list the membership of the group of experts monitoring HIV infection rates; and when he expects them to report on the likely number of AIDS infections in the United Kingdom in 1991.

  Mr. Newton
  The members of the group which is considering the monitoring and surveillance of HIV infection and AIDS are:

  Dr. J. W. G. Smith, (Chairman) Director, Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS).

  Professor M. Adler, Academic Department of Genitourinary medicine, University College and Middlesex Hospital School of Medicine.

  Dr. N. S. Galbraith, Director, PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre.

  Professor A. Glynn, Director, Central Public Health Laboratory and Head, PHLS AIDS Co-ordinating Centre.

  Professor M. J. R. Healy, Professor of Medical Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

  Professor M. Marmot, Professor of Community Medicine, University College, London.

  Dr. D. Reid, Director, Communicable Diseases (Scotland) Unit.

  Observers

  Dr. R. G. Covell, Senior Medical Officer, Scottish Home and Health Department.

  Dr. D. James, Board Secretary, Medical Division, Medical Research Council.

  Ms H. Hillier, Statistician, Department of Health and Social Security.

  Secretariat

  Dr. G. Greenberg, Senior Medical Officer, Department of Health and Social Security.

  Mr. J. Griffiths, Senior Executive Office, Department of Health and Social Security.

  We hope to receive the group's report early in January 1988. As I said in my earlier reply it is hoped that any improvements that result from the group's recommendations will produce better data on HIV infection and AIDS which can be used as a basis for forecasting numbers of cases in the future.

  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services in how many cases non-haemophiliacs have contracted the AIDS virus following blood transfusions given in or before October 1985.

  Mr. Newton
  Since October 1985 the national blood transfusion service has screened all blood donations for antibodies to HIV. Before screening could be made available to the service, a small number of patients in the United Kingdom received blood infected with the virus. Eight of these have since developed AIDS, of whom seven have died.
  688
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will consider making to those persons who contracted the AIDS virus, following a blood transfusion given in or before October 1985, payments which are similar to those that will be made to haemophiliacs who contracted the AIDS virus through blood transfusions.

  Mr. Newton
  The Government have provided special financial help for haemophiliacs infected with HIV in recognition of their wholly exceptional circumstances which I explained to the House in my statement on 16 November. After careful consideration we concluded that this combination of circumstances does not apply to those who have unfortunately become infected with HIV through blood transfusions and that similar financial help is therefore not appropriate.

  Consultancy Advice
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the contracts given by his Department to Deloitte Haskins and Sells in relation to management consultancy advice on the work of health authorities in England.

  Mrs. Currie
  Since January 1984 one such contract has been let by the Department. It concerned the implementation of management budgeting in the community health services sector by Bromley health authority.

  Agency Nurses
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the amount spent by district health authorities on agency nurses in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Newton
  Following is the information derived from the annual accounts of district health authorities in England:—

  Expenditure on Non–NHS Staff (Agency, etc.)—Nursing

  Year

  £

  1982–83

  31,262,646

  1983–84

  27,685,596

  1984–85

  36,912,356

  1985–86

  46,965,803

  1986–87

  164,897,347

  1 Provisional (ie as yet unaudited) figure.

  Operating Theatres
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the capital value of all the operating theatres in the National Health Service.

  Mrs. Currie
  The information requested is not held centrally and any attempt at an estimate would be purely speculative.

  NHS (Stolen Property)
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the value of property stolen from the National Health Service in each of the last five years.

  Mrs. Currie
  The annual accounts of health authorities in England incorporate a statement of losses which includes categories as follows:
  689

  Losses of cash due to Theft, Fraud, etc.

  Losses of equipment and property in stores and in use due to Theft, Fraud or Arson, etc.

  £

  £

  1982–83

  257,081

  609,312

  1983–84

  96,388

  805,292

  1984–85

  83,896

  1,180,604

  1985–86

  77,470

  1,434,764

  1986–871

  85,935

  1,587,207

  1 Provisional (ie as yet unaudited figures).

  Sources:

  Annual financial accounts of regional and district health authorities and those of the special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals. Annual financial accounts of family practitioner committees for 1985–86 and 1986–87. (Prior to 1 April 1985 losses incurred by family practitioner committees were reported with the annual accounts of the district health authorities with which the committees were associated.)

  NHS (Security)
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied with security arrangements in National Health Service premises to protect(a) National Health Service staff and (b) National Health Service property.

  Mrs. Currie
  A number of steps have been taken to improve standards of security in the National Health Service. Comprehensive guidance in the form of a security manual has been issued to the Health Service. All district health authorities have developed security strategies based on this guidance, tailored to meet the requirements of their individual localities. These strategies have been approved by regional health authorities which are responsible for monitoring their effectiveness.

  The Department's advisory committee on violence to staff, under the chairmanship of my noble Friend, is currently considering the question of acts of violence against staff including those working in the National Health Service. The committee hopes to report to my right hon. Friend by early spring.

  Stricter accounting procedures have been introduced to improve the identification of sources of losses. We are satisfied that this range of initiatives has already helped to raise the general level of security in the Health Service and will continue to do so.

  Waiting Lists
  Ms. Harriet Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out, region by region, the total in-patient waiting list in each district, showing the percentage change from the figures for 30 March 1986.

  Mr. Newton
  The information requested is given in the table.

  Number of patients on the in-patient waiting list at 31 March for years 1986 and 1987 showing the percentage change

  District Health Authority

  1986

  1987

  Percentage change

  Northern Regional Health Authority

  35,711

  37,334

  4·5

  Hartlepool

  1,405

  1,661

  18·2

  North Tees

  810

  930

  14·8

  South Tees

  6,149

  5,519

  -10·2

  East Cumbria

  3,018

  3,796

  25·8

  690

  District Health Authority

  1986

  1987

  Percentage change

  South Cumbria

  1,357

  1,217

  -10·3

  West Cumbria

  1,349

  1,396

  3·5

  Darlington

  2,214

  2,397

  8·3

  Durham

  820

  1,032

  25·9

  North West Durham

  664

  683

  2·9

  South West Durham

  498

  831

  66·9

  Northumberland

  1,861

  1,668

  -10·4

  Gateshead

  1,155

  1,412

  22·3

  Newcastle

  8,632

  9,363

  8·5

  North Tyneside

  1,207

  1,043

  -13·6

  South Tyneside

  682

  727

  6·6

  Sunderland

  3,890

  3,659

  -5·9

  Yorkshire Regional Health Authority

  45,440

  47,643

  4·8

  Hull

  6,627

  6,911

  4·3

  East Yorkshire

  1,108

  1,429

  29·0

  Grimsby

  1,245

  1,400

  12·4

  Scunthorpe

  2,030

  2,832

  39·5

  Northallerton

  419

  699

  66·8

  York

  2,689

  2,575

  -4·2

  Scarborough

  1,611

  1,724

  7·0

  Harrogate

  1,799

  2,059

  14·5

  Bradford

  6,411

  7,172

  11·9

  Airedale

  2,649

  2,100

  -20·7

  Calderdale

  986

  996

  1·0

  Huddersfield

  2,697

  2,175

  -19·4

  Dewsbury

  661

  429

  -35·1

  Leeds Western

  4,397

  4,758

  8·2

  Leeds Eastern

  5,663

  6,064

  7–1

  Wakefield

  2,269

  2,241

  -1·2

  Pontefract

  2,179

  2,079

  -4·6

  Trent Regional Health Authority

  61,877

  57,711

  -6·7

  North Derbyshire

  2,633

  2,520

  -4·3

  South Derbyshire

  6,507

  4,991

  -23·3

  Leicestershire

  7,962

  8,278

  4·0

  North Lincolnshire

  3,158

  2,819

  -10·7

  South Lincolnshire

  3,948

  4,190

  6·1

  Bassetlaw

  809

  535

  -33·9

  Central Nottinghamshire

  5,425

  4,955

  -8·7

  Nottingham

  8,215

  6,625

  -19·4

  Barnsley

  2,463

  2,600

  5·6

  Doncaster

  4,641

  4,686

  1·0

  Rotherham

  4,213

  4,461

  5·9

  Sheffield

  11,903

  11,051

  -7·2

  East Anglian Regional Health Authority

  27,352

  28,015

  2·4

  Cambridge

  5,196

  4,945

  -4·8

  Peterborough

  3,239

  4,176

  28·9

  West Suffolk

  2,641

  2,762

  4·6

  East Suffolk

  3,071

  3,381

  10·1

  Norwich

  6,915

  6,377

  -7·8

  Great Yarmouth and Waveney

  3,524

  3,364

  -4·5

  West Norfolk and Wisbech

  1,926

  2,088

  8·4

  Huntingdon

  840

  922

  9·8

  North West Thames Regional Health Authority

  43,806

  44,007

  0·5

  North Bedfordshire

  2,255

  2,421

  7·4

  South Bedfordshire

  2,177

  2,415

  10·9

  North Hertfordshire

  2,895

  3,267

  12·8

  East Hertfordshire

  1,456

  1,325

  -9·0

  North West Hertfordshire

  1,848

  1,544

  -16·5

  South West Hertfordshire

  1,956

  2,136

  9·2

  Barnet

  4,186

  3,545

  -15·3

  Harrow

  1,176

  1,168

  -0·7

  Hillingdon

  7,648

  7,867

  2·9

  Hounslow and Spelthorne

  5,173

  5,863

  13·3

  691

  District Health Authority

  1986

  1987

  Percentage change

  Ealing

  2,219

  1,504

  -32·2

  Brent

  2,010

  1,903

  -5·3

  Paddington and North Kensington

  3,111

  3,459

  11·2

  Riverside

  5,696

  5,590

  -1·9

  North East Thames Regional Health Authority1

  71,934

  Basildon and Thurrock

  6,044

  6,541

  8·2

  Mid Essex

  3,610

  4,672

  29·4

  North East Essex

  4,413

  3,296

  -25·3

  West Essex

  5,012

  4,645

  -7·3

  Southend

  3,177

  3,788

  19·2

  Barking, Havering and Brentwood

  6,640

  6,488

  -2·3

  Hampstead1

  2,073

  Bloomsbury

  14,405

  13,446

  -6·7

  Islington

  2,410

  2,826

  17·3

  City and Hackney

  6,071

  7,140

  17·6

  Newham

  1,117

  1,638

  46·6

  Tower Hamlets

  6,808

  7,865

  15·5

  Enfield

  2,915

  3,074

  5·5

  Haringey

  1,225

  1,004

  -18·0

  Redbridge

  1,673

  2,392

  43·0

  Waltham Forest

  4,341

  4,504

  3·8

  South East Thames Regional Health Authority

  53,394

  60,168

  12·7

  Brighton

  3,915

  4,022

  2·7

  Eastbourne

  2,685

  3,298

  22·8

  Hastings

  2,530

  2,882

  13·9

  South East Kent

  2,658

  2,564

  -3·5

  Canterbury and Thanet

  4,588

  4,889

  6·6

  Dartford and Gravesham

  4,414

  4,846

  9·8

  Maidstone

  2,157

  2,461

  14·1

  Medway

  2,105

  3,393

  61·2

  Tunbridge Wells

  4,949

  4,566

  -7·7

  Bexley

  1,532

  1,953

  27·5

  Greenwich

  2,632

  2,687

  2·1

  Bromley

  1,900

  2,242

  18·0

  West Lambeth

  6,405

  8,111

  26·6

  Camberwell

  2,681

  2,913

  8·7

  Lewisham and North Southwark

  8,243

  9,341

  13·3

  South West Thames Regional Health Authority

  36,993

  36,148

  -2·3

  North West Surrey

  2,989

  2,915

  -2·5

  West Surrey and North East Hampshire

  4,760

  4,763

  0·1

  South West Surrey

  3,210

  3,005

  -6·4

  Mid Surrey

  2,327

  2,157

  -7·3

  East Surrey

  1,601

  2,327

  45·3

  Chichester

  2,420

  2,464

  1·8

  Mid Downs

  2,233

  2,288

  2·5

  Worthing

  3,455

  3,058

  -11·5

  Croydon

  2,350

  2,518

  7·1

  Kingston and Esher

  2,576

  2,418

  -6·1

  Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton

  3,325

  2,521

  -24·2

  Wandsworth

  2,649

  2,768

  4·5

  Merton and Sutton

  3,098

  2,946

  -4·9

  Wessex Regional Health Authority

  43,078

  43,482

  0·9

  East Dorset

  5,290

  5,424

  2·5

  West Dorset

  2,264

  2,057

  -9·1

  Portsmouth and South East Hampshire

  6,247

  7,644

  22·4

  Southampton and South West Hampshire

  8,492

  8,217

  -3·2

  Winchester

  2,341

  2,880

  23·0

  692

  District Health Authority

  1986

  1987

  Percentage change

  Basingstoke and North Hampshire

  3,589

  2,411

  -32·8

  Salisbury

  4,489

  4,717

  5·1

  Swindon

  3,063

  3,194

  4·3

  Bath

  5,449

  5,570

  2·2

  Isle of Wight

  1,854

  1,368

  -26·2

  Oxford Regional Health Authority

  32,776

  32,742

  -0·1

  East Berkshire

  7,470

  7,905

  5·8

  West Berkshire

  4,593

  3,999

  -12·9

  Aylesbury Vale

  3,813

  3,300

  -13·5

  Wycombe

  1,033

  1,333

  29·0

  Milton Keynes

  2,121

  2,614

  23·2

  Kettering

  2,790

  3,546

  27·1

  Northampton

  5,164

  4,144

  -19·8

  Oxfordshire

  5,792

  5,901

  1·9

  South Western Regional Health Authority

  42,931

  43,159

  0·5

  Bristol and Weston

  7,944

  8,213

  3·4

  Frenchay

  3,506

  3,458

  -1·4

  Southmead

  2,214

  1,415

  -36·1

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

  4,689

  4,434

  -5·4

  Exeter

  4,719

  4,737

  0·4

  North Devon

  1,358

  1,693

  24·7

  Plymouth

  5,281

  5,800

  9·8

  Torbay

  1,781

  1,602

  -10·1

  Cheltenham

  2,189

  2,157

  -1·5

  Gloucester

  4,346

  4,214

  -3·0

  Somerset

  4,904

  5,436

  10·8

  West Midlands Regional Health Authority

  78,549

  79,761

  1·5

  Bromsgrove and Redditch

  2,219

  2,052

  -7·5

  Herefordshire

  2,656

  2,945

  10·9

  Kidderminster and District

  1,298

  1,585

  22·1

  Worcester and District

  3,449

  3,477

  0·8

  Shropshire

  7,696

  8,842

  14·9

  Mid Staffordshire

  1,706

  1,648

  -3·4

  North Staffordshire

  9,023

  9,058

  0·4

  South East Staffordshire

  2,374

  2,679

  12·8

  Rugby

  528

  659

  24·8

  North Warwickshire

  1,833

  2,576

  40·5

  South Warwickshire

  3,366

  2,631

  -21·8

  Central Birmingham

  5,346

  5,427

  1·5

  East Birmingham

  3,367

  2,865

  -14·9

  North Birmingham

  2,267

  1,300

  -42·7

  South Birmingham

  7,291

  7,569

  3·8

  West Birmingham

  3,479

  4,699

  35·1

  Coventry

  6,091

  4,813

  21·1

  Dudley

  4,244

  3,889

  -8·4

  Sandwell

  1,399

  1,927

  37·7

  Solihull

  1,967

  1,578

  -19·8

  Walsall

  2,856

  2,740

  -4·1

  Wolverhampton

  4,094

  4,802

  17·3

  Mersey Regional Health Authority

  30,779

  29,147

  -5·3

  Chester

  1,805

  2,759

  52·9

  Crewe

  4,695

  3,512

  -25·2

  Halton

  319

  141

  -55·8

  Macclesfield

  1,159

  760

  -34·4

  Warrington

  2,672

  1,864

  -30·2

  Liverpool

  8,321

  7,704

  -7·4

  St. Helens and Knowsley

  3,868

  4,074

  5·3

  Southport and Formby

  1,145

  1,360

  18·8

  South Sefton

  3,657

  3,409

  -6·8

  Wirral

  3,138

  3,564

  13·6

  North Western Regional Health Authority

  60,242

  63,881

  6·0

  Lancaster

  2,100

  2,312

  10·1

  693

  District Health Authority

  1986

  1987

  Percentage change

  Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde

  4,524

  4,546

  0·5

  Preston

  4,725

  4,586

  -2·9

  Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley

  2,042

  2,404

  17·7

  Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale

  2,540

  2,148

  -15·4

  West Lancashire

  1,984

  2,495

  25-8

  Chorley and South Ribble

  764

  770

  0·8

  Bolton

  2,828

  3,138

  11·0

  Bury

  735

  731

  -0·5

  North Manchester

  2,753

  2,528

  -8·2

  Central Manchester

  5,436

  6,543

  20·4

  South Manchester

  6,012

  6,408

  6·6

  Oldham

  4,381

  4,925

  12·4

  Rochdale

  3,033

  2,933

  -3·3

  Salford

  4,156

  5,101

  22·7

  Stockport

  4,713

  4,668

  -1·0

  Tameside and Glossop

  1,639

  1,645

  0·4

  Trafford

  1,522

  1,542

  1·3

  Wigan

  4,355

  4,458

  2·4

  1 No regional total given for North East Thames for March 1987 as figures for Hampstead Health Authority were not available.

  Number of cases on in-patient waiting list at 31 December—NHS hospitals

  Hospital/specialties

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Chester District Health Authority

  Chester Royal Infirmary Surgical specialties: Total

  2,516

  1,658

  1,455

  1,895

  2,164

  General surgery

  924

  472

  525

  824

  973

  Ear, nose and throat

  412

  150

  96

  147

  48

  Trauma and orthopaedic

  921

  484

  410

  321

  342

  Ophthalmology

  234

  260

  113

  139

  278

  Oral surgery

  24

  19

  91

  67

  121

  Orthodontics

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Gynaecology

  0

  273

  220

  397

  402

  Other specialties: Total

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  All specialties—Total

  2,516

  1,658

  1,455

  1,895

  2,164

  Chester City Hospital Surgical specialties: Total

  507

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Gynaecology

  507

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Other specialties: Total

  9

  4

  2

  0

  0

  Geriatrics

  9

  4

  2

  0

  0

  All specialties—Total

  516

  4

  2

  0

  0

  The Countess of Cheshire Hospital (formerly the West Cheshire Hospital) Surgical specialties: Total

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Other specialties: Total

  71

  21

  27

  32

  21

  Mental illness

  60

  16

  21

  29

  20

  Psychogeriatric

  0

  5

  0

  0

  0

  Geriatrics

  11

  0

  3

  0

  0

  Adolescent psychiatry

  0

  0

  3

  3

  1

  All specialties—Total

  71

  21

  27

  32

  21

  Crewe District Health Authority

  Leighton Hospital Surgical specialties: Total

  5,333

  4,805

  5,438

  6,349

  4,008

  General Surgery

  2,456

  2,237

  2,593

  2,833

  1,509

  Ear, nose and throat

  865

  709

  654

  912

  191

  Trauma and orthopaedic

  279

  267

  336

  402

  333

  694
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether district health authorities are required to know the cost of care per patient by specialty in order to make valid bids for a share of funds allocated under the national waiting lists initiative.

  Mr. Newton
  When proposing projects for support from the 1987–88 waiting list fund health authorities gave the numbers of additional patients who could be treated for the funding requested. In most cases this was the marginal cost of treating additional patients and was less than either the full or average cost of patient care for the treatments planned. This approach will be adopted for projects funded in 1988–89.

  Mr. Goodlad
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the current waiting lists for(a) examinations, (b) operations and (c) beds in each specialty in each hospital in (i) the Crewe, (ii) the Chester and (iii) the Halton health districts; and what were the comparable figures at a convenient date in each of the last eight years.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 3 December 1987]: The available information is given in the table.
  695

  Hospital/specialties

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Ophthalmology

  198

  193

  158

  204

  217

  Urology

  436

  430

  606

  755

  665

  Oral surgery

  241

  292

  348

  374

  297

  Gynaecology

  858

  677

  743

  869

  796

  Other specialties:

  Total

  0

  3

  2

  60

  1

  Psychogeriatric

  0

  3

  2

  2

  0

  Anaesthetics

  0

  0

  0

  5

  0

  General medicine

  0

  0

  0

  12

  1

  Dermatology

  0

  0

  0

  41

  0

  All specialties—Total

  5,333

  4,808

  5,440

  6,409

  4,009

  Cranage Hall Hospital Surgical specialties:

  Total

  17

  25

  26

  30

  0

  Oral surgery

  17

  25

  26

  30

  0

  Other specialties: Total

  15

  15

  15

  15

  2

  Mental handicap

  IS

  15

  15

  15

  2

  All specialties—Total

  32

  40

  41

  45

  2

  Halton District Health Authority

  Crossley Hospital Surgical specialties:

  Total

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Other specialties:

  Total

  4

  4

  0

  0

  0

  Geriatrics

  0

  4

  0

  0

  0

  Mental illness

  4

  0

  0

  0

  0

  All specialties—Total

  4

  4

  0

  0

  0

  Dutton Hospital Surgical specialties:

  Total

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Other specialties:

  Total

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  Geriatrics

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  All specialties—Total

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  Halton General Hospital Surgical specialties:

  Total

  0

  0

  0

  95

  187

  General surgery

  0

  0

  0

  95

  153

  Urology

  0

  0

  0

  0

  34

  Other specialties:

  Total

  0

  0

  0

  4

  1

  General medicine

  0

  0

  0

  2

  1

  Geriatrics

  0

  0

  0

  2

  0

  All specialties—Total

  0

  0

  0

  99

  188

  Hospital Closures
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the hospitals(a) approved for total closure and (b) approved for partial closure for each district health authority since April 1985;

  (2) if he will list the hospitals (a) totally closed and (b) partially closed since April 1985 for each district health authority.

  Mrs. Currie
  The hospitals approved for(a) complete closure and (b) partial closure between April 1985 and December 1986, the latest date for which statistics are currently available, are as listed. It should be noted that closure plans may be modified, delayed or even dropped after approval is obtained; our routinely collected statistics record approved and not actual closures.
  696

  Hospitals approved for complete closure April 1985 to December 1985

  Health authority

  Hospital

  Date

  Northern

  Northumberland

  Castle Hills

  November 1985

  Yorkshire

  Leeds Eastern

  Marguerite Hepton

  May 1985

  Leeds Western

  Grassington

  May 1985

  York

  Naburn

  May 1985

  Airedale

  Wharfedale Childrens

  September 1985

  North West Thames

  South Bedfordshire

  Priory

  May 1985

  South East Thames

  Greenwich

  Dreadnought Seamans

  November 1985

  Brighton

  Sussex Throat and Ear

  November 1985

  South West Thames

  North West Surrey

  Rowley Bristow

  October 1985

  Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton

  Westmoor House

  June 1985

  697

  Health authority

  Hospital

  Date

  Wessex

  Isle of Wight

  Longford

  April 1985

  South Western

  Gloucester

  Horton Road

  June 1985

  Southmead

  Elizabeth Blackwell House

  December 1985

  West Midlands

  South Warwickshire

  Monroe Devis Maternity Home

  June 1985

  Kidderminster and District

  Lea

  November 1985

  North Warwick

  Colchester Holiday Home

  September 1985

  Mersey

  Southport and Formby

  Sunnyside

  April 1985

  North Western

  Trafford

  Ashton on Mersey Hospital

  September 1985

  Special Health Authorities

  National Brompton

  July 1985

  Hospitals approved for complete closure in 1986

  Health authority

  Hospital

  Date

  Northern

  Gateshead

  Normans Riding

  January 1986

  South West Durham

  Holywood Hall

  January 1986

  North Tyneside

  Moor Park

  May 1986

  Northumberland

  Silverton House

  August 1986

  Yorkshire

  East Yorkshire

  Northfield, Driffield

  July 1986

  Westerlands

  November 1986

  Scunthorpe

  Westfield

  July 1986

  Scarborough

  St. Thomas'

  January 1986

  Bradford

  Bradford Childrens

  July 1986

  Wakefield

  County

  June 1986

  Trent

  North Derbyshire

  Ridgeway

  April 1986

  Dronfield

  April 1986

  South Derbyshire

  Rykneld Hospital

  July 1986

  Queen Mary

  September 1986

  Etwall Hospital

  October 1986

  East Anglian

  West Norfolk and Wisbech

  St. James

  Closed

  September 1986

  North West Thames

  NW Hens

  Tenterden House

  November 1986

  Barnet

  Hendon District

  April 1986

  Paddington and North Kensington

  St. Mary's Harrow Road

  August 1986

  Riverside

  Banstead

  September 1986

  North East Thames

  NE Essex

  Brunswick House

  Agreed 1986

  Redbridge

  Dagenham Hospital

  Agreed 1986

  Tower Hamlet

  Bethnal Green

  May 1986

  South East Thames

  Lewisham N and S

  New Cross Hospital

  December 1986

  Bromley

  Lennard

  May 1986

  Beckenham

  June 1986

  Greenwich

  St. Nicholas

  January 1986

  South West Thames

  Croydon

  Queens

  March 1986

  St. Mary's

  March 1986

  Wessex

  Winchester

  Victoria

  October 1986

  St. Johns Hospital

  October 1986

  Bath

  Claverton Down

  January 1986

  Greenways Maternity Hospital

  September 1986

  Portsmouth and South East Hampshire

  King Georges

  January 1986

  698

  Health authority

  Hospital

  Date

  South Western

  Bristol and Weston

  Eastern House

  December 1986

  Cornwall and Scilly

  Loreto House

  December 1986

  North Western

  Chorley and South Ribble

  Heath Charnock

  February 1986

  Burnley Pendle and Rossendale

  Marsden Hospital

  September 1986

  North Manchester

  Delaunays Hospital

  September 1986

  Hospitals approved for partial closure April 1985 to December 1985

  Health Authority

  Hospital

  Dale

  Northern

  East Cumbria

  Workington Infirmary

  June 1985

  East Anglian

  Norwich

  St. Andrews

  Closed November 1985

  North West Thames

  Harrow

  Harrow

  April 1985

  Victoria

  Westminster

  May 1985

  North East Thames

  Haringey

  North Middlesex

  May 1985

  West Midlands

  Walsall

  General (Sister Dora)

  May 1985

  St. Margarets

  December 1985

  South Western

  Frenchay

  Crossham Memorial

  Jul> 1985

  Hospitals approved for partial closure in 1986

  Health Authority

  Hospital

  Dale

  Northern

  North Tees

  North Tees General

  March 1986

  Yorkshire

  East Yorkshire

  Avenue Hospital, Bridlington

  April 1986

  Ward 2, Castle Hill

  Early 1986

  Bempton Lane, Bridlington

  December 1986

  Trent

  Southern Derbyshire

  Pasture:

  The Grange Children's Unit

  April 1986

  Pasture:

  Beech House

  July 1986

  Masson Ward

  July 1986

  Leicestershire

  Market Harborough and District

  June 1986

  Rutland Memorial

  June 1986

  St. Mary, Melton Mowbray

  June 1986

  Ashby-de-la-Zouch and District

  June 1986

  East Anglian

  Norwich

  Hales

  Closed March 1986

  North West Thames

  Riverside

  St. Stephens

  May 1986

  Charing Cross

  November 1986

  North East Thames

  Basildon and Thurrock

  Orsett

  South East Thames

  Tunbridge Wells

  Sevenoaks Hospital

  December 1986

  Lewisham

  Lewisham Unit Children Obstetrics

  Bromley

  Beckenham Hospital

  June 1986

  South West Thames

  Wandsworth

  St. James Hospital

  September 1986

  Oxford

  Kettering

  Isebrook Paediatric

  September 1986

  699

  Health Authority

  Hospital

  Date

  West Midlands

  Shropshire

  Cross Houses Hospital

  November 1986

  Deermoss Hospital

  November 1986

  Ludlow

  November 1986

  Hospital Beds
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give, region by region, the percentage change in average available daily beds for each district health authority for the years 1979–80 and 1986–87.

  Mrs. Currie
  The available information for the years 1979 and 1986 is given in the table. Over the same period the number of in-patient and day cases treated rose from nearly 6 million to nearly 74½. million, an increase of about 25 per cent.

  Average available beds for the year 1979 and 1986 showing percentage change

  District Health Authority

  1979

  1986

  Percentage change

  Northern Regional Health Authority

  23,305·3

  23,239·6

  -8·2

  Hartlepool

  592·3

  638·7

  7·8

  North Tees

  956·1

  937·3

  -20

  South Tees

  2,282·3

  1,877·3

  -17·7

  East Cumbria1

  —

  1,501·4

  —

  South Cumbria1

  —

  841·2

  —

  West Cumbria

  1,113·1

  964·9

  -13·3

  Darlington

  1,309·9

  1,155·7

  -11·8

  Durham

  1,191·7

  1,107·0

  -7·1

  North West Durham

  717·0

  603·6

  -15·8

  South West Durham

  1,921·2

  1,640·2

  -14·6

  Northumberland

  3,995·8

  3,481·7

  -12 9

  Gateshead

  1,368·2

  1,353·1

  -1·1

  Newcastle

  3,479·2

  3,363·2

  -3·3

  North Tyneside

  719·0

  694·3

  -3·4

  South Tyneside

  770·7

  806·9

  4·7

  Sunderland

  2,426·3

  2,273·1

  -6·3

  Yorkshire Regional Health Authority

  29,945·6

  25,676·2

  -14·3

  Hull

  2,145·4

  1,861·8

  -13·2

  East Yorkshire

  2,184·0

  1,676·0

  -23·3

  Grimsby

  797·1

  970·0

  21·7

  Scunthorpe

  992·5

  920·7

  -7·2

  Northallerton

  437·1

  404·7

  -7·4

  York1

  —

  2,277·8

  —

  Scarborough

  688·8

  650·0

  -5·6

  Harrogate1

  —

  955·0

  —

  Bradford

  2,721·4

  2,480·0

  -8·9

  Airedale

  1,528·2

  1,311·5

  -14·2

  Calderdale

  1,370·2

  1,214·2

  -11·4

  Huddersfield

  2,625·0

  1,903·1

  -27·5

  Dewsbury

  776·8

  732·8

  -5·7

  Leeds Western1

  —

  2,969·1

  —

  Leeds Eastern1

  —

  2,494·8

  —

  Wakefield

  2,606·9

  1,974·1

  -24·3

  Pontefract

  853·5

  880·6

  3·2

  Trent Regional Health Authority

  31,711·7

  28,902·1

  -8·9

  North Derbyshire

  1,721·8

  1,746·7

  1·4

  Southern Derbyshire

  4,208·4

  3,438·0

  -18·3

  Leicestershire

  5,140·2

  5,000·8

  -2·7

  North Lincolnshire

  2,814·6

  2,001·5

  -28·9

  South Lincolnshire

  1,893·9

  1,803·0

  -4·8

  Bassetlaw

  403·0

  478·0

  18·6

  Central Nottinghamshire

  1,997·2

  1,718·4

  -14·0

  Nottingham

  4,197·7

  3,794·2

  -9·6

  Barnsley

  962·1

  1,126·6

  17·1

  Doncaster1

  —

  1,847·3

  —

  700

  District Health Authority

  1979

  1986

  Percentage change

  Rotherham1

  —

  1,270·6

  —

  Sheffield

  5,233·3

  4,677·0

  -10·6

  East Anglian Regional Health Authority

  13,093·6

  12,451·9

  -4·9

  Cambridge1

  —

  1,827·7

  —

  Peterborough

  1,121·7

  1,144·7

  2·1

  West Suffolk1

  —

  1,255·8

  —

  East Suffolk1

  —

  2,429·0

  —

  Norwich

  3,927·5

  3,452·5

  -12·1

  Great Yarmouth and Waveney

  852·2

  1,054·1

  23·7

  West Norfolk and Wisbech

  830·2

  837·5

  0·9

  Huntington1

  —

  450·6

  —

  North West Thames Regional Health Authority2

  27,904·5

  22,904·7

  -17·9

  North Bedfordshire

  1,232·6

  1,183·3

  -4·0

  South Bedfordshire

  1,653·2

  1,524·1

  -7·8

  North Hertfordshire

  848·6

  803·7

  -5·3

  East Hertfordshire

  828·5

  734·8

  -11·3

  North West Hertfordshire

  3,288·2

  4,283·7

  30·3

  South West Hertfordshire

  2,384·9

  788·3

  -66·9

  Barnet

  2,840·7

  2,324·0

  -18·2

  Harrow

  908·1

  886·3

  -2·4

  Hillingdon

  1,627·5

  1,329·1

  -18·3

  Hounslow and Spelthorne1

  —

  1,356·3

  —

  Ealing

  1,708·9

  1,509·2

  -11·7

  Brent

  2,315·9

  1,882·9

  -18·7

  Paddington and North Kensington

  1,364·7

  1,208·4

  -11·5

  Riverside

  5,255·6

  3,090·6

  -41·2

  North East Thames Regional Health Authority2

  29,442·8

  25,982·0

  -11·8

  Basildon and Thurrock

  1,892·7

  1,911·2

  1·0

  Mid Essex

  1,281·8

  1,352·0

  5·5

  North East Essex

  3,381·3

  2,469·3

  -27·0

  West Essex

  1,256·2

  1,201·3

  -4·4

  Southend

  1,937·0

  1,690·3

  -12·7

  Barking, Havering and Brentwood

  3,283·2

  2,764·8

  -15·8

  Hampstead1

  1,818·3

  —

  Bloomsbury1

  1,971 0

  —

  Islington1

  865·8

  —

  City & Hackney1

  1,685·8

  —

  Newham

  940·6

  876·1

  -6·9

  Tower Hamlets1

  1,289·6

  —

  Enfield

  1,223·8

  1,055·2

  -14·5

  Haringey

  1,235·8

  1,071·9

  -13·3

  Redbridge

  1,654·8

  1,552·8

  -6·2

  Waltham Forest

  3,310·7

  2,406·6

  -27·3

  South East Thames Regional Authority2

  28,407·9

  23,095·6

  -18·7

  Brighton

  1,896·2

  1,653·8

  -12 8

  Eastbourne

  1,714·4

  1,326·5

  -22·6

  Hastings

  1,064·3

  895·4

  -15·9

  South East Kent

  1,003·5

  1,076·8

  7·3

  Canterbury and Thanet

  2,925·6

  2,202·4

  -24·7

  Dartford and Gravesham

  2,645·8

  1,855·5

  -29·9

  Maidstone

  1,740·5

  1,489·4

  -14·4

  Medway

  991·2

  1,058·2

  6·8

  Tunbridge Wells

  2,418·6

  1,902·4

  -21·3

  Bexley

  1,653·2

  1,386·3

  -16·1

  Greenwich

  1,776·9

  1,333·6

  -24·9

  Bromley

  2,590·8

  1,887·0

  -27·2

  West Lambeth1

  1,887·1

  —

  Camberwell

  1,432·3

  1,231·7

  -14·0

  Lewisham and North Southwark

  2,335·5

  1,909·5

  -18·2

  701

  District Health Authority

  1979

  1986

  Percentage change

  South West Thames Regional Health Authority2

  26,242·0

  21,141·4

  -19·4

  North West Surrey

  2,138·4

  1,620·9

  -24·2

  West Surrey and North East Hants

  1,742·8

  1,627·4

  -6·6

  South West Surrey

  857·3

  922·0

  7·5

  Mid Surrey

  2,900·6

  2,150·6

  -25·9

  East Surrey

  2,775·7

  1,957·4

  -29·5

  Chichestcr

  1,254·8

  1,134·7

  -9·6

  Mid Downs

  1,575·9

  1,623·4

  3·0

  Worthing

  9330

  1,002·1

  7·4

  Croydon

  3,191·8

  2,396·5

  -24·9

  Kingston and Esher1

  —

  1,377·6

  —

  Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton1

  —

  859·5

  —

  Wandsworth

  2,870·9

  2,234·3

  -22·2

  Merton and Sutton

  2,687·1

  2,235·0

  -16 8

  Wessex Regional Health Authority

  19,021·2

  17,169·5

  -9·7

  East Dorset

  2,126·2

  2,274·2

  7·0

  West Dorset

  1,704·0

  1,499·9

  -12·0

  Portsmouth and South East Hampshire

  3,057·5

  2,656·6

  -13·1

  Southampton and South West Hampshire

  3,112·4

  2,859·6

  -8·1

  Winchester

  920·9

  842·8

  -8·5

  Basingstoke and North Hampshire

  1,633·7

  1,414·9

  -13·4

  Salisbury

  999·4

  1,012·7

  1·3

  Swindon

  1,477·6

  1,280·0

  -3·4

  West Wiltshire and Bath

  3,043·5

  2,645·0

  -13·1

  Isle of Wight

  9460

  683·8

  -27·7

  Oxford Regional Health Authority

  13,664·4

  12,216·3

  -10·6

  East Berkshire

  1,773·3

  1,537·1

  -13·3

  West Berkshire

  2,987·4

  2,335·6

  -21·8

  Aylesbury Vale1

  —

  1,421·6

  —

  Wycombe

  777·7

  739·9

  -4·9

  Milton Keynes1

  —

  470·3

  —

  Kettering

  849·3

  919·4

  8·3

  Northampton

  2,116·2

  1,841·4

  -13·0

  Oxfordshire

  3,288·4

  2,951·0

  -10·3

  South Western Regional Health Authority

  24,456·3

  21,258·6

  -13·1

  Bristol and Weston

  2,275·9

  1,989·0

  -12·6

  Frenchay

  2,968·4

  2,430·6

  -18·1

  Southmead

  2,175·3

  1,602·2

  -26·3

  Cornwall and Isles of Stilly

  2,670·2

  2,410·3

  -9·7

  Exeter1

  —

  2,740·9

  —

  North Devon

  604·6

  673·6

  11·4

  Plymouth

  2,241·3

  2,163·3

  -3·5

  Torbay1

  —

  1,177·5

  —

  Cheltenham1

  —

  968·4

  —

  Gloucester1

  —

  1,981·8

  —

  Somerset

  3,477·7

  3,121·0

  -10·3

  West Midlands Regional Health Authority

  36,263·3

  32,286·1

  -11·0

  Bromsgrove and Redditch

  1,226·8

  916·7

  -25·3

  Herefordshire

  1,174·2

  924·7

  -21·2

  Kidderminister and District

  1,313·0

  1,025·4

  -21·9

  Worcester and District

  1,683·6

  1,294·7

  -23·1

  Shropshire

  2,602·5

  2,381·9

  -8·5

  Mid Staffordshire

  1,371·9

  1,297·6

  -5·4

  North Staffordshire

  3,491·6

  3,296·1

  -5·6

  South East Staffordshire

  1,513·8

  1,785·8

  18·0

  Rugby

  327·1

  332·7

  1·7

  North Warwickshire1

  —

  1,109·3

  —

  702

  District Health Authority

  1979

  1986

  Percentage change

  South Warwickshire1

  —

  1,706·7

  —

  Central Birmingham1

  —

  1,738·9

  —

  East Birmingham

  966·2

  9141

  -5·4

  North Birmingham

  1,879·4

  1,130·1

  -39·9

  South Birmingham1

  —

  2,165·8

  —

  West Birmingham1

  —

  1,982·1

  —

  Coventry

  1,871·3

  1,809·5

  -3·3

  Dudley

  1,491·8

  1,570·8

  5·3

  Sandwell

  747·2

  860·4

  15·1

  Solihull1

  —

  1,040·0

  —

  Walsall

  1,761·9

  1,514·4

  -14·0

  Wolverhampton

  1,542·6

  1,488·4

  -3·5

  Mersey Regional Health Authority

  21,981·5

  17,959·0

  -18·3

  Chester

  2,030·5

  1,672·3

  -17·6

  Crewe1

  —

  1,620·6

  —

  Halton

  4520

  430·4

  -4·8

  Macclesfield1

  —

  1,527·1

  —

  Warrington

  2,991·0

  2,433·7

  -18·6

  Liverpool

  4,023·7

  3,238·9

  -19·5

  St. Helens and Knowsley1

  —

  2,305·0

  —

  Southport and Formby

  1,323·7

  1,123·7

  -15·1

  South Sefton

  1,755·1

  1,650·8

  -5·9

  Wirral

  2,789·4

  1,956·5

  -29·9

  North Western Regional Health Authority

  30,811·5

  28,405·7

  -7·8

  Lancaster

  2,644·8

  2,105·6

  -20·4

  Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde

  1,563·5

  1,730·3

  10·7

  Preston1

  —

  2,059·7

  —

  Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley

  2,824·6

  2,508·9

  -11 2

  Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale

  2,591·1

  2,302·5

  -11·1

  West Lancashire

  885·5

  790·2

  —10·8

  Chorley and South Ribble1

  —

  345·3

  —

  Bolton

  1,360·8

  1,250·7

  -8·1

  Bury

  716·2

  816·2

  14·0

  North Manchester

  2,040·8

  1,691·9

  -17·1

  Central Manchester

  1,1366

  1,246·2

  9·6

  South Manchester

  2,407·6

  2,186·7

  -9·2

  Oldham

  1,044·9

  1,004·4

  -3·9

  Rochdale

  9531

  843·2

  -11·5

  Salford

  3,097·6

  2,665·5

  -13·9

  Stockport

  1,677·1

  1,741·3

  3·8

  Tameside and Glossop

  868·9

  956·8

  10·1

  Trafford

  835·9

  747·4

  -10·6

  Wigan

  1,478·5

  1,412·9

  -4·4

  Directly Administered Hospitals2

  3,418·6

  3,025·1

  -11·5

  The Hospitals for Sick Children

  517·4

  402·2

  -22·3

  National Hospitals for Nervous Diseases

  356·5

  337·9

  -5·2

  Moorfields Eye Hospital

  207·7

  151·7

  -27·0

  Bethlem and Royal Maudsley Hospitals

  471·9

  511·3

  8·3

  National Heart and Chest Hospitals

  602·9

  423·2

  -29·8

  Royal Marsden Hospital

  360·7

  354·2

  -1·8

  Hammersmith and Queen Charlottes

  277·5

  844·6

  204·4

  Eastman Dental Hospital

  0·0

  0·0

  —

  England

  361,670·2

  315,713·8

  -12·7

  1 Comparable figures for 1979 not readily available because of NHS restructuring on 1 April 1982 or because of subsequent inter DHA movement of hospitals.

  2 Figures for 1979 not comparable with those given for 1986 because of NHS restructuring on 1 April 1982.

  703
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice he has given to health authorities about closing any more beds in the current financial year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  None.

  Smoking
  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what financial support he gave to World Non-Smokers Day on 17 November.

  Mrs. Currie
  None.

  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to publish the Froggatt committee report on smoking and health.

  Mrs. Currie
  The independent scientific committee on smoking and health is expected to present its fourth report to Ministers around the turn of the year. A decision on publication will be taken after it has been received.

  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what will be the cost to public funds of National No-Smoking Day 1988.

  Mrs. Currie
  I understand that the Health Education Authority will spend approximately £80,000 including the costs of evaluating the results. I hope to lend my personal support to No-Smoking Day 1988 as smoking is the single most important risk factor in lung cancer and other preventable diseases.

  Solihull Hospital
  Mr. John M. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make an official visit to Solihull hospital in order to discuss prospects for the new district general hospital.

  Mrs. Currie
  We have no plans to do so. As my hon. Friend will be aware, the management of major new schemes in the capital building programme is the responsibility of the regional health authority. I understand however that building work on the new hospital is due to start in July 1991.

  Residential Care
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services, for each of the last five years, what was the amount paid for residential care through regulation 9 payments, and what has been the percentage change since 1979.

  Mr. Portillo
  The information held centrally is not in the form requested. The table sets out the position since 1979. 1986 is the most recent year for which information is available.

  Supplementary Benefit for people in residential care and nursing homes Total expenditure1

  Year

  Expenditure £ million

  1979

  10

  1980

  18

  1981

  23

  1982

  39

  704

  Year

  Expenditure £ million

  1983

  104

  1984

  200

  19852

  19863

  Residential Care Homes

  330

  459

  Nursing Homes

  129

  1 Source. DHSS annual statistical inquiry.

  2 There are no figures for 1985 because for operational reasons there was no inquiry in that year.

  3 Until 1986 it has not been possible to identify separately expenditure on people in residential care homes and nursing homes.

  Note.—The percentage change in expenditure since 1979 is 4580 per cent.

  District Nurses (Easington)
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many district nurses served the Easington constituency in the years 1982–83, 1983–84 and 1985–86.

  Mrs. Currie
  Information by constituency is not available. Figures in the table refer to Durham district health authority within whose boundary Easington falls.

  District nursing staff in post in Durham district health authority1at 30 September Whole time equivalent2

  Year

  Number

  1982

  64

  1983

  70

  1984

  77

  1985

  79

  1986

  75

  Source: DHSS annual census of NHS non-medical manpower.

  1 Includes district nurse practical work teachers, SRN, SSEN and SEN assisting district nurses, dual posts and bank district nurses. Excludes DN (District Nurse) students and unqualified nursing staff.

  2 All figures are independently rounded to the nearest whole-time equivalent.

  Chiropodists (Easington)
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many chiropodists were practising in the Easington constituency during the years 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985–86.

  Mrs. Currie
  Information by constituency is not available. Figures in the table refer to Durham district health authority within whose boundary Easington falls.

  NHS chiropodists in post-Durham district health authority1at 30 September each year

  whole time equivalents2

  Year

  Number

  1982

  321

  1983

  6

  1984

  7

  1985

  7

  1986

  8

  Source: DHSS Manual census of NHS non-medical manpower.

  1 Excludes helpers.

  2 Figures are independently rounded to nearest whole-time equivalent.

  3 In 1982 Durham district health authority provided chiropody services to neighbouring district health authorities.

  Care in the Community (Easington)
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what additional funding he intends to make available for care in the community within the district council area of Easington.

  Mr. Newton
  The provision of care in the community is the responsibility of local authority social services and health authorities, and it is for them to decide upon the level of funding in the light of their individual circumstances and priorities.

  Mentally Handicapped Children
  Mr. Irving
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many mentally handicapped children have been taken into either voluntary or statutory care under the Children and Young Persons Act 1969; and in what proportion of these or both of the parents is mentally handicapped, over the most recent period for which figures are available;

  (2) in how many cases, when one or both parents are mentally handicapped, children have been taken into care at birth, or subsequently, and for what reason, over the most recent period for which figures are available.

  Mrs. Currie
  I regret that the information requested is not available centrally.

  National Insurance Credits
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services in what circumstances persons may be registered as unemployed for the purpose of receiving national

  Whole time equivalent1

  Region

  Medical laboratory scienfitic officer

  2Speech therapists

  2Occupational therapists

  Clinical physicists

  Clinical biochemists

  Clinical psychologists

  Northern

  930

  160

  180

  70

  60

  100

  Yorkshire

  1,090

  150

  290

  50

  70

  120

  Trent

  1,260

  250

  460

  90

  60

  120

  East Anglian

  560

  110

  240

  20

  30

  70

  North West Thames

  1,010

  210

  330

  40

  90

  130

  North East Thames

  1,450

  230

  320

  110

  150

  150

  South East Thames

  1,150

  210

  310

  60

  100

  150

  South West Thames

  790

  170

  290

  30

  70

  110

  Wessex

  760

  130

  280

  50

  60

  70

  Oxford

  700

  140

  260

  20

  30

  60

  South Western

  780

  170

  360

  60

  50

  130

  West Midlands

  1,610

  250

  380

  70

  170

  160

  Mersey

  810

  100

  210

  20

  30

  70

  North Western

  1,410

  220

  370

  60

  140

  180

  England Total3

  14,620

  2,510

  4,330

  770

  1,180

  1,620

  Source: DHSS—Annual census of NHS non-medical manpower.

  1 Figures are independently rounded to the nearest ten (10) whole-time equivalents.

  2 Excludes Helpers.

  3 Includes London Post Graduate Special Health Authorities staff.

  Social Security Reform
  Mr. Clay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the total savings in 1988–89 from uprating the illustrative figures for personal allowances in income support set out in the technical annex of the White Paper "The Reform of Social Security" Cmnd. 9091, by
  706
  insurance contribution credits, but without drawing unemployment benefit; and how many are currently within this category.

  Mr. Scott
  On 14 May 1987, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 433,071 persons registered as unemployed and not receiving unemployment benefit or supplementary benefit but receiving national insurance contribution credits. The reasons for unemployment benefit not being paid are shown in the table.

  Number

  Unemployment benefit exhausted

  200,353

  Contribution deficiency

  65,389

  Title to benefit not yet determined

  1140,042

  Waiting days not completed

  14,656

  Other reasons

  22,631

  Total

  433,071

  1 Some of these claimants will be found to qualify for unemployment benefit.

  NHS Employees
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list for the most recent convenient date the number of posts(a) established and (b) filled in each region for the following groups of National Health Service employees (i) medical laboratory scientific officers, (ii) speech therapists, (iii) occupational therapists, (iv) clinical physicists, (v) clinical biochemists and (vi) clinical psychologists.

  Mr. Newton
  Figures for staff in post are shown in the table. Information on established posts is not collected centrally.

  4·5 to 5 per cent. instead of 6·5 to 7 per cent., after excluding the compensation for the payment of 20 per cent. rates.

  Mr. Scott
  It would have cost an additional £156 million in public expenditure to set the rates for 1988–89 at the levels suggested.
  707
  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the effect on a married couple with two children at primary school and a gross income of £100 per week with rent and rates of £43 per week, of(a) the loss of income due to the non-indexing of child benefit to inflation in each year from 1985 to 1988, (b) changes in housing benefit, (c) changes from family income supplement to family credit and (d) the abolition of free school meals.

  Mr. Scott
  [holding answer 7 December 1987]: Comparisons must be somewhat hypothetical, since assumptions must be made for how the current scheme would have been carried forward, had it not been replaced from April 1988. Assuming, for this atypical example, that the main assumptions are similar to those used in the "Impact of the Reformed Structure of Income Related Benefits" published at the same time as the uprating statement on 27 October and that, of the £43 specified for rent and rate payments, £33·20 is for rent, £8·02 is for local authority rates and £1·78 is for water rates, the answer is as follows. The loss in net disposable income from the child benefit uprating in November 1985 (expressed at current prices), was 44p per week. For the July 1986 upratings this figure fell to 37p a week, and in April 1987 it fell further to 33p per week. No loss of net income arises from child benefit in April 1988 because the family credit structure provides automatic compensation and, in cash equivalent terms, replacing family income supplement and free school meals by family credit raises disposable income for such a family by £5·95. Reform of the housing benefit scheme would reduce such a family's rate rebate by £4·94 and rent rebate by £7·62.

  Single Payments
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what were in constant 1979 prices, the total amounts of single payments made by his Department in each of the years between 1979 and 1986 inclusive.

  Mr. Scott
  The expenditure on single payments for the years 1979–80 to 1986–87 is as follows:

  United Kingdom cost at 1979 prices1

  Year (ending April)

  £ million

  1979–80

  40

  1980–81

  40

  1981–82

  44

  1982–83

  70

  1983–84

  114

  1984–85

  158

  1985–86

  207

  1986–87

  198

  1 Based on the Gross Domestic Product Deflator.

  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what single payments were made at(a) Cowdenbeath, (b) Dunfermline and (c) Kirkcaldy offices of his Department in 1986–87; and to what value.

  Mr. Portillo
  Information concerning the amount spent on single payments made at each of the Department's local offices has been placed in the Library. Information concerning the number of single payments made at(a) Cowdenbeath, (b) Dunfermline and (c) Kirkcaldy is given in the table:
  708

  Number of single payments for the period April 1986 to April 1987

  Office

  Number

  (a) Cowdenbeath

  6,179

  (b) Dunfermline

  6,982

  (c) Kirkcaldy

  12,118

  Note: The figures are provisional and subject to amendment.

  Defibrillators
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government, and what advice it has given to ambulance authorities, concerning the supply of defibrillators to all emergency ambulance vehicles maintained by public funds.

  Mrs. Currie
  We have endorsed the training of emergency ambulance crews in advanced techniques, which includes the use of defibrillators. Our policy guidance is set out in a circular to health authorities (DA(84)12), a copy of which is in the Library.

  The extent to which advanced training is given is for those health authorities responsible for managing ambulance services to decide, taking into account local circumstances and the types and locations of health service facilities in the area.

  Acute Services
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the spending per patient by specialty in the acute sector for each of the district health authorities in the north-west region, and for Brighton, Bournemouth and Southport and Formby district health authorities during the financial years 1981–82 to 1986–87.

  Mrs. Currie
  The information requested is not available centrally. District health authorities' spending by specialty will, however, be identifiable in their annual financial returns from financial year 1987–88. Health authorities are expected to submit the returns for that year to the Department by the end of June 1988.

  Blackpool District (Funding)
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list, for each of the last five financial years, the percentage relationship between the actual level of funding received for both capital and revenue expenditure by the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre district health authority and the level of funding indicated by the national resource allocation working party formula.

  Mr. Newton
  The resource allocation working party formula is used to determine regions' resource targets. The allocation of resources to districts is a matter for regions, which follow the same principles as the national formula, but take account of local needs and circumstances in determining district resource targets. Allocations year by year need to be sensitive to local service plans and allow for a manageable pace of change.

  My hon. Friend may like to contact the chairman of North Western regional health authority for information about the allocation of resources to the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre district health authority.

  Statistical Reports
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the titles and a brief description of the statistical reports and returns made by the Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde, Brighton, Bournemouth, and Southport and Formby district health authorities to their regional health authority during the financial year 1986–87.

  Mrs. Currie
  I regret that this information is not available centrally. Prior to this financial year, 1987–88, regional health authorities did not send statistical reports from their districts to the Department.

  National Performance Indicators
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when the national performance indicators for the hospital service for the financial year 1986–87 will be published.

  Mr. Newton
  A national set of performance indicators for 1986–87 will be issued to all health authorities in England in February 1988.

  Mrs. C. James
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress is being made with regard to the claim of Mrs. C. James, of Birmingham B23, regarding damage caused to her home by acid leaking from the battery-operated wheelchair supplied by his Department's contractors; why Mrs. James has not been kept informed about such progress; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  The matter to which the hon. Member refers is the responsibility of the Disablement Services Authority. However, I understand that the authority has now written to Mrs. James to find out the cost of the damage caused so that compensation may be paid.

  Military Hospitals
  Mr. Jessel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what recent action he has taken to obtain provision of additional beds in military hospitals for National Health Service patients; and if he will make a statement listing any factors which he has found to have inhibited such provision.

  Mr. Newton
  We have encouraged health authorities, when circulating information to general practitioners about waiting times in National Health Service hospitals, to include, as appropriate, information about waiting time for service hospitals. Some health authorities are negotiating contracts with a military hospital for treatment of waiting list cases using funds from the £25 million national waiting list fund. This is an approach we intend to develop further for projects supported from the £30 million fund for 1988–89. For most National Health Service patients treatment in a service hospital would entail considerable travel. Many patients would prefer to be treated closer to home and family. Others require preoperative tests or post-operative checks.

  Birmingham Hospitals
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many beds at the children's hospital, Birmingham, and the Queen Elizabeth hospital, Birmingham, are at present not available for use.

  Mrs. Currie
  The Department does not routinely monitor the availability of beds on a day-to-day basis.

  The hon. Member may therefore wish to write to the chairman of Central Birmingham health authority for the information he seeks.

  Mr. David Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total number of beds available for patients(a) at the children's hospital, Birmingham, and (b) at the Queen Elizabeth hospital, Birmingham, in September 1986 and at the latest available date.

  Mrs. Currie
  I regret that I cannot give the hon. Member the precise information he has requested. The latest available information is given in the table.

  Average daily number of available beds at 31 December 1985 and 1986

  1985

  1986

  Children's hospital, Birmingham

  190·8

  193·2

  Queen Elizabeth hospital, Birmingham

  519·0

  524·9

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Moore
  My Department has no section which can be separately identified as public relations. Functions commonly associated with public relations and those of the press office are carried out by information officers as part of their duties in the Department's information division.

  On 1 December 1987 the information division employed 68 permanent staff of whom 29 were information officers.

  Anticipated figures for permanent staff in 1988 are identical.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of the Health Education Authority; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mrs. Currie
  The section of the Health Education Authority's public affairs division responsible for advertising, promotions and press relations has an establishment of 11. Seven of the posts are currently filled and I understand that the remaining posts are expected to be filled over the next few months.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by the Health Education Authority on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.
  711
  Mrs. Currie
  The information is as follows:

  £

  Television

  2,650,000

  Radio

  Newspaper

  865,000

  Posters and other promotional material

  656,500

  The authority is presently considering its use of media for 1988–89.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by the Health Education Authority on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mrs. Currie
  The Health Education Authority plans to spend about £5·1 million on publicity and promotional activity in 1987–88, including £3 million on AIDS public education. The operational plans for 1988–89 are presently under consideration but the authority expects to spend at least this amount in 1988–89.

  Swiss Cheese
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has as to how much Swiss Vacherin Mont d'Or cheese was withdrawn from sale in the United Kingdom following his warning on 25 November.

  Mrs. Currie
  The system put into operation in the event of a food hazard such as this involves contact with all local authority environmental health departments and the revelant trade interests so as to get the food removed from sale. Central and local publicity was aimed at advising members of the public to return any of the Swiss Vacherin Mont d'Or cheese which they had already bought.

  We do not routinely collect information on the results but past experience shows the system to be fully effective and there is no suggestion that it was not so in this case.

  NHS (Expenditure)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the percentage change in National Health Service expenditure for the years 1987–88, 1988–89 and 1989–90 after correcting for(a) National Health Service pay and prices and (b) demographic factors; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  The Department does not make forward projections for National Health Service specific pay and price changes. Demographic pressures can be calculated for hospital and community health services but cannot be meaningfully applied to the National Health Service as a whole.

  Severe Weather Payments
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what temperatures were recorded at Turnhouse in the week ended 17 December for the purposes of calculating eligibility for severe weather payments.

  Mr. Scott
  The Department receives information from the Meteorological Office in respect of fixed seven-day periods beginning each Monday. The latest week for which 712
  we have received temperature data is week ending 13 December. The information for Edinburgh airport (Turnhouse) is as follows:

  Temperature (C)

  Monday

  1·4

  Tuesday

  -1·6

  Wednesday

  0·0

  Thursday

  1·5

  Friday

  2·6

  Saturday

  -0·4

  Sunday

  -0·4

  Weekly average

  -0·1

  Bradford Royal Infirmary
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) on how many occasions in each month during the current year women were turned away from the baby unit at Bradford Royal infirmary due to lack of facilities and transferred to the regional neonatal units in Leeds;

  (2) what are the shortages of staff and ventilators at Bradford Royal infirmary; how many babies are transferred to the regional neonatal units in Leeds on average throughout each month due to these or other shortages; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  Bradford and Leeds both provide neonatal intensive care facilities. It is normal practice for patients to be referred to Leeds when the Bradford unit is full and vice versa. Bradford's capacity has occasionally been affected by recruitment problems. The number of ventilators at Bradford is sufficient to meet normal demand. I understand that to date, this year, seven patients have been transferred from Bradford to Leeds. In the same period, Bradford has accepted 18 patients from outside the district, including some from Leeds. The hon. Member may wish to seek more detailed information from the chairman of Bradford health authority.

  Maternity Pay
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received calling for amendments to the statutory maternity pay scheme.

  Mr. Portillo
  None since the scheme started in April 1987, although a number of representations and inquiries have been received questioning the application of statutory maternity pay in specific circumstances.

  Cancer Research
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement about his Department's funding of cancer research being carried out by Quest at the Middlesex hospital.

  Mrs. Currie
  The Department has recently received a number of applications for funding of research with the objective of automating cervical cancer screening, and expects to receive several more in the near future. I propose to convene an ad hoc expert panel, to be chaired by the Chief Scientist, Professor F. O'Grady, to advise Ministers and to recommend those applications which should be supported.

  One of the applications received was from Dr. A. M. Sincock for the funding of a project entitled "The

  713
  screening of cervical neoplasia by quantitative assay of a hydrolysed DNA component present in the nuclei of cells exfoliated from the cervix uteri". Dr. Sincock's application has been considered by external referees who gave qualified support. In the light of this reaction, the relatively large number and cost of other applications with the same objective, and because Dr. Sincock is already funded by Quest for a Test until June 1988, no decision on funding has been taken. The application will be considered by the ad hoc expert panel and a decision on funding made as soon as possible.

  Chester District Health Authority
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make extra funds available to the Chester district health authority to fund the short-term programme; what ward closures took place in the Chester district in the current financial year; when a consultant urologist appointment will take place; how many Clwyd

  Estimated total number (and percentages) of in-patients discharged (including deaths in hospitals) non-psychiatric, non-maternity hospitals, by selected district of residence, Chester DHA, 1982–1985

  11982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  Estimated number of in-patient cases treated in Chester DHA

  19,660

  22,610

  22,420

  22,430

  Of which, those resident in:

  Chester DHA

  Number

  13,130

  15,450

  15,710

  15,470

  Percentage

  66·8

  68·3

  70·1

  69·0

  Clywd HA

  Number

  4,300

  4,820

  4,500

  4,580

  Percentage

  21·3

  21·3

  20·1

  20·4

  1 Hospital activity depressed in 1982 due to widespread industrial action.

  Mentally Handicapped People
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of people employed in the care of mentally handicapped people by area health authorities in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 1 December 1987]: The number of doctors and nursing staff (excluding agency staff) in post in mental handicap areas of work at 30 September in England are as follows. Details of other staff employed in the care of mentally handicapped people are not available.

  Whole-time equivalent1

  Year

  Total2

  1979

  26,300

  1980

  27,400

  1981

  30,400

  1982

  30,500

  1983

  30,500

  1984

  31,000

  1985

  32,200

  1986

  33,000

  Source: DHSS Annual censuses of NHS medical and non-medical manpower.

  Notes: Figures for nursing staff for 1979 and 1980 have been estimated, since figures are not available by area of work on an exactly consistent basis with those for later years. Figures have not been adjusted for the change in nurses' working hours during 1980–81 (from 40 to 37·5 hours per

  714
  patients are treated and seen in Chester district premises annually, expressed by percentage and number for each of the years since 1980; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  As the allocation of resources to the Chester health authority is the responsibility of the Mersey regional health authority, the hon. Member may wish to contact the regional chairman for information about the funding of Chester's short-term programme.

  The information the hon. Member seeks about ward closures in Chester in the current financial year and with regard to the appointment of a consultant urologist is not available centrally. As the Chester health authority is responsible for the management and development of local hospital services, the hon. Member may wish to contact the district chairman on these issues.

  Centrally held information on Clwyd residents treated in Chester hospitals is based on the results of the non-maternity hospital in-patient inquiry and given in the following table. 1985 is the latest available year; figures prior to 1982 are not comparable due to reorganisation of the NHS.

  week).

  1 Figures are rounded to nearest one hundred (100) whole-time equivalents.

  2 Includes all permanent paid, honorary and locum medical staff.

  The figures shown cover health authority staff working in hospitals and in the community. For example, there were 230 whole-time equivalent community mental handicap nurses in 1981 (the first year in which they were separately identified) and 1,100 in 1986. The number of residents in National Health Service mental handicap hospitals and community units was 45,600 in 1979 and 34,200 in 1986.

  Hospitals (Bed Occupancy)
  Mr. Goodlad
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what were the bed-occupancy rates in each specialty in each hospital in(a) the Crewe, (b) the Chester and (c) the Halton health districts in each of the last five years.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 3 December 1987]: A table giving the information my hon. Friend seeks has now been placed in the Library.

  A variety of reasons may lead to variations in occupancy. These include the need to have beds available for emergencies, unexpectedly early discharges and unpredictable admissions (for example in maternity cases).

  The health services information steering goup recommended in its first report that bed use data should

  715
  include all patients using a ward in a 24-hour period and that aggregated bed occupancy statistics should not be used alone as an indicator of efficient bed use. A more useful measure of bed utilisation is patient throughout per available bed and this has been included for information.

  District Health Authority

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  In-patient cases treated in the surgical acute specialties in NHS hospitals

  Chester

  11,590

  13,971

  13,807

  13,001

  13,303

  Crewe

  12,855

  14,735

  13,963

  13,737

  13,917

  Halton

  0

  0

  0

  993

  2,907

  Day cases treated in the surgical acute specialties in NHS hospitals

  Chester

  3,472

  5,042

  5,210

  5,773

  5,623

  Crewe

  2,408

  3,038

  3,506

  4,522

  5,635

  Halton

  0

  0

  0

  800

  2,128

  Health Districts (Patient Treatment)
  Mr. Goodlad
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients were treated in each specialty in(a) the Crewe, (b) the Chester and (c) the Halton health districts in each of the last eight years.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 3 December 1987]: A table giving the available information has now been placed in the Library. Because of National Health Service restructuring in 1982, earlier figures are not directly comparable.

  Housing Benefit
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is able to estimate the total first year savings arising from the April 1988 changes to the existing housing benefit scheme, and to isolate the individual savings achieved by (i) requiring all households to meet at least 20 per cent. of their rates bill, (ii) the increase in the taper on rent to 65 per cent. on net income, (iii) the phasing out of help with high, fixed fuel charges, (iv) the abolition of extra help with partial heating, (v) the increased rates contribution expected from non-dependants not in full-time work and (vi) any other separately identifiable saving; and if he will publish the figures in the Official Report.

  Mr. Portillo
  [holding answer 3 December 1987]: The total savings from the April 1988 changes to the housing benefit scheme are currently estimated to be £650 million; £500 million of this is a saving on rate rebates and £150 million on rent rebates and allowances. These figures are based on the estimated cost of the new scheme compared with the estimated cost of extending the current scheme into 1988–89. We estimate that some two thirds of the total saving is a result of the requirement for households to pay a minimum of 20 per cent. of their rates bill, but this saving should be seen in the context of the compensation being provided under the income support scheme and reflected in housing benefit and family credit.

  Health Districts (Operations)
  Mr. Goodlad
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many operations were performed in each specialty in(a) the Crewe, (b) the Chester and (c) the Halton health districts in each of the last eight years.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 3 December 1987]: The information which I can give my hon. Friend without incurring disproportionate costs is in the table.

  It is not possible to give a further breakdown of the savings figures in precise terms as they were largely derived from a computer model that encompassed all the major changes in structure and associated changes in other benefits. This could be rerun only at disproportionate cost. Modelling work the Department has already done, however, would indicate that the figure includes a saving of approximately £80 million from the new capital rule and £46 million from increasing the rent taper from 60 per cent. to 65 per cent.

  Gloucester Health Authority
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many nurses, midwives, doctors, professional medical staff, administrative officers and ancillary workers were employed by the Gloucester health authority for each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what was the average yearly salary for each of these groups of Health Service employees for the same period.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 7 December 1987]: Such information as is available centrally is shown in the tables.

  Figures for all staff groups for Gloucester district health authority, which formed part of the Gloucester area health authority before the National Health Service reorganisation in 1982, are not available centrally. From 1982 we have figures for all doctors and dentists employed in the district health authority except for senior registrars and consultants, whose contracts are held by the regional health authority and cannot be identified centrally. There will therefore be more doctors and dentists actually working in the Gloucester district health authority than are accounted for in table 1.

  It should be noted that it is likely that data for 1982 were effected by the April 1982 reorganisation.

  Average yearly salary details for staff employed by the Gloucester health authority in the various staff groups are shown in table 2. Again details are not available centrally prior to 1982 due to the NHS reorganisation.
  717

  Table 1

  NHS directly employed staff in post—Gloucester District Health Authority at 30 September

  Whole-time equivalent1

  Staff

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Nursing2

  2,220

  2,220

  2,230

  2,280

  2,290

  Midwifery2

  100

  110

  130

  130

  130

  Medical and Dental3

  170

  130

  130

  130

  130

  Administrative and Clerical

  530

  590

  600

  570

  580

  Ancillary

  900

  860

  780

  770

  740

  Source:DHSS Annual Censuses of NHS Medical and Non-Medical Manpower.

  1 All figures are independently rounded to the nearest ten (10) whole-time equivalents.

  2 Includes agency staff.

  3 Includes permanent paid, honorary and locum staff. Excludes Senior Registrars and Consultants.

  Table 2

  Average Yearly Salary—Gloucester HA

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  Admin

  4,746

  5,024

  5,250

  5,486

  5,732

  6,070

  Nursing and Midwifery

  5,363

  6,060

  6,457

  6,766

  7,132

  7,731

  Doctors excluding consultants

  11,000

  11,929

  12,675

  13,354

  14,687

  15,727

  PAMs and P & T

  5,875

  6,462

  6,977

  7,415

  7,869

  8,491

  Ancillary

  3,337

  3,702

  3,910

  4,119

  4,327

  4,588

  Greenwich Health District (Casualty Service)
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on recent closures and restrictions of services at the accident and emergency departments of the Brook and Greenwich district hospitals resulting from the shortages of beds and suitably qualified medical staff; and what steps he has taken to ensure that there is an adequate casualty service covering the Greenwich health district.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: There have been no closures or restrictions at the Brook hospital accident and emergency department since 10 September or at Greenwich district general hospital accident and emergency department since 24 September. A local major accident occurred on 29 October and in order to ensure that facilities would be free to meet that exceptional demand the accident and emergency department at the Brook hospital was closed to other patients at the time as part of the hospital's normal procedure in such circumstances. The provision of a casualty service in Greenwich is the responsibility of the Greenwich health authority and I have received no evidence that it is inadequate.

  Incontinence Pads
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to reply to the letter from Mary Arnold, chairperson of Coventry Council for the Disabled, on the supply of incontinence pads, sent to him on 3 November.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: I wrote on 14 December.

  Prescriptions
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total amount paid in general practitioner prescription charges in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
  718
  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 14 December 1987]: The total amount paid by patients in prescription charges in England in the last five years for which figures are available is as follows:

  Financial year

  Amount (£ million)

  1982–83

  102·79

  1983–84

  110·04

  1984–85

  120·75

  1985–86

  127·76

  1986–87

  147·88

  Heart Campaign
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services which food retailers have associated themselves with the "Look After Your Heart" campaign, sponsored by his Department.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 16 December 1987]: The following food retailing organisations have associated themselves with the campaign during its first seven months by way of promotional activity directed at the public:

  J. H. Dewhurst Ltd., Butchers

  Tesco Stores Ltd.

  In addition, more than 50 industrial and commercial companies have undertaken to carry forward the campaign's objectives with their employees. These include the following associated with food retailing:

  Boots plc

  Marks and Spencer plc

  Oxford and Swindon Co-Operative Society

  Whitbread and Co. plc

  Care in the Community
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will provide funds for local authorities to employ more trained paramedical staff for the care in the community programme; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he gives financial help to local authorities who wish to provide telephone installation costs to elderly persons living alone.
  719
  Mr. Newton
  [holding answer 11 December 1987]: Local authority personal social services are funded mainly by local rates, income from fees and charges and central Government block grant via the rate support grant system. Block grant is not tied to specific services and it is for local authorities themselves to decide how to spend their resources in the light of local circumstances, needs and plans.

  Expenditure by local authorities on telephone installations for elderly and disabled people was £7£364 million in 1985–86, a real terms increase of 8£6 per cent. over the amount spent in 1978–79. Separate information is not collected about expenditure on paramedical staff.

  Chief Adjudication Officer
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list for each of the recommendations made in the second report of the chief adjudication officer which affect his Department the action which has been taken to implement them.

  Mr. Portillo
  A Departmental response to the recommendations in a report of the chief adjudication officer is made following publication of the report. The contents of that response are normally published in the next report of the chief adjudication officer. I have, however, placed a copy of the departmental response to the second report in the Library.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Pollution
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate what proportion of the recent fall in the fish harvest from the North sea is due to the current levels of pollution; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  Scientific studies by my Department indicate that pollution has a negligible effect on North sea fish catches.

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to control pollution arising from agricultural activities.

  Mr. Gummer
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms. Walley) on 19 November at column 652.

  Olive Oil
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards proposals to limit expenditure on olive oil under the common agricultural policy.

  Mr. MacGregor
  As my hon. Friend will be aware, the Government are pressing for effective stabilisers to apply to all major CAP regimes; and for existing stabilisers, including that on olive oil, to be strengthened where appropriate.

  Pigmeat
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will review the veterinary conditions pertaining to the importing of pigmeat; if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Veterinary conditions pertaining to the import of pigmeat and pigmeat products are laid down by European Community directives. These are reviewed in the light of the disease situation within the Community and in third countries.

  Confectionery Industry
  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when was the last time he met the president of the Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Alliance; and what issues affecting the United Kingdom confectionery industry were raised.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  My right hon. Friend the Minister met the president of the Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Alliance on 22 July 1987 when a wide range of commodity issues affecting the industry was discussed.

  Pesticides
  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had in the European Community about the levels of pesticide residues in food.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Since the Council of Agriculture Ministers adopted directive setting maximum residue levels for certain pesticides in cereals and products of animal origin in June last year, discussions have continued at official level on further proposals for amendments to the fruit and vegetable directives. Last week the Council had its first discussion of the progress made and will return to the subject early next year.

  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations he received in 1986 in relation to the effects of agricultural pesticides.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  During 1986 I received approximately 200 letters concerning agricultural pesticides which covered a wide range of issues, including legislation, residues, controls on use and aerial application.

  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is considering new measures on the control and use of pesticides; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  After consultation with the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP), and following the timetable set down in the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986, a variety of new controls will take effect in Great Britain from 1 January 1988. These include the following requirements:

  (a) on users of pesticides that they observe the conditions of approval of each pesticide, in particular in relation to the permitted use and crop, the maximum dose rate, harvest and other intervals, operator protection including clothing, and environmental safeguards;

  721

  (b) on suppliers of pesticides to farmers and growers, to show through certification their understanding of crop protection and related health and environmental questions;

  (c) on suppliers to the amenity horticulture industry, similar relevant qualifications.

  The implications of these new controls for the industries concerned have been the subject of detailed consultation. My noble Friend Baroness Trumpington announced on 30 October interim arrangements governing the application of pesticides to minor crops, and guidance on the use of low-volume spraying techniques will be given following the next meeting of the ACP in February 1988. Further requirements on the training and certification of pesticide operators in agriculture, horticulture and forestry come into force on 1 January 1989 and I am concerned that employers and employees take full advantage of the training facilities now available.

  Storm Damage
  Mr. Bellingham
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will next be meeting the president of the National Farmers Union to discuss the effects of the recent hurricane.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I have no plans for any further meeting on this matter.

  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the impact of the recent weather on the harvest.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I am very much aware that some farmers in many parts of the country, particularly on the east coast, have had a bad harvest because of the very difficult weather conditions during the summer and autumn.

  It is not possible to make an estimate of the direct impact of this as the effect will vary from farmer to farmer. But overall our present estimate is that the harvest will total 21·6 million tonnes. Even with this figure there will be a substantial surplus of feed grain of between 7 million and 8 million tonnes including intervention stores.

  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further representations he has received from smallholders who have large trees lying on their ground as to the resources which they may claim to assist them in their removal; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  I have received no such representations although I am aware of the difficulties this is causing in some cases. Individual smallholders can contact MAFF offices to see if help is available under the farm and countryside initiative in their particular circumstances.

  Sheepmeat
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy towards the ceiling on headage payments as proposed in the European Commission's review of the sheepmeat regime.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I am opposed to the proposal to limit ewe premium payments to the first 500 ewes in each lowland flock and first 1,000 ewes in each LFA flock.

  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has 722
  made of the effect in Britain's less-favoured areas of the European Commission's proposals for the sheepmeat regime.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The proposal to phase out the variable premium would remove the assurance of the guide price for those LFA producers who sell finished lambs and it would also affect the price they receive for stores. But the annual ewe premium would be set at a higher level so increasing its benefit to LFA producers; and clawback on exports would end so enabling the industry as a whole to benefit increasingly from the export market which already takes 20 per cent. of our output. The proposal to limit ewe premium to the first 1,000 ewes in each flock in the LFAs would have an adverse impact on larger sheep flocks.

  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on British sheepmeat exports.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Our sheepmeat exports are encouragingly strong. Exports in 1986 amounted to some 72,000 tonnes, valued at £133 million and accounting for over 20 per cent. of home production. A further increase is forecast for 1987.

  Mr. Geraint Howells
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the sheepmeat regime proposals.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Durham, North-West (Ms. Armstrong).

  Hill Land Compensatory Allowances
  Mr. Livsey
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans for increasing the hill land compensatory allowances in the near future.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Torridge and Devon, West (Miss Nicholson) on 9 December.

  Food (Radioactivity)
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will review the adequacy of the arrangements for monitoring for radioactivity in foodstuffs to protect human health in the event of another nuclear accident; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for East Kilbride (Mr. Ingram).

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had and what agreements he has made in the European Community about radioactivity levels in foodstuffs.

  Mr. Gummer
  Discussions on emergency intervention levels to be applied in the event of a nuclear accident took place in the Council of Foreign Ministers on 14 December when a common position was reached (subject to confirmation of Italian support) on a framework Community regulation.

  The result of the agreement is that the Community will now have in place a system for regulating imports and intra-Community trade in a coherent and pre-determined way in the event of any future nuclear emergency. A

  723
  decision was also taken to renew the existing post-Chernobyl controls on food imported from third countries.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about the number of environmentally sensitive areas.

  Mr. Gummer
  A host of organisations, representing the whole spectrum of countryside interests, have welcomed the speed with which the Government have increased the number of environmentally sensitive areas.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farms are presently operating under the environmentally sensitive area scheme.

  Mr. Gummer
  In the nine months following the launch of the first environmentally sensitive areas over 1,600 applications were received by the Ministry and its counterparts in Wales and Scotland.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what increase in resources has been made available to the environmentally sensitive areas.

  Mr. Gummer
  Earlier this year the Government announced that their annual budget for environmentally sensitive areas would be doubled to approximately £12 million.

  Dr. Twinn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the response by farmers in environmentally sensitive areas to the scheme.

  Mr. Gummer
  In the eight environmentally sensitive areas in England, Wales and Scotland we have received over 1,600 applications and formal inquiries covering 60,000 hectares or 150,000 acres.

  Mr. Conway
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in the operation of environmentally sensitive areas.

  Mr. Gummer
  The first eight environmentally sensitive areas were successfully launched earlier this year. On 30 November my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I laid before Parliament orders which will extend two of these areas and create a further six from 1 January 1988.

  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what will be the total area covered by environmentally sensitive areas in England and Wales once all those presently proposed are in operation.

  Mr. Gummer
  The total land area covered by the existing and proposed areas in England and Wales is estimated at approximately 470,000 hectares or 1,800 square miles.

  Rural Employment
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to protect employment in rural communities.

  Mr. MacGregor
  As envisaged in the farming and rural enterprise package announced on 10 March, the Government are pursuing a number of new initiatives 724
  which will assist rural employment. So far as my own Department is concerned, I am introducing the farm diversification grant scheme and the farm woodland scheme, both of which will encourage on-farm business activity.

  Food Prices
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the increase in food prices in the last year; and what was the comparable figure over the same period 10 years ago.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The latest figures from the retail prices index indicate that in the 12 months to October 1987 food prices increased by 3 per cent. This compares with an increase of 13·6 per cent. in food prices in the period from October 1976 to October 1977.

  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the increase in food prices since 1979, and what was the comparable rise in prices generally.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Between May 1979 and November 1987 the annual rate of increase in food prices was 5·7 per cent. while the rate for retail prices as a whole was 7·8 per cent. These increases can be compared with those of 16·4 per cent. and 15·4 per cent. respectively during the period in office of the last Labour Administration. These figures reflect the success of the Government's policies.

  Research and Development
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will outline the procedures for reviewing research and development in agriculture, fisheries and food.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  There are regular reviews of all areas of R and D work, which draw on advice from research consultative committees consisting of representatives both from the industries concerned and from the scientific community. These report to a priorities board, under an independent chairman, which then advises Ministers.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which organisations will be consulted about the review of research and development in agriculture, fisheries and food.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The normal review procedures outlined in my reply to the hon. Member for Fife, Central (Mr. Mcleish) on 19 November at column 656, involve consultation with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the areas concerned. The additional examination of "near market" work is part of the more general process of policy formation and will not involve any formal consultation outside agriculture Departments, though we shall be seeking views on an informal basis.

  Farm Woodland Scheme
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are his proposed rates of payment for the farm woodland scheme.

  Mr. Gummer
  The proposed rates of payment under the farm woodland scheme are as follows:
  725

  £190 per hectare a year in the lowlands;

  £150 per hectare a year in the disadvantaged areas, which are sometimes known as the new less-favoured areas and

  £100 per hectare a year in the severely disadvantaged areas, which are sometimes known as the original less-favoured areas.

  These will apply to arable land and improved grassland up to 10 years old.

  Up to 3,000 hectares of more marginal agricultural land will also be eligible during the three-year experimental period at a rate of £30 per hectare a year.

  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in developing a scheme to encourage farmers to plant woodlands on their farms.

  Mr. Gummer
  We issued a consultation document on the farm woodland scheme earlier this year. The Farm Land and Rural Development Bill which provides enabling powers for this scheme was introduced in another place on 21 October and the Government announced details of their revised proposals for the scheme on Second Reading of the Bill. The details were also set out in Ministry press notice No. 336/87, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

  Farmers (Diversification)
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further measures will be taken to encourage farmers to diversify their enterprises.

  Mr. Gummer
  A scheme to offer capital grants for farm diversification was laid before the House on 18 November. I understand that it was debated in Committee this morning. Those grants will be available from 1 January 1988. In addition, associated grants for enterprise feasibility studies and initial marketing costs will be introduced later next year under powers being sought in the Farm Land and Rural Development Bill which reached Report stage in another place today.

  Mr. Neale
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further measures have been taken to assist farmers to diversify their enterprises.

  Mr. Gummer
  Under the powers in the Agricultural Training Board Act 1987, which my hon. Friend the Member for Cornwall, North (Mr. Neale) has introduced as a private Member's Bill, the Agricultural Training Board has recently set up a number of training courses designed to help farmers' diversification possibilities.

  I also refer my hon. Friend to the reply given today to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Mr. Porter).

  Fisheries Protection
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fishing vessels have been boarded by personnel of the fisheries protection service so far in the current year; how many vessels were boarded in 1986; of these, how many were foreign vessels; and how many skippers were proceeded against and convicted in English and Welsh courts for illegal fishing as a result of these boardings.

  Mr. Gummer
  During 1986 a total of 1,458 vessels were boarded in the waters of England and Wales by personnel 726
  of the fisheries protection service, of which 938 were foreign vessels. To date 33 convictions have resulted from these boardings and a further three prosecutions are pending.

  So far in 1987 a total of 1,437 vessels have been boarded, of which 920 were foreign vessels. To date 33 convictions have resulted from these boardings and a further 23 prosecutions are pending.

  Food Aid
  Mr. Lewis
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next proposes to meet European Economic Community Agriculture Ministers to discuss the Commission's free food scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. Member for Woolwich (Mr. Cartwright) on 14 December.

  Cereals
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to publish proposals to reduce cereal production; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 8 December 1987, at column 126, to my hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory).

  Sir Anthony Grant
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next proposes to have discussions with the National Farmers Union on the question of cereal surpluses in Europe; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. MacGregor
  My colleagues and I frequently meet members of the National Farmers Union and discuss a wide range of issues, including cereals surpluses.

  Fish Farms
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his Department is in a position to estimate the annual production figures for fish farms over the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  The development of fish farm output must depend upon market conditions. However, we estimate that annual production from the farming of fish (principally salmon and trout) in the United Kingdom could rise by about 10,000 tonnes a year, exceeding 60,000 tonnes by 1990. Most of the increase will be in salmon production.

  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to encourage research and development programmes designed to promote fish farming in species other than salmon, trout and shellfish; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  The fisheries Departments and the Sea Fish Industry Authority (with funding from the Highlands and Islands Development Board) are engaged in research into, and development of, the cultivation of other species of fish, particularly halibut and Dover sole.

  Skimmed Milk Powder
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the present level of skimmed milk powder intervention stocks in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  At 31 October 1987 accepted intervention stocks of skimmed milk powder totalled 5,897 tonnes. At the same date in 1986 the equivalent figure was 34,119 tonnes.

  Tied Accommodation
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has figures for the numbers of agricultural workers in tied accommodation for the last three years.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Proportions of hired adult workers working full-time in agriculture in England and Wales with a tied house or cottage are estimated to be as follows for the latest three years.

  Percentages

  Men

  Women

  1984

  44·7

  13·6

  1985

  43·4

  9·7

  1986

  42·5

  14·8

  Source: Wages and Employment Enquiry.

  Agricultural Production
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the reduction in agricultural production which will result from the proposals so far published by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. MacGregor
  A number of my recent proposals have implications for land use and the level of production on farms. The farm woodland scheme, for which powers are being sought in the Farm Land and Rural Development Bill at present before Parliament, and the extensification scheme, on which I published a consultation document on 8 December, will both provide opportunities for farmers to reorientate their businesses to reduce production. Information on which to base estimates of the actual effects on production will not be available until we know the number of farmers willing to take part in the schemes and the area and productive potential of the farmland concerned. I shall be studying this as part of ongoing monitoring of the schemes when they are being implemented in practice.

  Intervention Stocks
  Mr. Murphy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the present level of butter and beef intervention stocks in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much beef was in intervention stores in the United Kingdom at the latest available date.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  A note setting out the volume of intervention stocks in the United Kingdom on the latest available dates, which includes figures for butter and beef, is deposited in the Library of the House and is updated monthly.
  728
  Mr. Madel
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total amount of grain currently held in intervention in the United Kingdom; and what is his estimate of what it will be by 30 June 1988.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  A note setting out the volume of intervention stocks in the United Kingdom on the latest available dates, which includes figures for cereals, is deposited in the Library of the House and is updated monthly. It is not possible to make a precise estimate of the intervention stocks of cereals at 30 June 1988 but they are likely to be substantially below their level at the start of this season.

  Milk Output
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next intends to have discussions about milk output with the chairman of the Milk Marketing Board.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the Minister gave to the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Mr. Jones) today.

  Creameries (Milk Supplies)
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions officials of his Department have recently held with the National Farmers Union, the National Farmers Union (Scotland) and cheese producers regarding the adequacy of supplies of milk to creameries throughout the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Officials of my Department and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland have been in close touch with the respective Milk Marketing Boards, cheese producers and the National Farmers Union of Scotland about the milk supply situation.

  Sir Hector Monro
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has had any discussions with the chairman of the Milk Marketing Board about any new arrangements to supply milk to cheese-making plants presently without supplies.

  Mr. McGregor
  As I said during the debate on the common agricultural policy on 24 November, my noble Friend Lord Sanderson and I have discussed this issue with individual marketing boards to see whether a solution can be found and I am now hopeful of the outcome.

  Wheat
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the latest estimate of the United Kingdom wheat harvest for 1987.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  My Department now estimates the 1987 wheat harvest in the United Kingdom to be 12 million tonnes.

  Budgetary Stabilisers
  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in implementing the European Commission's proposals for budgetary stabilisers in further commodity regimes.
  729
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Council of Ministers will next consider the implementation of budgetary stabilisers recommended by the European Commission.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I refer my hon. Friends to the reply I gave today to the hon. Member for Gateshead, East (Ms. Quin).

  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on implications for less-favoured areas of the stabiliser agreements now being sought within the European Economic Community.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The Commission's proposals on agricultural stabilisers do not differentiate between less-favoured areas and other parts of the European Community. The strengthening of budgetary discipline in the CAP is in the interests of farmers generally.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the estimated saving to the European Economic Community budget in 1988–89 of the agriculture stabilisers package.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The intention of stabilisers is to strengthen budgetary discipline in the agricultural sector. In general, the proposals involve price cuts or other adjustments to the support arrangements linked to increased levels of production or intervention. Negotiations on the details of the stabiliser arrangements, for example the production levels at which action would be triggered, are still continuing and therefore it is not possible to say at this stage what the effects of the stabilisers will be. The Government's aim in the negotiations is to agree measures which will genuinely restrain expenditure and produce substantial savings in spending.

  Wheat, Barley and Oats
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of wheat, barley and oats production he projects for the United Kingdom in 1988.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Given the significance of the weather for cereals yields, it is not possible to produce a reliable forecast of United Kingdom cereals production before the harvest.

  Dairy Industry
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next intends to meet representatives of the farming unions to discuss the state of the dairy industry.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I have frequent meetings with representatives of farming organisations, although at present I have no plans to discuss this specific topic with them.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has recently received concerning the future of the dairy industry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I receive numerous representations on this topic.
  730
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will detail the assistance given to dairy farmers since 1984; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The Government's policy has been to provide the industry with a firmer long-term foundation by matching production more closely with the needs of the market. This is, of course, particularly true in the dairy sector, where the surplus problem has been he most serious.

  Massive resources were devoted to the allocation of quotas and to cushioning the effects on the most vulnerable producers—for example by means of a £50 million outgoers scheme, and the restoration of quota cutbacks to those with low levels of production. In Community negotiations the Government secured and have successfully fought to maintain flexibility through 'the formula B system and regional compensation. The reductions in quota agreed last December were accompanied by generous compensation to producers. At this year's price fixing the Government secured the continuation of quota leasing.

  At a domestic level ADAS has helped farmers develop production and business management strategies to meet the reduced output requirements under quotas. The Government are supporting a number of projects in research centres which are of direct relevance to the problems of the dairy industry, and efforts have been made to maximise the clarity and flexibility of the mechanisms for the transfer of milk quotas. Dairy products are among those promoted by Food from Britain and my Department is currently considering with the industry a diary product programme under EC regulation 355/77.

  Details of the current level of public spending on support of the dairy industry will be set out in the annual review White Paper to be published shortly. In 1986/7, spending on direct market support in the dairy sector represented nearly £100 per cow.

  The dairy industry's own enterprise, and the Government's commitment to it, have contributed to improved farm incomes in real terms over the last two years.

  Food (Colouring Matter)
  Mr. Michael Morris
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the Food Advisory Committee's final report on the colouring matter in foods regulations 1979.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Regulations were laid before Parliament on 3 December (SI 1987/1987) implementing the Food Advisory Committee's recommendations to ban the use of any added colours (except three vitamin sources) in foods prepared specially for babies and young children, to delete yellow 2G from the permitted list of colours and to prohibit the use of methyl violet for marking rinds of citrus fruits.

  We are still considering the other recommendations in the report in the light of public comments received on them. I shall make a further announcement when we have come to a conclusion on this.

  NFU (Derbyshire)
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to meet representatives of Derbyshire National Farmers Union.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  My noble Friend Baroness Trumpington has recently accepted an invitation to visit members of the Derbyshire National Farmers Union.

  Farm Workers (Wages)
  Mr. Buchan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is yet in a position to provide the information requested by the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) on 24 November,Official Report, column 225, relating to the powers of agriculture wages boards to require employers to pay contributions towards the pensions of farm workers as part of the minimum wages conditions; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I wrote to the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) on 10 December 1987.

  Matters concerning the Agricultural Wages Board for Scotland are for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland. The Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales has the powers to set such terms and conditions of employment as it thinks fit which, I am advised, could include the setting up of a pension fund. However, the exercise of its discretionary powers is entirely a matter for the board itself. The Government have no statutory powers of direction over its activities.

  Share Fishermen
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from share fishermen on their net income levels.

  Mr. Gummer
  In 1984 my Department received correspondence about share fishermen and the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) instigated an Adjournment debate on July 1984, at columns 852–60. There have been no recent representations.

  Light Dues
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the impact of light dues on the fishing industry.

  Mr. Gummer
  Further to the reply I gave my hon. Friend on Thursday 2 July, at column 156, the extension of the liability to pay light dues to fishing vessels will ensure the maintenance of the Racal Decca navigator system, which is so important to skippers, not only as a navigational aid but also in locating the fishing grounds. And fishermen will save money because the cost of navigator receivers, which were previously only available for hire, has been reduced substantially this year.

  Food Industry (Internal Market)
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received regarding the implications for the British food industry of the completion of the internal market.
  732
  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The United Kingdom food and drink industries keep me regularly informed of their views on all aspects of the food law harmonisation issues arising from the EC proposals for completing the internal market by 1992.

  Food Labelling
  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive the Food Advisory Committee report on the review of labelling claims on food products.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The Food Advisory Committee is not carrying out any general review of labelling claims on food products. I have recently received advice on the use of the word "natural" and other similar claims in food labelling and I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for York (Mr. Gregory). The Food Advisory Committee is also considering whether there should be further controls over nutrition claims in food labelling and I hope to receive its advice shortly.

  Council of Ministers
  Mr. Wray
  To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last attended a meeting of the European Community's Council of Fisheries Ministers; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mr. Gummer
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell).

  Fish
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is in a position to estimate the level of the human consumption of fresh fish and frozen fish-products over the next two years in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  Data from the Sea Fish Industry Authority show that overall demand for fresh fish and processed fish products is generally buoyant, and is likely to remain so.

  Single European Market
  Sir Anthony Meyer
  To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements he is making within the areas of his responsibility in preparation for the advent of the single European market in 1992.

  Mr. MacGregor
  Ministers and officials of my Department are constantly in touch with the agriculture, fisheries and food industries on topics of current concern and on prospective future developments, including the progressive removal of remaining trade barriers within the Community. On 24 November at. column 152, my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade announced plans for a campaign to increase awareness of the implications of the single market. This campaign will be aimed at all relevant sectors of British business, including those for which I am responsible.

  ALURE
  Mr. Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the Association of District Councils about encouraging the ALURE package.

  Mr. MacGregor
  My right hon. Friend the Minister of State met the Association of District Councils yesterday to discuss the farm woodland scheme. We have also involved the association and some individual district councils in the consultations we have undertaken on the various ALURE initiatives.

  Caterers
  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what responses he has had to the draft advice for caterers issued by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The draft guidelines for caterers referred to by my hon. Friend are intended to encourage caterers to provide information to assist consumers follow the recommendations of the COMA report to reduce consumption of fat. Four responses have been received to date. We shall be following up these proposals with the organisations concerned.

  Straw Burning
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on straw burning by farmers during the 1987 harvest season.

  Mr. Gummer
  Fewer incidents of careless or inconsiderate burning of straw and stubble were reported to my Department following this year's harvest than in 1986. I welcome this further improvement, which suggests that most farmers have observed the local byelaws and the NFU code of practice to which my Department has drawn attention in successive publicity campaigns.

  I am also encouraged by the results of this year's straw survey which have just emerged. These show that much less straw is now disposed of by burning compared to the position in the early 1980s and confirm the trend towards incorporation.

  Waste Straw
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on current developments in the utilisation of waste straw for industrial purposes; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  My Department takes a keen interest in the prospects for the increased utilisation of surplus straw as a fuel and in the manufacture of compost, animal feed and straw board, where significant quantities are already used. We are also interested in the possible development of new outlets such as paper manufacture.

  In order to encourage investment in these areas my Department has asked the EC Commission to consider their inclusion within the cereals programme for England and Wales under regulation 355/77, which provides for FEOGA grants for marketing and processing projects.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the latest figure for the 734
  estimated spending in 1987–88 by his Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The latest figures for estimated advertising expenditure by my Department in 1987–88 are as follows:

  £

  Television

  nil

  Radio

  nil

  Newspapers

  12,000

  Other

  ADAS exhibition/video

  267,000

  Campaigns

  368,000

  As regards 1988–89, detailed decisions on expenditure by media have not yet been taken but we expect the overall publicity figure to be about £800,000.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Based on the latest MINIM returns, estimated expenditure by my Department on press liaison and information policy will be £700,000 in 1987–88. A similar sum is likely to be required in 1988–89.

  Sheep
  Mr. Allen MacKay
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has as to whether sheep with radioactivity levels above the level of 1,000 bq/kg entered the food chain from north Yorkshire following the Chernobyl accident; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  I am satisfied from the monitoring that we have done both in 1986 and more recently that it is extremely unlikely that any sheep showing radioactivity above 1,000 bq/kg has entered the food chain.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many(a) ewes and (b) lambs in the restricted area of Cumbria, were monitored and released unmarked each month since the apricot marking scheme was introduced;

  (2) how many (a) ewes and (b) lambs in the restricted area of Cumbria, were marked apricot and released for each month since the initiation of the new scheme;

  (3) how many (a) ewes and (b) lambs in the restricted area of Cumbria, were green-sprayed in each month since the introduction of the new scheme in the current year;

  (4) how many monitored lambs were blue-painted and released during each calendar month in the restricted area of Cumbria from 18 August 1986;

  (5) how many non-monitored lambs were blue-painted and released during each calendar month in the restricted area of Cumbria from 18 August 1986;

  (6) how many non-monitored sheep, in the restricted area of Cumbria other than lambs, were blue-painted and released for (a) further fattening and (b) breeding, broken down into categories of ewe, shearling and tup;
  735
  (7) how many monitored sheep, in the restricted area of Cumbria, other than lambs, were blue-painted and released for (a) further fattening and (b) breeding, broken down into categories of ewe, shearing and tup;

  (8) how many non-monitored gimmer lambs in the restricted area of Cumbria were red-painted for away wintering to return for breeding;

  (9) how many monitored gimmer lambs in the restricted area of Cumbria were red-painted for away wintering to return for breeding;

  (10) how many non-monitored sheep, in the restricted area of Cumbria, other than gimmers, were red-painted and released for (a) fattening or (b) breeding, broken down into categories of ewe, shearling or tup;

  (11) how many monitored sheep, in the restricted area of Cumbria, other than gimmers, were red-painted and released for (a) fattening or (b) breeding, broken down into categories of ewe, shearling or tup;

  (12) how many sheep were monitored for radioactivity under the mark and release scheme in England in each month since 1 September 1986;

  (13) how many sheep were monitored for radioactivity and sprayed green in England in each month since 1 September 1986;

  (14) how many sheep were monitored for radioactivity and not marked and thus released in England in each month since 1 September 1986;

  (15) how many red an blue-marked sheep were released for slaughter into the food chain in England during each week of January, February and March;

  (16) how many apricot-marked sheep were released for slaughter into the food chain each month after 25 May in England.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The information sought is not always available in the manner requested. Relevant information in my Department's possession is set out in the table.

  (a) Ewes and lambs monitored and released unmarked from Cumbria restricted area since apricot marking scheme introduced on 22 December 1986:

  Month

  Ewes

  Lambs

  Total

  Part December 1986

  —

  —

  633

  January 1987

  —

  —

  2,363

  February

  —

  —

  1,505

  March

  —

  —

  2,598

  April

  —

  —

  1,186

  May

  2,598

  67

  2,665

  June

  2,689

  500

  3,189

  July

  160

  653

  813

  August

  926

  1,693

  2,619

  September

  2,142

  9,689

  11,831

  October

  6,881

  16,097

  22,978

  November

  3,498

  12,607

  16,105

  Part December

  158

  506

  664

  Notes:

  (i) Early records do not differentiate between ewes and lambs.

  (ii) A further 4,315 lambs-at-foot were moved off without monitoring because mother ewes found to be below Government action level.

  (b) Ewes and lambs marked apricot and released from Cumbria restricted area after apricot marking began on 22 December 1986:

  Month

  Ewes

  Lambs

  Part December 1986

  —

  —

  January 1987

  —

  —

  February

  —

  —

  736

  Month

  Ewes

  Lambs

  March

  —

  —

  April

  —

  —

  May

  —

  —

  June

  20

  8

  July1

  —

  —

  1 Apricot marking ended on 26 July 1987.

  (c) Ewes and lambs marked green on leaving Cumbria restricted area after green marking began on 27 July 1987:

  Month

  Ewes

  Lambs

  Part July 1987

  —

  —

  August 1987

  66

  110

  September 19871

  34

  485

  1 Green marking ended on 27 September 1987.

  (d) Monitored lambs marked blue and released from Cumbria restricted area from 18 August 1986:

  Month

  Lambs

  Part August 1986

  —

  September 1986

  1267

  October 1986

  11,352

  November 1986

  1356

  December 1986

  1144

  Part September 1987

  —

  October 1987

  195

  November 1987

  50

  Part December 1987

  1

  1 Figures will also include ewes since early records do not differentiate between ewes and lambs.

  Note: Blue marking ceased on 21 December 1986 and re-commenced on 28 September 1987.

  (e) Non-monitored lambs marked blue and released from Cumbria restricted area from 18 August 1986:

  Month

  Lambs

  Part August 1986

  —

  September 1986

  1968

  October 1986

  12,421

  November 1986

  1396

  December 1986

  —

  Part September 1987

  —

  October 1987

  —

  November 1987

  —

  Part December 1987

  —

  1 Figures will also include ewes since early records do not differentiate between ewes and lambs.

  Note: Blue marking ceased on 21 December 1986 and re-commenced on 28 September 1987.

  (f) Non-monitored sheep, other than lambs, blue painted and released for (i) further fattening and (ii) breeding broken down into categories of ewe, shearling and tup.

  Information not available in form requested.

  (g) Monitored sheep, other than lambs, blue painted and released for (i) further fattening and (ii) breeding broken down into categories of ewe, shearling and tup.

  Information not available in form requested.

  (h) Non-monitored breeding sheep from Cumbria restricted area red painted.

  Sheep

  1986

  9,773

  11987

  7,253

  1 To date.

  Notes:

  (i) Records do not indentify gimmers separately.

  (ii) Red marked sheep may go for away wintering and return or be sold for breeding.

  (i) Monitored gimmer lambs from Cumbria restricted area red painted for away wintering to return for breeding.
  737

  Lambs

  1986

  12,240

  1987

  1697

  1 Figures will also include some ewes since early records do not differentiate between ewes and lambs.

  Note: Records do not differentiate between those wintering and those sold.

  (j) Non monitored sheep, other than gimmers, red painted and released for (i) fattening and (ii) breeding broken down into categories of ewe, shearling and tup.

  Information not available in form requested.

  (k) Monitored sheep, other than gimmers, red painted and released for (i) fattening and (ii) breeding broken down into categories of ewe, shearling and tup.

  Information not available in form requested.

  (l) Sheep monitored for radioactivity on leaving Cumbria restricted area under mark and release scheme since 1 September 1986

  Sheep

  September 1986

  5,157

  October 1986

  14,931

  November 1986

  11,543

  December 1986

  2,303

  January 1987

  2,388

  February 1987

  1,505

  March 1987

  2,599

  April 1987

  1,186

  May 1987

  2,670

  June 1987

  3,244

  July 1987

  795

  August 1987

  2,745

  September 1987

  12,741

  October 1987

  24,767

  November 1987

  16,445

  December 1987 (part)

  670

  Note: Figures include some sheep monitored but retained on farm.

  (m) Sheep monitored for radioactivity and marked green on leaving Cumbria restricted area since 1 September 1986

  Sheep

  September 1986

  —

  July 1987

  —

  August 1987

  176

  September 1987

  519

  Note: Green marking ceased on 30 September 1986 and was re-introduced between 27 July and 27 September 1987.

  (n) Sheep monitored for radioactivity and released un-marked from Cumbria restricted area after 1 September 1986

  Sheep

  September 1986

  4,846

  October 1986

  11,010

  November 1986

  10,420

  December 1986

  2,100

  January 1987

  2,368

  February 1987

  1,505

  March 1987

  2,598

  April 1987

  1,186

  May 1987

  12,665

  June 1987

  23,189

  July 1987

  795

  August 1987

  2,565

  September 1987

  11,831

  October 1987

  22,978

  November 1987

  16,105

  December 1987

  664

  1 Plus 2,463 lambs at foot—not monitored.

  2 Plus 1,852 lambs at foot—not monitored.

  738

  (o) Red and Blue marked sheep released for slaughter into food chain in England during January, February and March 1987: Animals re-monitored and identified as eligible for slaughter by Ministry ear-tag

  Week beginning

  Red

  Blue

  1 January (part week)

  —

  418

  5 January week)

  —

  3,762

  12 January

  —

  1,455

  19 January

  —

  1,974

  26 January

  —

  2,105

  2 February

  —

  1,276

  9 February

  —

  1,072

  16 February

  —

  716

  23 February

  —

  99

  2 March

  —

  11

  9 March

  3

  —

  16 March

  —

  —

  23 March

  —

  —

  30 March (part week)

  —

  —

  1 All remaining blue marked sheep released from slaughter restrict ions on 27 February 1987.—is not possible to say how many of these will have been in England.

  (p) Apricot marked sheep released for slaughter into food chain in England from 25 May 1987.

  No apricot-marked sheep were re-monitored and identified as eligible for slaughter by Ministry ear-tag in England but all apricot marked sheep were released from slaughter restrictions on 28 September 1987. It is not possible to say how many of these will have been in England.

  Note: Some of the dates given in the above tables are those when the information was recorded centrally and may not accord exactly with the date when the animals were monitored or moved.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many sheep were monitored for radioactivity in each month in England since 1 September 1986 for experimental purposes.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  There is a flock of some 100 sheep in Cumbria which we have monitored continuously for experimental purposes to detect any month by month variations in levels of radiocaesium. In addition, under contract to us, both the National Radiological Protection Board and the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology have carried out similar activity on several other smaller groups of sheep.

  Milk
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will raise in the Council of Agriculture Ministers the question of milk quotas with a view to(a) releasing the Scottish Milk Marketing Board area from the 5·5 per cent. temporary suspension of milk quota, (b) the introduction of a temporary measure to effect a small re-allocation of United Kingdom milk quota to the Scottish Milk Marketing Board area and (c) the release of part of the European Economic Community reserve milk quota, on a non-intervention basis, to the cheese producers of the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The shortages of milk for cheesemaking which have occurred in parts of the United Kingdom primarily reflect problems relating to pricing, marketing and distribution rather than to quota levels. I and my noble Friend Lord Sanderson have discussed this issue with individual marketing boards and I am now hopeful of the outcome.

  Dolphins and Pilot Whales
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will consider imposing trade sanctions against Denmark in protest at the slaughter of dolphins and pilot whales in the Faroe Islands;

  (2) if he will make representations to the Danish Government regarding the slaughter of pilot whales and dolphins in the Faroe Islands.

  Mr. Gummer
  The Danish Government are fully aware of the United Kingdom's view on this issue, after my statement of our view on whaling at the International whaling Commission's annual conference in June. At meetings of the IWC the United Kingdom has already taken the lead, with the support of other countries, in securing the' detailed examination by the commission's working group on humane killing of the conditions under which the Faroese pilot whale hunt is conducted. As a result of the United Kingdom initiative the commission agreed a statement urging Denmark, which has responsibility for the international relations of the Faroe Islands, to encourage the Faroese authorities to modify those hunt practices giving rise to particular concern and to adopt more humane procedures. At the most recent IWC meeting in June, we registered our continuing concern and the IWC formulated a further statement calling for action by the Danes. A response is awaited. I raised this matter direct with the Danish Fisheries Minister when I saw him in Copenhagen last month.

  The Government do not consider that trade sanctions would be an appropriate means of influencing the Faroese attitude on this matter. We shall continue to work with like-minded countries through the IWC as the most appropriate forum through which to seek progress.

  Green Pound
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has as to the effect on(a) the beef sector, (b) the dairy sector and (c) the sheep sector of devaluations in the green pound and interest rate changes since December 1986.

  Mr. MacGregor
  Since December 1986, green pound devaluations have raised basic support prices by 11·8 per cent. in the beef sector, 4·7 per cent. in the dairy sector and 2·7 per cent. in the sheep sector. The effect on agricultural sectors of the 2½ per cent. decline in interest rates compared with December 1986 will be generally beneficial, but the effect on individual farmers will depend on their particular circumstances.

  Beef
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will detail measures taken by Her Majesty's Government to assist the beef sector since 1984; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  At successive price fixings, in the face of almost unanimous opposition from the member states and the European Commission, we have successfully defended the beef variable premium scheme, which is currently worth £120 million per year to United Kingdom producers. At the December 1986 Council we secured the premium for a further two years, as well as taking steps to restrict intervention. Successive devaluations of the green pound have increased the value of the maximum rate of 740
  variable premium from 8·74p per live kg in December 1984 to 10·04p per live kg now and thus improved producers' returns.

  The specialist beef sector has been further helped by increases in the suckler cow premium. This was doubled in 1984 from £12·37 to £24·74 a head, and was increased by a further 35 per cent. to £33·40 earlier this year, the maximum permitted under Community rules for the current year. It is now worth £37 million per year.

  The annual value of hill livestock compensatory allowances paid to beef producers in the United Kingdom's less favoured areas increased from £38·9 million in 1984 to some £50 million this year. Beef enterprises also benefited by about £11 million from the special aid paid out in 1985 to help those livestock producers most seriously affected by the exceptionally bad weather.

  Bovine Somatotropin
  Mr. Charles Morrison
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has received from the Farm Animal Welfare Council on the welfare implications of using bovine somatotropin to increase milk production.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The chairman of the council, Professer Sir Richard Harrison, wrote the following letter to my right hon. Friend the Minister on 26 October:Dear Minister
  Mr. Jopling wrote to me on 27 April requesting the Council's advice by the end of September on the welfare implications of using bovine somatotropin to increase milk production.
  The investigation was undertaken by a small Working Group of members whose recommendations have been endorsed by the full Council. As Mr. Jopling recognised the time available to us was limited and I must point out that it has not proved possible to carry out as searching and wide-ranging an investigation as we would have wished. Those whom we consulted were under similar constraints due to the tight timetable.
  Before drawing up our recommendations, we considered confidential data from the pharmaceutical companies actively engaged in work on BST. We also received written submissions from the Farmers Unions, MMB, BVA and RCVS and animal welfare organisations. Oral evidence was taken from researchers who are conducting trials on the use of BST and from representatives of the National Office of Animal Health (NOAH). The Group also visited two farms where BST is being tested under commercial conditions, and had discussions with the farmers and their respective veterinary surgeons.
  The following factors were examined: metabolic stress; administration of BST and its consequences; the occurrence and frequency of disease; reproductive efficiency; and ways in which husbandry might have to be modified, including nutritional implications.
  We have concluded that, on the basis of the existing experimental work, including the continuing trials being carried out at the AFRC Institute for Grassland and Animal Production (IGAP) and on the farms visited, there is, at present, no evidence of any welfare problems arising from the use of BST in the short term. There are, however, areas of uncertainty which could have welfare implications where additional scientific information may be required in order to take a more considered opinion.
  These areas are as follows:

  (a) the time of administration to high yielding cows;

  (b) the effect of BST on long-term reproductive efficiency;

  (c) responses of cows differing in body composition and on differing levels of energy and protein nutrition, to BST;

  741

  (d) the effect of BST on potential skeletal problems in heifers;

  (e) all aspects of performance of calves born from treated animals;

  (f) the effect which exogenous growth hormone may have on the ability of the animal to produce endogenous growth hormone, and thus on subsequent unsupplemented performance;

  (g) the use of BST over a number of lactations in the same animal.

  The Council believes that results of such research work will need to be carefully considered before the longer term effects of using BST can be properly evaluated.

  If this further research provides satisfactory answers to these questions then there would be no fundamental objections on welfare grounds to the use of BST. However, if it shows that there is a genuine welfare problem, the Government will need to consider making regulations under the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968.

  In addition there appear to be a number of potential welfare abuses which could arise from:

  (a) use of BST to exploit over-stretched cull cows by extending lactation;

  (b) lack of appropriate facilities for injection on some farms;

  (c) administration of BST without adequate veterinary supervision;

  (d) administration of BST to cows whose milk yield was depressed by reason of undiagnosed disease or metabolic disorders;

  (e) inadequacy of nutritional levels in some systems.

  The Council therefore recommends that guidelines for the commercial administration of BST, including monitoring of herd performance and health, should be drawn up in conjunction with the RCVS and that its use should be subject to veterinary supervision. This of course assumes that no welfare problems are revealed which necessitate more fundamental controls.
  I am copying this letter to the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales.
  Yours sincerely
  Richard Harrison

  Lamb Exports
  Mr. Charles Morrison
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what decisions have been reached on the exemption from the European Community clawback tax on British exports of lamb to third countries.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I am pleased to report that, following the representations we have been making on behalf of the industry, the Community has adopted a new regulation, recently published in the Official Journal, which extends the exemption on clawback of variable premium on Great Britain exports for a further year from 4 January 1988. This is an important measure which will help maintain and expand our lamb and mutton exports.

  The picture on exports is encouraging all round. Taking third country and Community markets together, we now export over 20 per cent. of our lamb and mutton production, worth some £133 million in 1986. An increase is forecast for 1987.

  I attach high priority to ensuring that we sustain and improve further our exports.

  Equines (Tethering)
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans the Government have to introduce restrictions on the tethering of horses, ponies and donkeys.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I have been asked to reply.

  There are no such plans. It is already an offence under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 to cause unnecessary
  742
  suffering to a domestic or captive animal. It is also an offence under the Abandonment of Animals Act 1961) to abandon a domestic or captive animal in circumstances likely to cause unnecessary suffering.

TRANSPORT

  Sprinter Trains
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to whether my losses arising from the most recent contract for sprinter trains awarded by British Rail will be taken into account when the contract for the sale of British Rail Engineering workshops is negotiated or finalised.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  The British Railways Board does not expect BREL to make a loss on this order.

  Lorries (Noise)
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what current regulations apply to noise emission by heavy lorries; what changes are planned; and whether he will make a statement on current compliance and available technology to meet these requirements.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The noise limit for the heaviest lorries first used since 1 October 1983 is 88dB(A). A new limit for these vehicles of 84dB(A) will apply to all lorries type approved on or after 1 October 1989, and to all lorries first used on or after 1 April 1991. To aid the development of lorries capable of meeting the new limit, the Government and industry have collaborated on a programme of research and development (QHV90) which is due to be completed next year.

  Greater Manchester Light Rapid Transit System
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if a decision has now been reached on the financing of a light rapid transit system for Greater Manchester; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  I am considering a report by the Department's financial advisers and comments from the passenger transport authority and passenger transport executive. I shall advise the House of my decision as soon as possible.

  Publicity
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the latest figure for the number of staff presently employed in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the number planned to be employed at this point in 1988.

  Mr. Channon
  The number of staff currently employed in press and public relations in the Department of Transport is 17.

  The number planned to be employed at this point in 1988 is 18.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1987–88 by his Department on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material; and what are the estimated expenditures in each area for 1988–89.
  743
  Mr. Channon
  The estimated spending by the Department of Transport for 1987–88 is as follows:

  £ million

  Television advertising

  2·31

  Radio advertising

  0·05

  Press advertising

  0·14

  other promotional material

  3·01

  Total

  5·51

  Detailed decisions have not yet been taken on expenditure by media for 1988–89, but the overall publicity figure is expected to be £5 million.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the latest figure for the estimated expenditure on press and public relations for(a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

  Mr. Channon
  The latest estimate for expenditure on press and public relations for 1987–88 is £373,000. The planned level of expenditure for next year is £400,000 at current prices. These figures cover the overall cost of running the press office function calculated using Her Majesty's Treasury ready reckoner for staff and other costs.

  London Underground (Safety)
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many statutory notices the railways inspectorate has issued to London Underground under the Health and Safey etc. Act 1974, and any other legislation, respectively, in the current year and the two preceding years.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  The only statutory notices served have been under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act. The figures are 1987 — 1; 1986 — Nil; 1985 — 1. In addition, a notice was served in 1985 to a contractor working at an underground station.

  Public Transport (London)
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times, in an official capacity, he has(a) travelled on and (b) visited the buildings of (i) London Underground and (ii) London Buses.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  My right hon. Friend and I make such visits from time to time as the occasion demands.

  Blood alcohol levels of drivers and riders over 16 who died within 12 hours England and Wales: 1967–77

  per cent./number

  Percentage exceeding BAC levels (in mg/100ml)

  Year

  9

  50

  80

  100

  150

  200

  Sample size

  1967

  36

  29

  25

  22

  14

  7

  1,064

  1968

  30

  20

  17

  15

  10

  4

  747

  1969

  32

  26

  22

  19

  12

  5

  830

  1970

  31

  24

  21

  17

  12

  6

  818

  1971

  38

  31

  26

  24

  13

  6

  828

  1972

  39

  31

  26

  24

  16

  9

  620

  1973

  43

  36

  30

  26

  15

  7

  597

  1974

  46

  39

  33

  28

  19

  10

  827

  1985

  48

  39

  35

  31

  20

  11

  1,003

  1976

  48

  38

  33

  30

  20

  11

  932

  1977

  42

  34

  29

  36

  17

  10

  837

  Road Accident Reporting
  Mr. Cash
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will report the results of the review of the road accident reporting system (STATS 19).

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The report of the review is now complete and is being released as a statistical bulletin. A copy is in the Library.

  The main findings are as follows:

  (i) The present STATS 19 system (revised in 1979) should be retained. Modern database systems should be used as far as possible in order that any future changes can be more readily implemented.

  (ii) A new return should be introduced, which would record the registration number of vehicles involved in personal injury accidents. These vehicle registration numbers would be matched with vehicle records held at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre (DVLC) and relevant information about the vehicle would be copied to the STATS 19 files. Information from the enhanced database would be used to assess the safety of different types of vehicle in various circumstances, including the effects on occupants and pedestrians.

  (iii) Details of the new return and the date for its implementation should be determined as a result of discussions with the police and local authorities at the Standing Committee on Road Accident Statistics.

  (iv) Following recommendation (ii), consideration should be given to dropping those data items on the STATS 19 form, which will be obtainable from the vehicle records at DVLC.

  Following these recommendations—discussions are in progress with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the local authority associations — our objective is to ensure that we are fully equipped with the right statistics to support our efforts to cut road casualties.

  Road Accident Statistics
  Mr. Clifford Forsythe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing, for each year commencing with the year preceding that in which the breathalyser test was first in force, the number of persons killed in road accidents when in charge of a motor vehicle, classified according to appropriate levels of their blood alcohol count.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Sample data available from coroners (England and Wales) and procurators fiscal (Scotland) are given in the table:
  745

  Great Britain; 1978–85

  per cent./number

  Percentage exceeding BAC levels (in mg/100ml)

  Year

  9

  50

  80

  100

  150

  200

  Sample size

  1978

  43

  36

  31

  31

  20

  21

  1,043

  1979

  44

  36

  32

  30

  21

  12

  1,161

  1980

  45

  35

  31

  30

  21

  12

  1,148

  1981

  43

  34

  30

  29

  21

  12

  1,260

  1982

  44

  33

  23

  29

  24

  14

  1,474

  1983

  40

  32

  29

  28

  21

  12

  1,174

  1984

  37

  30

  26

  25

  16

  8

  1,227

  1985

  37

  29

  26

  24

  17

  10

  1,166

  Air Safety
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer given in the Official Report on 8 December, at column 65, on the Manchester airport tragedy, if he will outline the recommendations made between September and December 1985 inclusive by the air accident investigation branch concerning the safety of passengers.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The following safety recommendations have been made by the inspector of accidents conducting the investigation into the Boeing 737 accident at Manchester airport which occurred in August 1985:

  1. On 19 September 1985. Recommended that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) urgently review the approval of the cabin configuration as it existed on G-BGJL, assuming that it conformed to a CAA format. In particular, it is strongly recommended that you consider the removal of all row 10 seats to afford reasonable identification of, and unrestricted access to, the overwing exits. Further, if access to the overwing exits on other types is similarly impaired, we recommend that those types be included in the above review.

  2. On 14 October 1985. It is recommended that consideration be given to revising the evacuation drill and — or providing an alternative tailored to the Manchester type of incident. It is further recommended that the drills of other 737 operators and where appropriate the drills on other types be reviewed in the light of the Manchester experience.

  3. On 4 December 1985. Recommended that the CAA reconsider the approval of the public address (PA) system which allows a single engine failure to dramatically reduce its usefulness and to review other aircraft types with a view to discovering if any other PA system would suffer in a similar way due to any single failure.

  Further it is recommended that consideration be given to a requirement that the high gain setting be manually selectable so that it would be available for an emergency situation whatever the engine aircraft system conditions.

  4. On 23 December 1985. It is strongly recommended that the Civil Aviation Authority urgently give serious consideration to the early formulation of a smoke hood — mask requirement such that an effective level of protection is afforded to passengers under such conditions. It is additionally recommended that the Civil Aviation Authority endeavour to convince the Federal Aviation Administration of the continuing pressing need for such a requirement, which that body had the foresight to recognise in their associated notice of proposed rule making in 1969.

  Pedestrian Crossing (Milton Ernest)
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he proposes to place a pedestrian crossing over the A6 at Milton Ernest, in view of the speed and volume of traffic passing through the village.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  There are no present proposals for a crossing.

  Driving Test
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to have completed consultations with driving instructors' organisations so as to be in a position to announce his decision on the review of the driving test.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  We have asked for considered views by February. We shall decide how to proceed after that.

  Merchant Navy Reserve
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Her Majesty's Government's plans for establishing a Merchant Navy reserve include the appointment of a director general to head the reserve; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  Powers to establish the Merchant Navy reserve are contained in the Merchant Shipping Bill at present in the other place. My noble Friend the Minister for Aviation and Shipping, outlined the main features of the reserve at Second Reading. Arrangements for its administration are under consideration.

  British Rail (Season Ticket Holders)
  Mr. Wells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received regarding the level and quality of services for British Rail annual season ticket holders; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  I receive on average about 3,000 representations a year from MPs, their constituents, and directly from members of the travelling public, about the quality of BR's service to commuters.

  Severe Weather (Communications)
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information is available to him about the equipment held by local authorities to enable them to keep lines of communication open during severe weather.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The Department provides all the vehicles and equipment for the winter maintenance of motorways in England. It has a fleet of 258 purpose-built Foden snowplough-spreader vehicles and 21 Rolba snowblowers. In emergencies these vehicles can be hired by local authorities for use on other roads provided they are not needed on the motorways.

  Winter maintenance of all-purpose trunk roads is carried out by local highway authorities acting as our agents. They are also responsible for dealing with local roads. The Department does not keep records of all the

  747
  equipment held by them for these purposes, although a code of practice lays down the standards to be met in maintaining trunk roads in accordance with agency agreements.

  Ice Warnings
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are his procedures for relaying ice warnings to local authorities.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Local authorities obtain forecasts of road weather conditions from their local meteorological weather centre. The Meteorological Office has introduced an "open road" service for local authorities which incorporates ice prediction and thermal mapping techniques which the Department has been promoting. This service is tailored to suit the need of individual authorities and includes a 24-hour forecast, a two-to-five day forecast, weather charts of key trends, ice prediction, a 24-hour consultancy, and regular updates. The Department shares the cost of the service with local authorities acting as its motorway-trunk road agents.

  The Department encourages local authorities to install their own ice prediction systems and to have their roads thermally mapped. It has issued advice notices on these and will pay a share of the costs to cover motorways and other trunk roads. The Department has also drawn up a specification for a national ice prediction network. Ice prediction systems serve as a source of extra information to aid local meteorological offices in making more accurae forecasts of road conditions.

  Road Salting
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what monitoring is carried out by his Department to ensure that local authorities have adequate supplies of salt, and the necessary equipment to assess the amount of salt already on the roads, and to carry out salting operations.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The Department lays down standards of salting for trunk roads. We do not monitor the salt supplies held by local authorities for use on these or local roads. Their normal practice is to order salt supplies in the spring-summer sufficient to cover a normal winter. They will order extra supplies during the winter if their stocks run low in the event of an unusually severe winter. ICI hold a large stockpile at their Cheshire mines as a reserve supply and for this winter are putting more emergency stockpiles at strategic points around the country to avoid any possible transport problems.

  The Department expects local authorities to have sufficient equipment to carry out salting operations on all-purpose trunk roads and local roads. For motorways, the Department has a fleet of 258 purpose-built snowplough-spreader vehicles which are garaged at 98 motorway compounds strategically placed along the motorway network. The salt for motorway use is stored at these compounds, usually in salt barns, and all the necessary equipment for loading the salt into the vehicles is provided there as well. Equipment is available which measures residual salinity on roads, but its accuracy is questionable. The Department does not use this equipment on its roads.
  748
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities have adequate financial resources to carry out the necessary salting of roads in severe weather.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The Department provides funding to local authorities acting as its motorway-trunk road agents for the winter maintenance of these roads. For this winter, the Department has made a provision of £15 million. In the event of a severe winter, the Department will make extra funding available to its agents who incur extra costs in carrying out the winter maintenance of these roads.

  Local authority expenditure on winter maintenance of the roads for which they are responsible is supported by block grant, which is apportioned to grant-related expenditure. There is a GRE component for winter maintenance which is based on the average number of days of air frost and snow coverage for an authority, multiplied by road lengths.

  Vehicle Excise Tax Evasion
  Mr. Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evaluations he has made of the recent campaign against vehicle excise tax evasion in south Wales.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The campaign covered the whole of Wales. A total of 1,568 cases of evasion of vehicle excise duty are being investigated and 1,177 have so far been referred for prosecution.

  The cost-effectiveness of this campaign cannot be calculated until the full results are available. In previous campaigns income from fines, back duty and costs, plus the extra licences bought as a result of campaign publicity has, on average, been over 20 times greater than the Department's costs. I will write to the hon. Member early in the new year with further details for the south Wales area.

  Road Traffic Law Review
  Sir Anthony Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the names of the members of the Road Traffic Law Review and their terms of reference.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The members are:

  Dr. Peter North (Chairman)—Principal, Jesus College, Oxford

  Professor Richard Alsop — Professor of Transport Studies, University College, London

  G. L. Angel—Home Office

  S. Davidson—Home Office

  D. M. Smith—Department of Transport

  T. W. Hall—Lately Department of Transport.

  Their terms of reference are:
  To consider what improvements might be made to the following aspects of road traffic law, particularly in respect of simplification, effectiveness and acceptability, taking account of their relationship with other aspects of road traffic law:

  (a) the structure of and penalties for the offences in sections 1–3 of the Road Traffic Act 1972: causing death by reckless driving; reckless driving, and careless driving;

  (b) whether the present penalty points system needs any amendment and, in particular, whether offences which are endorsable with penalty points can be divided into "points" and "no points" offences;

  (c) the structure of and penalties for offences relating to:

  (i) driver licensing,

  749

  (ii) construction and use and

  (iii) failure to comply with traffic signs;

  (d) whether new types of penalty for traffic offences would be appropriate in place of or in addition to existing types of penalty, in particular the possible wider application of statutory driving tests for certain types of offences or in certain circumstances.

  750
  In August 1986 the terms of reference were extended to include consideration of:
  (e) whether vehicle removal, impounding and wheel clamping would be appropriate, effective and acceptable means of dealing with a wider range of offences involving vehicles.

  WORLD HERITAGE LIST: UK SITES
  WORLD HERITAGE LIST: UK SITES
  WATER PRIVATISATION: US EXPERIENCE
  WATER PRIVATISATION: US EXPERIENCE
  LAND FOR ENERGY STUDY
  LAND FOR ENERGY STUDY
  EDUCATION LAW: CONSOLIDATION POLICY
  EDUCATION LAW: CONSOLIDATION POLICY
  MOTORISTS: INFORMATION SERVICE
  MOTORISTS: INFORMATION SERVICE
  AFFORESTATION: PENSION FUNDS' OWNERSHIP
  AFFORESTATION: PENSION FUNDS' OWNERSHIP
  COINAGE: PUBLIC CONSULTATION
  COINAGE: PUBLIC CONSULTATION
  FAMILY PRACTITIONER SERVICES
  FAMILY PRACTITIONER SERVICES
  PAEDIATRICIANS: COMMUNITY CONSULTANTS
  PAEDIATRICIANS: COMMUNITY CONSULTANTS
  PAEDIATRICIANS: TRAINING PROGRAMMES
  PAEDIATRICIANS: TRAINING PROGRAMMES
  MATRIMONIAL PROCEEDINGS: LEGISLATION
  MATRIMONIAL PROCEEDINGS: LEGISLATION
  NATIONAL RIVERS AUTHORITY
  NATIONAL RIVERS AUTHORITY