Written Answers of 10 March 1988

WALES

  Amniocentesis Tests
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of amniocentesis tests which were undertaken in Wales in the most recent year for which the information is available.

  Mr. Grist
  The information is not available centrally.

  Forestry
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of the numbers of forestry grant or felling licence applications currently referred to him by the Forestry Commission and the dates when they were so referred; when he expects to be able to announce a decision for each one; and for which cases further consultation is still being considered.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  I am considering two forestry planting grant applications to which objections have been raised. The sites are at Bwlch-y-Garreg and Bara Ceirch in Dyfed, and relate to the proposed planting of some 97 hectares in each case. These applications were referred to me on 30 December 1987 and I intend to advise the forestry commissioners on my views shortly.

  Higher Education (Welsh Language)
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which courses at each of the institutions of higher and further education in Wales are available to students to study(a) partly and (b) entirely through the medium of the Welsh language.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  The board for Welsh medium teaching of the University of Wales has reported that in 1986–87 students of the university were pursuing courses partly or entirely through the medium of Welsh as follows:

  Institution

  Secretarial

  Business/Commerce

  Nursery Nursing (NNEB)

  Agriculture

  Home Economics/Community care

  Health studies

  Hairdressing

  Communication

  Technician

  Aberystwyth College of FE

  1*

  *

  Ammanford Technical College

  *

  Gwynedd Technical College

  *

  *

  Llandrillo Technical College

  *

  *

  Llysfasi College of Agriculture

  *

  Coleg Meirinydd

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  Coleg Pencraig

  *

  280
  University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
  Degree courses in Education, Drama, History, Welsh History, Philosophy, French, Geography, Religious Studies, Music and Politics, Post-graduate teacher training.

  University College of North Wales, Bangor
  Degree courses in Education, Drama, History, Welsh History, Biblical Studies, Theology, Music and Sociology. Post-graduate teacher training.

  St. Davids University College, Lampeter
  Degree courses in Archaeology, History, Theology and Religious Studies.

  University College Cardiff
  A degree course in Home economics.

  The University of Wales is also able to provide tuition partly or wholly through the medium of Welsh, in a range of other subjects. They are centred mainly at the University college of Wales, Aberystwyth and the University college of North Wales, Bangor, with some provision at University college, Cardiff, St. Davids University college Lampeter, and University college, Swansea.

  In the public sector courses of advanced further education are available wholly or partly through the medium of Welsh as follows:

  Trinity College Carmarthen
  Degree courses in the Rural Environment and 19th and 20th century Studies, a Bachelor of Education course, and Post-graduate teacher training in Religious Education.

  Bangor Normal College
  Degree courses in Communications, Administration and Environmental Studies, a Bachelor of Education course and Post-graduate teacher training course for primary school teachers.

  Gwent College of Higher Education
  Teacher training course in Craft, Design and Technology.

  South Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education
  Degree course in Speech Therapy and Post-graduate teacher training courses in Art and Phyical Education.

  Welsh College of Librarianship
  A Degree course and Post-graduate course in Librarianship.

  In 1986 public sector colleges reported that courses of non-advanced further education were available partly or entirely in the Welsh language as follows:
  281

  Institution

  Secretarial

  Business/Commerce

  Nursery Nursing (NNEB)

  Agriculture

  Home Economics/Community care

  Health studies

  Hairdressing

  Communication

  Technician

  Montgomery College

  *

  North East Wales Inst. of HE

  *

  West Glamorgan Inst. of HE

  *

  1 Including a post-graduate course.

  Information on the funds allocated at institutions specifically for the promotion of teaching through the medium of Welsh is not held centrally.

  Education Reform
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimates his Department has made of the additional teachers required in(a) the primary sector and (b) the secondary sector in each local education authority area in Wales to teach each of the foundation and core subjects outlined in the Education (Reform) Bill at present before Parliament.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  It is too early to make precise estimates. Local education authorities will be expected to plan on the basis of the national curriculum being implemented incrementally over a number of years broadly within the framework of the present planned resources. That framework includes plans for the overall pupil to teacher ratio to continue to fall from its present level to reach 17:1.

  Within primary schools where the majority of teachers teach right across the curriculum supply is not expected to be a problem. In secondary schools measures will be necessary and plans are in hand to boost teacher numbers in particular subjects, but an increase in teacher numbers overall may not be necessary.

PRIME MINISTER

  Community Care
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the co-ordination of the Government's policy for community care of the elderly, mentally ill and mentally handicapped.

  The Prime Minister
  All the relevant Departments work closely together to achieve the necessary co-ordination for community care policies.

  British Standard Time
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister what action she intends to take in response to the representations she has received in favour of putting the clock forward by one hour to restore British standard time and double British summer time.

  The Prime Minister
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Hogg) to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) on 2 March 1988, at column 567.
  282

  Stabilisers
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if the European Council has now received the necessary assurances on stabilisers to enable it to finalise the provisional agreement reached on 11 and 12 February; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on 22 February endorsed the non-arable stabilisers proposals (paragraph 4–11 of annex I to document SN 461/1/88, a copy of which is in the Library of the House), thus enabling the overall agreement reached by the European Council on 11–12 February to be finalised, subject to detailed legal texts being agreed on all points.

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

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

  Engagements
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

  The Prime Minister
  This morning I presided over 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, including one with a delegation from the National Pensioners Convention. This evening I am attending a reception for the winners of the 1987 Queen's awards for export and technology.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Legal Aid
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Attorney-General if legal aid will still be available to women suffering from violence in the home, following the changes proposed in the Legal Aid Bill[Lords].
  283
  The Attorney-General
  Yes, subject, as now, to the applicant's means being within the qualifying limits and to the application being judged reasonable by the legal aid authorities.

  "Spycatcher"
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will bring up to date the information provided in his answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 22 October 1987,Official Report, column 839, on legal actions in respect of "Spycatcher"; and if he will provide details in the same form in respect of Mr. Anthony Cavendish's memoirs.

  The Attorney-General
  The information is as follows:

  Spycatcher
  The High Court of Australia has today reserved judgment in the Government's appeal in the action brought against Heinemann (Australia) and Mr. Peter Wright. The total amount of costs expended to date by the Government in these proceedings is about £485,000.

  In England and Wales the House of Lords will hear on 7 June the Government's appeal in the action brought against The Guardian, The Observer and The Sunday Times newspapers. The total amount of costs expended to date by the Government in these proceedings is about £43,000.
  In New Zealand the Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the Government's appeal in the action brought against The Dominion newspaper. The total amount of costs expended to date by the Government in these proceedings is about £74,000.
  In Hong Kong an interim injunction was obtained last August against The South China Morning Post newspaper. No date for the hearing of the substantive action has yet been set. The total amount of costs expended to date by the Government in these proceedings is about £1,200.

  Cavendish
  In England and Wales interim injunctions were obtained in January against The Observer and The Sunday Times newspapers, and later varied, to restrain the publication of material from Mr. Cavendish.
  In the same month in Scotland an interim interdict to the same effect was obtained against The Scotsman newspaper, but later recalled. A fresh application for an interim interdict failed, and the Government's appeal against that refusal is due to be heard on 15 March.
  To date no costs have been expended by the Government in these proceedings.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Education Standards
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the standards in education.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  We have received over 10,000 responses to our consultation paper on the national curriculum. A number of respondents have noted that many children now fail to do as well as they could and should, and recognise the importance of a curriculum which sets clear and appropriate objectives for all pupils.

  Special Educational Needs
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to publish proposals to extend the support of special educational needs into the 16 to 19 years further education sector.
  284
  Mr. Dunn
  Clause 81 of the Education Reform Bill puts beyond doubt the duty of local education authorities to provide full-time education for all who seek it up to the age of 19, including those with special educational needs.

  Daily Worship
  Mr. Bowls
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list for each local education authority the number of schools which do not have a daily act of worship.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  This information is not collected by the Department.

  Teachers of the Deaf
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers have been seconded for training as teachers of the deaf in the academic year 1988–89 under the new grant related in-service training scheme; and what steps he has taken to ensure that at least the minimum number of teachers necessary to maintain the current supply will be trained in that year.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Figures are not yet available for courses starting in September 1988. We have made provision through the LEA training grants scheme to support the training of 110 specialist teachers of the deaf through in-service training. This, with the numbers qualifying through initial training, is sufficient to maintain supply broadly at current levels. LEAs have, however, forecast that they will spend some 50 per cent. more in 1988–89 than the sum allocated under the training grant scheme to provide for the 110 trainees.

  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many qualified teachers of the deaf are employed in maintained and non-maintained schools; and how many teachers not having a specialist qualification are employed to teach hearing-impaired children.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Information in the form requested is riot available. The available information, which covers England and Wales as at March 1986, is as follows:In maintained and direct grant special schools there were 704 full-time teachers who were recorded as holding qualifications for teaching the hearing-impaired. In main-tamed nursery, primary and seconday schools there were 692 full-time teachers teaching classes for hearing-impaired or visually handicapped children. Of these, 477 were recorded as bolding qualifications for teaching the hearing-impaired, 26 for teaching the visually handicapped and 189 had neither type of qualification recorded.

  Higher Education
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students from(a) Northern Ireland, (b) countries within the EEC and (c) countries outside the EEC are currently attending higher education courses in (i) Scotland, (ii) England and (iii) Wales.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information is shown in the following table:

  Full-time and sandwich students in higher education, 1986

  Great Britain

  Thousands

  England

  Wales

  Scotland

  Domiciled in Northern Ireland

  4·9

  0·3

  1·5

  285

  England

  Wales

  Scotland

  Other United Kingdom

  430·5

  29·2

  73·6

  European Community

  7·4

  0·3

  0·8

  Other Countries

  38·3

  3·1

  6·3

  Chiropody
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools of chiropody will remain under local education authority control following the establishment of the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council; what proportion of state registered chiropodists in England and Wales they account for; what safeguards will be introduced to ensure that funding of the chiropody course will not be adversely affected at these schools as a result of the new proposals and that the numbers of chiropody students will be maintained; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  In England and Wales there are 11 institutions which offer courses leading to qualification as a state registered chiropodist. One school falls within the National Health Service. Of the 10 schools at educational institutions, six will remain in local authority control. In the current year the students enrolled at these six institutions represent about 70 per cent. of the total. Under long-standing guidance by education departments to local education authorities, the non-clinical elements of courses in chiropody at educational institutions are a charge to the education service. I do not expect that arrangement to change. LEA institutions will settle the levels of funding of their courses within the total resources made available by the authority. But authorities' expenditure on such courses of higher education will score as grant-related expenditure.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Civil Defence, Swindon
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the provisions for civil defence in Swindon; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  Responsibility for civil defence planning rests with county councils which are assisted by district councils. We are satisfied that Wiltshire county council, and the district councils within the county, are making good progress towards meeting their statutory obligations.

  Driving Disqualification
  Mr. Holt
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been disqualified from driving in each of the past 10 years; and what is the present total number of disqualified drivers.

  Mr. John Patten
  The number of disqualifications imposed by the courts in each year from 1977 to 1986 is published in table 16 of Home Office statistical bulletin, issue 36/87, "Offences Relating To Motor Vehicles, England and Wales 1986", copies of which are in the Library. It is estimated on the basis of records held on the police national computer that about 240,000 persons are currently disqualified from driving in Great Britain.

  Convicted Murderers
  Mr. Holt
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted murderers in prison now have served(a) 30 years, (b) 25 years, (c) 20 years, (d) 15 years, (e) 10 years, (f) five years and (g) under five years.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Information on the time spent under sentence in prison department establishments in England and Wales by sentenced murderers held in such establishments on 30 September 1987 is given in the table. More detailed information about all life sentenced prisoners is given annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales", table 1(f) of the latest issue, for 1986, (Cm. 210), a copy of which is in the Library.

  Sentenced murderers held under their original sentence1 in Prison Department establishments in England and Wales on 30 September 1987: by time spent under sentence in such establishments Years spent under sentence3

  Number of prisoners2

  Under 5

  794

  5 and under 10

  646

  10 and under 15

  247

  15 and under 20

  68

  20 and under 25

  23

  25 and under 30

  5

  30 and over

  1

  Total

  1,784

  1 Excluding 68 murderers recalled following an earlier release on licence.

  2 The figures are those recorded centrally and are approximate.

  3 Excluding any time spent on remand in custody or in non-prison department establishments.

  Football Matches (Policing Costs)
  Mr. Fallon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will estimate the net annual costs to public funds of policing Football League matches.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The information on which to base such an estimate is not available centrally. It is for police authorities to determine the charges for providing police officers for duty inside the ground and to ensure that, so far as possible, they recover the full cost.

  Young Offenders (Fines on Parents)
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many orders have been made by the courts imposing financial penalties on parents for crimes committed by children in their care, in each of the last five years.

  Mr. John Patten
  The readily available information, which may be incomplete, is given in table 7·16 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1986" (Cm. 233), a copy of which is in the Library.

  EC (Time Zones)
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the member states of the European Community which broadly operate on the same time zone as the United Kingdom and those one and two hours in advance, respectively, together with their total
  287
  respective populations and the total population living in advanced time zones in Europe west of the Greenwich meridian.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The information requested is as follows:

  Population (million)

  Same Time Zone as United Kingdom

  Republic of Ireland

  3·5

  United Kingdom

  56·1

  One hour in advance of United Kingdom

  Belgium

  9·9

  Denmark

  5·1

  France

  54·6

  Germany

  61·0

  Italy

  57·1

  Luxembourg

  0·4

  Netherlands

  14·5

  Portugal

  10·2

  Spain

  38·6

  251·3

  Two hours in advance of United Kingdom

  Greece

  9·9

  It is not possible to estimate, save at disproportionate cost, how many people in Portugal and parts of Spain and France live to the west of the Greenwich meridian.

  Equal Opportunities
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list all the complaints made to the Equal Opportunities Commission of discrimination against women in the last five years, together with the names of the complainant and the organisation complained against and the subsequent outcome; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will list all the complaints of discrimination in employment made to the Commission for Racial Equality in the last five years, together with the names of the complainant and the organisation complained against and the subsequent outcome; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  Information about complaints made to the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality is, consistent with considerations of confidentiality, included in the commissions' annual reports, copies of which are in the Library. It is not possible to list details of the complaints because in many cases this would involve a breach of confidentiality between the individual and the commission.

  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for the past five years for which figures are available the bodies investigated by (i) the Commission for Racial Equality and (ii) the Equal Opportunities Commission, and the subsequent outcome.

  Mr. John Patten
  Information about the formal investigations conducted under the powers contained in section 48 of the Race Relations Act 1976 and section 57 of the Sex Discrimination Act is included in the annual reports of the Commission for Racial Equality and Equal Opportunities Commission, copies of which are in the Library.

  Fires in the Home
  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken, following publication of the report in the "Fire and Safety Journal 12 (1987)" on housing factors and fires in two metropolitan boroughs, to reduce the incidence of fires in the home.

  Mr. John Patten
  The findings of the report corroborate the approach which the Home Office has followed in directing its fire precautions publicity primarily at those groups most at risk from fire in the home. Local authority fire brigades use Home Office printed publicity extensively especially when associated with television, radio or press advertising campaigns designed to target selectively the most vulnerable groups. New ways of directing fire precautions advice to those most at risk are being explored.

  Fire Services (Clwyd)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will increase funding for fire services to Clwyd county council to a level sufficient to ensure that the Buckley fire station does not close and that the Queensferry station does not suffer cutbacks; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his question on 8 March, at column 109, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Panamanian Consulate, London
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to who was in possession of the Panamanian consulate premises in London when the police responded to an alleged bomb scare; what advice was given to them; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the date and the time at which the message was received by the Metropolitan police that a bomb had been placed in the Panamanian consulate premises in London; who received the message; who was consulted; what action was taken; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  A telephone call was received by British Telecom at 11 pm on 2 March from an unknown male who stated that there was a bomb at the Panamanian consulate in Tudor street, London, EC4. The message was passed at 11·2 pm to New Scotland Yard and the City of London police were alerted immediately. There were two security guards on the premises who were advised in accordance with normal practice that the decision whether the consulate should be evacuated and searched, with police assistance, rested with them.

  RUC (Chief Constable)
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what communications Sir Lawrence Byford, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, had with Sir John Hermon, the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in May 1986; and if he will make a statement.
  289
  Mr. Douglas Hurd
  I understand from Sir Lawrence Byford that there were none.

  RUC (Stalker Inquiry)
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he received up to 31 May 1986 about the implications for the morale and efficiency of the Royal Ulster Constabulary of the inquiries being conducted by Mr. John Stalker; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  None. My right hon. Friend has no responsibilities for either the morale or the efficiency of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

  Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there has been any improvement since the answer of 20 November 1987,Official Report, column 716, in the length of time taken by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board to process cases; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  The latest annual report of the board, (Cm. 265), copies of which are in the Library, shows at paragraph 7 that 50 per cent. of cases resolved in the financial year 1986–87 were decided within a year of application. The increase in the time taken to resolve cases reflects the backlog of cases caused by a large rise in applications over recent years.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, when he next meets the chairman of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, he will raise with him the reasons for the number of apologies sent to applicants because of delays in dealing with cases; and if he will make a statement

  Mr. John Patten
  Delays in dealing with applications arise from the board's substantially increased work load over the last few years. The number of applications received in 1986–87 was about 42,300, higher than in any previous year and about 2,500 more than in 1985–86. To help reduce the delays in dealing with applications the Government provided £77 million for the criminal injuries compensation scheme in the Estimates for this financial year — an increase of £33 million over previously planned provision — and plan to make £81 million available in 1988–89 and £89 million in 1989–90. This increased privision will finance a rise in the number of compensation payments and has enabled the board to recruit 90 additional staff at its new office in Glasgow who will help to deal with the backlog of claims.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Miss Elena Gurevich
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise the case of Miss Elena Gurevich of Moscow with the Government of the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  We regularly raise the plight of refuseniks with the Soviet authorities and shall continue to do so. We understand that Elena Gurevich may already have received permission to leave the Soviet Union.

  Panama
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of the United States of America in respect of the current situation in Panama.

  Mr. Eggar
  The situation in Panama has been discussed in the course of our normal contacts with the United States Government.

  Antarctic Treaty
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy for consolidating Britain's long-term presence in the British Antarctic territory in advance of the revision of the Antarctic treaty in 1991; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  There is no automatic requirement for the Antarctic treaty to be reviewed in or after 1991. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science announced on 13 November 1987, at column 322, additional funding totalling £30 million over the period 1988–89 to 1990–91 for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), funded through the Natural Environment Research Council. The greater part of this provision will purchase a research and supply ship to replace RRS John Biscoe. The new vessel will make important contributions to research in the Southern ocean and will support more scientists in Antarctica. Halley and Signy stations will be rebuilt, and a fourth Twin Otter purchased to augment the BAS fleet.

  Moscow (Ministerial Visit)
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, pursuant to his answer of 7 March, he will list the eight individuals whose cases were raised by Mr. Shevardnadze during his recent visit to Moscow.

  Mr. Mellor
  It is not our practice to reveal details of individual prisoners without their consent.

DEFENCE

  Greenham Common
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he proposes to take to compensate Greenham Common peace women who have been convicted through the use of Ministry of Defence byelaws which have been ruled by Mr. Justice Lait at Reading Crown court as being invalid.

  Mr. Freeman
  I have nothing to add at this stage to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 3 March 1988 at column 687.

  Dual-capable Aircraft
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 23 February Official Report, column 142, if he will list the three types of dual-capable aircraft currently in service with the Royal Air Force.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  The three types of dual capable aircraft currently in service with the Royal Air Force are the Tomado, the Buccaneer and the Nimrod.

  Ferry Dispute (Use of Naval Vessels)
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which Royal Navy vessels were used to convey passengers to the Isle of Arran during the current ferry dispute; on whose authority they were used; and at what cost.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  On 5 March a request was received from a field study centre on the Isle of Arran for RN assistance in transporting to the island a group of schoolchildren who had travelled from all over the United Kingdom to participate in a course at the centre.

  This was a last minute request as, it was claimed, an industrial dispute had prevented the children from travelling on the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry. Commodore Clyde authorised the use of RMAS fleet tender Crick lade which was already in the area and able to fit the task into its planned programme. There was, therefore, no extra cost to public funds.

  Vanguard Submarine (Loss)
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when, pursuant to his answer of 7 March,Official Report, column 60, he expects his inquiry into the loss of pieces of a Vanguard submarine on 5 to 6 February to be completed.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The inquiry referred to is being carried out by the company concerned and not by my Department, but I expect to be able to give further information shortly.

  Racial Discrimination
  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many complaints of racial discrimination have been taken to the Commission for Racial Equality in respect of soldiers serving in the British Army; and how many have been found to be proven;

  (2) how many complaints of racial discrimination have been taken to the Commission for Racial Equality in respect of soldiers serving in the Prince of Wale's Division; and how many have been found to be proven.

  Mr. Freeman
  [holding answer 9 March 1988]: Under the Race Relations Act 1976 the Race Relations Board and the Community Relations Commission were replaced by the Commission for Racial Equality. Section 75(8) and (9) of that Act provides that a complaint of racial discrimination which is made by a person subject to the Service Discipline Acts and which is concerned with any aspect of that person's service in the armed forces will be
  292
  dealt with under the redress of grievance machinery provided for in the Service Discipline Acts. There have been no cases of redress of grievance of a racial nature which have been referred to the Ministry of Defence.

TRANSPORT

  British Rail (Financial Support)
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to change present levels of financial support for British R ail in the light of increasing demand for rail services.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  The objectives agreed with the chairman of the British Railways Board in October 1986 provide for a reduction in public service obligation grant to the board to £555 million (at 1986–87 prices) in 1989–90. Increasing demand reflects well on the board's efforts to improve the quality and marketing of its services, and rising revenues from passengers make a valuable contribution towards reducing the cost to the taxpayer.

  EC (Rail Transport)
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response the Government are making to the call by the Economic and Social Committee of the European Economic Community in April 1987, repeated at the Mannheim conference in October 1987, for member states to quantify and apply in their transport policies the environmental, energy and safety advantages of rail over road transport; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  The Government do not at present intend to respond formally to the views expressed by the Economic and Social Committee, since it is for the EC Commission to decide whether to submit proposals for Community legislation to the Council of Ministers.

  However, the Government accept that where investment in the grant-aided passenger railway would have significant benefits for the community, for example in reducing road congestion by attracting more passengers to the railway, and which could not be paid for through fares, those benefits should be included in the project appraisal. Furthermore, the Government recognise the substantial environmental benefits that the transfer of road freight to rail can give in certain circumstances. Grants are available from the Government under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 for consignors towards the capital cost of the necessary facilities, where without grant the proper decision would be to use road.

  Public Service Vehicles
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department proposes to seek to amend the requirements for a public service vehicle licence for vehicles so as to include those carrying 11 or more people; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  I have no plans to amend the current requirement that anyone who operates a vehicle with more than eight passenger seats has to comply with the licensing requirements for public service vehicles unless they are specifically exempted.

  Departmental Contracts
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to monitor the ethnic and gender composition of staff employed by companies contracted to provide goods and services to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  No.

  Rail Freight
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the total value and tonnage of freight carried by British Rail in Scotland (ScotRail) in each of the years from 1979–80 to 1986–87; what percentage of this was from the supply of coal to Scottish power stations: and what percentage of British Rail's(a) total income and (b) freight income this represents for each of these years.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  This information is not available.

  Brockworth Bypass
  Mr. Marland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is yet able to announce the date for the public inquiry into the Brockworth bypass.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Recent work has indicated that there may be a need for some redesign to the junction layouts, on account of both objections received and the latest estimates of traffic growth. I have deferred the arrangements for an inquiry while these points are considered further. I shall make a further statement as soon as I can.

  Ferry Safety
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his discussions with British ferry owners about the safety of ferries.

  Mr. Channon
  My officials hold regular meetings with British ferry owners to discuss the Government's ferry safety programme. I am glad to say that the General Council of British Shipping, and British ferry owners generally, have been co-operating fully with the Government in the implementation of this programme.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which recommendations of Mr. Justice Sheen regarding older ferries he has decided not to implement; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Channon
  None. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr.294
  Shaw) on 3 March, at column 653, in which I stated the current position in relation to roll-on/roll-off ferries built before 1980.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the number of inspections performed by marine inspectors(a) in the two years prior to the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise and (b) since that date to the latest date for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Channon
  In the two-year two-month period prior to the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise 1,501 inspections of United Kingdom ships and 5,823 inspections of foreign ships were made. From 6 March 1987 to 29 February 1988, 1,178 inspections of United Kingdom ships and 2,256 inspections of foreign ships were made.

  Settle-Carlisle Railway
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the future of the Settle to Carlisle railway line; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  I continue to receive many representations from Members of this House, local authorities and others with an interest in this Line. I expect that a decision will be announced very shortly now.

CIVIL SERVICE

  Management Reform
  Mr. Baldry
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement on the effects upon the delivery of service to the public of the recently announced reforms in the management of the Civil Service.

  Mr. Luce
  The aim of the "Next Steps" proposals is to produce a better service to the public and the Government by improving management in the Civil Service. Better management should lead to improved value for money for the taxpayer.

  Former Crown Servants
  Mr. Baldry
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish a further report on business appointments of former Crown servants.

  Mr. Luce
  I have today placed copies of a statistical report entitled "Acceptance of Outside Appointments by Crown Servants—1987" in the Libraries of Parliament.

  Discretionary Pay
  Mr. Baldry
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement about the discretionary pay scheme for grades 2 and 3 staff in the home Civil Service.

  Mr. Luce
  My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 23 April 1987 the introduction of a scheme of discretionary increments for staff in grades 2 and 3 and said that the increments would be in payment with effect from 1 October 1987. Awards have been made to 27 Grade 2s and 84 grade 3s (respectively 20 and 17 per cent. of all those in each grade). The cost of the awards in the current
  295
  financial year is £117,750, equivalent to £235,500 in a full year, or about 1 per cent. of the annual pay bill for the grades concerned.

THE ARTS

  East Durham Arts Committee
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will visit the county of Durham to meet the East Durham Arts Committee.

  Mr. Luce
  I have no immediate plans to do so.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Departmental Buildings
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the location and status of all buildings within his Department located in London, and the annual cost of rents, rates and maintenance of each.

  Mr. Butcher
  I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 3 March, by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment. In the case of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department occupies accommodation in 23 buildings in the London postal area, ranging from its main HQ building at 1–19 Victoria street, down to the small offices of the inner city task forces. The following list gives the name and location of these buildings.

  Department of Trade and Industry Offices located in the London postal area

  1

  1–19 Victoria Street

  SW1

  2

  10–18 Victoria Street

  SW1

  3

  20 Victoria Street

  SW1

  4

  Kingsgate House

  SW1

  5

  Ashdown House

  SW1

  6

  Allington Towers

  SW1

  7

  29 Bressenden Place

  SW1

  8

  Dean Bradley House

  SW1

  9

  Ebury Bridge House

  SW1

  10

  Millbank Tower

  SW1

  11

  Minster House

  SW1

  12

  State House

  WC1

  13

  Drury Lane

  WC2

  14

  Southampton Buildings

  WC2

  15

  Gavrelle House

  EC1

  16

  Atlantic House

  EC1

  17

  Companies House

  EC1

  18

  Eileen House

  SE1

  19

  Cornwall House

  SE1

  20

  Waterloo Bridge House

  SE1

  21

  Inner City Task Force—London

  El

  22

  Inner City Task Force—London

  SE15

  23

  Inner City Task Force—London

  W10

  GEC-Plessey Merger
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the merger of GEC and Plessey.

  Mr. Maude
  On 29 January my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State announced his decision not to refer to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission the proposal by GEC and Plessey to establish a joint venture company to handle the telecommunications interests of both companies. His decision was in accordance with the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading.

  My right hon. and noble Friend has asked the Director General to negotiate with GEC modifications to the
  296
  undertakings given by GEC following the MMC's report of August 1986 on the proposed merger between GEC and Plessey, to the extent that such modifications are necessary in order to allow the proposed joint venture to proceed.

  Clothing Industry (Grants)
  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the Government grants available to the clothing industry in areas with full development and intermediate development status.

  Mr. Atkins
  The clothing industry is eligible for a range of Government assistance which is available to firms through my Department in development and intermediate areas, namely, regional selective assistance, and in development areas (as from 1 April 1988) investment and innovation grants for firms with fewer than 25 employees. (Until 31 March 1988 firms in development areas may apply for regional development grant.)

  In addition, the clothing industry is able to benefit from assistance which is available on a national basis under the enterprise initiative: grants towards consultancy under the business development initiatives (available at a higher rate in assisted and urban programme areas); and support for exporting, collaborative research, and partnerships between manufacturing companies and higher education institutions.

  Business Development Initiative
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on the business development initiative (support for consultancy services) to be paid out in Scotland for each year 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91;

  (2) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure of the business development initiative (consultancy services) to be paid out in each of the standard English regions and Wales, for each year 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91;

  (3) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on the business development initiative (consultancy services) in assisted areas and non-assisted areas for each of the years 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Spending on the consultancy initiatives in each region will depend on the response of firms to them. We are giving additional encouragement to firms in assisted areas and urban programme areas through a higher rate of support. The public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 288) does not make provision for spending in regions separately. Total provision is £74 million in 1988–89, £91 million in 1989–90 and £109 million in 1990–91.

  Business Innovation Grant Scheme
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on the businesss innovation grant scheme to be paid out in Scotland for each year 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91;

  (2) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on the business innovation grant scheme to be paid out in each of the standard English regions and Wales for each year 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91;
  297
  (3) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on the business investment grant to be paid out in each of the standard English regions and Wales for each of the years 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The new grants for small firms employing fewer than 25 to help finance investment and innovation projects will be available from 1 April in the development areas (DAs) of Great Britain. My Department is responsible for expenditure on investment projects in English DAs and for expenditure on innovation projects in DAs in England, Scotland and Wales. The public expenditure White Paper includes provision of £14 million in 1988–89, £42 million in 1989–90 and £55 million in 1990–91 for DTI expenditure on new incentives for the development areas which form part of the enterprise initiative. The provision for Wales is contained within the Welsh Office expenditure plans for industry, energy, trade and employment, which are £194 million for 1988–89, £180 million for 1989–90 and £180 million for 1990–91.

  The amount of expenditure which will be paid out in any particular area will depend on demand for the scheme and the appraisal of individual applications.

  Shipbuilding (State Aid)
  Mr. Page
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action has been taken by the European Commission on the state aid offered by the French authorities to secure a contract to build a ship for Brittany Ferries in a French yard.

  Mr. Atkins
  In January 1987 we asked the European Commission to investigate any state aid the French authorities might offer to secure an order for a cross-Channel ferry for Brittany Ferries from Chantier Navales de L'Atlantique. The opportunity for this was article 4(5) of the new sixth directive on aid to shipbuilding. British Shipbuilders Govan yard was bidding for this order, as was a Dutch yard. French entry late in the competition followed the loss of another order by its yard.

  The Commission has now written to the French authorities to say that the aid that they proposed to make available in support of this order contravenes the sixth directive and must be trimmed to the level that would have been available in support of an order from Holland. The result is that the French yard is set to suffer a significant loss, since it decided to proceed with building in advance of the Commission's decision. Although the Commission is not in a position to prevent orders being taken, the result is a salutary warning to other yards of the dangers of contracting in advance of decisions on cases referred to the Commission. I welcome the decision as an important step in securing fair competition among Community shipbuilders.

  Motor Auctions
  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he intends to take to protect the interest of consumers attending motor auctions in circumstances which preclude many of the civil claims which purchasers would otherwise enjoy against fraudulent dealers.

  Mr. Butcher
  No action is being contemplated. Vendors at auction who are acting in the course of business are 298
  subject to the requirements of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Such vendors cannot restrict or exclude a purchaser's rights in respect of faulty goods by reference to a contract term, unless the term satisfied the requirement of reasonableness set out in the 1977 Act.

  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what measures exist to ensure that motor auctioneers maintain sufficiently accurate records to enable police and trading standard officers to carry out their statutory duties relating to dangerous, misdescribed or stolen vehicles.

  Mr. Butcher
  Although there is no specific legal requirement for motor auctioneers to maintain records about the vehicles which pass through their hands, I understand that the majority of them do so, and the Society of Motor Auctions requires this of its members.

  Motor Trade (Abuses)
  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he proposes to take arising as a result of his meeting with the Director General of Fair Trading, representatives of the local authority organisations, the motor industry and consumer groups.

  Mr. Butcher
  It was agreed at that meeting that it was desirable to amend section 60 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 to make it easier for trading standards officers to deal with the sellers of unroadworthy vehicles. It was also agreed that a number of other suggestions to help combat the sale of unroadworthy vehicles and the fraudulent alteration of odometers would be examined further. My Department and the Department of Transport are keeping in touch with the Office of Fair Trading and the various interested parties will be kept informed of progress on this matter.

  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what legislative measures he intends taking to control fraud dishonesty and negligence in the used car trade as highlighted in recent reports published by local authority associations and the Consumers Association on abuses in the motor trade.

  Mr. Butcher
  Fraud, dishonesty and negligence, are already extensively controlled by the criminal and civil law and I do not consider that any major new legislative measures are necessary or desirable. However, my Department and the Department of Transport are looking at a number of suggestions for making the existing law easier to enforce and apply.

  Regional Aid
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish in the Official Report the amount of regional preferential assistance paid to each standard region of England, Scotland and Wales in 1986–87, identifying separately the main forms of assistance: and if he will publish equivalent data for each year since 1978–79.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 8 March 1988] The information requested is as follows:
  299

  Government expenditure on regional preferential assistance for industry1

  (£ millions)

  Financial year:

  Form of assistance

  Region

  1978–79

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1. Regional development grant

  Northern

  135·0

  122·4

  117·5

  143·9

  127·2

  101·3

  89·0

  67·3

  102·2

  North West

  64·3

  58·7

  105·7

  143·4

  97·3

  83·0

  80·0

  62·1

  101·3

  Yorkshire/Humberside

  30·2

  21·5

  38·7

  47· 1

  36·4

  23·5

  26·8

  24·2

  27·1

  South West

  6·0

  5·0

  8·5

  10·3

  11·0

  7·8

  9·5

  8·6

  15·3

  East Midlands

  2·3

  2·4

  3·2

  7·2

  8·8

  8·2

  3·8

  4·4

  8·4

  West Midlands

  0·1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  England

  238·1

  210·0

  273·7

  351·9

  280·7

  223·8

  209·0

  166·6

  254·4

  Scotland

  107·3

  70·2

  113·3

  142·7

  287·3

  143·0

  109·0

  107·5

  170·5

  Wales

  71·5

  50·7

  103·5

  122·2

  121·5

  72·1

  92·7

  84·4

  88·8

  Great Britain2

  416·9

  330·9

  490·5

  616·8

  689·6

  438·9

  410·6

  358·5

  513·4

  2. Selective financial assistance

  Northern

  10·7

  11·5

  13·0

  21·1

  21·1

  11·1

  14·9

  16·0

  18·0

  North West

  40·1

  20·6

  15·2

  315·7

  18·3

  314·7

  11·4

  12·7

  18·2

  Yorkshire/Humberside

  5·2

  6·8

  6·1

  7·1

  10·6

  8·7

  9·1

  7·2

  10·2

  South West

  2·4

  3·1

  1·7

  1·7

  2·7

  2·0

  1·7

  2·3

  4·7

  East Midlands

  0·7

  0·9

  0·5

  1·0

  4·2

  9·4

  6·3

  3·9

  2·1

  West Midlands

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  4·6

  9·8

  England

  59·1

  42·9

  36·5

  46·6

  56·9

  45·9

  43·5

  46·7

  63·0

  Scotland

  12·4

  14·0

  21·2

  19·0

  20·1

  23·9

  29·3

  46·9

  35·4

  Wales

  30·4

  6·1

  7·8

  10·0

  14·5

  12·2

  17·9

  21·8

  27·2

  Great Britain2

  103·4

  78·9

  74·0

  75·6

  91·5

  82·0

  90·7

  115·4

  125·6

  3. Expenditure by English estates on land and factories

  Northern

  13·2

  13·9

  14·9

  10·1

  10·2

  12·3

  18·3

  11·1

  16·9

  North West

  9·63

  37·4

  9·3

  315·7

  38·7

  36·5

  10·2

  11·1

  9·0

  Yorkshire/Humberside

  2·0

  3·8

  7·4

  7·4

  5·9

  3·3

  6·0

  2·9

  4·1

  South West

  1·2

  2·6

  1·3

  2·8

  2·7

  2·1

  2·5

  0·9

  2·2

  East Midlands

  0·4

  0·8

  0·9

  0·4

  0·7

  —

  —

  —

  —

  West Midlands

  0·1

  0·1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  0·9

  0·2

  England

  26·5

  28·6

  33·9

  36·4

  27·7

  24·2

  37·0

  26·9

  32·4

  Expenditure by Scottish and Welsh development agencies on land and factories

  Scotland

  27·8

  37·8

  47·3

  55·1

  46·4

  43·6

  23·3

  32·4

  20·2

  Wales

  30·2

  43·4

  60·0

  65·9

  46·2

  28·4

  30·1

  25·4

  27·6

  4. Highland and Islands development board

  Scotland

  6·1

  8·5

  11·4

  11·8

  15·6

  17·3

  22·9

  17·9

  15·8

  5. Development board for rural Wales

  Wales

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  4·1

  5·3

  6·1

  6·8

  1 All figures are gross and include payments to nationalised industries.

  2 The Great Britain total for individual forms of assistance may not always equal the sum of the component parts due to the inclusion of items which cannot be allocated to regions, and because of rounding.

  3 Includes expenditure in Cumbria, otherwise shown within the totals for the northern region.

  The items included in the expenditure are: regional development grants and regional selective assistance; expenditure on land and factories by the English Industrial Estates Corporation, the Scottish and the Welsh Development Agencies; and expenditure on land and factories and grants by the Development Board for Rural Wales, and the Highlands and Islands Development Board.

EMPLOYMENT

  Industrial Accidents
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many people suffered industrial 300
  accidents from which they were (a) temporarily and (b) permanently injured (i) in the Northern regional health authority area and (ii) nationally, during the period 1979 to 1987;

  (2) how many people died as a result of industrial accidents (a) in the Northern regional health authority area and (b) nationally, during the period 1979 to 1987.

  Mr. Nicholls
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 16 December 1987, at column 578, in which I gave the available national information on reported industrial accidents. Figures for the Northern regional health authority could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

  Industrial Diseases
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people died as the result of recognised industrial diseases(a) in the Northern regional health authority area and (b) nationally, during the period 1979 to 1987.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The latest statistics available show 7,181 deaths in Great Britain during the period 1979 to 1986 which can be attributed to recognised industrial diseases. This figure has been obtained by combining figures for death benefit awards under the industrial injuries and pneumoconiosis, byssinosis and miscellaneous diseases benefit schemes with figures of certifications that death was due to pneumoconiosis made under the workers' compensation scheme. I regret that there are no separate figures for the Northern regional health authority.

  Real Hourly Earnings in Manufacturing4 Year to Year percentage changes

  1979

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Aggregate percentage change 1979–86

  United Kingdom1

  1·9

  -0·1

  1·3

  2·4

  4·2

  3·5

  2·8

  4·1

  19·6

  France2

  2·1

  1·3

  0·9

  3·1

  1·4

  0·4

  0·2

  1·7

  9·3

  Germany

  1·3

  0·7

  -0·9

  -0·3

  0·0

  -0·1

  2·3

  3·8

  5·5

  United States

  -2·5

  -42

  -0·5

  0·2

  0·6

  -0·2

  0·3

  0·1

  -3·7

  Japan3

  3·5

  -0·5

  0·7

  2·1

  2·0

  2·4

  1·9

  2·0

  11·1

  Source: OECD Historical Statistics 1960–1985 and OECD Economic Outlook No. 42 December 1987.

  Notes:

  1 United Kingdom figures are based on average weekly earnings.

  2 France's figures are based on hourly rates of pay.

  3 Japan's figures are based on monthly earnings.

  4International comparisons of real hourly earnings in the economy as a whole are not available

  Labour Costs
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to the percentage annual in unit labour costs in manufacturing in each year since 1979 in(a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) the United States of America, and (e) Japan.

  Mr. Lee
  The following table sets out the available information. Annual figures for 1987 are not yet available:

  Unit labour costs in manufacturing Percentage change on previous year

  Unite Kingdom

  France

  Germany

  United States

  Japan

  1979

  18

  8

  3

  10

  0

  1980

  22

  15

  8

  12

  0

  1981

  9

  12

  5

  7

  4

  1982

  3

  11

  3

  6

  -1

  1983

  -1

  8

  -1

  -2

  -2

  1984

  2

  6

  1

  -2

  -4

  1985

  3

  5

  2

  0

  -2

  1986

  4

  2

  3

  0

  1

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Permanent workers dismissed for offence justifying summary dismissal

  4

  13

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Wages
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to the annual percentage increase in real wages in(a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) the United States of America, and (e) Japan in each year since 1979; and what has been the aggregate percentage increase in real wages in each of these countries over the period 1979 to 1987.

  Mr. Lee
  The following table sets out the available information published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development covering real earnings in manufacturing industry. Figures for 1987 are not yet available.

  Notes:

  1. The percentages are calculated from index series produced by the International Monetary Fund, except for Great Britain, figures for which are published in the Employment Gazette.

  2. The source index series are in local currency and are not adjusted for exchange rate changes

  Middlesbrough and Hartlepool (Dock Labour Scheme)
  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many permanent registered dock workers in the Middlesbrough and Hartlepool dock labour board area in each year from 1980 to 1986 have been dismissed by their employer for an offence justifying summary dismissal under the disciplinary provisions of the dock labour scheme; how many of these men have been reinstated by order of the local dock labour board and appeal tribunals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 7 March 19881: The figures requested are as follows:

  303

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Reinstated by order of Middlesbrough and Hartlepool Dock Labour Board and Appeal Tribunals

  1

  2

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Dismissal upheld by Middlesbrough and Hartlepool Dock Labour Board and Appeal Tribunals

  3

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1worker resigned before his case was considered

  Community Programme
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of places on the community programme sponsored by the voluntary sector, local authorities and private industry for each of the years 1986–87 and 1987–88 and for Scotland, England and Wales.

  Numbers of authorized community programme places

  Voluntary Sector

  Local Authorities

  Private Sector

  Country Total

  Total

  Percentage

  Total

  Percentage

  Total

  Percentage

  Scotland

  November 1986

  36,900

  12,900

  35

  22,900

  62

  150

  0·4

  Scotland

  October 1987

  35,300

  14,100

  40

  20,100

  57

  210

  0·6

  Wales

  November 1986

  25,900

  13,000

  50

  12,100

  47

  260

  1

  Wales

  October 1987

  24,800

  11,900

  48

  12,200

  49

  300

  1

  England

  November 1986

  223,100

  124,900

  56

  87,000

  39

  4,910

  2

  England

  October 1987

  210,400

  113,600

  54

  82,100

  39

  6,100

  3

  Note:

  The totals in the three categories do not sum to 100 per cent. because small numbers of places are sponsored by other types of orgaisations.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Republic of Ireland (Students)
  Mr. McCusker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students from Northern Ireland are presently studying in the Irish Republic; and what is the estimated cost of their tuition fees for 1987–88.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Some 489 such students attend full-time further and higher education courses at an estimated cost of £505,000.

  Police Authority
  Mr. McCusker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he hopes to announce a reconstituted Police Authority for Northern Ireland; if any of the nominations have been made by the Government of the Irish Republic; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Tom King
  The reconstitution of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland will be announced before the term of office of the present authority expires on 28 June 1988. The process of obtaining nominations is not yet complete.
  304
  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 25 February 1988): The information requested is provided in the following table. The table shows the approximate numbers of authorised community programme places at November 1986 and at October 1987, the latest date for which figures are available.

  Mr. Brendan Burns
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the reasons why the request for the extradition of Brendan Burns failed.

  Mr. Tom King
  [holding answer 7 March 1988]: The original warrants for the extradition of Brendan Burns were held to be defective.

  Factory (Shrigley, Co. Down)
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what efforts he is making to secure a new tenant for the factory at Shrigley, county Down, owned by Pettard Garnor plc; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will list the dates and amounts of Government grants made by the Industrial Development Board, Northern Ireland, to Garnar Booth plc in the fiscal year 1986–87, and in the period from 1 April 1987 to 28 February 1988;

  (3) what discussions he has had or proposes to have with Pittard Garnar about the proposed closure of its factory at Shrigley. Killyleagh; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer 8 March 1988J: No grants have been made by the Industrial Development Board for

  305
  Northern Ireland to either Garnar Booth plc or Pittard Garnar plc in relation to the wholly owned subsidiary Atlantic Tanning Company Ltd., Killyleagh. However, in the period mentioned a total sum of £225,803·11 was made direct by the Industrial Development Board to the Atlantic Tanning Company Ltd. under two separate offers of financial assistance agreed in 1986.

  Pittard Garnar plc and the Industrial Development Board are co-operating in the search for alternative uses for the site at Shrigley, Killyleagh. A number of discussions have already taken place with interested parties and more are scheduled. It is too early yet to say if any of these discussions will prove fruitful. All avenues will be explored.

  I have not had any discussions with Pittard Garnar plc. I was fully aware of the negotiations which the Industrial Development Board was conducting with Pittard Garnar plc and of its offer to support any viable recovery plan for the Atlantic Tanning Company Ltd. In the event Pittard Garnar plc has made it clear that the decision to cease production at its operation in Killyleagh was taken for wholly commercial reasons.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the designation of environmentally sensitive areas in Northern Ireland has been delayed; when he expects the first formal designation to be made; and what plans he has for further designations in the Province.

  Mr. Viggers
  [holding answer 8 March 1988]: The delay in designating environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) in Northern Ireland has been caused by the need to introduce primary legislation to enable such designations to take place, and by the lengthy consultations with the EC Commission to ensure that the proposals for the Province's first ESA would be acceptable for approval under EC regulation 797/85. A statutory rule is presently being prepared and it is expected that the Mourne mountains and Slieve croob ESA will be formally designated in the near future.

  One more ESA is planned in the present round of designations. Recommendations that an area of north-east Antrim (The Glens) is worthy of ESA status are being considered.

  Social Security Reform
  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what will be(a) the last date of payment of family income supplement and the period covered by such payment, (b) the first date of payment of family credit for those currently in receipt of family income supplement and the period covered by such payment and (c) the first date of payment of family credit to those not presently in receipt of family income supplement and the period covered by such payment.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 9 March 1988]: The last payment of family income supplement will be made on 5 April 1988 to Sunday 10 April 1988. Although the period covered is six days, the payment will be a full week's benefit.

  The first payment of family credit for those currently in receipt of family income supplement will be made on 12
  306
  April 1988. This will be a full week's payment but will in effect be made simply to cover the transitional gap of one day (11 April).

  The first payment of family credit for those not currently in receipt of family income supplement will be made on 19 April 1988 and this payment will cover the period from Tuesday 12 April 1988 to Monday 18 April 1988.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Expenditure
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what steps he has taken to satisfy himself of the cost-effectiveness of expenditure in connection with the House for which Ministers are responsible.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The cost-effectiveness of expenditure on departmental votes incurred in relation to the work of this House is the responsibility of the individual Ministers concerned. Any proposals for such expenditure are subject to normal parliamentary scrutiny and control.

  Efficiency Scrutiny
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, if the House of Commons Commission will arrange for an efficiency scrutiny of the House; and if he, will make a statement.

  Mr. Beith
  The efficient working of the staff of the House is scrutinised on a continuing basis by the Board of Management, and by the Staff Inspectorate and the Internal Auditor, both of whom report directly to the Commission. Authority for additional expenditure or services must be obtained from the Accounting Officer and be approved by the Commission.

  After a comprehensive series of inspections, a unified pay and grading structure has been agreed with the trade unions representing staff of the House, which contributes to the requirements of the House of Commons Administration Act that pay and conditions of staff of the House are kept broadly in line with those in the Home Civil Service.

  The Staff Inspector has now been instructed to conduct a rolling programme of reviews of specific areas of the work of the House Departments; and this rolling programme will be reviewed every six months. An important part of the Staff Inspector's reviews is, of course, to examine the efficient and economical use of resources.

  Group Accident Insurance
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, what changes have been made to hon. Members' group accident insurance arrangements.

  Mr. Beith
  The death and capital benefits available under the terms of the policy have been increased to £113,000 as from 1 January 1988. The memorandum by the Accountant, which gives details of the cover and exclusions, is held in the Library.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Economic Policy
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria he uses in deciding the relative priority to be accorded to(a) cutting income tax rates; (b) increasing expenditure on overseas aid to the level of the United Kingdom commitment to 0·7 per cent. of gross national product.

  Mr. Major
  The latest plans show increased provision for the overseas aid programme, which is now projected to grow by 3 per cent. in real terms between 1986–87 and 1990–91.

  Sir John Farr
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the economy he estimates will remain in public hands at the end of the next parliamentary Session.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  No decision has yet been taken on the timing of future asset sales.

  Group of Five
  Mr. Haselhurst
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet his counterparts in the group of five major industrial countries; and what matters will he discussed.

  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet his counterparts in the group of five major industrial countries.

  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet his counterparts in the group of five major industrial countries.

  Mr. Lawson
  I expect to see my Finance Minister colleagues at the IMF Interim Committee in Washington next month.

  VAT (Hospital Radio Equipment)
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has had on value added tax on hospital radio broadcasting equipment.

  Mr. Lilley
  My right hon. Friend has received no further representations since the reply I gave to my hon. Friend on 12 February.

  Special Car Tax
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received seeking the abolition of the special car tax.

  Mr. Lilley
  My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on this subject.

  North Sea Oil
  Mr. Doran
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of North sea oil revenue from all sources for each year up to 1991.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of North sea oil revenue from all sources for each year up to 1991.
  308
  Mr. Major
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor will be publishing revised projections at the time of the Budget.

  Nationalised Industries
  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a comprehensive list of the subsidiary and associate companies of the 10 major industries remaining in state ownership.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  This information can be found in the annual report and accounts of the industries which are available in the Library.

  EC Council of Ministers
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next proposes to have discussions with the European Community Council of Ministers about European monetary matters.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The next meeting of the European Community's Council of Economic and Finance Ministers is expected to be on 18 April. The agenda for the meeting has not yet been decided but is expected to cover the liberalisation of capital movements in the Community.

  Pay Increases
  Mr. John M. Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of pay rise would be required by the average employee paying tax in order to compensate for price increases over the past year.

  Mr. Lilley
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Chancellor gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Shaw).

  Budget Policy
  Mr. Turner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning cuts in the higher rate of income tax and expenditure on the National Health Service.

  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning cuts in the higher rate of income tax and expenditure on the National Health Service.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  My right hon. Friend has received a large number of representations on a wide variety of subjects.

  Mr. Bidwell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from organisations urging priority for an emergency programme of public expenditure over further cuts in income and corporation tax.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  My right hon. Friend has received very few.

  Alcohol (Duty)
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to discuss with the Council of Finance Ministers of the European Community duty on alcoholic beverages; and if' he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lilley
  The Economic and Finance Council will discuss the European Commission's package of proposals
  309
  for tax approximation, which includes provision for the harmonisation of excise duty rates, in the light of the report of its Economic Policy Committee which is expected in the spring.

  Business Expansion Scheme
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has recently received in relation to the taxation provisions for investment under the business expansion scheme.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations.

  VAT
  Mr. Archer
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has made to the European Commission on the subject of the proposed harmonisation of value added tax; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lawson
  I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wrexham (Dr. Marek) on 8 December at column 73.

  Confederation of British Industry
  Mr. Murphy
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the director general of the Confederation of British Industry; and what was discussed.

  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the director general of the Confederation of British Industry; and what matters were discussed.

  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the director general of the Confederation of British Industry; and what was discussed.

  Mr. Major
  My right hon. Friend last met the director general of the Confederation of British Industry at the meeting of the National Economic Development Council on Wednesday 13 January. The council discussed the outlook for the economy; a report on the knitting industry; and international competitiveness, research and development.

  Manufactured Goods and Services
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has a revised figure for the anticipated balance of trade in(a) manufactured goods and (b) services for the United Kingdom for the current year; and what was the figure for 1979.

  Mr. Major
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be making a new forecast for the current year at Budget time. In 1979 the balance of trade in manufactured goods showed a surplus of £2,698 million and services a surplus of £3,815 million.

  Balance of Payments
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his current estimates of the balance of payments for the United Kingdom in the present, and the next, financial years.
  310
  Mr. Major
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be making a forecast at Budget time.

  Income Tax
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received in the last six months regarding the top rate of income tax; and, of these, how many favoured a reduction.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations favouring a reduction.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total annual benefit from reductions in direct taxation for a taxpayer with gross annual earned income of £100,000 since 1980.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The tax liability of a married man earning £100,000 per year with no allowances or reliefs other than the married man's allowance is £44 less in 1987–88 than it would be if the 1980–81 tax regime had been retained and indexed by the statutory formula to 1987–88.

  Economic Growth
  Mr. Hanley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the growth in the non-oil economy in 1987.

  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the growth in the non-oil economy in 1987.

  Mr. Major
  Preliminary estimates suggest that non-oil output rose by over 5 per cent. in 1987 compared to 1986.

  Inflation
  Mr. Andrew MacKay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average figure for retail price inflation over the past five years.

  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average figure for retail price inflation over the past five years.

  Mr. Lilley
  About 4·6 per cent.

  Budget Statement
  Ms. Abbot
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received from local authorities and local authority associations regarding his financial statement; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  My right hon. Friend has received very few.

  Credit Cards
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to seek to control the use of credit cards.

  Mr. Lilley
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave the hon. Member for Western Isles (Mr. Macdonald) on 14 January at column 386.

  Gross Domestic Product
  Mr. Ashby
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the growth of gross domestic product over the latest full year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Hayward
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the growth of gross domestic product over the latest full year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Major
  We do not have estimates for the income and expenditure measures of GDP for the whole of 1987. In the first three quarters of 1987 the average measure of GDP was 4 per cent. higher than in the same period a year earlier.

  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the growth of real gross domestic product in the United Kingdom compares with that of the other major industrial countries over the latest year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Stevens
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the growth of real gross domestic product in the United Kingdom compares with that of the other major industrial countries over the latest year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Lilley
  Total output in the United Kingdom grew by more than 4 per cent. over the year to the first three quarters of 1987. This is faster than any other major industrialised country.

  Industrial Investment
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he proposes to take to stimulate investment in British industry.

  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he proposes to take to stimulate investment in British industry.

  Mr. Major
  The Government's economic policies will continue to encourage capital investment by promoting an environment in which business can prosper.

  Forestry
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has recently received in relation to the taxation regime for forestry development.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received concerning the present taxation status of forestry development.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received concerning the present taxation status of forestry development.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 11 February at column 490.

  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate for the past five financial years of(a) the revenue lost to the Exchequer from tax incentives for the plantation of forestry and (b) the cost
  312
  to the Exchequer of grants made available to landowners for agreements under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to conserve land by not developing commercial forestry.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The income tax forgone is estimated to be some £10 million a year for the past five financial years. No information is available on which to base an estimate of the cost of capital tax reliefs.

  The estimated costs of payments made by the Nature Conservancy Council during the five years to December 1987 under management agreements arising under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to conserve sites of special scientific interest from commercial forestry is £1·8 million. This includes payments to conserve woodland as well as payments to prevent afforestation.

  Customs and Excise (East Anglia)
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from business and individuals in East Anglia recently complaining about actions of customs officers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lilley
  Four representations have been made recently.

  Economic Prospects
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to meet the director general of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss the prospects for the economy.

  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next intends to meet the director general of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss the prospects for the economy.

  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next intends to meet the director general of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss the prospects for the economy.

  Mr. Fallon
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next intends to meet the director general of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss the prospects for the economy.

  Mr. Major
  My right hon. Friend meets the director general of the Confederation of British Industry from time to time. But he has no specific plans to meet him in the foreseeable future.

  Economic Forecasts
  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he makes of the accuracy of his own and other economic forecasts.

  Mr. Major
  Treasury forecasts always include an analysis of errors on past Forecasts. The accuracy of Treasury forecasts compares favourably with other economic forecasts.

  Small Firms (Paperwork)
  Mr. Bellingham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further steps he plans to take to alleviate the burden of paperwork on small firms.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  We are continually looking at ways of reducing the burden of paperwork on small firms.
  313
  For example, as announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement last year, from July companies with a turnover below £250,000 a year will be able to make only one VAT return a year, instead of four at present. On the income tax side, form P11D, on which employers report expenses and benefits, will be reduced from four pages to two, in a more easily understood format, from next month. The amount of material being sent to employers operating PAYE for the first time is also being reduced.

  Personal Borrowing
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his current estimate of the level of personal sector borrowing; and what it was in real terms in the previous five years.

  Mr. Major
  In the third quarter of 1987 total personal sector borrowing is provisionally estimated to have been £11,008 million. No figures are published for borrowing in real terms.

  Exports and Imports
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the growth in the volume of United Kingdom exports in the last financial year; what was the growth in the volume of imports; and what was the effect on the balance of payments.

  Mr. Major
  In the financial year 1986–87 the volume of exports of goods grew by 6½ per cent. on the previous year while the volume of imports of goods grew by 8½. per cent. The current account of the balance of payments moved from a surplus of £3·8 billion in 1985–86 to a deficit of £1·1 billion in 1986–87.

  VAT (Health Service Charges)
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much annual income to the Exchequer is generated through value added tax on health service charges from the public to the private sector.

  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much annual income to the Exchequer is generated through value added tax on health service charges from the public to the private sector.

  Mr. Lilley
  I regret that the information is not available.

  Close Companies
  55. Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many close company apportionments were made by the Inland Revenue in 1986–87.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  1,525 close company apportionment notices were served on companies in 1986–87.

  Invisible Earnings
  Mr. Wood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the balance of invisible earnings.

  Mr. Sackville
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the balance of trade in invisible earnings.
  314
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the balance of trade in invisible earnings.

  Mr. Major
  The United Kingdom's net invisible earnings remain in very substantial surplus.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a White Paper setting out in detail the effect on the economy and employment of the common agricultural policy, as set out in the Treasury economic progress report of February.

  Mr. Brooke
  I have no present plans to do so. The economic progress report drew on various studies by reputable international bodies of the consequences of agricultural support and protection policies. Full references for these studies, which concerned Japan, the United States and the other OECD countries as well as the EC, were given in the article. In addition, a National Consumer Council study of the CAP, commissioned by DTI, will be published later this year.

  Public Expenditure
  Mr. Watts
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much general Government expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product has fallen since 1982–83.

  Mr. Soames
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much general Government expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product has fallen since 1982–83.

  Mr. Major
  The 1988 public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 288) showed that general Government expenditure (excluding privatisation proceeds) as a percentage of gross domestic product has fallen from 46¼ per cent. in 1982–83 to 42½ per cent. in 1987–88.

  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the objective of his policy of reducing public expenditure annually as a proportion of gross domestic product.

  Mr. Major
  Our policy of reducing public spending as a proportion of GDP over the medium term, which does not imply particular targets for individual years, will enable a low level of borrowing to be combined with reductions in the burden of taxation, thus encouraging enterprise and efficiency and the growth of output and employment.

  Privatisation
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's privatisation priorities.

  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's privatisation priorities.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  No.

  Lost Revenue
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimate of annual revenue
  315
  lost to the Exchequer from United Kingdom companies and individual residents moving to Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  I regret that it is not possible to provide such an estimate.

  Personal Credit
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures he has for the growth of personal credit over the last three years.

  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures he has for the growth of personal credit over the last three years.

  Mr. Lilley
  Over the three years to the end of 1987, consumer credit has grown at an annual rate of about 18 per cent.

  Investment Statistics
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures that he has for the current level of investment in(a) manufacturing industry and (b) the service sector.

  Mr. Major
  Investment in manufacturing in 1987 is provisionally estimated to be 3½ per cent. higher than in 1986. Investment in the construction, distribution and financial industries is estimated to be 10 per cent. higher in 1987 than a year earlier. For these industries as a whole the volume of investment in 1987 was the highest level yet recorded.

  International Debt
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any further meetings are planned with other Finance Ministers regarding world debt; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lilley
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 11 February at column 337.

  Mr. Gerald Howarth
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a further statement setting out the Government's policy on international debt.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a further statement setting out the Government's policy on international debt.

  Mr. Lilley
  We are continuing to press the initiative which my right hon. Friend announced last spring for the poorest, most heavily-indebted countries by the easing of terms of official debt in the Paris club. In addition, we have agreed to make a large contribution, by way of subsidy, to the enhanced structural adjustment facility at the IMF.

  We warmly welcome the recommended increase in the capital of the World Bank of US$74·8 billion which will enable it to increase its annual lending level from around $14 billion to $20 billion by 1992. This will benefit in particular the middle income debtors.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many regions adult unemployment has fallen over the past year.
  316
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many regions adult unemployment has fallen over the past year.

  Mr. Wolfson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many regions adult unemployment has fallen over the past year.

  Mr. Major
  Over the past year, unemployment has fallen in all regions of the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Couchman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many successive quarters total employment in the British economy has risen.

  Mr. Major
  Employment in Great Britain has risen for 18 successive quarters since March 1983, the longest period of continuous employment growth for nearly 30 years, and by over 1½ million in total.

  Personal Ownership
  Dr. Goodson-Wickes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the growth of personal ownership in Britain since 1979.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Fallon) on 29 October, at column 435.

  Supplementary Benefit
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning income tax reductions and the level of public expenditure on supplementary benefits.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  My right hon. Friend has received a large number of representations concerning income tax reductions but very few which mention supplementary benefits.

  Works of Art (Fiscal Allowances)
  Mr. Rathbone
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what submissions he has received concerning fiscal allowances for donations of art works to the nation.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  My right hon. Friend has received none.

  National Debt
  Mr. Chapman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the changing level of the national debt, and the interest payable on it as a proportion of total public expenditure.

  Mr. Major
  The stock of public sector debt has declined as a share of GDP in recent years. This has reduced the burden of debt interest payments, enabling more expenditure on priority programmes while still reducing public spending as a proportion of GDP. Latest estimates of debt interest payments and public expenditure in 1987–88 will be published in the financial statement and Budget report on 15 March.

  Small Landlords
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax incentives are available to encourage the small landlord; and if he will make a statement.
  317
  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The tax rules relating to rental income apply equally to all landlords. I will bear in mind the suggestion my hon. Friend is making.

  NHS (Finance)
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Treasury staff are responsible for the oversight of National Health Service finances.

  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Treasury staff are responsible for the oversight of National Health Service finances.

  Mr. Brooke
  Treasury business regarding the National Health Service is principally the responsibility of Health Services division which has a total of 13 staff (whole-time equivalents) including specialist support.

  Income Tax—Revenue Receipts
  Mr. David Martin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what studies he has made of the relationships between levels of income tax and resultant revenue.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  Many factors influence the yield of income tax. Since 1985–86 the basic rate of income tax has been reduced from 30p to 27p, but growth in the economy and other developments have led to the yield of income tax increasing in both nominal and real terms.

  Manufacturing Industry (Investment)
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current level of investment in British manufacturing industry; and what it was in real terms in 1979.

  Mr. Major
  The provisional estimate of capital expenditure in manufacturing at 1980 prices was £7,389 million in 1987 compared to £8,229 million in 1979.

  Vending Machines
  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to compensate or pay a modification charge to owners of coin-operated vending machines when the new and changed size 5 pence and 10 pence coins are introduced from 1991 onwards and while the old shape and weight coins are still in circulation.

  Mr. Brooke
  No. It has not been Government policy in the past to pay compensation when new coins were introduced, and I see no reason to change now. The Government have, however, taken full account of representations from the vending industry in designing the new coins, and have given plenty of notice of the change.

  Voluntary Trust Funds
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria he uses, in deciding whether to introduce legislation to give tax concessions to voluntary trust funds.

  Mr. Lawson
  I am not sure what the right hon. Member has in mind. If he would care to write to me giving further details, I shall let him have a full reply.

  Self-employment
  Miss Widdecombe
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the increase in self-employment in the British economy since 1979.

  Mr. Major
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Feltham and Heston (Mr. Ground).

  Profits
  Dr. Twinn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures for the level of industrial and commercial profitability.

  Mr. Major
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given earlier today by my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Mr. Waller).

  Forestry (Taxation)
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of revenue forgone by the Exchequer in the last financial year as a result of taxation incentives for forestry development.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The income tax forgone is about £10 million. No information is available on which to base an estimate of the cost of capital tax reliefs.

  Manufacturing (Fiscal Incentives)
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied with the operation of the current system of fiscal incentives for investment in manufacturing industry.

  Mr. Major
  The current fiscal regime has created a climate which encouraged an increase of 3½ per cent. in manufacturing investment in 1987, and manufacturing investment is projected to grow by 11 per cent. in 1988 in the Department of Trade and Industry's latest investment intentions survey.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the sources, level and economic effect of inward investment during the current financial year.

  Mr. Major
  In the second and third quarters of 1987—the latest period for which information is available—international confidence in the United Kingdom economy led to inward direct and portfolio investment of £9½ billion. Information on the geographical sources of recent capital inflows is not available.

  European Community (Indirect Taxes)
  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has had further discussions with his European Economic Community counterparts in the Finance Council and with members of the Council of Ministers on matters affecting European Economic Community indirect tax recommendations following the European Court announcement of 23 February.
  319
  Mr. Lilley
  No. The decision of European Court of Justice concerns the interpretation of existing VAT law and is an entirely separate matter from the Commission's tax approximation proposals.

  Interest Rates
  Mr. Latham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the level of interest rates.

  Mr. Lilley
  Bank base rates are 9 per cent.

  Economic Policy
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria he uses in deciding the relative priority to be accorded(a) cutting income tax rates, (b) increasing expenditure on overseas aid up to the level of the United Kingdom commitment to 0·7 per cent. of gross national product.

  Mr. Major
  The latest plans show increased provision for the overseas aid programme, which is now projected to grow by 3 per cent. in real terms between 1986–87 and 1990–91.

  VAT (Spectacles and Contact Lenses)
  Dame Jill Knight
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money he estimates will be raised by imposing value added tax on spectacles and contact lenses.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 7 March 1988]: It is estimated that the additional revenue yield from ending the exemption from value added tax on final sales of spectacles and contact lenses would be about £ million in a full year in 1988–89 terms.

  VAT (Rates)
  Mr. Warren
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many submissions he has received in the past six months, and from whom, objecting to the European Economic Community's proposals to approximate member states' value added tax rates.

  Mr. Lilly
  [holding answer 8 March 1988]: My right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has received a large number of representations from a wide variety of sources.

  Retail Prices (Inflation)
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average figure for retail price inflation over the past five years.

  Mr. Lilley
  Over the past five years the average figure for retail price inflation, as measured by the general index of retail prices, was 4·6 per cent.

  CBI
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next intends to meet the director general of the Confederation of British Industry; and what matters he proposes to discuss.

  Mr. Major
  My right hon. Friend meets the director general of the CBI from time to time, and a wide range of subjects are discussed. He has no specific plans to meet him in the foreseeable future.

  EC (Finance)
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he hopes to have discussions with the European Community Council of Ministers concerning European monetary matters; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Brooke
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Mr. Knox).

  Income Tax and Supplementary Benefit
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning income tax reductions and the level of public expenditure on supplementary benefits.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning income tax reductions and the level of public expenditure on supplementary benefits.
  320
  Mr. Norman Lamont
  My right hon. Friend has received a large number of representations concerning income tax reductions, but very few which mention supplementary benefits."

ENVIRONMENT

  Mortgage Defaulters
  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest figures he has for property repossessions arising from mortgage default over the last three years.

  Mrs. Roe
  Following are the available estimates:

  Properties taken into possession by Building Societies United Kingdom

  Calendar year

  Number

  Percentage of mortgage loans outstanding at end of period

  1985

  16,490

  0·25

  1986

  20,930

  0·30

  1987

  22,630

  0·32

  Properties taken into possession by local authorities England

  Financial

  Number

  Percentage of mortgage loans outstanding at end of period

  1984–85

  570

  0·10

  1985–86

  630

  0·13

  1986–87

  490

  0·12

  Corresponding information is not available from other lending institutions.

  Local Authority Assets
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding his policy towards the disposal of local authority assets.

  Mr. Chope
  I frequently receive calls to encourage better management of assets by local authorities, including substantial sales of surplus or under-used properties. I particularly welcome the Audit Commission's recent report on property management, and I commend it to all local authorities.

  House Sales (Basildon)
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council and New Towns Commission properties have been sold in the constituency of Basildon since 1981.

  Mrs. Roe
  Information is not available for constituencies.

  Canals
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to encourage the greater use of Britain's canals.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The British Waterways Board is responsible for most canals in Great Britain. Its objectives, which are agreed with Government, are to promote the
  321
  fullest practicable use of its waterways for leisure, recreation and amenity, and for freight transport where appropriate, while operating as commercially as possible.

  Homeless Persons (Cornwall)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to assist local authorities in Cornwall to meet their statutory obligations under the homeless persons legislation and in housing people on their waiting list.

  Mrs. Roe
  Local authorities' HIP allocations in Cornwall as elsewhere take account of homelessness and other housing needs. Our proposals to inject more private funding into the housing association sector will make public sector resources stretch further. We have already announced that the Housing Corporation will aim to double the present level of provision by housing associations in rural areas.

  Nature Reserves
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next intends to meet the chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council to discuss the future of nationally owned nature reserves.

  Mr. Moynihan
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State attended a meeting with the chairman and other members of the Nature Conservancy Council on 25 February at which a number of matters were discussed including national nature reserves. My right hon. Friend has no immediate plans for a further meeting, but we shall continue to take a close interest in the progress of the review of the NNR policy currently being undertaken by the council.

  Severn Estuary
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects scheduling of the Severn estuary as a site of special scientific interest to be completed.

  Mr. Moynihan
  In 1987, 1,437 hectares of the upper Severn estuary were notified as a site of special scientific interest under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. With effect from 5 February this area was classified as a special protection area under the EC wild birds directive and as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention. The Nature Conservancy Council is working on the notification of the remaining areas of special scientific interest and hopes to complete the notification during the summer.

  Victoria Park Underpass
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 1 March,Official Report, column 558, when and where public notice was given of his intention to issue a certificate under section 19 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, for the A650 north-west of Doncaster-Kendal Trunk Road (Airedale Route) (Victoria Park to Crossflatts Section) first Supplementary Compulsory Purchase Order and for the A650 North West of Doncaster-Kendal Trunk Road (Airedale Route) (Victoria Park to Crossflatts Section) Second Supplementary Compulsory Purchase Order.
  322
  Mr. William Waldegrave
  Notice of the Secretary of State's intention to issue section 19 certificates was published on 4 December 1987 in the following newspapers: the Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire Evening Post, Bradford Telegraph and Argus and the Keighley News.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer 1 March,Official Report, column 558, when the certificate under section 19 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 was issued for the A650 North West of Doncaster-Kendal Trunk Road (Airedale Route) (Victoria Park to Crossflatts Section (Victoria Park Underpass) Side Roads) Order.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Section 19 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 provides for a certificate to be given only where land is acquired by means of a compulsory purchase order. The A650 North West of Doncaster-Kendal Trunk Road (Airedale Route) (Victoria Park to Crossflatts Section (Victoria Road Underpass) Side Roads) Order is not a compulsory purchase order and does not therefore require such a certificate.

  K6 Telephone Kiosks
  Mr. Allan Roberts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will raise the target number for listing K6 telephone kiosks above 1,000; and if he will make a statement on his Department's discussions with British Telecom on this matter.

  Mr. Moynihan
  No. From the knowledge we have built up over the past 12 months, we believe that around 1,000 of the remaining K6 kiosks are of listable quality and my right hon. Friend sees no need to revise this figure at present. Officials of the Department have had a number of discussions with British Telecom and our professional advisers in English Heritage to agree the order in which districts should be surveyed for listable kiosks; but these discussions have not touched on the numbers to be listed, which is a matter for my right hon. Friend.

  Local Authority Contracts
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about his Department's policy towards local authority contract compliance clauses and practices designed to make contractors supplying local authorities employ more ethnic minority staff.

  Mr. Chope
  My Department's policy on such matters is clearly embodied in the terms of part II of the Local Government Bill as it left this House.

  River Thames Flood Plains (Buildings)
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what restrictions exist on building developments on the River Thames flood plains.

  Mrs. Roe
  Applications for developments on the River Thames flood plains, as elsewhere, are determined by the local planning authority in the light of all material considerations. My Department's Circular 17/82 emphasises that, where land drainage considerations arise, they should always be taken into account in determining planning applications, but arrangements for investigating flood risks will be a matter for local planning authorities themselves.

  Housing Association Tenants (House Purchase)
  Mr. Wheeler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the waiting time for housing association tenants who wish to own their own homes via a transferable discount scheme; what proposals there are to ease the financial controls over the scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Roe
  The waiting time for the home ownership scheme for tenants of charitable housing associations depends on the availability of funds for discounts in the Housing Corporation's approved development programme. A waiting list has been in force since 1 October 1986, but a further £19 million has been allocated for 1988–89 to cover outstanding purchases set in hand before 1 October 1986 and a proportion of the applications received since that date. Applications received up to 31 May 1987 are now being allowed to proceed.

  Penzance and St. Ives (Sewerage)
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has yet reached any conclusions about the South West water authority's applications for discharge consents in respect of the Penzance and St. Ives sewerage scheme.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The Department is about to write to all those who made representations at the time these proposals were originally advertised, with copies of the water authority's response to the objections raised. I hope we shall be able to reach a decision on the way forward during May, once this further round of consultation is complete.

  Fire Safety
  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken, following publication of the report in the Fire Safety Journal 12 (1987) on housing factors and fires in two metropolitan boroughs, to reduce the incidence of fires in the home.

  Mrs. Roe
  This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Mr. Patten), the Minister of State, Home Office.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  European Community (Internal Market)
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the extent and impact of the proposals contained in the European Commission's White Paper, "Europe without frontiers; towards a large internal market", in so far as his Ministry is concerned.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade on 3 March at column 643. The proposals in the White Paper in which my Department has a particular interest include those relating to animal and plant health safeguards, animal feedingstuffs, plant varieties and seeds, plant protection products and labelling, composition, packaging and inspection of food.

  Sale of Pigs
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, following his discussions with the hon. Member for Uxbridge and swill pig feeders from Harefield, he has yet reached a decision on the introduction of cheque book licences for the sale of pigs by reputable breeders; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  My officials are currently reviewing the legislation which governs the movement of pigs within Great Britain. One possibility under consideration is a relaxation of the requirements for movements of swill-fed pigs to slaughterhouses to be licensed.

  Council of Agriculture Ministers
  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Council of Agriculture Ministers' meeting on 7 and 8 March in Brussels; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The Council of Agriculture Ministers met in Brussels on 7–9 March 1988. I and my right hon. Friend the Minister of State represented the United Kingdom.

  The Council discussed legal texts to give effect to the agreement of the European Council on stabilisers and set-aside; and reached agreement on the terms of regulations for all commodities concerned, with the exception of wine. Discussion on wine is to be concluded at the Council's next meeting later this month. I made it absolutely clear that our agreement to this package as a whole is conditional on that being achieved, and that we would not sign up until a satisfactory wine regulation had been agreed. This was accepted by the German presidency.

  We had to press hard on a number of issues to secure arrangements satisfactory for the United Kingdom. To secure a proper transitional period for sheep producers the stabiliser arrangement for sheep and any impact on the variable premium price scale will take effect on Monday 23 May. We secured agreement that, under the new arrangements, coresponsibility levy for cereals will not be charged on certified seed. This will avoid an undesirable distortion, and an adverse effect on seed quality. In response to a United Kingdom initiative, the introduction of the extensification scheme for beef will be postponed until 1 January 1989.

  I also urged that the arrangements for grazed fallow in the set-aside scheme will include specific limits on stocking density and that the use of land will be restricted to grazing only. This is important for existing livestock producers, especially in the less favoured areas. It is agreed that the scheme will be optional.

  I urged the Council to take advantage of the recent European Court judgement overturning the ban on the use of hormone growth promoters in cattle, and not to introduce a new directive in the same terms as before. I emphasised the importance of taking into account the latest scientific evidence, of addressing the problem of a black market in hormones, and the adverse effects on trade in particular with the United States.

  I regret that the Council proceeded to re-adopt the directive. But the Council did agree an explicit declaration proposed by the United Kingdom on the problems caused for relations with third countries and called on the Commission to examine possible solutions with urgency.
  325
  We called the Council's attention to the need for a more strategic approach to the completion of the internal market in the context of animal health. We emphasised the importance of concentrating effort on the eradication from the Community of major diseases such as swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease; and of not making changes to frontier controls in the meantime that would increase the risk of infection in areas at present free from those diseases. The Council supported our suggestion that the Commission should produce a report on the basis of which the Council could develop this strategy.

  Research and Development
  Mr. Millan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received on the review of agricultural research and development which is presently being carried out; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  [holding answer 9 March 1988]: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Falkirk, East (Mr. Ewing) on 3 March at column 674.

SCOTLAND

  Hospitals (Ministerial Visits)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, with dates, all private and National Health Service hospitals he or his junior Ministers have visited since October 1987.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  My right hon. and learned Friend visited the Thomas Clouston clinic, Edinburgh, on 21 December 1987 and the Western general hospital, Edinburgh, on 3 March 1988. Details of my visits since October are as follows:

  Hospital

  Date

  Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary

  19 October 1987

  Stirling Royal Infirmary

  21 December 1987

  Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill

  23 December 1987

  Western Infirmary, Glasgow

  22 February 1988

  Ross Hall Hospital, Glasgow

  22 February 1988

  Biggart Hospital, Prestwick

  29 February 1988

  Afforestation (Control)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he intends taking to prevent uncontrolled afforestation; if he will introduce licensing for forestry grant applications; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Very little planting takes place that has not been fully considered under the Forestry Commission's consultation arrangements. My right hon. and learned Friend has yet to be persuaded that a licensing system is necessary.

  Forestry Commission (Newton Stewart)
  Ms. Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total area of Forestry Commission land in Newton Stewart district in each of the years 1985 to 1987;326
  and what was the area of (a) land under trees, (b) unplanted land, (c) land planted and (d) land harvested in each of those years.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information is set out in the following table:

  Year (at 31 March)

  Total area of land (hectares)

  Land under trees (hectares)

  Unplanted land (hectares)

  1985

  44,124

  30,567

  13,557

  1986

  43,958

  30,581

  13,377

  1987

  49,388

  34,733

  14,655

  Year (at 31 March)

  Planting (hectares)

  Timber production 1000 m3

  New planting

  Restocking

  1985

  159

  185

  48

  1986

  130

  264

  50

  1987

  266

  99

  50

  1 Timber production is measured by volume and not in terms of area.

  Ms. Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of staff employed by the Forestry Commission on the Newton Stewart district in 1986–87 in(a) supervisory and administrative grades and (b) industrial grades; and in each category, how many staff are employed in (i) planting and maintenance, (ii) harvesting, (iii) nursery work, (iv) research, survey and environmental work and (v) forestry authority work.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information, which is based on average figures, is as follows:

  Number

  Supervisory and Administrative Grades

  30

  Industrial Grades

  109

  The figures do not include directly employed private contractors; the number of such contractors at 31 March 1987 was 34.

  Most staff are employed on a range of duties in the course of a year. It is not practicable, therefore, to break down the total numbers of staff employed into the listed areas of work.

  Prisoners (Suicide)
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many(a) sentenced prisoners and (b) remand prisoners in Scotland committed suicide or attempted suicide whilst in custody in each year since 1975;

  (2) how many (a) sentenced prisoners and (b) remand prisoners in Scotland inflicted a serious injury upon themselves whilst in custody in each year since 1975.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The available information is as follows:

  Year

  Suicide

  Self-inflicted1 injury in custody

  Sentenced Prisoners

  Untried Prisoners

  1975

  —

  1

  127

  1976

  2

  2

  151

  1977

  2

  1

  174

  1978

  2

  2

  187

  1979

  —

  3

  196

  1980

  1

  —

  167

  327

  Year

  Suicide

  Self-inflicted1 injury in custody

  Sentenced Prisoners

  Untried Prisoners

  1981

  3

  —

  210

  1982

  2

  1

  204

  1983

  4

  2

  267

  1984

  1

  4

  224

  1985

  5

  2

  320

  1986

  4

  3

  320

  1987 (part year)

  22

  21

  3—

  1 "self-inflicted injuries" include all cases of injury believed to have been self-inflicted while in custody. Separate figures are not available for cases of self-injury intended or suspected to be "attempted suicide".

  2 Figures for "suicides" in 1987 are part-year and do not include deaths in custody for which a fatal accident inquiry determination is not yet available.

  3 not yet available.

  Prisoners (Strip Searching)
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many female prisoners in Scotland were strip-searched during 1986 and 1987; and on how many occasions illegal contraband or smuggled drugs were found.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The number of strip searches of female prisoners carried out at Cornton Vale institution in 1986 and 1987 was 3,270 and 2651 respectively. No record is kept of the number of occasions on which illegal contraband or smuggled drugs were found.

  Recidivism
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of persons who were the subject of a prison sentence in Scotland had been convicted of a further offence within two years of the completion of the sentence, for the latest convenient period.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 8 March 1988]: I regret that the information requested is not available.

  Electoral Register
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what he expects the percentage change to be of the number of people on the electoral register in Scotland for each of the next five years.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Forecasts of the numbers on the electoral register are not prepared on a

  Number of electors

  Constituency

  1987 Electoral Register

  1988 Electoral Register

  Numerical change

  Percentage change

  Aberdeen North

  63,751

  62,075

  -1,676

  -2·63

  Aberdeen South

  63,293

  60,323

  -2,970

  -4·69

  Angus East

  61,597

  61,643

  +46

  + 0·07

  Argyll and Bute

  49,272

  48,912

  -360

  -0·73

  Ayr

  67,224

  67,063

  -161

  -0·24

  Banff and Buchan

  62,867

  63,054

  +187

  +0·30

  Caithness and Sutherland

  31,519

  30,978

  -541

  -1·72

  Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley

  57,196

  56,708

  -488

  -0·85

  Central Fife

  56,666

  56,440

  -226

  -0·40

  Clackmannan

  49,583

  49,127

  -456

  -0·92

  Clydebank and Milngavie

  50,824

  50,128

  -696

  -1·37

  328
  regular basis. An approximation can be obtained using projected population changes for those aged 17 arid over, which are as follows:

  per cent.

  1988–89

  +0·16

  1989–90

  +0·02

  1990–91

  -0·10

  1991–92

  -0·14

  1992–93

  -0·17

  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state(a) the number of people on the current electoral register and (b) the number of people on the electoral register at the last general election.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish register published last month contained 3,967,377 names, as compared with 3,994,893 in February 1987. Records of additions to the register between February 1987 and the general election were not kept centrally.

  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State For Scotland if he will publish a table indicating the percentage change in the number of people on the electoral register in Scotland between(a) October 1974 and May 1979, (b) May 1979 and June 1983, (c) June 1983 and June 1987 and (d) June 1987 and February 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The percentages in the table are based on the number of electors on the registers published in February of each year referred to. Since 1981 it has been possible for names to be added to the register each month but records of such additions have not been kept centrally.

  Change in number of names on electoral register

  Percentage

  (a) 1974–79

  +3·57

  (b) 1979–83

  +2·53

  (c) 1983–87

  +1·54

  (d) 1987–88

  -0·69

  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing for each Scottish constituency the numerical and percentage change of the number of people on the electoral register between June 1987 and February 1988.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Records were not kept centrally of additions to the 1987 register following its publication in February of that year. The following table compares the registers published in February 1987 and February 1988.
  329

  Number of electors

  Constituency

  1987 Electoral Register

  1988 Electoral Register

  Numerical change

  Percentage change

  Clydesdale

  62,429

  62,602

  +173

  +0·28

  Cumbernauld and Kilsyth

  46,140

  46,392

  +252

  +0·55

  Cunninghame North

  55,544

  55,566

  +22

  +0·04

  Cunninghame South

  50,538

  50,414

  -124

  -0·25

  Dumbarton

  59,705

  59,369

  -336

  -0·56

  Dumfries

  59,992

  59,972

  -20

  -0·03

  Dundee East

  61,351

  61,221

  -130

  -0·21

  Dundee West

  62,453

  61,445

  -1,008

  -1·61

  Dunfermline East

  51,688

  51,008

  -680

  -1·32

  Dunfermline West

  51,581

  51,384

  -197

  -0·38

  East Kilbride

  63,998

  63,956

  -42

  -0·07

  East Lothian

  65,603

  65,542

  -61

  -0·09

  Eastwood

  62,713

  62,839

  + 126

  + 0·20

  Edinburgh Central

  59,757

  58,975

  -782

  -1·31

  Edinburgh East

  49,236

  48,745

  -491

  -1·00

  Edinburgh Leith

  60,687

  60,031

  -656

  -1·08

  Edinburgh Pentlands

  58,649

  58,884

  +235

  +0·40

  Edinburgh South

  64,225

  64,026

  -199

  -0·31

  Edinburgh West

  62,730

  62,652

  -78

  -0·12

  Falkirk East

  53,040

  52,737

  -303

  -0·57

  Falkirk West

  50,706

  50,606

  -100

  -0·20

  Galloway and Upper Nithsdale

  53,994

  53,621

  -373

  -0·69

  Glasgow Cathcart

  49,832

  48,767

  -1,065

  -2·14

  Glasgow Central

  51,562

  50,867

  -695

  -1·35

  Glasgow Garscadden

  48,486

  46,916

  -1,570

  -3·24

  Glasgow Govan

  51,151

  50,190

  -961

  -1·88

  Glasgow Hillhead

  58,246

  57,704

  -542

  -0·93

  Glasgow Maryhill

  52,948

  52,039

  -909

  -1·72

  Glasgow Pollok

  52,021

  50,829

  -1,192

  -2·29

  Glasgow Provan

  44,394

  42,908

  -1,486

  -3·35

  Glasgow Rutherglen

  58,075

  56,929

  -1,146

  -1·97

  Glasgow Shettleston

  54,224

  53,883

  -341

  -0·63

  Glasgow Springburn

  52,164

  50,489

  -1,675

  -3·21

  Gordon

  74,199

  75,228

  +1,029

  +1·39

  Greenock and Port Glasgow

  58,490

  57,339

  -1,151

  -1·97

  Hamilton

  63,155

  63,167

  +12

  +0·02

  Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber

  67,336

  66,695

  -641

  -0·95

  Kilmarnock and Loudoun

  63,441

  63,325

  -116

  -0·18

  Kincardine and Deeside

  64,219

  64,398

  +179

  +0·28

  Kirkcaldy

  53,922

  53,823

  -99

  -0·18

  Linlithgow

  60,014

  60,584

  +570

  +0·95

  Livingston

  57,231

  58,008

  +777

  +1·36

  Midlothian

  61,130

  61,139

  + 9

  +0·01

  Monklands East

  50,406

  50,271

  - 135

  -0·27

  Monklands West

  51,613

  51,300

  - 313

  -0·61

  Moray

  62,917

  63,206

  + 289

  + 0·46

  Motherwell North

  58,539

  58,331

  - 208

  -0·36

  Motherwell South

  52,842

  52,599

  - 243

  -0·46

  North East Fife

  52,770

  52,442

  - 328

  -0·62

  North Tayside

  54,464

  54,582

  + 118

  +0·22

  Orkney and Shetland

  31,332

  31,180

  -152

  -0·49

  Paisley North

  50,020

  48,973

  -1,047

  -2·09

  Paisley South

  51,834

  50,403

  -1,431

  -2·76

  Perth and Kinross

  63,965

  63,957

  - 8

  -0·01

  Renfrew West and Inverclyde

  56,958

  57,025

  + 67

  + 0·12

  Ross, Cromarty and Skye

  52,808

  52,278

  - 530

  -1·00

  Roxburgh and Berwickshire

  43,646

  43,631

  - 15

  -0·03

  Stirling

  58,441

  58,715

  + 274

  +0·47

  Strathkelvin and Bearsden

  63,579

  63,296

  - 283

  -0·45

  Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale

  38,283

  38,438

  + 155

  + 0·40

  Western Isles

  23,685

  23,085

  - 600

  -2·53

  Total

  3,994,893

  3,967,377

  -27,516

  -0·69

  330

  Universities Funding Council
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how and when the Scottish committee of the proposed Universities Funding Council will be established; and what its remit will be.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Appointment of the Scottish committee must await establishment of the Universities Funding Council, the legislation for which is currently before Parliament. The council will be responsible for appointing its Scottish committee, after consultation with my right hon. and learned Friend. The remit of the committee will also be a matter for the council in the light of its own remit, but I expect it to have regard to the statement in the House on 1 April last year, at columns 1107–8, by my right hon. and learned Friend on publication of "Higher Education — Meeting the Challenge" (Cm. 114).

  Charities
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the implications for Scotland of the 16th report of the Public Accounts Committee on the "Registration of Charities in England and Wales", and if he will introduce a system of public registration of charities in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas Hamilton
  The report related exclusively to the monitoring and control of charities in England and Wales. My right hon. and learned Friend intends to issue a consultative document on the supervision of charities in Scotland, seeking views on a range of options including the possibility of establishing a public register of Scottish charities.

  South of Scotland Electricity Board
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when officials of his Department last met representatives of the South of Scotland Electricity Board to discuss its sources of supplies of coal; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  Officials of my Department are in regular contact, on a day to day basis, with representatives of both Scottish electricity boards over a range of matters affecting the electricity supply industry in Scotland. The Department has been kept informed about developments regarding the question of coal supplies to the South of Scotland Electricity Board.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he or the Minister of State last met the chairman of the South of Scotland Electricity Board; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  My right hon. and learned Friend met the chairman of the South of Scotland Electricity Board on 1 March, in advance of the publication of the White Paper on privatisation of the Scottish electricity supply industry.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether any aspects of the tendering procedure now being undertaken by the South of Scotland Electricity Board for the supply of coal have been scrutinised by his Department; and if he will make a statement.
  332
  Mr. Lang
  The South of Scotland Electricity Board's tendering procedure for the supply of coal for electricity generation is a commercial matter for the board alone and has not involved the Government in any way.

  Electricity Supply (Ministerial Responsibilities)
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list his responsibilities for the electricity supply industry in Scotland.

  Mr. Lang
  My right hon. and learned Friend is responsible for the efficient and economic development, supply and use of electricity in Scotland, in so far as this relates to the operations of the South of Scotland Electricity Board and North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. Other matters, affecting the development of energy sources in general, are primarily the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy.

  Electricity Generation
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list each power station in Scotland, the type of fuel being used, the levels of coal purchased from British Coal by the South of Scotland Electricity Board in 1985–86 and 1986–87, the estimated total amount of coal required by the South of Scotland Electricity Board in 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, and 1990–91 and the estimated proportion of coal, oil and nuclear based generating capacity in 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91.

  Mr. Lang
  Information about power stations and fuel type in Scotland is contained in the annual reports of the South of Scotland Electricity Board, North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (Chapelcross power station) and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (Dounreay), available in the Library of the House. I have asked the chairman of the SSEB to write to the hon. Member about levels of coal purchased from British Coal in 1985–86 and 1986–87, and about the board's requirements from 1987–88 to 1990–91. The proportions of electricity generation met from coal, oil and nuclear sources in the period 1988–89 to 1990–91 will depend upon the availability of these and other fuels and their relative costs at the time.

  Scottish Development Agency
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total expenditure of the Scottish Development Agency in Scotland in each of the years from 1979–80 to 1987–88 in both cash and real terms for each department of the agency; and what are the amounts of planned expenditure for the years 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91.

  Mr. Lang
  Because of changes in agency structure over the years, it is not possible to provide information on expenditure by each department of the agency on a consistent basis. Total agency expenditure in cash and real terms at 1987–88 prices is set out in the table:

  £ million

  Cash terms

  Real terms

  1979–80

  80·7

  140·4

  1980–81

  97·7

  143·4

  333

  Cash terms

  Real terms

  1981–82

  97·6

  130·4

  1982–83

  122·7

  152·9

  1983–84

  115·9

  138·0

  1984–85

  117·8

  134·2

  1985–86

  131·1

  141·0

  1986–87

  130·9

  136·5

  1987–881

  135·5

  135·5

  1988–892

  146·6

  140·3

  1Estimated outturn

  2Estimate.

  The combined planned expenditure for the agency and the Highlands and Islands Development Board for 1989–90 and 1990–91 is given on page 41 of the "Scottish Commentary". These figures are, however, provisional.

  Forestry
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the circumstances in which planting grant and felling licence applications are referred to him by the Forestry Commission.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The forestry commissioners seek a ministerial view on any planting grant or felling licence application in respect of which there is an unresolved objection from a consulted authority, except where the commissioners decide to refuse the application on the basis of the objection. This procedure accords with a ministerial direction given to the commissioners under section 1(4) of the Forestry Act 1967.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the outstanding forestry planting grant and felling licence applications referred to him by the Forestry Commission; when each was so referred; when he expects to be able to announce a decision for each one; and for which cases further consultation is still being considered.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. and learned Friend has no forestry planting grant or felling licence applications before him at present.

  Greenland White-Fronted Geese
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the introduction of scaring teams on Islay to prevent damage to crops by Greenland white-fronted geese has been successful; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  They have had limited success. White-fronted geese are difficult to scare and frequently return to the site.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Greenland white-fronted geese have been killed under licences issued by his Department.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  In the period to 4 March 1988 22 white-fronted geese have been killed under licence.

  Common Services Agency (Health Services Unit)
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the remit of the health services unit of the Common Services Agency headed by Dr. David Steel; when the unit was set up; what has been the staffing, and at what grades in each year since its establishment; what the budget of the 334
  unit has been in each year since its inception; how it has been funded to date; what plans he has for its future funding; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 9 March 1988]: The function of the joint secretariat headed by Dr. David Steel (which is located with but not part of the Common Services Agency) is to provide secretariat services for the health board and Common Services Agency chairmen's group, the health board and CSA general managers group and the Scottish health management efficiency group. The secretariat was established in 1986 and consisted of the secretary and a higher clerical officer. An assistant secretary was appointed later in the year, and a personal secretary in 1987. Another assistant secretary was added when servicing the general managers group began towards the end of 1987. Financial allocations of £70,000 in 1986–87 and £72,000 in 1987–88 were made from class XVI, vote 14, subhead N10 (7). I propose that from April 1988 this will continue to apply to SCOTMEG; but the secretariat costs of the chairmen's and general managers' groups will be met from vote 14, subhead J1.

  Childbirth (Statistics)
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many women in 1986–87 in Scotland were admitted to National Health Service maternity units in each health board area.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 8 March 1988]: Information for 1986–87 is not yet available in precisely the form requested but the numbers of women discharged from specialist obstetric and GP obstetric beds in the year ending 31 March 1987 are set out in the table:

  Specialist obstetric

  GP obstetric

  Total

  Argyll and Clyde

  8,152

  850

  9,002

  Ayrshire and Arran

  8,838

  1,626

  10,464

  Borders

  —

  938

  938

  Dumfries and Galloway

  2,793

  379

  3,172

  Fife

  5,739

  51

  5,790

  Forth Valley

  5,284

  —

  5,284

  Grampian

  7,028

  3,065

  10,093

  Greater Glasgow

  22,963

  —

  22,963

  Highland

  4,324

  341

  4,665

  Lanarkshire

  8,197

  —

  8,197

  Lothian

  15,010

  —

  15,010

  Orkney

  —

  256

  256

  Shetland

  —

  330

  330

  Tayside

  8,028

  1,181

  9,209

  Western Isles

  295

  50

  345

  Scotland

  96,651

  9,067

  105,718

  Gaelic
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the amount of money which he intends to spend on the promotion of the Gaelic language in the next financial year.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 7 March 1988]: The amount of funds to be allocated to promote the Gaelic language in the financial year ending March 1989 are still under consideration.

  In the current financial year the Secretary of State has made available £397,000 through the Scottish Education Department and the Highlands and Islands Development

  335
  Board. In addition, specific grant amounting to £300,000 has been allocated to education authorities in support of Gaelic initiatives.

  The Scottish Arts Council has also allocated approximately £120,000 in support of Gaelic arts projects.

SOCIAL SERVICES

  Faecal Occult Blood Tests
  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many faecal occult blood tests are carried out within the National Health Service each year; what proportion of these tests prove positive; and what proportion of the positive tests are referred for colonoscopy investigation.

  Mrs. Currie
  I regret that this information is not held centrally. In faecal occult blood tests, samples of a patient's stool are examined: if blood is present this may indicate cold-rectal cancer, and the patient would be referred for further investigation, for example, by colonoscopy. Trials are in progress in Nottingham and abroad in which the faecal occult blood test is used as a method of screening for colo-rectal cancer. On current evidence the rates of false positive results still seem too high for this method to be appropriate for a mass screening programme.

  Hospitals
  Dr. Owen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of hospitals in England and Wales were built(a) before 1965, (b) before 1945, (c) before 1918, (d) before 1900, (e) before 1850.

  Region

  Staff Numbers

  Percentage

  Scotland

  9,377

  9·2

  Outside London Pay Area 83·1

  North Eastern (includes Newcastle Central Office)

  22,406

  22·0

  North Western (includes North Fylde Central Office)

  17,332

  17·0

  Midlands

  12,873

  12·6

  Wales and South Western

  9,670

  9·5

  London North (outside London pay area)

  5,351

  5·3

  London South (outside London pay area)

  7,684

  7·5

  London pay area only

  17,269

  16·9

  Total

  101,920

  The Department no longer holds details of the number of staff located within the London pay area in 1979. There has also been a significant realignment of social security regions since that date are no comparable figures.

  Meningitis
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what levels of funding have been made available for research into meningitis and related illnesses in each of the last 10 years; and what plans for future development he has for research in this area.

  Mrs. Currie
  The main Government agency for the promotion of medical and related biological research is the Medical Research Council which receives its grant-in-aid from the Department of Education and Science. I
  336
  Mrs. Currie
  The last review of age structure of NHS buildings in England, which was conducted in 1981, showed the following:

  Approximate percentage

  Built before 1890

  7

  Built between 1891 and 1918

  74

  Built between 1919 and 1939

  5

  Built between 1940 and 1964

  6

  Built after 1964

  8

  Since 1979 over 300 health building schemes, each costing over £1 million, have been completed.

  Information regarding Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Allied Dunbar
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what commercial contracts his Department has with Allied Dunbar.

  Mr. Portillo
  I am not aware of any.

  Departmental Staff
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many members of staff within his Department are located within each region outside London; what percentage this constitutes of staff within his Department; and what were the comparable figures, in absolute and percentage terms in 1979.

  Mr. Portillo
  Using the boundaries of social security regions departmental staff were located on 1 January 1988 as follows:

  understand that in the last three financial years, the council's expenditure on research into meningitis and related illnesses has been as follows:

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  £58,491

  £26,956

  £144,057

  Figures for earlier years are not readily available.

  The council is to convene a meeting of experts to discuss promising lines for meningitis research which may lead to a specific commission from the Department.

  Other research in this field funded by the Department has been carried out by the Public Health Laboratory service board at its Manchester laboratory and the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Porton Down. The cost of this cannot be separated from that of other research carried out by these laboratories.
  337
  The approximate value of commissions for research into meningitis and related illnesses placed directly by the Department since 1978–79 is:

  1986–87

  1987–88

  £49,000

  £17,400

  This work mainly relates to support for the Gloucester health authority's meningococcal survey in the Stonehouse area.

  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many cases of meningitis have been reported in the last 10 years; and of these how many were fatal.

  Mrs. Currie
  Meningitis may be caused by many different organisms. The numbers of notifications of acute meningitis (all forms) and of meningococcal meningitis in England and Wales from 1978 to 1987 are shown in the table. I assume that the hon. Member is interested particularly in meningococcal meningitis, and the table also gives deaths from this cause.

  From the registration of the death, it is not possible to determine whether the case had been notified.

  Number of (a) notifications of Acute Meningitis (all forms) and Meningococcal Meningitis, and (b) Deaths registered with Meningococcal Meningitis (ICD (8,9)1 036.0) as underlying cause of death

  Persons, all ages

  England and Wales 1978–1987

  (a) Notifications

  (b) Deaths

  Year

  Acute meningitis

  Meningococcal meningitis

  Meningococcal meningitis

  1978

  1,698

  501

  42

  1979

  1,427

  525

  32

  1980

  1,796

  509

  26

  1981

  1,393

  464

  28

  1982

  1,272

  410

  20

  1983

  1,226

  428

  20

  1984

  1,230

  401

  26

  1985

  1,533

  550

  36

  1986

  2,172

  870

  44

  21987

  2,567

  1,090

  28

  National Health Service activity, England

  Year

  Discharges and deaths

  New out-patient attendances

  Total attendances

  Number of blood units issued1 2

  Total number of pathology tests3

  1979

  5,400,120

  7,713,465

  34,099,725

  1,705,190

  63,042,614

  1980

  5,670,001

  7,942,207

  35,242,980

  1,793,172

  66,098,610

  1981

  5,759,877

  8,024,679

  35,571,384

  1,836,674

  68,685,979

  1982

  5,719,634

  8,096,977

  35,651,222

  1,784,749

  70,897,520

  1983

  6,018,585

  8,310,942

  36,519,550

  1,829,988

  74,506,823

  1984

  6,177,545

  8,508,052

  37,042,706

  1,873,402

  77,270,773

  1985

  6,353,812

  8,682,128

  37,440,333

  1,843,569

  79,569,650

  1986

  6,413,789

  8,767,788

  37,727,608

  1,861,019

  481,535,721

  Percentage change over previous year

  per cent.

  per cent.

  per cent.

  per cent.

  per cent.

  1980

  50

  3·0

  3·4

  5·2

  4·8

  1981

  1·6

  1·0

  0·9

  2·4

  3·9

  1982

  -0·7

  0·9

  0·2

  -2·8

  3·2

  1983

  5·2

  2·6

  2·4

  2·5

  5·1

  1984

  2·6

  2·4

  1·4

  2·4

  3·7

  1985

  2·9

  2·0

  1·1

  -1·6

  3·0

  1986

  0·9

  1·0

  0·8

  0·9

  2·5

  1 Total of whole and concentrated reduced units issued.

  2 England immunology and nuclear medicine.

  3 Includes immunology and nuclear medicine.

  4 Provisional

  338
  1International Classification of Diseases 8th and 9th revisions.

  2Provisional—The 1987 figure for the number of notifications of acute and meningococcal meningitis is provisional as it is based on the notifications reported to OPCS each week. It does not include all late or corrected notifications, and is therefore liable to a small change at a later date.

  The annual figures for deaths should be compared with caution as

  (i) a change in coding was introduced on 1 January 1984;

  (ii) figures for 1986 and 1987 exclude deaths in the first 28 days of life.

  Mental Hospitals
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will show(a) the number of patients and (b) the number of staff for (i) 1978 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available for each mental health hospital and each mental handicap hospital in England.

  Mrs. Currie
  I have placed in the Library tables giving the information requested.

  Annual Changes
  Dr. Owen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list for each year since 1979 the annual changes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in the numbers of(a) discharges and deaths, (b) new out-patients and attendances, (c) bottles of blood issued, (d) pathology tests, (e) ambulance journeys and (f) general practitioners' prescriptions.

  Mrs. Currie
  Available information is given in the tables. Information relating to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Northern Ireland.
  339

  Ambulance Services All Cases and all Patients Number of Patient-journeys (Thousands) 1979–1986 England

  Total

  Percentage change over previous year

  19791

  17,370

  —

  1980

  20,350

  17·2

  1981

  20,500

  0·7

  1982

  20,110

  -1·9

  1983

  21,270

  5·8

  1984

  21,280

  0·05

  1985

  21,360

  0·4

  1986

  20,690

  -3·1

  Source: DHSS form SBH195.

  Notes:

  1. All patient-journeys are included in the totals whether the patient was carried by directly provided services or agency and supplementary services.

  2. One patient-journey is defined as one patient carried once in one direction. A patient taken to a hospital and later in the same day taken home again counts as two patient-journeys.

  1 1979 data cover a period of industrial dispute early in the year.

  Prescription Analysis Data Number of Prescriptions (millions)

  England

  Percentage change over previous year

  1979

  304·6

  -0·8

  1980

  303·3

  -0·4

  1981

  300·0

  -1·1

  1982

  311·3

  3·8

  1983

  315·3

  1·3

  1984

  320·5

  1·6

  1985

  318·7

  -0·6

  1986

  322·5

  1·2

  These data include a small number of prescriptions written by dentists, service doctors and hospital doctors which were dispensed by retail chemists. Prescriptions dispensed by dispensing doctors are not included.

  Departmental Buildings
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the location and status of all buildings within his Department located in London and the annual cost of rents, rates and maintenance of each.

  Mr. Portillo
  The Department occupies accommodation in 129 buildings in the Greater London area, ranging from the main HQ building at Richmond house to small offices for social security appeals tribunals. Civil accommodation for all Government Departments is held in the name of the Secretary of State for the Environment and managed by the Property Services Agency. Some properties are held freehold; the rents of leasehold buildings are determined on a strictly commercial, and therefore confidential basis. The total annual rent paid by the PSA to landlords for civil accommodation held in London in 1984–87, the last complete year for which figures are available, was £133 million. The DHSS figures for contributions in lieu of rates, which were paid by the PSA were £14·26 million and the property repayment services costs on these premises was £5·96 million.

  Maternity Benefit
  Mr. Holt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pregnant women were disallowed 340
  maternity benefit because they had only 49 contribution stamps credited for the qualifying year, in each year since 1980.

  Mr. Portillo
  I regret the information is not available. Such disallowances could have occurred only between October 1986 and April 1937. Prior to the abolition of reduced rates of short-term benefits from October 1986, a woman with a record of 49 contributions paid or credited in the relevant tax year would have been entitled to maternity allowance at three quarters of the standard rate. Since April 1987, new tests for maternity allowance have applied.

  Smoking
  Mr. Sims
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is his estimate of the cost to the National Health Service for treating diseases caused by smoking for the most recently available 12-month period; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) how many days of sickness absence from work were lost in the United Kingdom for the most recent 12-month period because of diseases caused by smoking; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  The cost to the National Health Service for treating smoking-related diseases is estimated at £500 million per year.

  Information on working days lost due to smoking is not available in the precise form requested. The table sets out information regarding the main diseases associated with smoking, but not all illness from these diseases is caused by smoking. The statistics, which show days of certified incapacity for sickness and invalidity benefit in Great Britain, exclude periods of incapacity covered by statutory sick pay and working days lost by certain groups of workers who do not claim these benefits. They include days of incapacity for which invalidity benefit was claimed by men aged 65–69 and women aged 60–64.

  Together with the nearly 300 deaths per day from smoking, these figures reveal the high cost to the nation of the smoking habit which is the largest single cause of preventable death and disease in the United Kingdom.

  Days of certified incapacity due to sickness and invalidity in the period 1 April 1985 to 5 April 1986: Great Britain

  Causes

  ICD1 code

  Million days

  Malignant neoplasm:

  Trachea, bronchus and lung

  162

  0·3

  Lip, oral cavity and pharynx

  140–149

  2—

  Oesophagus

  150

  2—

  Larynx

  161

  0·2

  Diseases of the circulatory system:

  Ischaemic heart disease

  410–414

  38·8

  Chronic pulmonary heart disease

  416

  0·2

  Aortic aneurysm

  441

  0·1

  Diseases of the respiratory system:

  Bronchitis and emphysema

  490–492

  17 6

  Chronic airways obstruction, not elsewhere classified

  496

  4·5

  Notes:

  1. International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision.

  2. Less than 100,000 days.

  Electorates (Hertfordshire)
  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will list the 1988–89 electorates for each parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire.

  Mrs. Currie
  Figures relating to electoral registers which came into effect on 16 February 1988 will not be available centrally until April.

  Benefit Offices (Staff Safety)
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden),Official Report, 25 February, column 300, if he will list the local office interview rooms of his Department with protective screens.

  Mr. Portillo
  In September 1987, the latest date for which information is available, there were 112 private interview rooms containing protective screens within the supplementary benefit caller facilities at 71 local offices. The offices concerned were:

  Office

  Rooms1

  London North

  Barnet

  1

  Basildon

  2

  Colchester

  5

  Ilford

  1

  Ipswich

  1

  Leytonstone

  1

  Plaistow

  1

  Thames north

  1

  Tottenham

  3

  Norwich (Chantry)

  2

  Norwich (Mountergate)

  3

  Southall

  2

  Uxbridge

  1

  Scotland

  Cowdenbeath

  1

  Dundee (east)

  2

  Glasgow (Partick)

  4

  Glasgow (Springburn)

  1

  London South

  Havant

  1

  Hounslow

  1

  Bloomsbury

  1

  Streatham

  3

  Thames south

  1

  Westminster

  1

  Mitcham

  2

  Portsmouth

  1

  Redhill

  1

  North Eastern

  Blyth

  1

  Bradford (east)

  1

  Bradford (south)

  2

  Harrogate

  1

  Hartlepool

  1

  Hexham

  1

  Leeds (east)

  7

  Newcastle-on-Tyne (east)

  1

  Newcastle upon Tyne (St. James)

  1

  Scarborough

  1

  Sunderland (south)

  1

  Wales and South Western

  Aberdare

  1

  Barnstaple

  1

  342

  Office

  Rooms1

  Cardiff (east)

  3

  Holyhead

  1

  Llanelli

  2

  Newtown

  1

  Swansea

  1

  Yeovil

  1

  North Western

  Blackpool (north)

  1

  Burnley

  1

  Carlisle

  2

  Leigh

  1

  Liverpool (Bootle)

  1

  Liverpool (Toxteth)

  2

  Liverpool (West Derby)

  1

  Manchester (Cheetham)

  4

  Manchester (Failsworth)

  2

  Rochdale

  1

  St. Helens

  1

  Salford (north)

  4

  Midlands

  Birmingham (Handsworth)

  1

  Birmingham (Ravenhurst)

  1

  Derby (Becket Street)

  2

  Dudley (north)

  3

  Leicester (Lower Hill Street)

  1

  Leicester (Norton Street)

  1

  Northampton

  2

  Nottingham (Shakespeare Street)

  1

  Redditch

  1

  Smethwick

  1

  Stoke-on-Trent (north)

  1

  Sutton-in-Ashfield

  1

  Wellingborough

  1

  Worksop

  1

  1 Number of private interview rooms with protective screens.

  Departmental Services (Contracting-out)
  Ms. Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will place a copy of the Luxton report on the contracting-out of services at his Department in the Library.

  Mrs. Currie
  I have arranged for copies of the report to be placed in the Library.

  Waiting List Fund
  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is in a position to publish the allocations to regional health authorities from the waiting list fund for 1988–89; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  The allocations to regional health authorities from the waiting list fund for 1988–89 are:

  Region

  Allocation (£ million)

  Northern

  1·925

  Yorkshire

  2·072

  Trent

  2·845

  East Anglian

  1·046

  North West Thames

  2·316

  North East Thames

  2·637

  South East Thames

  2·350

  343

  Region

  Allocation (£ million)

  South West Thames

  1·853

  Wessex

  1·609

  Oxford

  1·163

  South Western

  1·915

  West Midlands

  3·304

  Mersey

  1·633

  North Western

  2·531

  This is the second phase of the waiting list initiative. The allocation I have announced today will build upon the success and experience of the first year and will allow at least 100,000 additional patients to be treated from the waiting lists. We have had some very high-quality bids from regions who have selected for support projects aimed at having the greatest impact on the worst problems.

  The regional reports we have received show clearly that the cause of excessive waiting lists varies from district to district and specialty to specialty. Long waiting times have no simple or single cause. Some are capable of improvement within existing resources and district health authorities are already taking action on them.

  There are other problems, however, where most progress can be made quickest with the injection of small amounts of additional funding. Already this year we are on course for treating some 100,000 additional patients in this way. For next year we have asked regions to concentrate in particular on patients who have been waiting excessively for treatment, especially for serious and disabling conditions. Some of the projects supported are for cardiac surgery, others for hip replacements and cataract operations. All types of typical waiting list cases are represented from gynaecological operations to ear, nose and throat operations for children.

  The waiting list initiative has achieved the active involvement of clinicians, general practitioners, health authorities and health service management. All these people are using their imagination, ingenuity and good will to focus on one of the most long standing problems of the health service. I warmly congratulate them on that. We now have plans to make effective use of the £30 million for next year. We intend the initiative to continue for a further two years after that.

  Cancer Screening
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the health authorities which have adequate computer capacity for a call and recall scheme for all women in their district.

  Mrs. Currie
  All family practitioner committees now have computers installed; the most recent installation was in February. A small number which have had computers in use for this purpose for some time require some augmentation, mainly to take account of the reduction in recommended age to 20.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether pathology laboratory capacity in each district health authority is sufficient to meet the demand from cervical cancer screening programmes; if he will list any authorities where the capacity is not sufficient; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  Our guidance to health authorities states that district health authorities must aim to ensure that 344
  laboratories can meet demand and avoid backlogs of cervical smears awaiting examination. The measure of pathology laboratory capacity is their ability to send the results of a smear test to the doctor who submitted it within one month. District health authorities which reported that they had been unable to achieve this target during January are listed as follows. Where laboratory backlogs do exist they are being tackled mainly by the recruitment and training of more staff, by the use of other laboratories and by overtime working.

  District health authorities reporting laboratory processing times of more than one month:

  Gateshead

  North West Durham

  South West Durham

  Durham

  Leeds Western

  Bradford Airedale

  Wakefield

  Leicestershire

  Nottingham

  Doncaster

  Cambridge

  Huntingdon

  Norwich

  North Hertfordshire

  Hillingdon

  South Bedfordshire

  Southend

  West Essex

  Mid Essex

  Brighton

  Hastings

  Maidstone

  South East Kent

  Chichester

  Croydon

  Merton and Sutton

  South West Surrey

  North West Surrey

  East Dorset

  Bath

  Isle of Wight

  Aylesbury Vale

  Milton Keynes

  Wycombe

  Oxfordshire

  Cheltenham

  Plymouth

  Southmead

  Exeter

  North Devon

  Cornwall

  Gloucester

  North Staffs

  South Warwickshire

  Dudley

  Walsall

  Mid Staffs

  Crewe

  Warrington

  Liverpool (part)

  South Sefton (part)

  Central Manchester

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the district health authorities which have a computerised call and recall scheme for cervical cancer screening.

  Mrs. Currie
  All health authorities have been required to implement computerised call and recall systems for cervical cancer screening by 31 March. The majority have
  345
  already done so and the remainder are in the final stages of preparation. We will publish a full list after the target date.

  Mentally Handicapped People (Community Village Development)
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on his policy towards the concept of community village development on suitable hospital sites where facilities for the mentally handicapped already exist, along the lines of the Westwood hospital in Bradford, South, and which is outlined in the document submitted to him by the Westwood Hospital Staff and Parents Action Committee.

  Mrs. Currie
  Any development of village communities for mentally handicapped people on existing hospital sites is a matter for the health and local authorities concerned. In considering proposals on these lines, and in consultation with hospital residents and their families, I have no doubt they will take account of all the factors involved, including the need to avoid the establishment of inward-looking institutions where the residents are isolated from the community, which we recognised in our own statement of policy in paragraph 51 of the Government's response to the report of the Social Services Committee on community care. (Cmnd. 9674).

  Memorial Hospital, Woolwich
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he will take to prevent Greenwich health authority from changing the use of the Memorial hospital, Woolwich, before the consultation exercise has been completed.

  Mrs. Currie
  Formal procedures involving public consultation govern the action of a health authority proposing a substantial variation in services provided within its district. However, the same procedures empower an authority to institute these changes on a temporary basis immediately and in advance of formal consultation where justified on financial grounds. I understand that Greenwich health authority is aware of these requirements and has formulated its proposals in accordance with them.

  Hartley Hospital, Colne
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what guidance he gave to the health authorities concerned, pursuant to the written answer to the hon. Member for Burnley on 18 February,Official Report, column 700, on the timing of the closure of the present facilities provided at Hartley hospital, Colne, in relation to (a) the completion of public consultation exercise and (b) provision of the new Pendle community hospital.

  Mrs. Currie
  None. Guidance on consultation procedures for closures and change of use is contained in circular HSC (1S)207 (October 1975) supplemented by a "Dear Administrator" letter of 7 December 1979 copies of which are in the Library.

  Disabled Persons Act
  Mr. McCrindle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to implement section 11 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986.

  Mr. Scott
  I hope that it will be possible to implement this section shortly.

  Miss M. R. Barker
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will reconsider the application by Miss M. R. Barker of 17 Woodland, Dewsbury Moor, Dewsbury WF13 3PE, for unemployment benefit, reference RM173P/INS/5999/7931/6, which was rejected on the grounds that she was not an employed earner for at least 13 weeks from the last day she was entitled to that benefit, in light of the fact that credits awarded to carers whilst they are receiving invalid care allowance count towards the relevant contribution conditions for unemployment benefit.

  Mr. Portillo
  Miss Barker's case is currently under consideration. When inquiries have been completed, Miss Barker will be given an opportunity to make representations before a formal decision is given on her contribution position in relation to her claim for unemployment benefit.

  Dental Fitness
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the current method and process of consultation in relation to the determination of a definition of dental fitness for general dental services;

  (2) if he is considering any changes to the current definition of dental fitness in relation to general dental services; and whether he will make a statement;

  (3) how the definition of dental fitness has changed since 1968;

  (4) if he has any plans to introduce a scheme for a dental fitness index; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  "Dental fitness" is defined in the NHS (General Dental Services) Regulations 1973 as"such a reasonable standard of dental efficiency and oral health as is necessary to safeguard general health".

  The regulations form part of the terms of service under which a dentist provides general dental services under NHS arrangements and it is usual, therefore, for any amendments to be made after consultation with interested bodies including those representative of the dental profession. Although the definition has remained unchanged since 1948 its interpretation has evolved over the years to take account of changes in professional skill and knowledge and patient expectations. There are no immediate plans to change the definition nor to introduce a scheme for a dental fitness index. As announced in the recent White Paper on primary care, however, negotiations are to take place on a new contract for general dental practitioners and these might result in revised contractual obligations.

  Fire Safety
  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he has taken, following publication
  347
  of the report in the Fire and Safety Journal 12 (1987) on housing factors and fires in two metropolitan boroughs, to reduce the incidence of fires in the home.

  Mrs. Currie
  I have nothing to add to the reply given today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

  Dental Vouchers
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans to introduce a dental voucher scheme on the lines of that which already exists for spectacles; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  We have no such plans. The Government's proposals for the general dental services were set out in the recent White Paper on primary care.

  Income Support
  Mr. Ken Hargreaves
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will amend form A14N (Entitlement to Income Support) to include the information that the payment of transitional arrangement moneys will from 11 April have to meet 20 per cent. of general rates and water rates.

  Mr. Portillo
  Local offices are issuing leaflet TRN 1 to all existing claimants when their cases are converted from supplementary benefit to income support. This leaflet includes the information that they will have to pay part of their general rates and all of their water rates from 11 April. In view of this, we have no plans to amend form A14N.

  Mr. Ken Hargreaves
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will instruct staff in local offices to fill in form A14N (Entitlement to Income Support) without abbreviations; and if he will make a statement.

  Income under section 65 of the National Health Service Act 1977

  (£ thousands)

  Regions

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  Northern

  520

  767

  901

  592

  930

  961

  960

  1,093

  Yorkshire

  1,701

  2,130

  2,626

  2,016

  2,730

  2,909

  2,940

  2,601

  Trent

  1,303

  1,730

  1,789

  1,714

  1,574

  1,371

  1,497

  1,561

  East Anglian

  1,116

  1,500

  1,917

  1,552

  1,763

  1,476

  1,784

  1,898

  North-West Thames

  5,464

  6,511

  7,360

  6,073

  5,909

  5,733

  5,727

  5,096

  North-East Thames

  3,989

  4,978

  5,793

  8,520

  8,307

  8,063

  8,134

  7,569

  South-East Thames

  4,414

  5,781

  6,472

  6,135

  6,190

  5,894

  6,267

  5,732

  South-West Thames

  1,811

  2,236

  2,597

  2,573

  2,620

  2,501

  2,256

  2,070

  Wessex

  1,199

  1,711

  2,097

  1,802

  2,028

  1,760

  1,430

  1,282

  Oxford

  2,076

  2,537

  2,773

  2,599

  2,734

  2,882

  3,190

  3,320

  South-Western

  910

  1,257

  1,462

  1,359

  1,585

  1,426

  1,678

  1,721

  West Midlands

  2,094

  2,809

  3,314

  2,395

  2,938

  2,890

  2,794

  2,582

  Mersey

  766

  1,065

  1,531

  1,281

  1,382

  1,390

  1,689

  1,663

  North-Western

  2,119

  2,863

  3,287

  2,244

  2,688

  2,750

  3,029

  2,727

  Regions total

  29,482

  37,875

  43,919

  40,855

  43,378

  42,006

  43,375

  40,915

  Special health authorities1

  3,838

  4,744

  5,425

  5,309

  6,116

  6,681

  8,412

  7,548

  England total

  33,320

  42,619

  49,344

  46,164

  49,494

  48,687

  51,787

  48,463

  1 Special health authorities for the London post-graduate teaching hospitals.

  NHS Patients (Private Treatment)
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the number of
  348
  Mr. Portillo
  We have issued clear instructions to staff in local offices about the completion of form Al4N. These indicate that abbreviations should not be used. If my hon. Friend cares to send me details of specific cases where abbreviations are being used I will he happy to look into them.

  Hospital Patients
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to introduce a national standard system for logging hospital admission refusals and unexpected re-admissions; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  We have no present plans to do so.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the number of patients transferred from private hospitals or beds to complete their treatment under the National Health Service each year from 1979.

  Mrs. Currie
  This information was not collected centrally prior to April 1987. Information on the source of admission of patients admitted to NHS hospitals during 1987–88 will be available centrally early in 1989.

  NHS Hospitals (Income)
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the income to National Health Service hospitals from charges for private beds by regions for each year from 1979.

  Mrs. Currie
  Following is the information requested derived from the annual accounts of regional and district health authorities and those of the special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals. (Predecessor authorities for the years prior to 1982–83).
  349
  National Health Service patients cared for and treated under contractual arrangements with the private sector by specialty and regions for each year since 1979 and the cost to the regional health authorities.

  Mrs. Currie
  I shall let the hon. Member have such information as can be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost as soon as possible.

  NHS Review (Manpower Costs)
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the cost in manpower of the Government's current review of the National Health Service.

  Mr. Moore
  Work on the review is being undertaken as an integral part of the Department's contribution to Government business. The manpower costs involved are not separately identifiable.

  Access to Personal Files Act 1987
  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when consultation will take place on the social services regulations to be made under the Access to Personal Files Act 1987.

  Mrs. Currie
  Proposals for these regulations for England and Wales were issued today and a copy of them has been placed in the Library. The proposals have been issued to a wide range of interested bodies including associations of local authorities. Comments are requested by 15 May 1988. The proposals are in line with access to this type of record falling under the data protection legislation and include the safeguard that information may be withheld if access is likely to result in serious harm to the physical or mental health or emotional condition of the individual requesting access or to another person. Authorities would be able to charge a fee of up to £10.

  Competitive Tendering
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will detail the savings identified for each district health authority from competitive tendering for support services; and what adverse comment and representations have been made to him as a consequence of the process.

  Mrs. Currie [holding answer 29 February 1988]: Tables giving the savings information requested have been placed in the Library. They are based on reports from health authorities and set out the cumulative estimated annual savings generated through competitive tendering for domestic cleaning, catering and laundry services. There has been a considerable debate about the competitive tendering initiatives since it was launched some four and a half years ago. It has without a doubt provided a much-needed spur towards improving efficiency in the delivery of services and has helped to maximise the resources for patient care. Total annual savings generated in England currently stand at some £105 million.

  In the main these savings, and the associated improvements in service delivery and management, have been welcomed. Some trade unions have expressed official concern about staff pay and conditions of service; they have alleged deterioration in standards and staff morale. Health authorities remain responsible for the standard of service provided whether done in-house or by an outside contractor.
  350
  We have also received representations from contractors and trade associations expressing concern that the treatment of capital and other overheads in the costing of in-house services may put outside contractors at a disadvantage in the award of contracts.

ENERGY

  Magnox Programme
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment he has made of the implications of the closure of the Magnox reactor at Latina in Italy for the British Magnox programme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  The operation of Magnox reactors in this country is a matter for the operators and the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate.

  Bradwell Safety Review
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has received from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate on the outcome of the Bradwell long-term safety review; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  I am advised by the Health and Safety Executive that its Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has completed the assessment of the CEGB's response to the HSE report on Bradwell which was published in July 1987. The HSE will be making a statement about this in the near future.

  Miners
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many miners employed by British Coal are(a) members of ethnic minorities and (b) women; and what is the total number of miners employed.

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

  South of Scotland Electricity Board
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he last met representatives of British Coal to discuss the supply of coal to the South of Scotland Electricity Board; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  I have regular meetings with the chairman of the British Coal Corporation to discuss all aspects of the coal industry. Arrangements for coal supplies to the South of Scotland Electricity Board by the British Coal Corporation are a matter for commercial negotiation between the two industries.

  Mining
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give the total number of jobs in both opencast and deep mining in Scotland in each of the years 1979ߝ80 to 1987ߝ88; and if he will give the estimated number of jobs in opencast and deep mining in each of the years 1988ߝ89, 1989ߝ90 and 1990ߝ91.

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

  British Coal (Grants)
  Sir Ian Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how, in the light of paragraph 69 of the Select Committee on Energy's first report of the 1986–87 Session, the non-deficit grants paid by him to the British Coal Corporation in 1986–87 were accrued in the corporation accounts.

  Mr. Parkinson
  In accordance with orthodox accounting principles, social cost expenditure is brought into British Coal's profit and loss account as it is incurred; the associated non-deficit (previously "social") grants towards the expenditure are brought into the profit and loss account on the same basis.

  On that basis, the amount brought into the 1986–87 profit and loss account for non-deficit grant was £594 million.

  But the whole amount was not paid in 1986–87. Payments were delayed mainly because some grants towards the cost of early and enhanced pensions are made in 10 annual instalments (which include an element of interest). In addition, a proportion of non-deficit grants is withheld until the grant claims have been audited.

  In accordance with these limitations, the amount actually paid to British Coal in 1986–87 was £279 million. This amount is composed as follows:

  £ million

  (a) At the beginning of 1986–87, the Corporation were owed £618 million of the non-deficit grants which had been included in earlier years' profit and loss accounts. £86 million of this was paid in 1986–87 (leaving £532 million carried over for payment in a subsequent year)

  86

  (b) Interest of £33 million on pension-related grant was also owed to British Coal at the beginning of the year; this was paid in 1986–87

  33

  (c) Of the £594 million for 1986–87 referred to above, £160 million was paid in 1986–87, leaving £434 million carried over for payment in a subsequent year

  160

  (d) Total

  279

  Sir Ian Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how, in the light of paragraph 69 of the Select Committee on Energy's first report of the 1986–87 Session, the deficit grants paid by him to the British Coal Corporation in 1986–87 were accrued in the corporation's accounts.

  Mr. Parkinson
  British Coal incurred a deficit of £288 million in 1986–87. It was therefore entitled to claim that amount of deficit grant from the Government and, following orthodox accounting principles, this was shown as an "income" item in its 1986–87 profit and loss account.

  However, the maximum amount of deficit grant payable in any year is limited to the cash needs of the corporation (defined as the external financing requirement less non-deficit grant payments). As a result, deficit grant is sometimes not paid until a later financial year than that in which the deficit occurred.

  In accordance with this limitation, the Government actually paid British Coal £546 million in 1986–87. This amount is composed as follows:
  352

  £ million

  (a) At the beginning of 1986–87, the Government still owed British Coal part of the deficit grant which had been brought into earlier years' profit and loss accounts. This balance was paid off in 1986–87.

  472

  (b) Payments of grant towards the 1986–87 deficit of £288 million were also made in 1986–87 (leaving £214 million carried over for payment in a subsquent year).

  74

  (c) Total

  546

  Private Sector Energy Producers
  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when the Government expect to resolve the difficulties in relation to establishing a rating system for private sector electricity power stations and combined heat and power producers, which will permit them to be assessed for rating on an equitable basis with power stations operated by the Central Electricty Generating Board.

  Mr. Parkinson
  [pursuant to the reply, 29 February 1988, c. 479]: The Government accept that where independent electricity generators, including operators of combined heat and power schemes, are in competition with the public electricity supply industry (esi) they should not be put at a competitive disadvantage as a result of the different methods of rating assessment. The esi has its rateable value determined by a statutory formula while the independent generator is currently assessed by conventional valuation methods. The Government accordingly have agreed in principle that private generators exporting electricity to the electricity supply distribution network should be rated on a comparable basis to the rest of the electricity supply industry.

  Although section 34A of the General Rates Act provides for the extension, by order, to other generators of electricity of the formula contained in schedule 7 to the General Rate Act 1967, which provides for the rating of electricity boards, that formula is not in a form which can be applied to independent electricity suppliers. The same is true of the existing formula for Scotland.

  The Government have recently put in hand a revaluation of all non-domestic property and as a part of this are reviewing the statutory rating formulae for England, Scotland and Wales. This review will take account of the need for a more broadly applicable basis of assessment in respect of electricity generation. The outcome of the review will be new rateable values to be brought into effect from 1 April 1990 along with the new valuation lists. At that time it is intended that any independent electricity generator or combined heat and power scheme which has the capability to export electricity to the electricity supply industry's distribution network will have its rateable value assessed on a comparable basis. While the review of formula rating is progressing it is obviously not possible to say what this basis will be.

  AIDS AND NUCLEAR WEAPON TESTING: REPORTS
  AIDS AND NUCLEAR WEAPON TESTING: REPORTS
  PLANNING PERMISSION: OFFICE AND SHOP DEVELOPMENTS
  PLANNING PERMISSION: OFFICE AND SHOP DEVELOPMENTS
  FISHERIES: EXPENDITURE
  FISHERIES: EXPENDITURE
  RECORDED MUSIC BROADCASTING: MMC REFERENCE PROPOSAL
  RECORDED MUSIC BROADCASTING: MMC REFERENCE PROPOSAL
  EXPORTS AND IMPORTS: STATISTICS
  EXPORTS AND IMPORTS: STATISTICS