Written Answers of 21 March 1988

ENVIRONMENT

  Home Insulation (Stoke-on-Trent)
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of people in Stoke-on-Trent, North who have ceased to be eligible for grants under the home insulation scheme which came into force on 1 February; and what percentage of those are on low incomes.

  Mrs. Roe
  The information is not available. For householders with adequate means, loft insulation is a very cost-effective measure which pays for itself very quickly. The new scheme provides a 90 per cent. grant, up to an increased ceiling of £137, to eligible householders on low incomes, that is, those in receipt of supplementary benefit, housing benefit or family income supplement.

  Drinking Water
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in which areas in England and Wales the maximum nitrate level in drinking water of 50 mg of nitrates per litre, set by the European Community, is exceeded; and how many people are affected.

  Mr. Moynihan
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 13 January to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) at column 279.

  Local Authorities (Bartering Agreements)
  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has anything to add to his statement on 9 March, with particular reference to bartering agreements between local authorities and property developers.

  Mr. Chope
  It is my right hon. Friend's intention to table amendments to the Local Government Finance Bill to secure that where a local authority acquires properly, or where works or improvements are carried out to local authority property, in return for valuable consideration, prescribed expenditure will be scored regardless of whether the consideration is or is not in money.

  Gipsy Sites
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals his Department has to revise or update planning guidance on gipsy sites, including specifying the varying responses which local authorities should make to applications for(a) individual plots of land for use by a gipsy and (b) sites for gipsy encampments.

  Mrs. Roe
  My Department has no immediate plans to revise or update planning guidance on gipsy sites, though the matter is kept under review. In his statement to the House of 6 February last year my right hon. Friend the 2
  Secretary of State said that the need for gipsy sites would continue to be a material consideration in planning decisions.

  92 Ormside Street, SE15 (Sale)
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to when the London residuary body will complete the sale of 92 Ormside street, SE15.

  Mr. Chope
  This is a matter for the London residuary body.

  Housing Starts
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing starts were made in each of the last 10 years in(a) the public sector, (b) the private sector, and (c) the housing association sector.

  Mrs. Roe
  In 1987, it is provisionally estimated that there were 197,300 dwellings started in England for the private sector and 24,600 for the public sector including 9,500 for housing associations. Figures for the earlier years appear in table 6.1(a) of "Housing and Construction Statistics 1976–1986" which is available in the Library.

  Rating Reform
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give estimates for the total number of adults expected to register for community charge in England and Wales.

  Mr. Howard
  I estimate that there are 38·3 million adults in England and Wales. About half a million of these are expected to be exempt from the community charge. As I said in my reply of 16 March to the hon. Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan) at column 82, I do not believe that evasion will be a serious problem.

  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will reconsider joint and several liability of spouses in respect of the proposed community charge, in the light of the planned changes to the income tax status of married women from 1 April 1990.

  Mr. Ridley
  No. The changes to which the hon. Member refers will affect married women with incomes. Joint and several liability for the community charge is designed to ensure that the charge is paid where a person (man or woman) has no income of his or her own and is married to or living with a person who has an income.

  G-Mex Exhibition Centre, Manchester
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the total financial contribution made by his Department to the G-Mex exhibition centre in greater Manchester; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Litherland
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will detail his involvement with the G-Mex centre in Manchester; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Trippier
  My involvement with the G-Mex Centre in Manchester has been to provide urban programme funding of £8·9 million towards an estimated main project
  3
  cost of £23·7 million and a further UP contribution of £0·9 million towards the cost of landscaping and other works on the site. I retain a continuing interest as there is a provision for grant to be paid back if sufficient income is generated.

  House Condition Survey
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the results of the English house condition survey will be available.

  Mrs. Roe
  I refer to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction on Wednesday 3 February 1988 at column 650.

  Grant-related Expenditure
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the studies into alternative or improved methods of calculating grant-related expenditure which have been funded by his Department since January 1980; and if for each study listed he will give(a) the name of the body or bodies undertaking the study, (b) the terms of reference of the study, (c) the names of other bodies tendering for the study, (d) the criteria by which the successful applicants were selected, (e) the cost of the study and (f) the outcome of the study.

  Mr. Ridley
  The following studies into grant-related expenditure assessment have been funded by my Department since January 1980:

  1. (i) 'Grant Related Expenditure Assessment: A Review of the System and Potential Development In It'.

  (ii) Conducted by the School for Advanced Urban Studies at the University of Bristol.

  (iii) A comprehensive general review of the system seeking to clarify the objectives and underlying principles of GRE, and to evaluate how far the system developed in practice measured up to these objectives and principles. Followed by in depth case studies examining the case for, feasibility and implications of alternative methods of GRE assessment in relation to particular components of local authority expenditure. The four case studies dealt with recreation, adult education, capital finance and public transport.

  (iv) Cost: £38,300.

  (v) Outcome: Published Reports (1983–84) of the overall review of the GRE system and of each of the four case studies.

  2. (i) The 'Measurement of Inter Authority Cost Differences'.

  (ii) Conducted by Cambridge Economic Consultants.

  (iii) The objective of the project was to investigate whether and how to extend and improve the existing system for unit cost adjustments such that it covered authorities outside the London Weighting area and inputs other than labour.

  (iv) Cost: £16,000.

  (v) Outcome: Unpublished Report (1983).

  3. (i) Development of the Grant Related Expenditure Assessment for Personal Social Services for the Elderly.

  (ii) Conducted by the Centre for Health Economics, York University.

  (iii) The objectives of the research arc to assess the feasibility of the main options for improving the method of calculating PSS GRE for the elderly; to then develop a more simple and comprehensible method of assessment whilst taking full account of the requirement to adequately reflect variations in needs between authorities; and to consider and report on the future stability of the new methodology as well as its effective presentation.

  (iv) Cost: £36,566.

  4

  (v) Outcome: The research is still in progress.

  4. (i) `Review of Statistical Methods Used to Construct Indicators of Social Disadvantage'.

  (ii) Conducted by Professor Bartholomew, London School of Economics.

  (iii) The objectives of the research are to review the methods of constructing composite measures of disadvantage at present used in GREs; to examine the applicability of new developments in the construction of such indexes; and to recommend the most appropriate of these statistical techniques.

  (iv) Cost: £3,000.

  (v) Outcome: The research is still in progress.

  Four organisations tendered for the second of these projects; the measurement of inter-authority cost differences. These were Cambridge Economic Consultants, Coopers and Lybrand and Associates Ltd, Peat Marwick Mitchell and Co. and the Public Sector Economics Research Centre at the University of Leicester. The contract was placed on the basis of price and of quality of tender proposal. The other three research contracts were placed on a single tender basis.

  Local Authority Expenditure
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for(a) each county council, (b) each metropolitan district, (c) each London borough and (d) each non-metropolitan district those services on which authorities spend below the national average; and by how much.

  Mr. Ridley
  [holding answer 15 March 1988]: I have today placed this information in the House of Commons Library.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the disposal of potassium waste by France and Belgium in the English channel; what action he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moynihan
  [holding answer 17 March 1988]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Malaysia (Waterworks)
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department took to ensure the technical soundness of Biwater's project to equip 174 Malaysian villages with waterworks before allocating funds from his 1986 water sector budget to support it.

  Mr. Eggar
  Assistance for the rural water supply project in Malaysia was provided from the aid and trade provision in association with export credit finance. As in all such cases, approval of ATP assistance was subject to satisfactory appraisal of the economic, financial and technical viability of the project. In this particular case, assistance was approved in the light of the findings of an ODA appraisal mission to Malaysia.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why his Department
  5
  approved a grant of nearly £60 million towards Biwater's Malaysia contract which was not subject to domestic competitive tendering.

  Mr. Eggar
  Within the aid programme, we seek to secure value for money for the taxpayer and for the recipient country. This is generally best achieved by competitive tendering. In the absence of competition, the ODA carries out value-for-money checks. In this case, the Malaysian Government wished to proceed with the project by negotiating a contract with a single contractor (Biwater). An independent check established value for money.

  Cameroun, Chile and Thailand (Waterworks)
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will submit to domestic competitive tender proposals which it is currently considering for water supply or sewerage projects in Cameroun, Chile and Thailand.

  Mr. Eggar
  Before deciding whether or not to provide aid and trade provision support for these projects, we shall consider how best to secure value for money for the aid programme in the circumstances of each particular case.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Polytechnics
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science which polytechnics in England and Wales provide specialist non-advanced further education on a nationwide basis; what subjects are covered by such provision; and how he intends that such provision should be funded following the establishment of the Polytechnic and Colleges Funding Council.

  Mr. Jackson
  There is no settled definition of specialist non-advanced further education. The Government have said that it will be open to local education authorities, as part of their duty to secure the provision of adequate facilities for further education in their areas, to contract for the continued provision of non-advanced further education courses in polytechnics and colleges which, under the provisions of the Education Reform Bill now before Parliament, will transfer to the new polytechnics and colleges funding council (PCFC) sector. Local education authorities' will receive credit for such provision in that grant-related expenditure. The Government are also ready to consider, in consultation with the local authority associations, whether it would be desirable to put the PCFC in funds to support a tightly defined category of further education courses whose provision in PCFC institutions is essentially national in character.

  Consultative Document
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy that responses received to consultative documents issued by his Department be made publicly available in his Department's library, except where the respondent has specifically asked that this be not done; and if he will arrange for this procedure to be made clear when future consultative documents are issued.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The treatment of responses to consultation documents will depend on the purpose and 6
  nature of the consultative process. In the case of the recent consultation carried out by the Department of Education and Science preceding the introduction of the Education Reform Bill, copies of all responses, other than those from individuals, were placed in the House Library.

  Religious Instruction
  Mr. Dover
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of primary schools and secondary schools in each local education authority are not adhering to the locally agreed syllabus of religious instruction for that authority.

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

  Education Reform Bill
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to amend the pupil register regulations for the power of holding ballots in relation to the Education Reform Bill; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dunn
  My right hon. Friend intends to amend the pupils' registration regulations to ensure that all parents will be given the opportunity to have their names recorded in schools' admission registers.

  Local Financial Management
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to discuss with head teachers the implementation of local financial management; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dunn
  Both Ministers and officials of my Department have had a number of meetings with representatives of the head teacher associations and with groups of head teachers about local financial management. My right hon. Friend will shortly be consulting LEAs, head teachers and others on preliminary guidance.

DEFENCE

  Prisoners of War (Experiments)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received about progress in investigating allegations of experiments on prisoners of war held by the Japanese at Mukden and elsewhere during world war 2; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 22 April 1987 at column 586. Since that date, the Ministry has received a further 16 inquiries. Of these two had been addressed to the Prime Minister and 14 to Ministers. During this period our inquiries have continued. But despite further and lengthy investigation we still have no proof that the Japanese experimented on Allied prisoners of war held at Mukden.

  Low Flying (Wales)
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received concerning low-flying military aircraft over Wales.
  7
  Mr. Freeman
  Between 1 January 1988 and 14 March 1988, the Ministry of Defence received some 70 inquiries or complaints from Wales about low-flying military aircraft.

  Consultative Documents
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy that responses received to consultative documents issued by his Department be made publicly available in his Department's library, except where the respondent has specifically asked that this be not done; and if he will arrange for this procedure to be made clear when future consultative documents are issued.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Yes, arrangements will be made for responses to formal consultative documents, such as Green Papers, to be available, provided that the respondent has not asked that his response should be kept confidential.

  RAF Molesworth
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make a decision on future uses of RAF Molesworth.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 20 January at column 764.

  RAF Wethersfield
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any limitations are planned on activities at RAF Wethersfield in the light of proposals for expansion of Stansted airport.

  Mr. Freeman
  RAF Wethersfield is a standby deployment base at which no regular flying activity currently takes place, aside from weekend gliding by air cadets. Therefore any question of the expansion of Stansted airport affecting base activities does not arise.

  RAF Feltwell
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the rôle and function of the proposed satellite receiver dishes and ancilliary equipment at RAF Feltwell; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Subject to the appropriate planning approvals, the United States Air Force proposes to site a deep space tracking station at RAF Feltwell. This will be a passive facility for tracking man-made objects in deep space.

  Montebello Decision
  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current position with regard to SACEUR's 1985 proposals to implement the Montebello decision.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  As part of the continuing process of reviewing NATO's nuclear force requirements, NATO Defence Ministers at the 1983 nuclear planning group meeting in Montebello examined the question of the future size and composition of NATO's theatre nuclear stockpile and agreed both to a reduction of 1,400 warheads from NATO's land-based nuclear stockpile in Europe and on 8
  the need for improvements to ensure the continuing effectiveness, responsiveness and survivability of remaining systems. SACEUR was asked to come forward with proposals for implementing this decision and his recommendations were presented to the nuclear planning group Minister at their meeting in Luxembourg in March 1985.

  The reduction in warheads has been completed. Recommendations for improvements are being pursued by SACEUR with the nations concerned, and progress with implementation is being kept under review by the nuclear planning group. The details of the recommendations as they affect individual countries are classified, but in broad terms they include the deployment of a tactical air-to-surface missile, the deployment of a follow on to Lance, the introduction of improved nuclear artillery shells, and the continued modernisation of NATO's dual-capable aircraft. No decisions on the specific modernisation measures addressed by SACEUR to the United Kingdom have yet been taken.

  Other measures called for by SACEUR involve the correction of some maldeployments of nuclear forces and improvements in their effectiveness, survivability and command and control. In this context the United Kingdom is withdrawing completely from the 8 in nuclear artillery role in order to concentrate resources on the 155 mm dual-capable gun now in service, as explained by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 23 July 1987 at column 390.

  NATO Heads of Government at the summit on 2–3 March reaffirmed the long-standing policy of the Alliance, that it should continue to maintain
  "an appropriate mix of adequate and effective nuclear and conventional forces which will continue to be kept up to date where necessary".

  The United Kingdom will play its full part in this process.

  Armed Forces (Alcohol Abuse)
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on measures to control alcohol abuse in the armed forces; whether non-alcoholic beers are stored in service bars; what is the ratio of alcoholic to nonalcoholic drinks stocked in service bars; and what is the price differential.

  Mr. Freeman
  Drunkenness is a specific offence under the service discipline Acts. If service personnel, whilst not committing actual drink related offences, become by regular heavy drinking a risk or burden to their service that is also regarded seriously.

  A series of alcohol education programmes, making use of pamphlets, films and lectures has been produced to alert all personnel to the dangers of abuse. Where abuse occurs, the aim is to rehabilitate abusers where this is possible. Adequate facilities for medical treatment are available. A range of deterrent administrative and disciplinary actions are also available and persistent offenders may be discharged.

  Stocking of service bars and the pricing of drinks are matters for mess committees or NAAFI managers and are not centrally directed by the Ministry of Defence, but nonalcoholic or low-alcohol beers and soft drinks would normally be available. The ratio of alcoholic to nonalcoholic drinks would depend on demand.

  Exercises
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list Royal Air Force participation in Maple Flag exercises in Canada since 1979, giving the number and type of Royal Air Force aircraft involved and dates of the exercise on each occasion.

  Mr. Freeman
  [holding answer 4 December 1987]: The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  Date

  Aircraft involved

  19791

  28 April—12 May

  8 × Buccaneer

  2 × Jaguar

  19801

  14 April— 7 May

  8 × Harrier

  19811

  14 April—16 May

  8 × Buccaneer

  19821

  14 April—17 May

  8 × Harrier

  19831

  12 May—27 May

  8 × Buccaneer

  2 × Hercules

  1984

  28 April—26 May

  8 × Harrier

  1985

  27 April—25 May

  8 × Tornado

  1986

  27 April—24 May

  8 × Harrier

  1987

  27 April—25 May

  8 × Jaguar

  1 Precise central records are not available for the period before 1984 although the details given above are thought to be broadly accurate.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Violent Crime
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a table depicting the percentage change in violent crimes, by category, in all regions of the United Kingdom from 1979 to the latest available date.

  Mr. John Patten
  Statistics of notifiable offences recorded by the police, by type of offence and police force area, are published in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1979" (Cmnd 8098, table 32), and in the "Criminal Statistics Supplementary Tables Volume 3" (table S.3.1.) for each year from 1980 to 1986. Copies of these volumes are available in the Library. Recorded numbers of some types of violent offences are small and subject to appreciable year-to-year fluctuation so percentage changes calculated from them might be misleading.

  Safe City Scheme
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which urban areas are to be initially targeted by the safe city schemes; and when they will commence.

  Mr. John Patten
  It is our intention over the next three years to establish some 20 "safer city" projects in areas selected from those which are currently urban programme areas. The participating areas will be chosen and announced after consultation with local interests in the areas concerned.

  Seaside Promenades
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to approve new byelaws regulating the use of seaside promenades; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Last month, Thanet district council submitted five draft schemes of byelaws for provisional 10
  approval. We will reply to the council as soon as possible, but there are a considerable number of other applications awaiting attention.

  Firearms
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearms certificates are at present held by owners in England and Wales.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The latest available information relates to 31 December 1986 and is published in table 2 of the Home Office statistical bulletin, issue 2/88, "Statistics On The Operation Of The Firearms Act 1968", a copy of which is in the Library. Figures for the end of 1987 will be published in a similar bulletin later this year.

  Dogs
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Horne Department if he will give figures for the number of stray dogs reported to the police in England and Wales during 1985–86 and 1986–87.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  No central record is kept of the number of stray dogs reported to the police. The information requested could, therefore, be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dogs were destroyed, annually, in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Dogs are destroyed by owners and by a wide variety of organisations and individuals. We have no information on the total numbers destroyed.

  Hounds (Organised Packs)
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to make it a criminal offence to allow an organised pack of hounds To attack cats or dogs, with a range of fines and imprisonment available against the master of such hounds; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We are concerned about any unnecessary suffering which is caused to domestic animals. However, existing legislation — in particular the Dogs Act 1871, the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. the Metropolitan Police Act 1839—provides for the control of dangerous dogs. We have no plan to introduce further measures.

  Immigration (Entry Clearance)
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secrertary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer by the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex on 22 February,Official Report, column 4, whether the 130 outstanding entry clearance applications included applications which had been referred to his Department by entry clearance officers but had not yet been allocated to an immigration office.

  Mr. Renton
  The total of 130 outstanding entry clearance applications given in my previous answer referred to those cases which had been received from entry clearance officers abroad and had been passed to the immigration service to arrange interview. The number of
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  applications made abroad which had not reached that stage is not recorded centrally under the location of the sponsors, and information in respect of the Birmingham area is therefore not readily obtainable.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Ethiopia
  Mr. Wilkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criticism the United Kingdom's representative at the 44th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva made about the human rights record of the Government of Ethiopia.

  Mrs. Chalker
  My hon. Friend the Paliamentary Under-Secretary of State drew attention in his statement at the Commission on 18 February to the particular problem of long-term prisoners in Ethiopia. In a subsequent statement under the agenda item dealing with human rights violations in any part of the world, the United Kingdom representative again expressed our concern about the continued detention of long-term prisoners in Ethiopia, some of whom have been held without trial since 1974.

  Mr. Wilkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why Her Majesty's Government made no attempt to have Ethiopia included on the agenda of the 44th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission recently convened in Geneva; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chalker
  In 1986 the United Kingdom supported a draft resolution on Ethiopia tabled at the Commission by the United States which would formally have put the situation in Ethiopia on the Commission's agenda for its 1987 session. This resolution was defeated on a procedural motion. We have continued to raise the matter of long-term prisoners in Ethiopia in our statements at the Commission.

  CND (Representations)
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament since the Washington summit of December 1987.

  Mr. Mellor
  [pursuant to his reply, 2 March 1988, c. 589]: I should have said that we have received one direct representation from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament since the Washington summit of December 1987.

EMPLOYMENT

  Deaf People (Training Schemes)
  Mr. Sims
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average number of hours of communication support required by a YTS trainee under the communication service for the deaf.

  Mr. Cope
  Information on the average number of communication support required by YTS trainees is not available. Communication support is provided for a12
  maximum of 500 hours per trainee over a two-year scheme. Trainees' use of this resource varies according to their individual needs.

  Enterprise Allowance Scheme
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give a regional breakdown of the number of people receiving payment under the enterprise allowance scheme.

  Mr. Cope
  The number of people receiving the enterprise allowance at the end of February 1988 is shown below, by region.

  Region

  Recipients

  South East

  11,951

  London

  10,085

  South West

  10,006

  West Midlands

  9,402

  East Midlands

  10,194

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  9,102

  North West

  14,330

  North

  5,118

  Wales

  5,863

  Scotland

  8,739

  Total

  94,790

  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to increase the size of the payment under the enterprise allowance scheme.

  Mr. Cope
  No. Demand is buoyant and £40 per week remains sufficient compensation for the loss of unemployment or supplementary benefit that occurs when an unemployed person starts up in business.

  Children
  Mr. Archer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to bring the pay of working children within the ambit of wages council legislation.

  Mr. Nicholls
  No.

  Youth Training
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current provision made for young people to undertake part-time study whilst they are on a YTS programme.

  Mr. Cope
  All YTS training programmes must include a minimum period of planned and directed learning away from the normal workplace and outside the day-to-day pressures of a job. Any study which is of direct relevance to a training programme may therefore be considered for inclusion as part of such "off-the-job" training. Trainees are also free to pursue additional studies outside YTS, and managing agents are encouraged to offer support by allowing time off to study and sit for examinations which would contribute to the training programme.

  Midland Professional Cleaning Services Ltd., Wolverhampton
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if any applications for payments in lieu of
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  wages from the insolvency fund have been accepted by former employees of Midland Professional Cleaning Services Ltd. of Stewart Street, Wolverhampton.

  Mr. Nicholls
  No applications are at present being considered. I understand the company is not formally insolvent.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Agricultural Development and Advisory Service
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he proposes to make changes in the prices charged by the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service for its commercial services.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I have instructed ADAS that the prices it charges for its commercial services should be adjusted from time to time taking account of changes in costs, the competitive position in the market place as well, of course, as the legal requirement that such charges must be reasonable. The first adjustments will be made from the beginning of the 1988–89 financial year.

  The most familiar ADAS charges are perhaps those for advice. For these the hourly charge will remain at £28 (plus VAT) for up to two hours of advice which will help protect smaller farmers. However, if a contract necessitates over two hours of advisers' time, charges for the excess period over two hours will, from 1 April 1988, be levied at a rate of £30 (plus VAT) per hour.

  Drainage Authorities
  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to issue revised guidelines to drainage authorities on discharging their environmental and conservation responsibilities.

  Mr. Gummer
  The revised guidelines, issued jointly by the Minister and my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales, are being distributed to land drainage bodies and conservation organisations today. Copies have also been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  The guidelines have been completely revised in the light of a thoroughgoing review of the experience of the past five years and I should like to put on record our gratitude to the many organisations both in the fields of conservation and of land drainage whose assistance has been of such value in the drawing up of the new guidelines. My colleagues and I are confident that the strengthened and consolidated guidance that we are publishing today will serve to enable drainage authorities to proceed with their necessary work in ways that will further the conservation interest and enhance environmental features affected by these operations. Much progress has been made in this direction in recent years and we must see to it that we build on what has been achieved. The new guidelines are central to this. I commend them to drainage and conservation organisations alike.

  Bass
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made towards the European Economic Community accepting a bass quota.
  14
  Mr. Gummer
  There are no proposals for establishing an EC bass quota. The European Commission has been informed of the Government's proposals for the management of the bass fishery and if these are confirmed in the light of our consultations with the industry, we shall be asking the Commission to propose an increase in the Community minimum landing size for bass to 36 cm.

  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how he intends to ensure that the proposed bass regulations prevent the French from fishing the adult spawning stock in mid-channel.

  Mr. Gummer
  I have no plans to prevent fishing for adult bass.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the disposal of potassium waste by France and Belgium in the English channel; what action he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  [holding answer 17 March 1988]: From our contacts with the relevant authorities in France and Belgium and with the secretariat to the Oslo convention on sea disposal, it has been established that up to 750 tonnes of salt wastes from the potassium mining industry were disposed of at sea by France last month on an experimental basis, at a point five miles north of Dunkirk, and some 28 miles from the nearest United Kingdom coast. This disposal will be discussed at next week's meeting of the Oslo commission's standing committee for scientific advice when more detailed information on its likely environmental impact, and on any plans for future disposals of this nature, will be sought from the French authorities.

  J. R. Perkes and Son, Brixham
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now reply to the hon. Member for South Hams' letter of 9 February asking him to deal, as a matter of urgency, with the matter of J. R. Perkes and Son, Brixham fishermen, and requesting a meeting.

  Mr. Gummer
  [holding answer 18 March 1988]: I have been giving very careful consideration to the matter of J. R. Perkes and Son about which my hon. Friend the Member for South Hams wrote to me on 9 February, and I hope to be able to reply to my hon. Friend very shortly.

SCOTLAND

  Rating Reform
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will amend his recent regulations in relation to the community charge to give individuals who appear on the community charge register the option as to whether or not they would like their name and address to be sold;

  (2) if he will amend his recent regulations in relation to the community charge so that individuals who appear on the community charge register will be told of the fact that their name and address may be sold without their knowledge or consent.

  Mr. Lang
  I refer to the answers I gave on 3 November 1987 at columns 550–51, on 28 January 1988 at column 325

  15
  and on 6 July at column 35. My right hon. and learned Friend is still considering these matters. Pending that consideration, I do not consider that formal notification to individuals of the present position is required.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to account for the problems of adult literacy, dyslexia or English as a second language when producing the regulations in relation to the community charge.

  Mr. Lang
  The notification and inquiry forms prescribed in the Community Charges (Registration) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 have been made as simple and straightforward as possible in the light of comments made on the draft regulations.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will give the latest unemployment figures for Motherwell.

  Mr. Lang
  On 11 February 1988 the number of unemployed claimants in Motherwell district was 10,314.

  Dr. Reid
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the latest unemployment figures for Motherwell, North.

  Mr. Lang
  On 11 February 1988 the number of unemployed claimants in the Motherwell, North parliamentary constituency was 5,689.

  Incontinence
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give his latest estimate of the number of males and females in Scotland who suffer from incontinence; if he will express this figure in percentage terms; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  This information is not available centrally.

  Inverclyde Initiative
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow on Friday 8 March,Official Report, column 135, he will break down the figure for

  Penalties imposed

  Year to

  Number of cases heard

  Struck off

  Suspended

  Fined

  Practising certificate restricted

  Case dismissed (no finding)

  31 October 1986

  38

  1

  2

  18

  7

  7

  31 October 1987

  31

  1

  2

  14

  6

  3

  The number of cases heard does not necessarily correspond to the total number of penalties imposed. More than one case may be dealt with by a single penalty.

  Grant Thornton
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 11 March,Official Report, column 384, what information he has as to when Messrs Grant Thornton were appointed.
  16
  Scottish Development Agency expenditure of £8·75 million on the Inverclyde initiative, showing on what it has been spent.

  Mr. Lang
  The expenditure of £8·75 million by the Scottish Development Agency on the Inverclyde initiative is detailed in the table:

  £ million

  Pre-project development studies and development grants

  2·20

  Factory Building

  0·50

  Environmental Improvements

  2·55

  Land acquisition

  3·50

  Solicitors (Code of Practice)
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether it is his intention to introduce legislation to implement the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Legal Services in relation to a legally binding code of ethics and practice for solicitors in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  No. I understand that the Law Society of Scotland is committed to the preparation and early publication of guidance on professional standards and ethics.

  Lay Observer
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases were referred to the Lay Observer in 1987; in how many of these she found some justifiable complaint against the Law Society in its dealing with complaints; and what were the comparable figures in 1986.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Lay Observer for Scotland handled 248 cases in 1987 and in 62 of these she criticised aspects of the handling of the complaint by the Law Society of Scotland. The comparable figures in 1986 were 232 and 43 respectively.

  Solicitors Discipline Tribunal
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases were heard by the Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal in 1987; what were the results of the cases heard; and what were the comparable figures in 1986.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information is as follows:

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I understand that Grant Thornton were engaged in December 1987 by health board general managers acting jointly.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 10 March,Official Report, column 384, how much money from public funds has been paid to Grant Thornton; and in respect of what services.
  17
  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Grant Thornton were engaged by health board general managers acting jointly to provide assistance to boards in the preparation of tender documents and in the financial and technical vetting of major firms of contractors. The fee for these services is a matter covered by commercial confidentiality.

  Radioactive Discharges
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all the non-nuclear industrial sites in Scotland making authorised discharges of radioactive substances into the atmosphere.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 11 March 1988]: The following are authorised by the Scottish Development Department to discharge low level gaseous waste to the atmosphere:
  National Semiconductors (UK) Ltd., Larkfield Industrial Estate, Greenock.
  Crowther Arts Display Ltd., 5 Hawbank Road, College Milton North, East Kilbride.
  Ferranti Ltd., Dunsinane Avenue, Dundee.
  Organon Laboratories Ltd., Newhouse Industrial Estate, Newhouse, Lanarkshire.
  ICI plc in respect of the Brae B platform in the North Sea.

  In addition the South of Scotland Electricity Board is authorised to burn, at its power stations at Longannet and Inverkip, waste oil contaminated with trace amounts of radioactivity; authorisations are held also by Aberdeen and Dundee district councils permitting them to burn combustible low-level radioactive wastes in their waste disposal incinerators.

  In all the cases, the limits of discharge permitted by the authorisations are very low and the quantities of radioactivity being released to atmosphere are entirely negligible in radiological terms.

  Population (1986)1

  Non-industrial Civil Service (1 April 1987)

  Region

  Number ('000s)

  Percentage

  Number2

  Percentage

  Scotland

  5,121

  9·3

  50,214

  10·1

  Northern

  3,080

  5·6

  31,359

  6·3

  North West

  6,374

  11·5

  50,902

  10·2

  Yorkshire/Humberside

  4,899

  8·9

  31,055

  6·2

  East Midlands

  3,920

  7·1

  20,123

  4·1

  West Midlands

  5,181

  9·4

  29,876

  6–0

  East Anglia

  1,992

  3·6

  13,390

  2·7

  South East

  17,264

  31,3

  195,826

  39·4

  South West

  4,543

  8·2

  47,031

  9·5

  Wales

  2,821

  5·1

  27,336

  5·5

  Great Britain

  55,196

  100·0

  497,112

  100·0

  Source:

  1. Population Estimates, Scotland, 1986; Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys Monitor PM 87/1

  2. Full time equivalents.

  Income Tax
  Mr. Greg Knight
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has about the starting rates and top rates of income tax and the level of gross income at which those rates become payable in(a)

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Gross Domestic Product
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the latest comparative figures for levels of gross domestic product per capita in each of the United Kingdom regions, taking the figure for the United Kingdom as a whole to be 100.

  Mr. Major
  [holding answer 18 March 1988]: I refer the hon. Member to the November 1987 edition of Economic Trends. The latest figures are available on page 86 of that document.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the latest figures for levels of gross domestic product per capita in each of the United Kingdom regions, including the continental shelf.

  Mr. Major
  [holding answer, 18 March 1988]: I refer the hon. Member to the November 1987 edition of Economic Trends which presents the latest available data. As the November edition of Economic Trends states, it is not possible to include the continental shelf in the calculation of regional GDP per capita figures.

  Civil Service Redeployment
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update table 1(4) in annex A of the Hardman report, Cmnd. 5322, on Civil Service redeployment.

  Mr. Brooke
  [holding answer 18 March 1988]: Information on the division between headquarters and non-headquarters staff is no longer held centrally. The latest available figures for population by region and for non-industrial Civil Servants are as follows:

  Canada, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) Italy, (e) Japan and (f) the United States of America, for a married couple with no children.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [pursuant to his reply, 16 March 1988, c. 566–68]: I regret that the figure for the level of gross income at which the top rate of tax becomes payable in the United Kingdom was wrongly given as £19,301. The figure is £23,396. The revised table is as follows:
  19

  Country

  Starting rate Per cent.

  Starting rate threshold (£)

  Top rate

  Top rate threshold (£)

  Canada

  25·5

  5,003

  43·5

  25,000

  France

  12·8

  6,698

  56·8

  53,463

  Germany

  22·0

  3,439

  56·0

  65,670

  Italy

  22·0

  3,358

  62·0

  253,924

  Japan

  17·5

  4,286

  78·0

  152,607

  United States of America

  15·0

  5,086

  34·7

  22,086

  United Kingdom

  25·0

  4,096

  40·0

  23,396

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Judges
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Attorney-General how many judges in England and Wales are(a) from ethnic minorities and (b) women; and what is the total number of judges in England and Wales.

  The Attorney-General
  No records are kept of the ethnic origin of members of the judiciary. As at 16 March 1988, there were 20 women judges, comprising one Lord Justice of Appeal, two High Court Judges and 17 circuit judges. The total number of Court of Appeal, High Court and circuit judges in England and Wales is at present 500.

  Magistrates
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the total number of magistrates in England and Wales; and how many are(a) members of ethnic minorities and (b) women.

  The Attorney-General
  At January 1988 there were 27,846 active lay magistrates, of whom 11,934 were women. There are currently 48 metropolitan stipendiary magistrates of whom eight are women and 14 provincial stipendiary magistrates, of whom none are women.

  No records are kept of the racial origins of magistrates, but surveys conducted last year revealed that 528 lay magistrates were members of an ethnic minority.

  Hunts (Trespass)
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Attorney-General what is his prosecution policy in respect of alleged offences of criminal trespass by hunts on British Rail land.

  The Attorney-General
  The prosecution policy of the Crown prosecution service, in respect of all offences prosecuted by that service, is contained in the code for Crown prosecutors, which is issued pursuant to section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1985.

PRIME MINISTER

  Education Testing (Leak of Letter)
  Mr. Tam Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister if, pursuant to her answer of 14 March, she will set up an inquiry to discover the source of the leak of a letter from Mr. Paul Gray to Mr. Tom Jeffrey on educational testing.

  The Prime Minister
  I have nothing to add to my reply to the hon. Gentleman on 14 March, at column 425.

  Biwater
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Prime Minister on what assessment of Biwater's previous record in the supply of 20
  waterworks to Nigeria she gave Biwater her personal backing in the negotiations for a contract to supply Malaysia with similar equipment.

  The Prime Minister
  One of the main purposes of my visits abroad is to support the efforts of reputable British companies to secure contracts. The Biwater contract was therefore raised in discussion with Ministers on my visit to Malaysia in 1985.

ENERGY

  South Normanton Depot
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will issue a direction to British Coal to name the consortium and the cost involved in the purchase of south Normanton depot and other transport undertakings including the mobile plants in the Nottinghamshire coalfield.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  No; these are management matters for the British Coal Corporation.

  "Bribes, Brothels and Nuclear Waste"
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will seek to obtain a copy of the transcript of the Thames Television programme "This Week" entitled "Bribes, Brothels and Nuclear Waste" broadcast on 10 March for his departmental library.

  Mr. Parkinson
  No.

  Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what are his plans for the Berkeley nuclear laboratories following plans for the privatisation of the electricity supply industry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  This is a matter for discussion with the industry.

  Nuclear Power Stations (Decommissioning)
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what discussions he has had with the Central Electricity Generating Board about withdrawal of funds from research into the decommissioning of nuclear power stations; and if he will take steps to prevent any delay in the Sellafield research project.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  The CEGB's decision to withdraw its contribution towards the cost of UKAEA research into decommissioning of the Windscale advanced gas cooled reactor is a management matter for the board. The Department will be discussing with UKAEA the implications of the CEGB's decision in the course of negotiations on the authority's R and D programme.

  Dounreay
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether Dounreay has been in receipt of any consignments of nuclear waste(a) before May 1979 and (b) since May 1979.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  [holding answer 14 March 1988]: Since 1986, some 423 cu m of wastes arising from the development of fast reactor fuels at Sellafield have been moved to Dounreay. Prior to 1986 very small quantities of waste totalling less than 7 cu m and arising mainly from work undertaken in support of the Dounreay programme were transferred from other UK AEA sites to Dounreay. Small quantities of waste are transferred regularly to Dounreay from the adjacent Vulcan naval reactor test establishment.

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

  Mr. Parkinson
  [pursuant to his reply 17 December 1987, c. 639–640]: It appears to me, on the information so far available to me, that the following economic, safety, environmental and planning matters are likely to be relevant to my consideration of the CEGB's application to construct a pressurised water reactor at Hinkley Point:

  (1) the applicant's requirement for the power station (particularly in the light of Government policy as set out in the answer given on 17 December 1987 and in the White Paper "Privatising Electricity" (Cm. 322), in particular paragraphs 44–49);

  (2) the safety feature of the design, construction and operation of the station, taking into account the conclusions on the safety of the Sizewell B PWR contained in the report of Sir Frank Layfield QC and the views of the nuclear installations inspectorate, as representing the Health and Safety Executive (the licensing authority);

  (3) the on-site management of radioactive waste arising from the station and radioactive discharges from the station to the environment in the light of the views of the authorising Departments; and

  (4) the implications of the proposed development (including construction, operation and decommissioning) for: (a) agriculture and fisheries; (b) the local economy including employment; (c) water supply and disposal; (d) transport requirements; (e) coast protection and sea defences; (f) housing and public services generally; (g) local amenities and in particular areas of special landscape value or nature conservation interest; (h) emergency arrangements.

  I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Mr. Michael Barnes, QC, to act as inspector at the public inquiry. The inspector will hold a first pre-inquiry meeting, starting on 1 June 1988, at the Somerset college of agriculture and horticulture at Cannington near Hinkley Point and it is expected that a second pre-inquiry meeting will be held in the period 12–14 July 1988.

  I consider it impracticable to open a major inquiry of this kind in a busy holiday area during the season. The inquiry is therefore expected to open on 4 October 1988,
  22
  the earliest date I consider practicable. Further details about the second pre-inquiry meeting and the inquiry itself, including details of the times and places, will be announced at a later date.

  The inquiry will also consider the CEGB's separate application for my consent to realign the final span of each of the Hinkley Point-Melksham and Hinkley Point-Taunton double circut of 400 kV overhead transmission lines.

  The electricity generating stations and overhead lines (inquiries procedure) rules 1987 will apply to the inquiry. The code of practice "Electricity Generating Stations and Overhead Lines — Preparing for Major Inquiries in England and Wales" will also apply. I have placed a copy of the code of practice in the Libraries of both Houses.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Support for Design Scheme (Northern Ireland)
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals he has to replace the support for design scheme in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Butcher
  I am discussing the implications of the termination of the support for design scheme with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. An announcement will he made in due course.

  Consultative Documents
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy that responses received to consultative documents issued by his Department be made publicly available in his Department's library, except where the respondent has specifically asked that this not be done; and if he will arrange for this procedure to be made clear when future consultative documents are issued.

  Mr. Butcher
  No. Frank expression of views could be inhibited if there were a presumption in favour of publication. But I continue to be ready to do so in appropriate cases and when the respondent has explicitly agreed to publication.

  Film Industry
  Mr. Gould
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the turnover of the British film industry in 1986–87, exclusive of overseas earnings.

  Mr. Maude
  I regret that this information is not available.

  Company Registrations
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many new company registrations there have been in Yorkshire and Humberside to the nearest convenient date since 1983.

  Mr. Maude
  The number of companies which presently have their registered offices in Yorkshire and Humberside and which were incorporated in the period 1983 to 1986 is 15,096. To date 2,499 companies formed during 1987 have registered offices in Yorkshire and Humberside. This figure may change appreciably over the next few months
  23
  as many companies are bought off-the-shelf from registration agents and their address in this early period is therefore the address of these agents.

  Country of Origin Labelling
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he proposes to introduce any changes regarding country of origin requirements in the labelling of manufactured goods; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Butcher
  Provision is made in the Consumer Protection Act 1987 for the repeal of the Trade Description Act 1972 which is concerned with the origin marking of imported goods generally. I propose to introduce successor requirements, by means of an order under section 8 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 at the same time as effect is given to the repeal of the 1972 Act and to this end my Department is currently considering paper and draft order issued on 18 December last.

  Departmental Accommodation
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give the accommodation costs per square metre of his Department's buildings in London at(a) 1–19 Victoria street, (b) Allington towers, (c) Ashdown house and (d) Kingsgate house; and how many civil servants are employed in each location.

  Year and sponsoring organisation

  Other countries visited

  1982

  London Chamber of Commerce

  —

  North of England Development Council

  —

  Engineering Industries Association

  —

  Cardiff Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  —

  City of Westminster Chamber of Commerce

  —

  Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  —

  Association of British Offshore Industry

  —

  Export-IT (British Information Technology Export Organisation)

  —

  Federation of Sussex Industries and Chamber of Commerce

  —

  1983

  Birmingham Chamber of Industry and Commerce

  —

  Defence Manufacturers Association

  Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE

  London Chamber of Commerce

  —

  Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  Yemen Arab Republic

  Engineering Industries Association

  —

  Export-IT (British Information Technology Export Organisation)

  —

  Engineerng Industries Association

  —

  British Food Export Council

  Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Yemen

  Federation of Sussex Industries and Chamber of Commerce

  —

  1984

  British Water Industries Group

  —

  London Chamber of Commerce

  —

  Birmingham Chamber of Industry and Commerce

  —

  British Food Export Council

  Gulf States

  Glasgow Chamber of Commerce

  —

  1985

  London Chamber of Commerce

  —

  Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd.

  —

  Birmingham Chamber of Industry and Commerce

  —

  Engineering Industries Association

  Bahrain

  Export-IT (British Information Technology Export Organisation)

  Glasgow Chamber of Commerce

  —

  British Health-Care Export Council

  —

  1986

  British Food Export Council

  Middle East scatter, Gulf States scatter

  Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  —

  1987

  Glasgow Chamber of Commerce

  —

  The Middle East Association

  —

  24
  Mr. Butcher
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer, given on 2 March at column 584 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment. Details of accommodation costs on leasehold buildings are treated by the Property Services Agency as commercially confidential. The numbers currently employed in the buildings referred to are:

  Location

  Number

  1–19 Victoria Street

  1,101

  Allington Towers

  259

  Ashdown House

  783

  Kingsgate House

  672

  Saudi Arabia (Trade Missions)
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list in the Official Report the trade missions from the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia since 1 January 1982, indicating (a) which received financial assistance from his Department, (b) the main organising bodies, (c) the purposes, and (d) the precise destination of each.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  The following trade missions have visited Saudi Arabia with DTI assistance since 1 January 1982:
  25

  Year and sponsoring organisation

  Other countries visited

  Federation of Sussex Industries

  —

  Birmingham Chamber of Industry and Commerce

  —

  British Health-Care Export Council

  —

  Croydon Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  Oman

  1988

  BEAMA (Federation of British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers Association)

  Dubai, Kuwait

  London Chamber of Commerce

  —

  Glasgow Chamber of Commerce

  —

  The purpose of each mission was the promotion of British exports.

  Information about missions since 1982 receiving no DTI financial assistance is not readily available.

  Airbus
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many aircraft have been firmly ordered and how many options have been secured since his Department announced official support for the A330 and A340 aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  As at 15 March 1988, the total number of commitments for the Airbus A330–340 was 145 aircraft. As the programme is still in its early stages, figures broken down between the A330 and the A340, and between firm orders and options, are not available.

  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many aircraft have been firmly ordered and how many options have been secured since his Department announced official support for the A320 aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  As at 15 March 1988, 294 firm orders and 189 options had been placed for the Airbus A320 aircraft.

  Departmental Logos
  Sir John Biggs-Davison
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy that in redesigning logos, and so on for his Department, he will continue to use the historical emblem of the Board of Trade of which the Secretary of State is President.

  Mr. Butcher
  The historical emblem of the Board of Trade will continue to be used in selected areas where it is particularly appropriate, but in the majority of cases the new DTI logo will be employed. This logo covers all the activities of the Department of Trade and Industry rather than those of just one of the predecessor Departments. It has been introduced to support the major restructuring of DTI policies set out in the White Paper "DTI—the department for Enterprise" which was presented to Parliament on 12 January 1988.

  Export Credits Guarantee Department
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will now make it his practice to answer questions concerning the Export Credits Guarantee Department's involvement in(a) particular transactions and (b) particular countries.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  It has been the policy of successive Administrations not to make public the terms under which guarantees issued by the Export Credits Guarantee 26
  Department (ECGD) are made available for particular markets nor to disclose details of the support provided by ECGD for individual transactions. Such disclosure of commercially confidential information could prejudice the negotiating position of the United Kingdom exporters. Disclosure of the ECGD's assessment of other countries' creditworthiness could damage relationships between Her Majesty's Government and the Government concerned.

  Animal Skins
  Mr. Hinchcliffe
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many(a) dog pelts and (b) cat skins were exported in each of the last five years and to which main countries; what checks are made on the sources of such skins, with particular regard to their legality; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  [holding answer 4 March 1988]: Statistics on the export of dog pelts and cat skins, other than wild feline skins, are not available. No checks are made on the sources of such skins.

WALES

  Neonatal Facilities
  Mr. Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the provision of neonatal facilities in hospitals in Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  I am pleased that improvements in services for newly born babies and their mothers have been accompanied by a dramatic reduction in the perinatal mortality rate in Wales, which has fallen from 15·6 per 1,000 births in 1979 to 10·3 in 1986.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give a county by county break-down of inward investment in Wales for the last year for which full figures are available.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The total recorded number of inward investment projects secured for Wales during 1987 was 113, involving investment of £244 million. I have arranged for a breakdown by county to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Health Disadvantage
  Mr. Ted Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he plans to take to compensate for the relative disadvantages in health experienced by residents of(a) Mid-Glamorgan and (b) other parts of Wales.
  27
  Mr. Grist
  Relative health needs are taken account of in the formulae used in determining the allocation of resources to district health authorities.

  Tourism and Leisure
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new proposals he has to support or initiate measures to increase jobs in the tourist and leisure industries in(a) Gwent and (b) Wales.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  The increase in resources we have made available for the Wales tourist board and assistance announced under the Enterprise Wales package will help the tourist industry create jobs in all parts of Wales.

  A55 (Chester-Bangor)
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what further schemes are required to complete the dualling of the A55 between Chester and Bangor; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Five schemes are under construction. Four further schemes—the Traveller's Inn, Pen-Y-Clip, Aber and Rhaullt Hill improvements—are planned. Dualling is expected to be completed in the early 1990s.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Ray Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were(a) unemployed and (b) employed in Wales in May 1979; and what are the latest figures.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  On a seaonally adjusted basis, there were 73,100 and 136,700 unemployed claimants in Wales 28
  in May 1979 and February 1988 respectively. At September 1979, there were 1,160,000 in employment in Wales. The comparable details for September 1987, the latest available, are 1,021,000.

  Mr. Roy Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest unadjusted figures for unemployment in(a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales; and if he will give the equivalent figures for 1979 on the most closely comparable basis.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  On 11 February 1988, the number of unemployed claimants in Newport district, Gwent and Wales were 7,841, 22,923 and 145,458 respectively. Unadjusted figures for 1979 are not available on a basis that enables a valid comparison to be made.

  Council House Building
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many council homes were started in 1987 in Wales; and how many were completed.

  Mr. Grist
  A total of 908 dwellings were started by local authorities in Wales in 1987 and 795 were completed.

  Welsh Language
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to promote the use of Welsh in official business.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  This is one of several issues which the working group, established by my right hon. Friend under my chairmanship, is considering.

  Lamb (Radioactivity)
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set up an inquiry into the alleged sale to the public of radioactive lamb above the official safety levels.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  No. I am satisfied that controls on the movement and slaughter of sheep have ensured that there has been no threat to public safety.

  Kidney Dialysis
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to expand kidney dialysis treatment in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  Kidney dialysis treatment in Wales has expanded rapidly under this Government, and the acceptance rate for new patients is now well above the average for the United Kingdom. Further progress will be made this year with the construction of two more subsidiary renal units in south-east Wales and an expansion of the Morriston hospital unit.

  Consultative Documents
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy that responses received to consultative documents issued by his Department be made publicly available in his Department's library, except where the respondent has specifically asked that this not be done; and if he will arrange for this procedure to be made clear when future consultative documents are issued.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  It is already the policy of my Department to make responses to consultative documents available to the public on request except where a respondent has specifically asked for this not to be done. These arrangements are made clear when consultative documents are issued.

  AIDS
  Sir Raymond Gower
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what special arrangements have been made for the treatment of persons suffering from AIDS; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  In December 1985 all district health authorities were encouraged to establish AIDS coordinating teams to ensure the proper management of the response to AIDS in their areas, and to ensure that treatment and care facilities were available for those who needed them. In May 1987 district health authorities were asked to prepare district operational plans on AIDS. Planning guidelines were published which contained advice on the arrangements for the treatment of AIDS sufferers including the need to consider the provision of facilities for treatment in hospital and in the community. The Welsh Office has responded to draft plans received from all authorities. Final plans are due to be submitted by 1 April 1988.

  School-Industry Links
  Sir Raymond Cower
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he proposes to take to strengthen 30
  contacts and co-operation between senior classes in Welsh comprehensive schools and local industries; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  A Welsh Office survey conducted last year indicated that there was a generally high incidence of school-industry interaction in Wales. This is an encouraging base on which to bring in new initiatives on top of existing ones, such as general work experience currently provided through schools, local authorities, TVEI and link bodies. On 13 January I announced the Enterprise Wales package, a significant and important element of which is the business and education initiative. An aim of the initiative is that, within two or three years, every young person in Wales should be given personal experience of the world of work during their last year in school.

  I am also exploring the possibilities of establishing one or more compacts in Wales, which would considerably strengthen links between schools and local industrial and commercial concerns. Finally "Working Together for a Better Future", the careers initiative launched last year in England and Wales, affirms the key place of careers education in the school curriculum, to inform school leavers in their choice of occupation, including careers in industry.

  Repair Grants
  Sir Raymond Gower
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to improve the position of elderly householders whose dwellings are in need of repair and whose grant applications have not yet been met.

  Mr. Grist
  We are aware of the particular problems elderly home owners face and have made available substantial financial support to establish care and repair home improvement services to assist them in repairing and improving their homes. A number of the changes we have suggested to the home improvement grant arrangements could be of particular help to the elderly.

  Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
  Sir Raymond Gower
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from representatives of sufferers from myalgic encephalomyelitis; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  In the past year we have received two representations from hon. Members, and an application from the national chairman of the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Association for grant-aid under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968. We shall be making our decision on this application shortly.

  Incontinence
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give his latest estimate of the number of males and females in Wales who suffer from incontinence; if he will express this figure in percentage terms; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  The information is not available centrally.

  Home Insulation Grants
  Mr. Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has received any representations concerning the change in regulations affecting home insulation grants in Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  Before the new arrangements for the homes insulation scheme were introduced our Department consulted the Association of District Councils in Wales. Two district councils have written to the Welsh Office since the introduction of the new scheme.

SOCIAL SERVICES

  Social Security Regulations
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any estimate of the number of gainers and losers in Wales when the new social security regulations come into force in April.

  Mr. Portillo
  I regret that statistically reliable estimates for Wales only cannot be provided.

  Cohabitation Rule
  Ms. Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women have been cut off from social security benefit as a result of the cohabitation rule in the following categories(a) women receiving widow's allowance, 60 plus years, (b) women receiving widow's allowance, under 60 years, (c) women receiving supplementary pension, 60 plus years and (d) women receiving supplementary allowance, under 60 years; and how many men have been cut off benefits, pensions and allowances as a result of the cohabitation rule.

  Mr. Portillo
  The information available is as follows, given for the latest possible date. Records of disqualification do not show the age and sex of the beneficiaries.

  Widow's benefit: 1,722 disqualifications in year ended December 1987.

  Supplementary benefit: 8,152 disqualifications in year ended November 1987.

  (i) Widow's benefit records include recipients of war widows' benefit but exclude industrial widows' benefit for which records are not kept centrally and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  (ii) Widow's benefit recipients over age 60 have concurrent title to retirement pension which does not carry a similar disqualification.

  Medical Treatment (Reciprocal Arrangements)
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services which countries have reciprocal arrangements with the United Kingdom for free medical treatment of their nationals.

  Mrs. Currie
  Normally, arrangements for reciprocal health care between countries do not provide for free treatment but for treatment to be provided to visitors to the host country on the same basis as to residents of that country. The Department's information leaflet SA41 "The Traveller's Guide to Health: Before You Go" lists those countries and territories with which we have reciprocal agreements on pages 18 to 19 and 24 to 27. Copies of this leaflet, and its companion SA40 "While You're Away",32
  have been placed in the Library and are available from DHSS local offices, and travel agents and a number of other outlets.

  Computer Purchases
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to introduce greater accountability for computer purchasing by the health regions; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  Decisions relating to the purchase of computer equipment and any other goods and services are for local health authority management to take, having regard to value for money. Such decisions are subject to normal audit scrutiny.

  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to introduce compulsory tendering for all National Health Service computer equipment costing over £10,000; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  The decision on what equipment to purchase and how to purchase it is a matter for individual health authorities, having regard to their standing financial instructions and value for money. The Department has, however, recently issued guidance which draws attention to current public purchasing policy, which recommends the use of competitive tendering.

  Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham (Radiology System)
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services which companies tendered for the supply of a computerised radiology system for the Queens medical centre, Nottingham; which system was requested by the medical staff at the centre; on what basis the contract was awarded to Datamed; what operational experience the Datamed system had; what assessment was made of the ability of HM Systems to provide the service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  The following companies tendered for the supply of the Queens medical centre radiology system:

  Datamed

  AJR Systems (now HM Systems)

  Guardian

  SIFO

  I understand that the medical staff at the centre were fully consulted during the procurement process and were satisfied with the decision to proceed with the successful company. The Datamed system was selected on the basis that, while a new development, the operating system it employed was compatible with other computing developments within the region and the company offered comprehensive support arrangements. The solution proposed by HM Systems was considered against the same criteria as those for Datamed.

  I further understand that a number of districts within the Trent region are now using the Datamed system, and several others are considering its use.

  AIDS
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to revise upwards the official figures for deaths from AIDS in the light of the evidence
  33
  given to a recent conference on AIDS by Dr. Anna McCormick, senior medical statistician at the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  We are aware of Dr. McCormick's interesting study and we understand that a full report will be published shortly. The current system of voluntary reporting of cases of AIDS that meet the internationally accepted definition of AIDS is working well. If this system were extended to include other HIV-related deaths, the United Kingdom's system would then not be consistent with that used in other countries. The reporting arrangements for AIDS and other HIV-related deaths are being kept under review.

  London Postgraduate Teaching Hospitals
  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now announce details of the appointment and reappointment of chairmen of district health authorities and of the special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals from 1 April.

  Mr. Newton
  I am placing in the Library a list of the appointments made with effect from 1 April.

  Incontinence
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give his latest estimate of the number of males and females in England who suffer from incontinence; if he will express this figure in percentage terms; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Currie
  I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to him on 25 February 1988 at column 294–5.

  The epidemiological survey conducted by the Medical Research Council's epidemiology and medical care unit, which is the latest source of information available, was completed in 1978 and was part of a 10-year survey on incontinence. I regret that there are no figures to show the prevalence of incontinence in England alone, nor is it possible to give details in the form requested.

  However, the Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys is currently carrying out a major survey of the numbers, circumstances and needs of disabled people. The results, which will include statistics on incontinence, will be published in a series of reports starting later this year.

  Medicines (Raw Materials)
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps are taken to verify sources of raw materials following approval by the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the issue of generic licences by his Department.

  Mr. Newton
  An applicant for a product licence must state the source of all active ingredients and specify the tests and limits he will apply to them. If products are to be imported in a finished state, the applicant must detail the checks which are to be carried out on importation. In all cases, the finished products must conform with the agreed specification. Lack of compliance can result in action being considered to suspend or revoke the relevant licence.

  The applicant for a product licence must state the source of all active ingredients and specify the tests and
  34
  limits he will apply to them. If products are to be imported in a finished state, the applicant must detail the checks which are to be carried out on importation. In all cases, the finished products must conform with the agreed specification. Lack of compliance can result in action being considered to suspend or revoke the relevant licence.

  The medicines inspectorate has power to check the origin of raw material in the course of its visits to pharmaceutical manufacturers and for biological raw materials checks extend back to the primary manufacturer.

  Samples are also taken from the market for independent analysis on behalf of the licensing authority.

  East Anglian RHA (Holidaymakers)
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce a pilot National Health Service internal market experiment into the East Anglian regional health authority with due weight given to the annual population increase in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney district health authority caused by the influx of visitors and holidaymakers.

  Mr. Newton
  I understand that there is a good deal of interest, within the East Anglian region, in the possibility of mounting an experiment.

  I will ask the regional health authority chairman to ensure, if the experiment goes ahead, that account is taken of any particular local factors within the region.

  My hon. Friend may like to approach the regional chairman for further details.

  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his policy on allocating funds to East Anglian regional health authority to take account of the increased use of family practitioner and hospital facilities by the influx of summer holidaymakers every year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  Our policy is to bring allocations to regional health authorities into line, over time, with targets calculated using the Resource Allocation Working Party formula to reflect each region's relative need for health care. These targets include an adjustment to take account of the past pattern of hospital treatment provided to patients from outside the region's own boundaries.

  Family practitioner services in the East Anglian regional health authority are provided under arrangements made by family practitioner committees. Payments are made to general medical practitioners for treating temporary residents—including holidaymakers—and for providing treatment in an emergency to people not on their list. Fees paid to general medical practitioners in the East Anglian regional health authority area in 1986–87 for treating temporary residents amounted to £525,383 and for emergency treatments to £90,896. This exlcudes the cost of drugs. Information on the proportion of these payments made in respect of holidaymakers is not separately available.

  Medicines Commission (Appeals)
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many appeals to the Medicines Commission against recommendations from the Committee on Safety of Medicines were heard in each of the years 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987; in how many of these cases the Medicines
  35
  Commission allowed the appeal; and in each of these cases where the advice from the Commission differed from that of the Commission on Safety of Medicines, what decision the licensing authority took and on what basis.

  Mr. Newton
  The information is as follows:

  Year

  1

  2

  3

  4

  1984

  9

  5

  4

  1

  1985

  7

  5

  4

  1

  1986

  3

  2

  2

  —

  1987

  12

  2

  2

  —

  Key:

  Column 1: Hearings before the Medicines Commission and written representations considered by the Medicines Commission against advice by the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM).

  Column 2: Advice by Medicines Commission to determine application other than as advised by CSM.

  Column 3: Determined by the licensing authority in accordance with Medicines Commission advice.

  Column 4: Determined otherwise.

  Notes:

  1. The case determined otherwise in 1984 would have required amendment of the Prescription Only Order to make a substance legally available without prescription.

  2. In the 1985 case determined otherwise than on the Commission's advice, it was ascertained after the Medicines Commission proceedings that information relevant to the safety of the medicine had not been made available to them by the company concerned. Current Medicines Commission practice requires companies to make available all relevant information for these proceedings.

  3. In other cases, the licensing authority's own judgment on the information available to it gave it no reason to differ from the advice of the Medicines Commission.

  4. In most cases, new evidence unavailable to the CSM was submitted to the Medicines Commission; or the proposed licensing conditions were altered by the company; or both.

  Acute Medicine
  Mr. Dover
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give a breakdown of the additional £20 million for 1988–89 for alleviating pressures on the acute sector between the various regional health authorities.

  Mr. Newton
  Allocations to regional health authorities did not identify any specific sum for this purpose.

  CHCs (Birmingham)
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when he will reply to the letter of 20 November 1987 from Central Birmingham community health council on behalf of the joint committee of community health councils in Birmingham.

  Mr. Newton
  I replied to the community health council on 17 March.

  Single Payments
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims for single payments were outstanding at the local social security offices at Kingsbury road and St. Margaret's road in Birmingham on 18 March.

  Mr. Portillo
  The office at Kingsbury road (Erdington ILO) had 363 single payment claims outstanding on 18 March. The office at St. Margaret's road (Washwood Heath ILO) had 900 single payment claims outstanding on 18 March.

  Income Support
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what deadline has been established for the conversion of benefit payments to income support; what additional resources have been made available for this work at the local social security offices at Kingsbury road and St. Margaret's road in Birmingham; and whether he is satisfied that the deadline will be met.

  Mr. Portillo
  The deadline for the conversion of supplementary benefit payments to income support is 11 April 1988. The offices each have nine posts in addition to their normal staffing for the conversion exercise. They have also been helped by a special team from the regional office. This team stayed at Kingsbury road office for three weeks and at St. Margaret's road for four weeks. Both offices are confident that they will complete the conversion by 11 April 1988.

  Ms. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether an expectant mother who suspends a full-time course of study during her pregnancy will be entitled to income support.

  Mr. Portillo
  If an expectant mother ceased to be a student, she would be eligible for income support. If she remained a student she would be eligible for income support during the summer vacation only and should look to an education grant for support at other times.

  Place of Safety Orders
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will detail the number of place of safety orders taken out in respect of children and young persons during 1987, showing which authority took them out.

  Mr. Newton
  Statistics on children and young persons removed to a place of safety during the year ending 31 March 1987 are given for 87 local authorities in the provisional feedback "Children Removed to a Place of Safety, England, 1987", copies of which are available in the Library. Information subsequently received from a further 18 local authorities is shown in the table.

  These figures relate to cases where the local authority was responsible for the removal to a place of safety or where the local authority made provision for a child removed by the authority of some other person or body.

  Children and young persons removed to a place of safety during the year ending 31 March 19871

  Authority

  Number

  Cleveland

  285

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  13

  Barnsley

  33

  Doncaster

  53

  Kirklees

  30

  Bury

  20

  Manchester

  300

  Warwickshire

  63

  Buckinghamshire

  32

  Camden

  26

  Greenwich

  69

  Hackney

  44

  Lewisham

  57

  Barking

  22

  Enfield

  18

  Devon

  130

  Gloucestershire

  35

  Isles of Scilly

  0

  37

  1 Figures are provisional

  Handicapped Children (Kent)
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of children in each district health authority in Kent, in each of the last 10 years, has been born with physical and mental handicaps.

  Mrs. Currie
  I regret that the exact information requested is not available centrally. However, the hon. Member may be interested in the table, which shows readily available information from the registration of live and still births, and from the notification of congenital malformations. These notifications are based on a voluntary system of reporting malformations noticed at birth, or within seven days of birth, and may therefore exclude certain anomalies.

  Number of total live and still births, and number of notifications of congenital malformations to mothers resident in District Health Authorities (DHA) in Kent

  1983 to 1986

  Area of usual residence DHA

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Total live and stillbirths

  South East Kent

  2,981

  2,968

  3,190

  3,319

  Canterbury and Thanet

  3,235

  3,225

  3,390

  3,555

  Dartford and Gravesham

  2,810

  2,839

  3,037

  3,013

  Infant mortality rate1 for health areas in Kent 1977–1986

  Year

  Area of usual residence

  1977

  1978

  1979

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  South East Kent

  8·8

  12·5

  15·3

  10·3

  10·4

  11·4

  7·8

  9·5

  8·5

  8·2

  Canterbury and Thanet

  13·7

  13·5

  10·6

  9·9

  10·1

  12·7

  10·9

  11·5

  9·2

  8·2

  Dartford and Gravesham

  10·2

  13·0

  9·6

  13·6

  10·2

  10·3

  25·7

  7·8

  10·0

  8·7

  Maidstone

  11·0

  11·4

  12·1

  11·5

  11·5

  27·5

  10·5

  27·6

  8·8

  11·1

  Medway

  12·6

  13·1

  12·8

  11·5

  13·5

  9·3

  13·0

  8·7

  8·8

  7·9

  Tunbridge Wells

  10·6

  9·9

  8·8

  14·2

  12·9

  29·3

  26·6

  28·4

  28·2

  26·0

  1 Deaths under one year per 1,000 live births. Figures for 1977·80 are for health districts, rather than district health authorities.

  2 Rates calculated from less than 20 events which may affect their reliability.

  HIV Infection
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the additional costs, apart from the running of an anonymised screening programme for pregnant women, of establishing a full counselling service for women found to have an HIV infection, assuming a full take-up of the scheme.

  Mr. Newton
  The cost of such counselling would depend on the number of women found to be infected, and the amount of counselling each needed. We do not have information on which to make estimates on either factor.

  Crewe District Health Authority
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the numbers of(a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) other technical personnel employed by the Crewe district health authority (i) in the latest year for which figures are available and (ii) 10 years previously.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 30 November 1987]: Such information as is available is shown in the table. I regret that information to this level of detail is not centrally available for 1976. Figures for medical and dental staff
  38

  Area of usual residence DHA

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Maidstone

  2,217

  2,388

  2,387

  2,443

  Medway

  4,815

  4,845

  5,016

  4,964

  Tunbridge Wells

  2,130

  2,033

  2,210

  2,165

  Notifications of congenital malformations

  South East Kent

  49

  39

  37

  65

  Canterbury and Thanet

  35

  37

  33

  24

  Dartford and Gravesham

  64

  92

  75

  116

  Maidstone

  23

  33

  46

  26

  Medway

  86

  79

  65

  60

  Tunbridge Wells

  29

  36

  35

  29

  Infant Mortality (Kent)
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the infant mortality rate in each of the district health authorities in Kent for each of the last ten years.

  Mrs. Currie
  The information is shown in the table.

  exclude senior registrars and consultants whose contracts are held by the regional health authority, and not by the individual district.

  National Health Service directly employed staff in post Crewe district health authority at 30 September

  Staff

  1Whole-time equivalents 1986

  Medical and dental2

  90

  Nursing and midwifery3

  1,790

  Professional and technical (excluding works)

  260

  Source: DHSS annual censuses of National Health Service medical and non-medical manpower.

  1 All figures are independently rounded to the nearest ten whole-time equivalents.

  2 Includes all permanent paid, honourary and locum staff in the hospital and community health services.

  3 Includes agency staff.

  Pontefract District Health Authority
  Mr. Lofthouse
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the numbers of(a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) other technical personnel employed

  39
  by the Pontefract district health authority (i) in the last year for which figures are available and (ii) 10 years previously.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 30 November 1987]: Such information as is available is shown in the table. I regret that information to this level of detail is not centrally available for 1976. Figures for medical and dental staff exclude senior registrars and consultants whose contracts are held by the regional health authority, and not by the individual district.

  National Health Service staff in post Pontefract district health authority at 30 September

  1Whole-time equivalents 1986

  Medical and dental2

  70

  Nursing and midwifery3

  1,100

  Professional and technical (excluding works)

  190

  Source: DHSS annual censuses of National Health Service medical and non-medical manpower.

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

  2 Includes all permanent paid, honorary and locum staff in the hospital and community health services.

  3 Includes agency staff.

  Central Nottinghamshire Health Authority
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the levels of staff, by National

  NHS Medical and Nursing Staff in Post Central Nottinghamshire District Health Authority

  Whole-Time Equivalent1 at 30 September Each Year

  Area of Work

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Geriatric: Total:

  288

  281

  288

  304

  299

  Nursing Staff2

  282

  274

  280

  296

  291

  Medical Staff3

  6

  8

  8

  8

  8

  Mental Handicap: Total:

  344

  347

  345

  361

  388

  Nursing Staff2

  343

  345

  344

  359

  386

  Medical Staff3

  1

  2

  2

  1

  2

  Mental Illness: Total4

  77

  76

  88

  90

  97

  Nursing Staff2

  71

  71

  86

  89

  95

  Medical Staff3

  6

  5

  2

  1

  1

  Source: DHSS Annual Censuses of NHS Medical and Non Medical Manpower.

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

  2 Includes Nursing Learners where recorded. Excludes Agency Staff.

  3 Includes permanent paid and honorary medical staff. Excludes Senior Registrars and Consultants where contracts are held by the Regional Health Authority. Excludes Locum Staff.

  4 Includes staff working with Elderly Severely Mentally Infirm patients.

  Administration-Beds Ratio
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the present ratio of administration to beds in(a) the Northern regional health authority and (b) the Sunderland district health authority; and what percentage change has taken place in these two health authorities over the past eight years.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 7 March 1988]: Such information as is available is shown in the tables. Because of the 1982 NHS reorganisation, figures for district health authorities on a consistent basis are not held centrally for
  40
  Health Service category, working with psychogeriatric patients in the Central Nottinghamshire health authority area for each year from 1979 to 1987, inclusive.

  (2) if he will give the levels of staff, by National Health Service category, working with geriatric patients in the Central Nottinghamshire health authority area for each year from 1979 to 1987, inclusive.

  (3) if he will give the levels of staff, by National Health Service category, working with mentally handicapped patients in the Central Nottinghamshire health authority area for each year from 1979 to 1987, inclusive.

  (4) if he will give the levels of staff, by National Health Service category, working with mentally ill patients in the Central Nottinghamshire health authority area for each year from 1979 to 1987, inclusive.

  Mrs. Currie
  [holding answer 15 January 1988]The table shows medical and nursing staff employed in the Central Nottinghamshire district health authority, who were recorded as working in the geriatric, mental handicap and mental illness areas of work. Staff working with pschogeriatric patients are included within the total figures for mental illness. Staff within other NHS staff groups cannot be identified as working with specific types of patient.

  The table gives staff employed for each year from 1982 to 1986 inclusive. Figures for 1987 are not yet available to this level of detail. Figures prior to 1982 are not available on a comparable basis with those given in the table, due to the effects of the 1982 NHS reorganisation.

  the years prior to 1982. For comparison purposes, figures for the Northern regional health authority are given for the same years as for Sunderland district health authority.

  Administrative and clerical staff cover a wide range of health services activity, not just those related to hospital bed provision. Staff in post figures are a "snapshot" on 30 September, whereas average daily available beds are a daily count averaged over a full calendar year. For these reasons any staff in-post/beds ratio would be crude and might be misleading.
  41

  National Health Service administrative and clerical staff1 in post at 30 September

  Whole-time equivalents2

  Year

  Northern RHA

  Sunderland DHA

  1982

  6,090

  570

  1986

  6,260

  630

  Percentage change3 1982 to 1986

  +2·8

  +9·9

  Source: DHSS annual census of National Health Service non-medical manpower.

  1 Includes general managers.

  2 Figures have been independently rounded to the nearest ten (10) whole-time equivalents.

  3 Percentage calculated on un-rounded figures.

  Average daily available beds in National Health Service hospitals

  1982

  1986

  Percentage change

  Northern RHA

  24,679

  23,239

  -5·8

  Sunderland DHA

  2,338

  2,273

  -2·8

  Over this period the number of patients treated has increased, as follows:

  Total in-patients treated

  1982

  1986

  Percentage change

  Northern RHA

  376,067

  441,095

  +17·3

  Sunderland DHA

  45,559

  48,820

  +7·2

  In-patients
  Dr. David Owen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list for each year since 1979 the average length of in-patient stay in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland;

  (2) what was the average length of stay in acute hospitals for each year since 1979 in England, Wales and Scotland.

  Mrs. Currie
  [pursuant to her reply, 4 March 1988, c. 747]: I regret that, although a table was mentioned in my previous reply, it had been omitted in error. The table is as follows:

  Average length of stay, by sector, National Health Service hospitals in England

  Year

  Acute

  Geriatric

  Maternity

  1979

  9·3

  77·5

  6·0

  1980

  8·8

  70·1

  5·7

  1981

  8·6

  66·1

  5·5

  1982

  8·6

  62·3

  5·3

  1983

  8·1

  57·1

  5·1

  1984

  7·8

  52·6

  4·8

  1985

  7·6

  47·8

  4·6

  1986

  7·3

  44·8

  4·4

TRANSPORT

  Bus Services
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the proportion of bus services registered in England(a) operating on Sundays and (b) operating after 6 pm on weekdays; and how regularly his Department proposes to produce figures on these matters.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  Information is not available precisely in the form requested. Twenty-two per cent, of 42
  bus services registered in England and Wales operate on Sundays; and 17 per cent. operate between 8 pm and 10 pm on weekdays. We do not intend to produce regular figures.

  Dual Carriageways (Crash Barriers)
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport where in the north-west crash barriers have been installed on dual carriageway central reservations since January 1987.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  On the A74 between Carlisle and the Scottish border, the A66 near Skirsgill roundabout, and the A590 and A5092 at Greenodd junction (all in Cumbria) and on the A54 Kelsall bypass in Cheshire.

  Faulty Seat Belts
  Mr. Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he is taking steps to monitor the progress of checking faulty seat belts recently called in by Ford (UK) Ltd.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Yes. The Department is monitoring this recall under i he recalls code of practice.

  Private Cars (Registration)
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many private cars are at present registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre, Swansea.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  As at December 1987, 17,421,236 car body-type vehicles were currently licensed and registered at the driver and vehicle licensing centre; 15,251,312 of these were registered in the names of individuals, as distinct from companies.

  Energy
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of energy dedicated to transport is used by(a) railways and (b) road transport.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  The data requested are published in "Transport Statistics Great Britain 1976–1986", table 1·24 (HMSO), a copy of which is available in the Library.

  HM Coastguard
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement about the work of Her Majesty's Coastguard.

  Mr. Channon
  Over the past 10 years, the operations of HM Coastguard have been progressively adapted to reflect rapidly advancing technology in radio and telecommunications, together with the greatly strengthened search and rescue helicopter services which are now available. Visual watch from the coast is now generally confined to places and times which present a higher than average risk of an accident, but a radio listening watch is maintained throughout the year covering all waters around the coasts of the United Kingdom out to 40 miles to seaward. The VHF radio sites are being progressively fitted with direction finding equipment which enables the location of a vessel in distress to be determined quickly. In addition, coastguard stations are being equipped with the MF digital selective calling system
  43
  to operate with the equipment to be carried on vessels under the International Maritime Organisation's global maritime distress and safety system. The Coastguard also has links with the world wide satellite maritime communication system, and the international satellite beacon detection system.

  When the coastguard modernisation plan was started in 1978, the radio listening watch was managed from 28 operations centres which between them controlled about 70 sites. With greater experience of the new system of operations, it has proved possible to control a larger number of aerials from a smaller number of operations centres, and there are at present 24 such centres with aerials at 84 sites. I have now decided that, in the light of technical developments, these operations can be further refined with no detriment to safety, and that it will be possible to control the same number of aerials from 21 centres. I have therefore decided that the maritime rescue sub-centres at Hartland Point, Moray (Peterhead), and at Ramsey on the Isle of Man should be closed in March of next year, after which the responsibility for the aerials which they presently use will be transferred to neighbouring centres. At Peterhead and Hartland Point, a coastguard presence will be maintained by the sector officer and the management of the local auxiliary companies will be unaffected.

  In the case of the Isle of Man, the Government have also proposed that responsibility for search and rescue on the coast of the Island should be transferred to the Manx authorities, but radio listening watch and responsibility for search and rescue co-ordination in the waters around the island will be maintained by coastguard stations on the mainland and in Northern Ireland. The special fishermen's open line currently operated from the Moray sub-centre will be transferred to the co-ordination centre nearby at Aberdeen.

  I am consulting the National Union of Civil and Public Servants about the staffing implications of these changes: I do not anticipate that redundancies among regular coastguard staff will arise.

  I am satisfied that changes will in no way impede the ability of Her Majesty's Coastguard to respond to calls from vessels in distress and to co-ordinate search and rescue operations if they are required.

  Concessionary Fares
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the regional transport authorities which operate a concessionary fares scheme for retirement pensioners; and in each case if he will state the age of eligibility for the scheme for(a) men and (b) women.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  According to information supplied on a voluntary basis to the Department of Transport in 1986–87, the local authorities in England listed in the table provided concessions, either individually or jointly with other authorities, to women on reaching the age of 60 and to men on reaching the age of 65, subject in some cases to other restrictions as to income and state pension status. Two other local authorities, Bristol city and Tendring district councils made concessions available to both men and women from the age of 65.

  Passenger Transport Authorities

  Greater Manchester

  Merseyside

  South Yorkshire

  Tyne & Wear

  West Midlands

  West Yorkshire

  44
  County Councils

  Bedfordshire

  Cambridgeshire

  Cheshire

  Derbyshire

  Durham

  East Sussex

  Essex

  Humberside

  Isle of Wight

  Kent

  Lancashire

  Leicestershire

  Nottingham

  Suffolk

  Surrey

  District Councils

  Adur

  Allerdale

  Alnwick

  Amber Valley

  Arun

  Ashfield

  Aylesbury Vale

  Babergh

  Barrow-in-Furness

  Bath (City)

  Basildon

  Basingstoke and Deane

  Bassetlaw

  Berwick Upon Tweed

  Beverley

  Blaby

  Blackburn

  Blackpool

  Blyth Valley

  Bolsover

  Booth Ferry

  Bournemouth

  Bracknell

  Braintree

  Breckland

  Brentwood

  Bridgnorth

  Brighton

  Broadland

  Broomsgrove

  Broxbourne

  Broxtowe

  Burnley

  Cambridge (City)

  Cannock Chase

  Canterbury (City)

  Carlisle City

  Castle Morpeth

  Castle Point

  Chelmsford

  Cheltenham

  Cherwell

  Chester (City)

  Chesterfield

  Chester-Le-Street

  Chichester

  Chiltern

  Chorley

  Christchurch

  Cleethorpes

  Colchester

  Congleton

  Copeland

  Cotswold

  Craven

  Crawley

  Crewe and Nantwich

  Dacorum

  Darlington

  Dartford

  Daventry

  Derby (City)

  Derwentside

  Dover

  Durham (City)

  Easington

  Eastbourne

  East Hampshire

  East Hertfordshire

  Eastleigh

  East Lindsey

  East Northants

  East Staffordshire

  East Yorkshire

  Ellesmere Port and Neston

  Elmbridge

  Epping Forest

  Epsom and Ewell

  Erewash

  Exeter (City)

  Fareham

  Fenland

  Forest Heath

  Forest of Dean

  Fylde

  Gedling

  Gillingham

  Glanford

  Gloucestershire

  Gosport

  Gravesham

  Great Grimsby

  Great Yarmouth

  Guildford

  Halton

  Harborough

  Harlow

  Hart

  Hartlepool

  Hastings

  Havant

  Hereford (City)

  Hertsmere

  High Peak

  Hinckley and Bosworth

  Holderness

  Horsham

  Hove

  Hyndburn

  Ipswich

  Kettering

  King's Lynn and West Norfolk

  Kingston upon Hull

  Kingswood

  Lancaster (City)

  Langbaurgh

  Leicester (City)

  Leominster

  Lewes

  Lichfield

  Lincoln (City)

  Luton

  Macclesfield

  Maidstone

  Maldon

  Malvern Hills

  Mansfield

  Melton

  Mendip

  Mid Bedfordshire

  Middlesbrough

  Mid Suffolk

  Mid Sussex

  Milton Keynes

  Newark and Sherwood

  45

  Newbury

  Newcastle-Under-Lyne

  New Forest

  Northampton

  Northavon

  North Bedfordshire

  North Devon

  North Dorset

  North East Derbyshire

  North Hertfordshire

  North Kesteven

  North Norfolk

  North Shropshire

  North Warwickshire

  North West Leicestershire

  Norwich (City)

  Nottingham (City)

  Nuneaton and Bedworth

  Oadby and Wigston

  Oswestry

  Oxford (City)

  Pendle

  Peterborough (City)

  Plymouth (City)

  Poole

  Portsmouth (City)

  Preston

  Purbeck

  Reading

  Redditch

  Reigate and Banstead

  Restormel

  Ribble Valley

  Rochester Upon Medway (City)

  Rochford

  Rossendale

  Rother

  Rugby

  Runneymede

  Rushcliffe

  Rushmoor

  Rutland

  Ryedale

  St. Albans (City)

  St. Edmundsbury

  Scunthorpe

  Sedgefield

  Sedgemoor

  Selby

  Sevenoaks

  Shepway

  Shrewsbury and Atcham

  Slough

  Southampton (City)

  South Bedfordshire

  South Buckinghamshire

  South Cambridgeshire

  South Derbyshire

  Southend-on-Sea

  South Herefordshire

  South Kesteven

  South Lakeland

  South Norfolk

  South Northamptonshire

  South Oxfordshire

  South Ribble

  South Somerset

  South Staffordshire

  Spelthorne

  Stafford

  Staffordshire Moorlands

  Stevenage

  Stockton-on-Tees

  Stoke-on-Trent (City)

  Stroud

  Suffolk Coastal

  Swale

  Tamworth

  Tonbridge

  Teesdale

  Test Valley

  Tewkesbury

  Thamesdown

  Thanet

  Three Rivers

  Thurrock

  Tonbridge and Mailing

  Torbay

  Torridge

  Tunbridge Wells

  Tyndale

  Littlesford

  Vale of White Horse

  Vale Royal

  Wansbeck

  Wansdyke

  Warrington

  Warrick

  Watford

  Waveney

  Waverley

  Wealdon

  Wear Valley

  Wellingborough

  Welwyn and Hatfield

  West Derbyshire

  West Lancashire

  West Oxfordshire

  Weymouth and Portland

  Wirnbourne

  Winchester (City)

  Windsor and Maidenhead

  Woking

  Workingham

  Worcester (City)

  Worthing

  Wrekin (The)

  Wychavon

  Wycombe

  Wyre

  Wyre Forest

  York (City)

  Departmental Offices (Access)
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provisions his Department has made to improve its offices in Marsham street to make them accessible for disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  We have been at pains to make these fully accessible to wheelchair users and other people with disabilities.
  46
  Facilities in the building include wheelchair-accessible toilets, all lift buttons at wheelchair height and fitted with braille symbols and several conference rooms equipped with induction loops for people with impaired hearing.

  The edges of all steps leading up to the building are colour-contrasted to help partially sighted people.

  Ramped access to the building from Marsham street has been available for some years. An additional ramp has been installed within the past few weeks to improve access further.

  All these facilities are regularly used by both visitors and staff.

  Dartford Crossings (Delays)
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will give estimates for the likely delays, in minutes, for heavy goods vehicles carrying hazardous goods travelling north and south through the Dartford tunnel for each of the years 1988, 1989, 1990 1991 and 1992 at currently projected traffic levels;

  (2) if he will give estimates for the likely delays, in minutes, for heavy goods vehicles carrying hazardous goods travelling north and south following completion of a new Thames bridge at Dartford.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Vehicles carrying a defined range of hazardous goods — about 3 per cent. of all commercial vehicles—are escorted in convoys through the Dartford tunnels, minirnising the danger to the vehicles, to other traffic and to the structures. It is intended to continue this system if Parliament passes the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Bill, which would transfer the tunnels from Essex and Kent county councils to the Secretary of State.

  The new bridge, which the Bill would authorise, is intended to be open early in 1991. It will take all southbound traffic and vehicles carrying hazardous goods in that direction will not then be escorted. Northbound traffic of that kind will continue to be escorted.

  Vehicles carrying hazardous goods now wait for five to 10 minutes for an escort. When the bridge opens, the flexibility offered by two northbound tunnels may make it possible to provide more frequent escorts.

  At present, vehicles suffer varying delays at certain times when the tunnels cannot cope with the volume of traffic. It is not possible to calculate an average delay clue to this cause.

  Hunts (Trespass)
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the disruption of services, staff and passengers caused by hunts trespassing on British Rail land.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  One from the hon. Member, none from the public.

  Ferries
  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 on ferries in port and on board ferries whilst at sea(a) in the two years and two months period prior to the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise and (b) since that date to 29 February.
  47
  Mr. David Mitchell
  Separate statistics were not kept for inspections of ferries by marine surveyors prior to the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise. From 6 March 1987 to 29 February 1988, 259 ferries were inspected in port and 114 whilst at sea.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what representations he has received since 29 July 1987 from ferry owners and others about modifications to ferries built under the 1960 convention and the 1965 (PSC) rules;

  (2) what representations he has received since 29 July 1987 from ferry owners and others about competition from non-British companies in the event of changes to the design of ferry hulls under the 1960 convention and the 1965 (PSC) rules.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  My Department received a number of representations from shipowners, in response to consultative document No. 3 and at meetings with the General Council of British Shipping, about the recommendations in the report of the court of formal investigation into the loss of the Herald of Free Enterprise relating to ferries built under the 1965 rules. In addition, I received a letter from the president of the general council and will place a copy of that letter and of my reply in the Library.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about his plans to adopt the recommendation of the formal investigation into the Herald of Free Enterprise of section 49 concerning ferries built under the 1960 convention and the 1965 (PSC) rules.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  On 31 July, my Department called for full data on all roll-on/roll-off ferries built before 1980 to be submitted to the Department by 1 April, to enable assessments to be made of how these ships measure up to the current requirements for survivability following collision damage. The Government intend to analyse this information fully, and to reach conclusions upon the recommendations in the report of the court, by the end of September.

  Railways
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to maximise the environmental benefits to be gained from the railways as compared to other forms of transport.

  Mr. David Mitchell
  The Government offer grants under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 to facilitate the transfer of freight from road to rail where that would lead to significant environmental gain.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Students (Rating Reform)
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to what extent Northern Ireland students attending universities in Great Britain whose parents are already paying rates in Northern Ireland will be required to pay poll tax; and to what extent student grants will be increased accordingly.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax.

  Devolved Government
  Mr. McCusker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the views recently expressed by the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic on devolved government for Northern Ireland have been officially conveyed to him; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Tom King
  I was provided with a copy of the Taoiseach's remarks as a courtesy and I have noted the comments that he made.

  Diplock Courts
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress on the adoption of Viscount Colville's recommendation that cases of robbery and aggravated burglary should not be tried in Diplock courts.

  Mr. Stanley
  During the debate, on 25 February, on the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Acts (Continuance) Order at column 475, my right hon. Friend said that we certainly want to see as many jury trials as we can and that we shall be considering Lord Colville's suggestion of removing robbery and aggravated burglary from the scheduled list. That consideration is continuing.

  Incontinence
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give his latest estimate of the number of males and females in Northern Ireland who suffer from incontinence; if he will express this figure in percentage terms; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  No reliable estimates are currently available.

  Dogs
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many registrations have been recorded since the implementation of the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1982.

  Mr. Needham
  The number of registrations, which deal only with breeding establishments and guard dog kennels, made since the provisions of the Dog Order (Northern Ireland) 1983 became operative on 19 December 1983 are:

  Breeding Establishments

  Guard Dog Kennels

  19 December 1983—31 December 1984

  519

  121

  1 January 1985—31 December 1985

  420

  101

  1 January 1986—31 December 1986

  336

  101

  1 January 1987—31 December 1987

  351

  6

  Brendan Burns (Warrants)
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for East Londonderry of 10 March,Official Report, column 304, if he will indicate in what way the original warrants for Brendan Burns were held to be defective.
  49
  Mr. Stanley
  I understand that the original warrants were held to be defective because they were issued by a different justice of the peace from the one before whom the "complaint" had been sworn.

  Mr. Colin Wallace
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether Mr. Colin Wallace was ever personally interviewed by an official inquiry or by other 50
  official persons in connection with (a) psychological operations, (b) an alleged shoot-to-kill policy, (c) alleged political disinformation activity and (d) any alleged use of forged documentations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Tom King
  [holding answer 7 March 1988]: Not as far as I am aware.

  ARMS CONTROL AGREEMENTS: VERIFICATION BY NATO
  ARMS CONTROL AGREEMENTS: VERIFICATION BY NATO
  LONDON TRANSPORT: BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE
  LONDON TRANSPORT: BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE
  REPRESSION AND TORTURE: CONTROL OF EQUIPMENT EXPORTS
  REPRESSION AND TORTURE: CONTROL OF EQUIPMENT EXPORTS