Written Answers of 17 January 1989

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Exposure Draft 42
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he proposes to make a statement on Exposure draft 42, "Accounting For Special Purposes Transactions".

  Mr. Atkins
  My Department commented on Exposure draft 42 last summer. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs subsequently made an announcement in August on related matters: changes to the definition of a subsidiary, which are now included in the Companies Bill; and the circumstances in which it may be necessary, in order for group accounts to show the required true and fair view, to treat a body which is not legally a subsidiary as though it were one. I have no plans to make any further statement in connection with Exposure draft 42.

  Single Market
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why, in the single European market literature that has so far been published by Her Majesty's Government, there is no mention of the common agricultural policy for 1992 and onwards.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Department of Trade and Industry's single market pack describes the available details of the European Community's single market programme. Common policies in the agricultural area are of long standing and the implications of completing the single market for them are generally limited to the agrimonetary system on which the Commission is due to report shortly.

  Companies (Wrongful Trading)
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many prosecutions have been brought against companies for wrongful trading under the Insolvency Act 1986; if he will list the companies concerned; and how many of these prosecutions have(a) been completed and (b) resulted in conviction.

  Mr. Atkins
  Wrongful trading is not a criminal offence under the Insolvency Act 1986. It is a civil remedy available to the liquidator of a company in insolvent liquidation. My Department does not maintain records of wrongful trading actions.

  Post Office
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he intends to bring forward legislation to remove the monopoly for postal items under £1; and if he will make a statement.
  106
  Mr. Forth
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to him on 16 January 1989,Official Report, column 16.

  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has or proposes to have with the chairman of the Post Office, following the disruption of the post in the London south-west postal districts over the Christmas period; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  My right hon. Friend and I meet the chairman of the Post Office at regular intervals to discuss a range of matters of current interest.

  Export Licences
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what products exported from the United Kingdom require export licences; and what is the average period of time taken for the issue of such licences.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  Products requiring export licences are listed in the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1987 (S.I. 1987 No. 2070), as amended. Applications for licences are considered on their merits. The time taken to process these is dependent upon the nature of the product, its destination and possible end use. It is not possible to state an average period of time for the processing of such licences, but for non-sensitive applications; my Department would normally expect to issue a licence within three weeks.

  Century Newspapers Ltd., Belfast
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on his reasons for not immediately referring the takeover bid for Century Press by Thomson Regional Newspapers to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]The application by Thomson Regional Newspapers has been made under the financial urgency provisions in section 58(3)(a) of the Fair Trading Act 1973. This legislation allows the Secretary of State one month in which to consent to the transfer or refer it to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for inquiry. No decision on the application will be taken until all relevant factors have been taken into account, including representations by third parties.

  EC (Structural Funds)
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the areas of Derbyshire which he has submitted for consideration to the European Commission under its review of the European Economic Community's structural funds; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]The European Commission is to draw up a list of areas; to receive support from the Community structural funds, including the European regional development fund, under the funds' new objective 2 (conversion of industrial regions). We believe that the following parts of Derbyshire satisfy criteria in Council regulation (EEC) No. 20522/88 qualifying them for consideration for selection, and have
  107
  asked the Commission to include them in the list:

  Chesterfield Travel-to-Work Area (TTWA)

  The Derbyshire parts of: Mansfield TTWA

  Sheffield TTWA

  Worksop TTWA

  Derby City Urban Programme Area.

  The Commission's decision is expected during

  EC (Takeover and Merger Policy)
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement setting out the respective powers and responsibilities of his Department, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and the European Economic Community Commission in relation to the takeover of United Kingdom companies; what will be the impact on these responsibilities of the proposals being considered by the European Economic Community on takeover and merger policy; and if he will make a statement on the implications of these supervisory and control powers for the anticipated bids for GEC.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]The powers and responsibilities of my Department and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission are contained in the Fair Trading Act 1973. Under that Act the Director General of Fair Trading has a duty to advise the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on whether a merger or merger proposal should be referred to the MMC for further investigation and report. The EC Commission has power to enforce the competition rules in articles 85 and 86 of the treaty of Rome, which may apply to certain mergers. Regulation of the market conduct of takeovers in the United Kingdom is carried out by the panel on takeovers and mergers. There is currently no provision in EC law in respect of such regulation. Discussions are currently in train on a Commission proposal for an EC merger control regulation, and proposals for an EC takeover directive are due to be published soon. Issues of principle and detail are outstanding. It is too early to assess the implications. Were a bid to be made for GEC, it would be considered under existing procedures, in so far as they may be applicable.

  Dish Aerial Receiver Units
  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will abolish without delay the currently applicable £10 licence charge payable to his Department at the moment of purchase of satellite television dish aerial receiver units, in view of enhanced consumer demand for such units.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]I have nothing to add at this stage to my reply of 20 December 1988 to my hon. Friend at column 154. My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry will, however, make a statement as soon as possible.

  Net Book Agreement
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what evidence he has about the implications of the net book agreement for the number of independent and chartered booksellers, and their financial viability.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 13 January 1989]The implications of the net book agreement for independent and chartered booksellers were among the matters taken into account by the restrictive practices court in 1962 when 108
  it considered the agreement under the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956. The court then judged that the restrictions in the agreement did not operate against the public interest. Under present legislation, it is open to the Director General of Fair Trading to apply to the court for a review of its decision if he considers that there has been a material change in the circumstances on which the original judgment was based. My Department has no role in this process and does not therefore collect the kind of evidence to which the hon. Member refers.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he intends to publish his Department's review of the net book agreement.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 13 January 1989]My Department is not engaged in such a review. Under the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 and the Resale Prices Act 1976, the review of voluntary agreements such as the net book agreement is a matter for the restrictive practices court, on application by the Director General of Fair Trading.

  EC (Research Council)
  Mr. Gerald Bowden
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress was made at the meeting of the Research Council of European Community Ministers on 15 December; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  I represented Her Majesty's Government at the meeting of the Community's Council of Ministers (Research) in Brussels on 15 December.

  The Council adopted a common position on Joule, a Community programme of research in the field of non-nuclear energy and efficient use of energy supplies with Community funding of 122 million ecu (£79 million) over 39 months. The programme will cover rational use of energy including energy efficiency, conservation and storage, renewable energy sources including solar, wind and geothermal, and research into hydrocarbons and the better use of solid fuels.

  The Council also adopted a common position on a new Brite/Euram research programme combining research previously carried out under separate programmes in the fields of industrial technologies and advanced materials. The programme will provide Community funding of 499·5 million ecu (£324 million) over four years with the aim of helping to improve the competitive position of the Community's manufacturing industries. A total of 35 million ecu (£23 million) of the total will be devoted to aeronautical research.

  Export Services
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement about the Government's review of export services.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  Following the export services review foreshadowed in the White Paper "DTI—the department for Enterprise" (Cm. 278), DTI export services have been strengthened to meet exporters' needs more effectively, and simplified in their presentation so that businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises new to exporting, will find them easier to use. As the export initiative, the services form part of the DTI enterprise
  109
  initiative, a comprehensive package designed to help business improve its competitiveness both at home and overseas.

  The main improvements to the export services are as follows:

  (a) Introduction of new export advisory service to be administered in co-operation with the Association of British Chambers of Commerce (ABCC), leading regional chambers, and in some cases export enterprise centres. The Government will provide up to £2· of funding on a tapering basis over a maximum of three years. The scheme involves the appointment of 31 export development advisors nationwide who have considerable private sector exporting expertise. They will take a positive role in identifying potential exporters and offering practical assistance tailored to the specific requirements of individual firms.

  (b) Greater involvement of the private sector in delivering export services and advice to potential exporters. This includes:

  (i) contracting out the administration of the export marketing research scheme to the ABCC for three years from 1 December 1988;

  (ii) enabling private sector contractors to compete with the Department for the provision of stand design and installation at overseas trade fairs which the Government support; with effect from the 1989–90 financial year;

  (iii) faster delivery of export intelligence information by contracting out to a private sector firm the marketing, sale, and delivery in the United Kingdom of overseas market information provided by diplomatic service posts (and other sources);

  (iv) setting up a three-year pilot study in conjunction with The Netherlands-British chamber of commerce to provide new export counselling services to British companies which will complement the work of our diplomatic service posts; if successful, similar schemes could follow elsewhere in Europe.

  (c) Improvements to the quality of management of the export services and to staff training. We have introduced a system under which an industrial market research company will monitor standards of export service delivery worldwide, enabling us to ensure that export services remain relevant to customers' needs. A major new training programme for DTI export staff has been implemented. This will be augmented with the support of the CBI, ABCC, and Institute of Export by a new programme of short-term attachments for DTI export staff to gain first-hand experience in exporting companies.

  (d) Better marketing of the Government's export services. We are issuing in 17 January 1989 a new introductory guide to exporting designed to help firms new to exporting understand the exporting process, and how the Government can help. It is accompanied by a new promotional video. This will be supported by a sustained campaign in newspapers and technical journals advertising our services.

  (e) Rationalisation from 1 April 1989 of the charges made for Government export services. We will extend charges to cover advice and information on overseas markets provided by diplomatic service posts abroad in response to specific requests from British companies. This will enable us to offer a more professional and cost-effective service, and to concentrate resources on the services of most value to exporters. We will introduce at the same time a simplified payments system, based on the use of a servicecard specifically for export services. This will be accepted by all diplomatic service posts oversea.: and relevant Government offices in the United Kingdom. It will be operated for us by a private sector company.

  110

  (f) The introduction from 1 April 1989 of a scheme in which my Department and companies will jointly provide funding for training people from overseas who have, or may in future hold, important procurement responsibilities. The aim will be to give the individuals concerned the opportunity to acquire experience in British companies and of British business and manufacturing methods. This will strengthen ties between our exporting companies and their overseas customers.

  Other improvements to the services include closer integration of the export initiative with other elements of the enterprise initiative, particularly the consultancy in export strategy available under the marketing initiative; the development of an export market information centre in the DTI; and restyled Government export publications and trade literature.

  The new and improved services will help to ensure that smaller companies and those new to exporting receive better Government support. The strengthened export initiative should also benefit larger and more experienced companies, who make a major contribution to British exports. They play a vital role in retaining a British presence in overseas markets by winning large export contracts which provide considerable numbers of sub-contracts of benefit to smaller and medium-sized firms. To succeed in these highly competitive areas, and to secure the deals which provide such striking advertisements for British technology, consultancy and management skills, our companies must be able to compete on equal terms with their foreign counterparts. The Government offer a wide range of project services to enable them to do so, and have a continuing commitment to winning major projects overseas. These services include the aid and trade provision, which is Government-to-Government aid, within which is the global soft loan facility introduced in November 1985. The Overseas Projects Board will continue to give its valued guidance to us in these activities.

  The British Overseas Trade Board will continue to be closely involved in the planning and operation of the export services, in promoting greater awareness of overseas markets and best practices in exporting, and in promoting British business overseas. In addition, it will in future be responsible for helping to develop a corporate plan, ensuring that our export promotion strategy and priorities reflect market developments and businesses' needs.

HEALTH

  Salmonella
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will publish a summary of the evidence in the possession of his Department at the time when the Protein Processing Orders 1981 were drafted about the proportion of poultry affected by salmonella.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Agriculture Ministers carried out a process of consultation on proposals for the control of protein processing in 1978 and again in 1980 before the making of the Diseases of Animals (Protein Processing) Order 1981 and the Importation of Processed Animal Protein Order 1981. The central public health laboratory carried out two surveys of frozen whole chickens the results of which were as follows:
  111

  year

  Number of samples

  Salmonella from

  Number

  Per cent.

  1970–73

  495

  168

  33·9

  1979–80

  100

  79

  79·0

  Consultations took place against the background of growing concern about the increasing incidence of salmonella in livestock.

  Since the making of the orders the public health laboratory service has carried out a further survey of frozen whole chickens, the results of which were as follows:

  Year

  Number of samples

  Salmonella from

  Number

  Per cent.

  1987

  101

  65

  64·4

  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the figures for reported cases of human salmonellosis for December 1988 as soon as they are available; and what were the figures for each of the previous 12 months.

  Mr. Freeman
  Laboratory reports on identifications of salmonella infections in man are collated weekly. The following table gives provisional four-weekly totals, to week 52, of laboratory reports of salmonellosis submitted to the public health laboratory service in 1988.

  The new clinical grading structure for nursing, midwifery and health visitor staff—numbers of old clinical grades assimilated to each of the new clinical grades on the basis of duties and responsibilities on 1st April 1988: Nottingham DHA

  Previous grade

  Staff in post1

  A

  B

  C

  D

  E

  F

  G1

  H

  I

  Nursing Auxiliary

  1,263·58

  1,147·18

  114·40

  2·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Staff Nursery Nurse

  34·50

  —

  32·00

  2·50

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Enrolled Nurse3

  799·75

  —

  —

  131·96

  652·83

  14·96

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Enrolled District Nurse3

  27·30

  —

  —

  —

  26·30

  1·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Senior Enrolled Nurse3

  103·45

  —

  —

  1·40

  83·55

  18·00

  0·50

  —

  —

  —

  Staff Nurse3

  1,045·30

  —

  —

  —

  215·53

  788·18

  41·59

  —

  —

  —

  Staff Midwife3

  120·82

  —

  —

  —

  23·00

  97·82

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Deputy Sister3

  50·13

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2·00

  48·13

  —

  —

  —

  Nursing Sister II3

  590·90

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  260·86

  328·04

  2·00

  —

  Midwifery Sister II3

  153·10

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  23·13

  129·97

  —

  —

  District Nurse (Sister II)3

  112·04

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  112·04

  —

  —

  Nursing Sister I

  6·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  6·00

  —

  —

  Midwifery Sister I

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Health Visitor

  124·45

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  123·45

  1·00

  —

  Senior Nurse 8

  71·60

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2·00

  39·60

  27·00

  3·00

  Senior Nurse 8 Midwife

  7·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  7·00

  —

  —

  Senior Nurse 7

  45·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  5·00

  8·00

  32·00

  Senior Nurse 7 (Midwife)

  10·93

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  9·00

  1·93

  Clinical Teacher

  26·16

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  26·16

  —

  Fieldwork Teacher

  14·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  14·00

  —

  Practical Work Teacher

  24·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  24·00

  —

  Tutor

  38·03

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  38·03

  Tutor Midwife

  8·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  8·00

  Post Basic Students

  Enrolled

  35·00

  —

  —

  35·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Staff Nurse

  183·00

  —

  —

  —

  183·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Deputy Sister

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Sister II

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Others

  2·00

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2·00

  TOTALS

  4,89604

  1,147·18

  146·40

  172·86

  1,184·21

  921·96

  376·21

  751·10

  111·16

  84·96

  1 Whole-time equivalents.

  2 Excludes some additional "G" posts which health authorities have indicated they intend to create in future on existing two-sister wards.

  3 Excludes Post Basic Students.

  112

  1988 (provisional) four-weekly period

  Weeks

  Reports

  1–4

  1,072

  5–6

  779

  9–12

  788

  13–16

  776

  17–20

  1,221

  21–24

  1,579

  25–28

  2,143

  29–32

  2,803

  33–36

  12,033

  37–40

  3,585

  41–44

  3,348

  45–48

  2,636

  49–52

  1,360

  Total reports

  24,123

  1 Postal strike.

  NHS Staff (Grading)
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff from each of the old grades have been assimilated to each of the new grades in the current clinical grading structure in Nottingham district health authority.

  Mr. Mellor
  The information requested is given in the table.
  113

  Abortion
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are taken by his Department to ensure the implementation of his requirement that centres where late abortions are preformed have immediate access to resuscitation equipment in the event that the child is born alive.

  Mr. Freeman
  Places in the private sector approved to carry out abortions after the 20th week of gestation are required to give additional assurances as to the availability of resuscitation equipment, including suction apparatus, incubator and oxygen supply. These facilities are monitored by the Department's medical/nursing officers during the course of routine unannounced visits.

  General Practitioners (Pay)
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he proposes to review the funding arrangements for general practitioners so that they are paid according to the number of patients they attract, and the quality of services they provide.

  Mr. Mellor
  The White Paper "Promoting Better Health" (Cm. 249) announced a range of changes to the general practitioner's contract with the National Health Service which includes raising the proportion of income which is related to the number of patients on a GP's list and linking pay more directly than at present to service and performance. The Government are currently consulting the GPs' representatives on the arrangements necessary to introduce these changes.

  Health and Local Authorities (Co-operation)
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give details of plans currently being considered within his Department to improve liaison and cooperation between local authorities and district health authorities.

  Mr. Mellor
  Our current examination of community care policy following Sir Roy Griffiths report includes consideration of the need for any changes to be made to the current arrangements for joint planning between health and local authorities. We continue strongly to encourage authorities to work and plan together within existing systems to develop a co-ordinated range of services.

  Ethnic Monitoring
  Ms. Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on ethnic monitoring in mental hospitals.

  Mr. Freeman
  Information on the ethnic origins of detained mental patients in special hospitals has been recorded for some years. We are now exploring the feasibility of collecting data on the ethnicity of patients in NHS hospitals, including mental hospitals. If feasible, implementation would take some time because of the need to adapt health authorities' current data collection systems and in order to link with any question of ethnicity in the 1991 census.

  Hospital Building Programme
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of the Government's hospital building programme.

  Mr. Freeman
  Information held centrally shows there are currently 528 health building schemes, each costing over £1 million, at various stages of planning, design and construction with an estimated total value of £4·1 billion. In the next financial year capital expenditure of £1 -2 billion is planned, an increase in real terms of 43 per cent, since 1979.

  Health Authority Managers
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of bonus payments made to health authority managers since their introduction; if he will list them to date; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  Health authority general managers, have been eligible for performance-related increases in salary since 1 September 1987 and senior (second-in-line) managers since 1 September 1988. The numbers of awards notified to the Department to date are as follows:

  1987

  1988

  General Managers

  690

  668

  Senior Managers

  —

  601

  Individual awards cannot be listed because they are based on confidential assessments of individual performance.

  The performance-related pay scheme is working well and we shall shortly be extending it to a wider group of managers at region, district and unit level.

  Health Services (Duplication)
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the steps he is taking to reduce the duplication of functions between local government social services departments and family practitioner committees and district health authorities.

  Mr. Mellor
  Health authorities, local authorities and family practitioners committees are required to co-operate in the planning and delivery of their services. We strongly encourage them to plan and work jointly, and with voluntary organisations, in order to minimise the possibility of any gaps or duplications in their activities and to promote the development of a co-ordinated range of services.

  Hospitals (Opting Out)
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will issue guidelines about the involvement of regional, district and unit general managers in discussion about the possibility of individual hospitals opting out; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  The Government's proposals for the future management and structure of the Health Service will be published shortly in a White Paper.

  Privatisation
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will publish any guidelines issued by his own
  115
  Department to regional health authorities on the privatisation of their services; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Health authorities were asked in September 1983 to put their domestic, catering and laundry services out to tender. Detailed guidance has been issued by the Department to authorities on how the process should be carried out. Copies of the most recent guidance (November 1987) which updated and refined earlier guidance have been placed in the library. We encourage health authorities to consider the possibility of competitive tendering in any area of their services where this is seen to offer scope for increased effectiveness and value for money. Progress has been made by authorities in extending the range of services subjected to tendering.

  Politically Sensitive Issues
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will publish any guidelines issued by his Department to regional and district health authorities in the involvement of their employees in public discussion on politically sensitive issues; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  No. All NHS employees are expected to conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to their position. Their conduct is, however, a matter for their employing health authorities and there are no centrally issued guidelines.

  Listeria
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wakefield, Official Report, 8 December, column 339, what procedures exist which would effect the withdrawal of cooked food in sealed packages which contain listeria monocytogenes.

  Mr. Freeman
  The procedures for dealing with cooked ready-to-eat food contaminated with a pathogenic micro-organism depend upon the circumstances of each case. A locally distributed food can be dealt with by local authorities using powers under the Food Act 1984. More widely distributed food may require rapid communication by the Department to inform and advise all local authorities on the extent and type of local action.

  Cook-Chill Catering
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wakefield,Official Report, 1 December, column 384, on what date Mr. Arthur Pinegar of the Leeds public health laboratory ceased his involvement in private research concerning cook-chill catering.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply to him by my predecessor on 1 December 1988, at column 384.

  The public health laboratory service has no further details of when Mr. Pinegar ceased those activities to which the hon. Member refers.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to ensure that hospital patients in health authorities which introduce cook-chill catering also have the opportunity to consume food produced by conventional methods as an alternative.
  116
  Mr. Freeman
  Health authorities are responsible for determining the delivery of catering services and take into account the needs of the hospital patients.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is possible for cook-chill food from commercial catering companies to be supplied at hospitals with central production units within the requirements of his Department's 1980 guidelines on pre-cooked food in catering.

  Mr. Freeman
  Yes. Health authorities should satisfy themselves that any cook-chill food from outside sources meets the recommendations in the 1980 guidelines.

  Medical Physicists
  Mr. Latham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department intends to take to improve morale and pay prospects for medical physicists working in the National Health Service; and what recent representations he has received from the Institute of Physical Sciences in Medicine in that regard.

  Mr. Mellor
  The management side of the Scientific and Professional Staffs Council has set up a working party to investigate the scale of reported problems of recruitment and retention of medical physicists and other scientists. I have received no recent representations from the Institute of Physical Sciences in Medicine about these matters.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Yorkshire regional health authority has sought the opinion of district health authorities within the region regarding the implementation of cook-chill catering.

  Mr. Freeman
  Yes. It consulted on a strategy document between 25 March and 30 June last year.

  Radiation (Exeter)
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health who will provide the finance required by the Exeter health authority to provide compensation for its patients given excess doses of radiation;

  (2) what additional funds his Department will provide to enable Exeter health authority to pay substantial compensation to patients given excess doses of radiation.

  Mr. Mellor
  I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Devon, North (Mr. Speller) on 20 December 1988, at column 251.

  Medical Defence Bodies
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sum in the current wage settlement for junior doctors has been earmarked to cover their premiums to medical defence bodies.

  Mr. Mellor
  No specific sum was identified in respect of junior doctors as a group. In 1988–89, £31 million was made available to health authorities in the United Kingdom to meet the estimated full cost of reimbursement of two thirds of the cost of Medical Defence Society subscriptions payable by doctors employed by them.

  Cancer (Children)
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of cancer affecting children were
  117
  reported in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what was the comparable figure 30 years previously.

  Mr. Freeman
  National registrations of newly diagnosed cases of cancer are not available over a period of 30 years. However, the table shows the number of registrations, and the registration rate per 100,000 population for persons aged under 15 years of age for 1962,1974 and 1984 (the latest year available) for England and Wales. The statistics should be interpreted with care as the ascertainment of cases has improved over the whole of this period.

  Number of registrations of newly diagnosed cases of malignant neoplasms, and rates per 100,000 estimated population, persons aged 0–14 years. 1962, 1974 and 1984. England and Wales.

  Year

  Number

  Rate

  1962

  966

  9·1

  1974

  1,164

  10·1

  1984

  1,085

  11·3

  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors have been responsible for the alterations in the incidence of cancer in children.

  Mr. Freeman
  Very little is known generally about the causes of childhood cancer. A great deal of research into this subject is continuing by various groups in this country, including the Childhood Cancer Research Group, which is supported by the Department.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Expenditure
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by how much expenditure on social security has increased since 1978–79; and what increase in spending is planned for 1989–90.

  Mr. Scott
  Total spending on the social security programme increased from £16·4 billion in 1978–79 to an estimated £47·6 billion in 1988–89. This represents a 33 per cent, real increase in spending of almost £12 billion over the period.

  Social security spending is planned to rise to £51·1 billion in 1989–90. This is £3·5 billion higher than in 1988–89.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will make it his policy to ensure that the social fund budgets allocated to social security offices in Scotland for 1989–90 are not less in total than for 1988–89.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  We are currently considering the allocation of the 1989–90 social fund budgets to local offices and will make an announcement as soon as possible.

  Community Care Grants and Loans
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will launch a publicity campaign informing potential claimants of the availability of community care 118
  grants and loans, to ensure that the budgets are fully spent by the end of this financial year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Take-up of community care grants has increased significantly over recent months and expenditure is currently running at 77 per cent, of monthly profiled expenditure. However, we are taking action further to improve awareness of the help that can be provided.

  Local office managers have been asked to improve and maintain their liaison with local statutory and voluntary organisations since these are often best placed to identify people who may be eligible for help. We are also considering what additional measures might be taken to improve national information material on the scheme. In addition social fund officers have been reminded of the need to be flexible in applying guidance to individual cases and we are currently revising existing guidance in the social fund manual to make this clear.

  Expenditure on loans has now reached national monthly profiled levels and we do not consider that further action is required in this area.

  Medical Appeals Tribunals (Deafness)
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has plans to ensure that evoked response audiometry machines will automatically be available at medical appeals tribunals when cases of industrial deafness are under consideration.

  Mr. Scott
  This is a matter for the president of social security and medical appeal tribunals and the hon. Member may care to contact him direct.

  Service Homes
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what discussions he has had with Servite Houses on the funding of its homes for the frail elderly; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  My hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security met representatives of Servite Houses Ltd. on 26 May 1988, and there was a useful discussion of issues of mutual concern. The information provided by Servite Houses Ltd. was taken into account along with evidence provided by other organisations, in the most recent review of the income support limits.

  The Government's decisions were announced in October 1988 as part of the general uprating of benefits. From April 1989 additional help will be provided to nearly nine out of 10 income support claimants in homes.

  Disablement Income Group
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has had from Mr. Peter Large of the Disablement Income Group in regard to the report entitled, "Being Disabled Costs More Than They Said", a copy of which was sent to him on 3 January; what reply he is sending; if there is any action he will be taking; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  I have received a letter from Peter Large enclosing a copy of the Disablement Income Group's
  119
  "Being Disabled Costs More Than They Said". Mr. Large's letter summarised the main points of the report and asked the Government to take note of them. In my reply I have made it clear that we will consider carefully the points raised in the report.

  Mobility Allowance
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many mobility allowances were granted in 1988; how many were refused; how many went to appeal; and how many of those appeals were successful.

  Mr. Scott
  The available information is as follows. It relates to decisions given on claims (including renewal claims) during the year, not to claims made during the year.

  Numbers

  Claims decided

  Awards

  127,560

  Disallowances

  77,305

  Appeals and references decided by medical boards

  Number decided

  20,980

  Decisions in favour of claimant

  6,122

  Appeals decided by medical appeal tribunals

  Number decided

  6,547

  Decisions in favour of claimant

  1,846

  Department Offices
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give details of proposed changes in staff levels at social security offices in the north-west region; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The staffing reductions from the implementation of operational strategy in local offices in the north-west region are currently expected to be 1,575 posts between 1 April 1989 and 31 March 1993. Changes in staffing levels may also be required from time to time to reflect changes in local office workloads.

  Heating Costs
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, pursuant to the statement of 10 January,Official Report, column 814, he will identify the sums incorporated in income support to cover the cost of heating.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The income support rates are intended to provide for all normal day-to-day living expenses, including heating costs. There is no separately identifiable sum included for heating costs. It is for individuals to decide how best to spend their benefit in the light of their own needs and preferences.

TRANSPORT

  Public Service Obligation
  Mr. Prescott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what amounts of financial resources have been paid to British Rail under public service obligation grants for each year since 1983; and what proportion is given to the south-eastern region of British Rail.
  120
  Mr. Channon
  The figures for Government support for the British Railways Board taken from the final claims for grant in compensation for the public service obligation under EEC regulation 1191/69 and section 3 of the Railways Act 1974 are given below. 1984–85 is a 15-month period reflecting a change in the board's financial year. The figures for 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89 remain provisional; final claims have not yet been agreed. All figures are cash.

  £ million

  1983

  853·6

  1984–85

  1,065·9

  1985–86

  820·0

  1986–87

  713·9

  1987–88

  800·6

  1988–89

  572·5

  Grant is paid to the board in respect of subsidised passenger services as a whole; it is not hypothecated to business sectors. From 1983 to 1987–88 approximately 30 per cent, of the grant was allocated to Network SouthEast (and its predecessor London and South East). It is not yet possible to provide a figure for 1988–89.

  Motorways (Private Vehicular Access)
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a list of all sites of private vehicular access to each motorway not being motorway junctions; and if he will provide a map to make such sites easily identifiable.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Yes. It will take a little time to prepare the material.

  M1-A1 Network
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he intends to take to ensure that motorists using the M1/A 1 networks can travel reasonably quickly and freely; if he envisages increasing the number of carriageways; if he will be implementing charged tolls on sections of these roads; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  There are a number of schemes in the programme to reduce congestion on both the M1 and the Al. The extension of the M40 to Birmingham will provide relief to the M1.

  We are currently reviewing the road programme. We expect to make an announcement in the spring.

  There are no plans to charge tolls on the M1 or A1.

  Irish Sea Ferries
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the maximum loadings allowed on each ferry between Ireland and Great Britain; and what action is taken to ensure that these figures are not exceeded.

  Mr. Portillo
  The maximum loading allowed on ferries corresponds to immersion of the hull up to the clearly visible load-line mark. The maximum number of passengers allowed is stipulated on the passenger ship safety certificate which every passenger ship including ferries must carry. It is the statutory duty of the master to ensure before his ship proceeds on any voyage that the load-line mark is not submerged and that the maximum number of passengers permitted is not exceeded.
  121

  Road Transport Cabotage
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures will be taken in the context of the single European market to ensure that road transport cabotage will not infringe the European Community's treaty on the environment.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  All vehicles, whether undertaking cabotage or international journeys, will have to comply with both Community law and the national laws of the countries they are visiting.

  NATO (ACTICE Study)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what were the posts, ranks and responsibilities of those attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ACTICE study held at the civil defence college in April 1988.

  Mr. Portillo
  The Department hosted a training session for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation agency for the co-ordination of inland surface transport in central Europe (ACTICE) at the civil defence college between 25 and 29 April 1988. The proceedings and details of attendees are classified.

  NATO (Transport Planning Conference)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations, departments or individuals have been invited to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation transport planning conference, to be held at the civil defence college in spring 1989.

  Mr. Portillo
  The department will host a routine meeting of the northern Europe sub-committee of the planning board for European inland surface transport (PBEIST) at the civil defence college in spring 1989. The meeting will be attended by representatives from Norway, Denmark, Germany, Canada, United States of America and the United Kingdom.

  Chiltern Line
  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he is yet in a position to announce his response to British Rail's request for additional signalling equipment and rolling stock on the Chiltern line services.

  Mr. Portillo
  British Rail have only just submitted their proposals to me for renewing the Chiltern line rolling stock. I hope to be able to announce a decision very shortly. Work on modernising the signalling is already making good progress and is expected to be completed in 1990.

  West London Line
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will request the chairman of British Rail to publish figures of how many passenger and freight trains, respectively, cross the Thames on the west London line each day; how many passengers are carried; and how many trains use this route between 11 pm and 7 am.

  Mr. Portillo
  On weekdays there are 12 passenger trains in each direction, on Saturdays 3 in each direction and on 122
  Sundays one in each direction. Up to 25 freight trains use the line daily, but separate figures for the 11 pm to 7 am period are not kept. Approximately 1,100 passengers use the line on weekdays, and considerably fewer at weekends.

  River Thames (River Buses)
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the number of public river buses operating on the Thames and the number of passengers carried, for each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Portillo
  Thamesline plc began a regular public service in June last year which at the end of the year was using seven vessels and carried about 5,000 passengers a week. Statistics of riverbus services are not available on an annual basis for the last 10 years.

  River Thames (Tunnels)
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the tunnels under the Thames, between Kingston and the estuary, giving in each case the present and past use and the width of each.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The information requested is as follows:

  Thames tunnels between Kingston and the estuary

  width in metres

  (i) Road tunnels

  Rotherhithe

  4·9

  Blackwall, Old

  6·1

  Blackwall, New

  6·1

  Dartford, West

  6·4

  Dartford, East

  7·3

  (ii) Railway tunnels

  Victoria Line at Vauxhall

  3·8

  Northern Line at Charing Cross

  3·6

  Bakerloo Line at Charing Cross

  3·7

  Waterloo and City at Blackfriars

  3·7

  Northern Line at London Bridge

  3·6

  East London Line at Wapping

  3·4

  (iii) Pedestrian tunnels

  Greenwich

  1·6–2·8

  The use of these tunnels has remained unchanged since they were built.

  In addition there are various service tunnels used for purposes other than transport.

  EC (Railways)
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each European Economic Community country the mileage of newly constructed railway opened for public service in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Michael Portillo
  I regret that my Department does not have this information.

  Rail Services
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each year since the passing of the Transport Act 1968 the number of rail services which have been withdrawn and for which a substitute bus service has been provided; whether the bus service is still in existence in each case; and, if not, why it was terminated.
  123
  Mr. Portillo
  I regret that this information is not available. Unlike substitute bus services provided under the Transport Act 1985, earlier replacement bus services did not require ministerial consent before they were withdrawn. No substitute bus services have yet been provided under the new provisions of the 1985 Act.

  Fishing Vessel New Dawn
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has about the collision between the fishing vessel New Dawn and the USS Will Rogers on Tuesday 3 January; what investigation or inquiry he proposes into the incident; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  The collision took place at about 0730 on 3 January, some 5 miles south of the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde. Neither vessel was seriously damaged and there were no injuries.

  An investigation was ordered on 3 January and is being carried out by one of the Department's marine surveyors.

  Motor Vehicles (Clocking)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has considered the proposals of the motor trade working group, chaired by the Director General of Fair Trading, to introduce mileage recordings at the driver and vehicle licensing centre, in order to combat the practice of clocking of motor vehicles.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The implications of the proposal, which involves a DVLC-based mileage recording scheme, are still being considered. An announcement will be made shortly.

  Home Report
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the joint working party established to consider the Home report's recommendations on diversionary works has completed its deliberations; and when he intends to introduce legislation putting into effect the Home report's conclusions.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The diversionary works working party, which includes representatives of the utilities, local authority associations and British Railways Board, has recently completed a draft code of practice dealing with the procedures to be followed when highway or bridge works affect utility apparatus, including cost sharing. The code will shortly be referred to the relevant organisations for endorsement. Legislation to implement the recommendations of the Home Committee will be introduced when a suitable opportunity can be found.

  Burley-on-Wharfedale (Relief Road)
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his plans to allow the building of a relief road around Burley-on-Wharfedale.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Good progress is being made on this scheme which appears in the last roads White Paper for a start of construction in the period April 1989 to March 1991. The decision was announced in December last to proceed with the making of the line and side roads orders. The draft compulsory purchase order is due to be published this spring.
  124

  British Airways/British Caledonian Airways (Merger)
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the merger between British Airways and British Caledonian Airways has been implemented consistently with the revised proposals put to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission by British Airways.

  Mr. Channon
  On 5 January 1988 my noble Friend the Minister for Aviation and Shipping wrote to the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority asking him to establish monitoring arrangements to ensure that the BA/B-Cal merger proceeded on the basis proposed by British Airways to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

  The chairman of the CAA has now submitted a full report to me and from the information contained in this report I am satisfied that British Airways has fulfilled its commitments to the MMC during the year under review. I have placed a copy of the CAA's report to me in the Library of the House together with a copy of my reply. The CAA will also be publishing its report in its weekly proceedings.

  East Midlands Air Crash (Fund)
  Mr. Ashby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give further details of the Government's contribution to the disaster fund set up by the North West Leicestershire district council for the victims of the east midlands air crash and their families.

  Mr. Paul Channon
  I have announced that the Government will be making a contribution of £250,000 to the east midlands air crash disaster fund. I very much hope that the Government's example will encourage others to join in helping the bereaved and those who suffered as a result of the accident. Neither the fund nor the Government's donation to it will affect claims for compensation.

  The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will donate £100,000 from resources available to him, and £150,000 will be contributed by my Department. Parliamentary approval for these payments will be sought in Supplementary Supply Estimates. Pending that approval, both donations will be met by repayable advances from the respective contingencies funds. As savings are sufficient to meet these sums, there will be no increase in the public expenditure planning total.

  United Kingdom-Singapore (Air Services)
  Mr. Snape
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of talks between Her Majesty's Government and the Republic of Singapore on increasing air services between the two countries.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer 12 January 1989]Discussions were held in London this week between United Kingdom and Singapore civil aviation officials on arrangements for the provision of air services between the United Kingdom and Singapore. The discussions made useful progress and they are expected to continue in Singapore within the next two months.

  Airport Security
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what research his Department has
  125
  commissioned into the use of neutron beam detector systems in relation to airport security; what level of funding is being allocated to this work; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) how many companies have been invited to tender for the supply of neutron beam detectors for airport security use; when such tenders were invited; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer, 13 January 1989]: Development work on using the thermal neutron activation analysis technique for detecting explosives is taking place both in the United States of America and this country (at Harwell). The technique employs large neutron sources, and this raises considerable radiation protection problems. In both countries the results of tests carried out under laboratory conditions were encouraging, and prototypes are now being tested to establish reliablility and suitability for searching baggage under operational conditions. The United States prototypes have been more extensively tested. They have been on trial at San Francisco airport and the FAA has recently ordered five production models. We and the United States authorities maintain close liaison on such matters.

  £ million

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  1988–89 (to date)

  1989–90 (planned)

  UNICEF, General Resources

  6·3

  6·5

  7·0

  7·5

  8·0

  UNICEF, Supplementary funded projects

  1·338

  6·570

  8·223

  1·880

  1—

  Save the Children Fund, Joint Funding Scheme

  0·675

  0·905

  1·045

  1·925

  1—

  Save the Children Fund, Supplementary grants

  7·958

  1·718

  4·787

  n/a

  1—

  1 To be decided.

PRIME MINISTER

  GATT
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if the European Council will be considering its policy on the future subsidising of agriculture before the next meeting of the general agreement on tariffs and trade.

  The Prime Minister
  The European Council will next meet on 26–27 June 1989. Negotiations on agriculture in the current GATT round are continuing and the Community will participate in them on the basis of positions agreed in the Agriculture and Foreign Affairs Councils.

  European Commissioners
  Mr. Tam Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will meet Señor Felipe Gonzales, chairman of the Council of Ministers, to discuss the criteria for the appointment of European Commissioners.

  The Prime Minister
  No.

  Technology Assessment Unit
  Sir Ian Lloyd
  To ask the Prime Minister (1) whether she will publish a list of the technology assessments which have been carried out by the technology assessment unit established in the Cabinet Office in 1988;

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Child Starvation
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much overseas aid this year is being specifically directed towards ending child starvation and hunger in the Third world; what were the corresponding figures for each of the past three years; and if he will increase this figure for the next financial year.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  It is not practicable to separate expenditure directed towards ending child starvation and hunger from that designed to benefit the poor of the Third world generally. The object of the British aid programe is to promote sustainable economic development and to alleviate poverty. In 1987 over 80 per cent. of the bilateral aid programme went to the poorer countries—those with annual incomes per head of less than $800—where the incidence of hunger and malnutrition is greatest.

  Her Majesty's Government's contributions to key organisations with a specific remit for children and with programmes concerned with child nutrition include the following:

  (2) whether it is her intention to publish any of the technology assessment reports carried out by the technology assessment unit of the Cabinet Office;

  (3) whether the technology assessment unit of the Cabinet Office has been asked to undertake an assessment of the scientific validity of the Commission of the European Community's decision to ban the import of beef produced from cattle which have been fed with hormones.

  The Prime Minister
  The Cabinet Office's science and technology assessment office does not itself undertake assessments of this kind. As explained in the Government response to the first report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, 1986–87 Session (Cm. 185), its role is to encourage the adoption of sound assessment systems by Government Departments and other bodies concerned with publicly funded research and development.

  Department of Food and Health
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Prime Minister whether she will now reconsider the proposal to establish a single Department of Food and Health, thereby closing down the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; and whether she will publish an estimate of the effect on public funds of such a proposal.

  The Prime Minister
  I have no plans to establish a single Department of Food and Health.

  Greenhouse Effect
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on her initiatives to co-ordinate interdepartmental action on the greenhouse effect.

  The Prime Minister
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 16 January 1989, at column 1.

  Engagements
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 January.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 January.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 January.

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 January.

  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 January.

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

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

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 January.

  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 January.

  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 17 January.

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

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Fax Machines
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Lord President of the Council how many fax machines were purchased by hon. Members for their use in the House; and at what cost.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The information requested by the hon. Member is not available centrally since the purchase of such equipment is an individual matter for right hon. and hon. Members.

  Library Papers
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will ensure that a copy of every Library deposited paper is supplied to the branch library in Norman Shaw North; and if he will monitor the situation in the future.

  Mr. Wakeham
  About 80 per cent. of papers deposited in the Members' Library are also available in the branch library. Some papers because of their size, format or 128
  restricted contents, cannot easily be duplicated. However, I have made arrangements to remind Government Departments of the desirability of sending a second copy to the branch library whenever possible. The Library keeps deposited paper arrangements under constant review.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  National Savings
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total current number of national savings ordinary accounts.

  Mr. Lilley
  There are approximately 56·2 million ordinary accounts of which only 7·7 million are active, that is, which received a deposit during the last five years.

  Drugs
  Mr. Mudd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, according to substance, weight, street value and point of location or interception, major quantities of dangerous drugs seized by Her Majesty's Customs in each of the years 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]: I regret that this information is not readily available in the form requested.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Israel (Palestinian Detainees)
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his latest estimate is for Palestinians detained without trial in Israel; how many of these come from the occupied territories; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We understand that there are just over 900 Palestinian administrative detainees currently held by the Israeli authorities. These are among a total of between 4,000 and 5,000 Palestinians detained so far without trial in Israel and the occupied territories. In addition to the administrative detainees, there are those awaiting trial, under investigation, sentenced for short periods or of as yet undefined status. We have made clear repeatedly to the Israelis our strong opposition to the practice of administrative detention.

  Citizenship (European Community)
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Portugal or within the Council of Ministers regarding harmonisation of the citizenship and nationality arrangements for people in dependent territories of each member country of the European Community; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  None.

DEFENCE

  Nuclear Weapons
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy not to agree to North Atlantic
  129
  Treaty Organisation modernisation of nuclear weapons until the House of Commons has expressed its view thereon.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Government's support for modernisation is well known and is reflected in their endorsement of successive NATO communiqués reiterating the Alliance's determination to keep its forces, nuclear and conventional, effective and up to date. The modernisation issue has already been raised in the House on numerous occasions. Moreover, the Government have undertaken to report to the House on nuclear modernisation as it affects British forces when the appropriate moment comes.

  BAOR
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average number of(a) British land forces, (b) British main battle tanks and (c) British armoured personnel carriers stationed on the mainland of Europe in 1987.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The figures requested by the hon. Member for 1987 were approximately as follows:

  Number

  (a) British land forces

  160,300

  (b) British main battle tanks

  2650

  (a) British armoured personnel carriers

  31,900

  1 Includes 3,000 in Berlin.

  2 Does not include reserve stocks.

  3 Includes a number of non-troop carrying vehicles.

  These figures include the British Army of the Rhine and forces stationed in Berlin.

  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average number of trained infantrymen in each British Army of the Rhine infantry battalion.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The establishment of infantry battalions in BAOR varies according to role. The current average establishment is approximately 660 officers and soldiers. This figure is subject to change as the re-equipping of infantry battalions with Warrior and Saxon, and the conversion of 6 Brigade from the airmobile role, continue.

  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average number of main battle tanks in each British Army of the Rhine armoured regiment.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is not our practice to give details of the number of tanks in operational units or formations.

  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average number of anti-tank guided missile systems in each British Army of the Rhine infantry battalion.

  Monthly sorties in the United Kingdom low-flying system

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  January

  10,034

  9,271

  9,567

  9,794

  8,954

  9,723

  11,532

  8,222

  11,179

  February

  8,373

  10,208

  9,456

  12,197

  9,112

  10,436

  12,264

  12,527

  14,279

  March

  9,884

  11,854

  14,992

  12,265

  11,505

  12,973

  10,145

  12,515

  15,494

  April

  11,045

  10,105

  10,759

  11,802

  12,972

  12,793

  14,863

  13,006

  11,733

  May

  11,716

  11,196

  12,116

  12,520

  12,967

  12,534

  13,366

  14,364

  12,990

  June

  11,602

  14,124

  11,827

  15,010

  13,715

  13,158

  13,413

  13,787

  14,220

  July

  12,229

  12,830

  11,443

  15,109

  13,678

  14,267

  17,519

  14,071

  12,653

  130
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is not our practice to give details of the number of anti-tank guided missiles in operational units or formations.

  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average number of surface-to-air guided missile systems in each British Army of the Rhine air defence regiment.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is not our practice to disclose the numbers of surface-to-air guided missile systems in operational units or formations.

  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average amount of time spent by each British Army of the Rhine infantry battalion in(a) training and (b) exercise in 1987.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  In 1987, BAOR infantry battalions deployed for up to 26 weeks of training, of which approximately 15 weeks was for battalion level training and 11 weeks for company level training. The form in which records are held does not differentiate between training and exercise deployment and the specific information requested by the hon. Member could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average amount of time spent by each British Army of the Rhine armoured regiment in(a) training and (b) exercise in 1987.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  In 1987, BAOR armoured. regiments deployed for up to 23–25 weeks of training, of which approximately 14 weeks was for regimental training and eight weeks for squadron/troop training. The form in which records are held does not differentiate between training and exercise deployment and the specific information requested by the hon. Member could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Low Flying
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of complaints about low-flying aircraft for each training area for each month since January 1980 and give for each month the relative number of sorties involved.

  Mr. Neubert
  Monthly breakdowns of low-level military training sorties and complaints and inquiries received at the Ministry of Defence about such training are as follows. It should be noted that some of the monthly figures for earlier years were corrected on aggregation and yearly totals calculated by aggregating the monthly figures given may differ slightly from the yearly totals supplied previously to the House.
  131

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  August

  7,976

  10,005

  10,366

  10,482

  10,532

  11,634

  10,229

  11,959

  13,182

  September

  10,714

  11,551

  10,950

  9,768

  9,973

  11,338

  12,847

  12,954

  11,459

  October

  11,156

  12,476

  10,339

  11,585

  12,421

  12,849

  12,950

  11,950

  11,589

  November

  9,365

  11,431

  11,053

  10,201

  9,929

  12,993

  12,968

  12,892

  —

  December

  8,756

  6,790

  7,477

  8,614

  7,761

  7,064

  9,068

  8,814

  —

  Monthly Complaints in the United Kingdom Low Flying System

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  January

  222

  159

  142

  246

  206

  145

  238

  224

  283

  February

  194

  228

  257

  212

  145

  190

  210

  227

  311

  March

  170

  209

  323

  288

  150

  170

  164

  236

  324

  April

  276

  283

  367

  405

  288

  224

  308

  305

  449

  May

  242

  329

  235

  619

  370

  406

  401

  405

  668

  June

  383

  540

  232

  589

  885

  301

  569

  515

  634

  July

  372

  721

  405

  727

  1,009

  487

  636

  777

  643

  August

  389

  483

  290

  814

  925

  573

  1,062

  691

  917

  September

  459

  724

  418

  516

  480

  591

  701

  723

  497

  October

  328

  329

  192

  211

  401

  382

  454

  691

  349

  November

  160

  298

  276

  294

  324

  390

  294

  714

  —

  December

  170

  199

  168

  146

  186

  274

  267

  187

  —

  It is not our practice to publish detailed information relating to specific low-flying training areas.

  Royal Yacht (Costs)
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the total running costs of the royal yacht Britannia for the year 1987.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The overall running costs for HMY Britannia for financial year 1987–88 were approximately £7·3 million.

  Shipping Collision
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has received from the United States Navy about the collision between the USS Will Rogers and the fishing vessel New Dawn on 3 January; what action he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Ministry of Defence was informed on 3 January 1989 that the submarine USS Will Rogers had been involved in a minor collision while on the surface with the 50-ton fishing trawler New Dawn in the Firth of Clyde. The collision occurred at approximately 0730 during USS Will Rogers' passage to Holy Loch. The trawler reported only superficial damage and continued under way. On return to port, an initial hull inspection of USS Will Rogers revealed minor scraping and chipping of paint. The US navy is conducting an investigation regarding the incident.

  Trident (Costs)
  Mr. John Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the latest estimate of the cost of the Trident programme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Younger
  I am pleased to announce that for the third year running I am able to report a reduction in the estimated costs of the Trident programme. The revised estimate at average 1988–89 prices is £9,089 million. The estimate is based on the exchange rate of £1=$1·76 used for the current long-term costing of the defence programme. The forecast proportion of the programme to be undertaken in the United Kingdom has risen to 68 per 132
  cent., the highest level so far. After allowing for the effects of inflation and exchange rate variations, the new estimate represents a real reduction of some £104 million compared with last year's estimate and a real reduction of £1,051 million compared with the original 1982 estimate, over and above the savings of some £784 million resulting from the decision to have United Kingdom missiles processed in the United States facility at King's bay, Georgia.

  The Select Committee on Defence previously asked that when announcing the annual revised estimate I should report on the state of the project as a whole. I am pleased to say that the project remains on programme to enter service as planned in the mid-1990s. There has been no slippage in the in-service date since the decision to proceed with Trident II was announced in March 1982. I am, as in past years, sending to the Chairmen of the Select Committee on Defence and the Public Accounts Committee a more detailed report covering the progress of the various elements of the Trident programme. I am also placing a copy of the report in the Library of the House.

  HMS Resolution
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decision has been reached over the refurbishment of HMS Resolution; what is the estimated cost of such refurbishment; and what would be the total defence budget allocation to Polaris for 1988–89 in the event of such refurbishment.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 15 December 1988]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Browne) by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence today. In particular, I refer to the more detailed report mentioned in that reply. It has been placed in the House of Commons library, and states that the Ministry of Defence has decided that a fourth refit for the Polaris submarine HMS Resolution is not required.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Teachers
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers have joined the profession in state schools over each of the last five years; how many have left; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Butcher
  The numbers of teachers entering and leaving the maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools sector in England in the last five years for which figures are available were:

  Year ending 31 March

  Entering

  Leaving

  1982

  22,700

  30,800

  1983

  23,400

  29,400

  1984

  25,600

  29,600

  1985

  24,600

  31,100

  1986

  25,800

  30,800

  These figures include teachers entering from or leaving to other parts of the maintained sector.

  Vandalism
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools in the Bolton area were damaged by vandalism, in particular arson, during each of the last five years; what was the cost to the education authority of this damage; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Butcher
  Data concerning the number of schools affected by vandalism are not available, but I understand that the majority of schools in the Bolton area have been affected. The cost of damage during each of the last five years is given in the table. Such a level of loss is unacceptable, and I am discussing with the local authority associations a range of measures to improve the security of school premises.

  Financial year

  Vandalism £

  Arson £

  Number of fires

  1983–84

  114,098

  18,951

  17

  1984–85

  136,911

  85,000

  12

  1985–86

  155,032

  85,536

  11

  1986–87

  160,967

  14,829

  14

  1987–88

  193,808

  153,202

  20

  Graduates
  Dr. Hampson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of graduates went into industry in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Robert Jackson
  Seventeen per cent. of first degree graduates in Great Britain in 1987 of known destination entered industry.

  Records of Achievement
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department has any plans to provide additional funds for the development of records of achievement for pupils in secondary education; and if he will make a statement.
  134
  Mrs. Rumbold
  Specific grant funding will be available in 1989–90, as in 1988–89, to support pilot projects in a number of areas and to support in-service training of teachers in all local education authorities. The final report of the records of achievement national steering committee will be published for consultation shortly. Decisions on future developments will be taken in the light of those consultations.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Fires (Investigation)
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report for each fire authority in England and Wales for each of the last five years (a) the number of domestic fires described as doubtful, where malicious or deliberate ignition is suspected, and (b) the number of domestic fires where malicious ignition has been established beyond reasonable doubt.

  Mr. John Patten
  The readily available information does not separate suspected deliberate fires from those where it is established beyond reasonable doubt that a fire was started deliberately. A total for the number of deliberate and possibly deliberate fires in occupied buildings for each fire brigade area is published annually in "Fire Statistics United Kingdom", (table 64 for 1986, table 63 for 1985, table 60 for 1984, table 58 for 1983 and table 57 for 1982). Comparable data for 1987 are expected to be published in spring 1989. Provisional estimates for 1987 are given in the following table.

  Deliberate or possibly deliberate fires, by brigade area, 1987

  Number

  England and Wales Total

  15,271

  England—Non-metropolitan counties:

  Avon

  239

  Bedfordshire

  141

  Berkshire

  159

  Buckinghamshire

  130

  Cambridgeshire

  101

  Cheshire

  269

  Cleveland

  236

  Cornwall

  39

  Cumbria

  90

  Derbyshire

  111

  Devon

  153

  Dorset

  107

  Durham

  129

  East Sussex

  144

  Essex

  212

  Gloucestershire

  98

  Hampshire

  215

  Hereford and Worcester

  109

  Hertfordshire

  146

  Humberside

  314

  Isle of Wight

  18

  Kent

  355

  Lancashire

  365

  Leicestershire

  207

  Lincolnshire

  70

  Norfolk

  130

  North Yorkshire

  96

  Northamptonshire

  176

  Northumberland

  63

  135

  Number

  Nottinghamshire

  363

  Oxfordshire

  70

  Shropshire

  79

  Somerset

  53

  Staffordshire

  175

  Suffolk

  107

  Surrey

  188

  Warwickshire

  100

  West Sussex

  100

  Wiltshire

  70

  England—Metropolitan counties:

  Greater Manchester

  1,490

  Merseyside

  1,238

  South Yorkshire

  302

  Tyne and Wear

  713

  West Midlands

  1,295

  West Yorkshire

  756

  Greater London

  2,935

  Wales:

  Clwyd

  69

  Dyfed

  28

  Gwent

  86

  Gwynedd

  51

  Mid Glamorgan

  152

  Powys

  16

  South Glamorgan

  146

  West Glamorgan

  67

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report for each fire authority in England and Wales whether it has a specialist fire investigation team.

  Mr. John Patten
  Only the London and West Midlands fire and civil defence authorities have full-time specialist fire investigation teams. About half the remaining fire authorities have teams whose members combine their duties with other responsibilities. But all fire authorities now have officers trained in fire investigation techniques and are able to use their services, ad hoc, whether individually or as a team as circumstances demand.

  Passport Office, Belfast
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) part-time staff have been employed in the Belfast passport office; how many applications for passports have been handled by that office in each of the last five years; and what proposals he has to increase permanent staffing levels at the Belfast passport office.

  Mr. Renton
  The information requested in respect of the Belfast passport office is as follows:

  Year

  Number of passports issued

  Permanent staff1

  Casual satff2

  1984

  33,707

  15

  6

  1985

  34,655

  15

  6

  1986

  45,472

  16

  6

  1987

  51,305

  18

  5

  1988

  60,248

  18

  8

  1 The figures for permanent staff include two part-time staff in 1986 and six part-time staff in 1987 and 1988.

  2 The figures for casual staff are the maximum for the year.

  136
  Staffing levels at all the United Kingdom passport offices are closely monitored. There are no current plans to increase the permanent staff complement at Belfast.

  Prisons
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the new prison buildings under construction in England and Wales, giving in each case the original date for completion and the present expected completion date:

  (2) how many of the prisons now under construction are on target for the scheduled date of completion; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) if he will list all current delays in completion of the building of new prisons or the refurbishment of prison wings in England and Wales together with the length of the delays and their reasons.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The contracts for the construction of prisons, as for comparable schemes, customarily allow for the possibility that there may be delay for reasons such as bad weather. Planning is accordingly taken forward on the basis of the target opening of the new establishment. The original target opening date for the prisons now under construction were as follows; it is still expected that these targets will be met.

  Prison

  Target opening date

  Brinsford

  September 1990

  Bullington

  April 1991

  Whitemoor

  May 1991

  Woolwich

  April 1991

  Lindholme 2

  June 1991

  Lancaster Farms

  July 1992

  Milton Keynes

  July 1992

  Wings are currently being refurbished at the following establishments. Except where indicated, the contracts are in each case expected to be completed on time.

  Prison

  Delay

  Liverpool

  —

  Risley

  —

  Stafford

  —

  Pentonville

  Nine months. Contract extended to include provision of low cost integral sanitation.

  Wormwood Scrubs

  Six to 12 months. Staffing difficulties.

  Lay Visitors
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what insurance cover exists for lay visitors visiting magistrates courts or police stations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  There is no insurance cover as such for lay visitors, but lay visitors within the Metropolitan police district have been informed that sympathetic consideration will be given to paying compensation, on an ex gratia basis, to any lay visitor who suffers injury or loss or damage to personal property while carrying out his or her duties as a lay visitor. Claims will be paid out of the Metropolitan police fund. Lay visitors were advised of the arrangements in a circular letter dated 2 March 1988.

  Arrangements outside the Metropolitan police district are a matter for the police authority concerned.

  Mobile Homes (Parking)
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to tighten the laws on illegal parking and trespass by tinkers and other travellers with mobile homes.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We have no plans to change the laws on illegal parking or trespass.

  Football (Arrests)
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests in Football League grounds during season 1987–88 led to convictions.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  This information is not recorded centrally.

  Football (Identity Cards)
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Police Federation in respect of the proposed identity cards scheme for spectators at Football League matches; what was the nature of any such representations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The Police Federation has made its representations to my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport.

  Blasphemy
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to the Law Commission's report on the laws of blasphemy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the question from the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East (M r. Young) on 20 December 1988, at column 185.

  Mr. Layman (Cardiff Prison)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the hon. Member for Caerphilly's correspondence concerning his constituent Mr. Layman, currently held on remand in Cardiff prison.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I hope to reply to the hon. Member within the next two weeks.

  Badgers
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in respect of the publication and distribution of a book entitled "Badger Digging with Terriers"; and if he will make a statement on his proposed response.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  In reply to correspondents who wrote three years ago we explained that if the book openly encouraged people to commit an offence, a charge could be brought of incitement to commit a crime.

  Breathalyser Tests
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish information available 138
  on the number of motorists breathalysed by the Metropolitan police in the month of December and the proportion of those which were negative.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Provisional figures in respect of the Christmas and new year period (19 to 31 December) indicate that 10,937 motorists were required by the Metropolitan police to provide breath specimens. 980 (8·9 per cent.) of those tests produced positive results.

  Full statistics of screening breath tests will be published later this year.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will request the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to have examined the equipment used by police to administer breathalyser tests to motorists leaving the rugby match at Twickenham on 6 December 1988.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  All breath testing instruments used by the Metropolitan police are checked at frequent and regular intervals.

  Terrorism
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will amend his orders banning the broadcasting of terrorist interviews so as to make clear the precedence of the statutory duty laid on the British Broadcasting Corporation and Independent Broadcasting Authority to exercise due impartiality.

  Mr. Renton
  My right hon. Friend has no plans to amend the notices in this way. They do not affect the impartiality of the BBC and the IBA, which continue to be able to report events and words uttered.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will amend his orders banning the broadcasting of terrorist interviews so as to permit an elected Sinn Fein councillor to be interviewed on matters to do with(a) housing, (b) the arts, (c) social services, (d) health, (e) planning and (f) local government finance.

  Mr. Renton
  No. The notices are intended to prevent the broadcasting of direct statements by persons representing those organisations named in the notices.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his ban on broadcasting terrorist interviews permits the words of a person representing or purporting to represent a proscribed organisation being spoken by another person while both persons appear on screen.

  Mr. Renton
  The directions prevent the broadcasting of direct statements by persons representing, or purporting to represent, supporting or inviting support for, the organisations named in the notices. It is for the BBC and the IBA to decide how the directions should be applied in particular circumstances.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether his ban on broadcasting terrorist interviews covers interviews recorded more than 20 years ago;

  (2) whether his ban on broadcasting terrorist interviews covers interviews recorded with persons who have since died;
  139
  (3) whether his ban on broadcasting terrorist interviews applies to archive material older than 25 years.

  Mr. Renton
  No time limit has been set on the use of archive material, and the restrictions may apply to the broadcasting of interviews with persons who have since died. But any statement which cannot be broadcast directly under the restrictions can still be reported and drawn upon in the course of a particular programme.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is his intention that a television play should be regarded as a genuine work of fiction for the purposes of his ban on broadcasting terrorist interviews.

  Mr. Renton
  Works of fiction are not subject to the restrictions. It is for the BBC and IBA to determine which programmes fall into this category.

  Magistrates Courts
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for a review of the management structures of magistrates courts.

  Mr. Hurd
  The magistrates courts occupy a central position in the criminal justice system. I greatly value the contribution which locally based lay magistrates and their staff make to the effective operation of the courts and the criminal justice system in general. The present arrangements for the management of magistrates courts date substantially from 1949; since then there has been a considerable increase in the volume and complexity of their work and in the resources used by them. Against this background, I think it timely to examine radically the management and organisational structure of magistrates courts and the arrangements which govern their resources and their use with a view to identifying how these might be improved. I have therefore set in hand a scrutiny of magistrates courts with the following terms of reference:

  (i) to review the present arrangements governing the distribution, management and control of resources in magistrates courts;

  (ii) with due regard to the advantages of a locally based system of summary justice, to make recommendations to ensure that the mechanisms, at national and local level, for determining resource levels and resource management and control are best suited to the efficient, economic and effective discharge of the responsibilities of the magistrates courts;

  Persons detained and charged under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984 by length of detention, legislation under which charged and outcome of charge

  Number of persons (Great Britain)

  Length of detention

  Total detained

  Number charged

  Outcome of charge

  Under the Act

  Under other legislation

  Found guilty

  Other outcome

  Awaiting trial

  1986

  Less than 1 day

  73

  6

  2

  8

  —

  —

  1 day and less than 2 days

  74

  5

  8

  12

  —

  1

  2 days and less than 3 days

  9

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3 days and less than 4 days

  14

  —

  3

  3

  —

  —

  4 days and less than 5 days

  13

  1

  6

  7

  —

  —

  5 days and less than 6 days

  8

  1

  4

  5

  —

  —

  6 days and less than 7 days

  7

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  7 days

  4

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Total

  202

  13

  23

  35

  —

  1

  1987

  Less than 1 day

  66

  4

  1

  5

  —

  —

  1 day and less than 2 days

  110

  4

  4

  5

  —

  3

  2 days and less than 3 days

  9

  —

  3

  1

  2

  —

  140

  (iii) to make proposals for any changes in management structures in the magistrates courts service;

  (iv) to identify the potential for further action to reduce unit costs in magistrates courts, shorten delays and improve fine enforcement; and

  (v) to ensure that recommendations under paragraphs (i) to (iv) above are consistent with the legitimate interests of defendants, parties to civil proceedings, legal representatives, witnesses and the various criminal justice agencies.

  The scrutiny will be carried out by a team of officials led by Mr. Julian Le Vay (grade 5, Home Office) under the ministerial supervision of my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Mr. Patten). The scrutiny will begin in mid-February and I expect to receive its report in June.

  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been charged under the prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984 since enactment of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; and how many of these were charged within 96 hours of arrest.

  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list, for each year since 1975, the number of people who have been detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act; and if he will give a breakdown of each annual total, specifying the number of people detained for periods of(a) one day or less, (b) two days, (c) three days, (d) four days, (e) five days, (f) six days and (g) seven days and the number of people in each category (a) to (g) who were (i) eventually charged and (ii) found guilty.

  Mr. Hurd
  [holding answers 13 and 20 December 1988 respectively]: The available information, which relates to persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984 during the period 1 January to 30 September 1988 is given in the table. Corresponding information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information on persons detained is published quarterly in Home Office statistical bulletin, issue 2/87 which gives, in tables 1 and 2, the figures for years up to 1986. Copies of this bulletin are in the Library of the House. I shall write to the hon. Members updating the table to the end of 1988 after the bulletin for the fourth quarter has been published.
  141

  Length of detention

  Total detained

  Number charged

  Outcome of charge

  Under the Act

  Under otherlegislation

  Found guilty

  Other outcome

  Awaiting trial

  3 days and less than 4 days

  12

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  4 days and less than 5 days

  9

  —

  2

  2

  —

  —

  5 days and less than 6 days

  7

  —

  2

  2

  —

  —

  6 days and less than 7 days

  11

  1

  15

  2

  14

  —

  7 days

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Total

  225

  9

  18

  18

  6

  3

  19882

  Less than 1 day

  53

  2

  3

  1

  —

  4

  1 day and less than 2 days

  57

  3

  4

  7

  —

  —

  2 days and less than 3 days

  4

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3 days and less than 4 days

  6

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  4 days and less than 5 days

  7

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  5 days and less than 6 days

  3

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  6 days and less than 7 days

  -

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  7 days

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Total

  2130

  5

  7

  8

  —

  4

  1 Includes two persons who were subsequently deported or removed.

  2 1 January to 30 September.

  Racial Discrimination
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of racial discrimination the Commission for Racial Equality has been unable to pursue, through the courts, in each of the last five years, due to lack of funding; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  [holding answer 12 January 1989]: An estimated 25 in 1988. None in the previous four years.

  In the light of increased legal costs and an increase in the number of applications, the Commission for Racial Equality had to adopt a more selective approach in 1988 towards people seeking assistance in pursuing complaints of alleged discrimination.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Ordnance Survey
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the price of Ordnance Survey sheets has been increased; when it was increased; what is the percentage increase in price; when the previous increase in price was; and by what means the public was advised that the prices of Ordnance Survey sheets were to be increased.

  Mr. Needham
  The prices of Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland map sheets are reviewed annually in comparison with those of Ordnance Survey of Great Britain to ensure broad comparability.

  The new prices are effective from 1 January 1989, the average percentage increase was 20 per cent. The last increase was on 1 January 1988.

  The latest price list was published in January 1989 and is distributed to major users and to the wholesale and retail trade.

  Special Education Needs
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of pupils recorded with special educational needs in Northern Ireland primary and secondary schools by board area and by controlled/maintained category.
  142
  Dr. Mawhinney
  Provisional figures at January 1989 are as follows:

  Education and LibraryBoard Area

  Controlled

  Maintained

  Voluntary

  Belfast

  Primary

  8

  26

  —

  Secondary

  3

  5

  3

  Western

  Primary

  57

  81

  —

  Secondary

  27

  48

  8

  North-Eastern

  Primary

  81

  24

  —

  Secondary

  97

  14

  20

  South-Eastern

  Primary

  56

  26

  —

  Secondary

  29

  10

  5

  Southern

  Primary

  137

  60

  —

  Secondary

  86

  65

  2

  Note: Figures for secondary schools include both secondary intermediate and grammar schools.

  Teachers
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the total number of teachers at September 1988 employed by grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland, and if he will break down the figures by age band and by sex.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information is as follows:

  Age groups

  Numbers

  Under 35

  Male

  1,698

  Female

  4,331

  35 to 49

  Male

  3,850

  Female

  5,938

  50 and over

  Male

  1,217

  Female

  1,899

  143

  Age groups

  Numbers

  Total Teachers

  Male

  6,765

  Female

  12,168

  Further Education
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students attend the further education colleges in Bangor, Newtownards, Newcastle and Downpatrick; and how many full-time and part-time lecturers are at each of these colleges.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Available information is as follows:

  Further education colleges

  Students

  Lecturers

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  North Down

  —

  —

  1137

  1200

  Bangor Campus

  572

  3,522

  —

  —

  Newtownards Campus

  198

  1,881

  —

  —

  Newcastle2

  277

  993

  34

  51

  Downpatrick2

  649

  2,732

  67

  125

  1 Appointments are to North Down college of further education,not to an individual campus. These figures include staff who also serve in other centres of the college, that is the Holywood campus and some small outcentres. Figures for students at these centres are not included.

  2 Figures for Newcastle include outcentres and for Downpatrick include also the Ballynahinch campus and outcentres.

  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why part of the Ards peninsula is within the area of Downpatrick college of further education; whether the college of further education in Newtownards is more convenient to that part of the Ards peninsula; if he will reconsider this administrative arrangement; if he will seek the opinion of residents in that part of the Ards peninsula; and if he will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Enrolment policy in the area is a matter for the South-Eastern education and library board. I understand that further education students usually attend the nearest appropriate college and the board would not attempt to direct students from the southern part of the Ards peninsula to Down college of further education, Downpatrick.

  Level of bank advances1

  Estimated interest charges2

  Calendar year

  At current prices £ million (1)

  Index in real terms (1985=100) (2)

  At current prices £ million (3)

  Index in real terms (1985= 100) (4)

  1977

  57·1

  63

  6·3

  46

  1978

  75·8

  77

  8·5

  58

  1979

  106·5

  95

  16·7

  101

  1980

  134·6

  102

  24·2

  124

  1981

  143·9

  97

  22·1

  101

  1982

  148·4

  92

  21·2

  89

  1983

  158·6

  94

  19·2

  77

  1984

  172·3

  98

  21·0

  81

  1985

  186·9

  100

  27·6

  100

  1986

  205·2

  106

  27·7

  97

  1987

  209·4

  104

  25·8

  87

  Messrs. Montupet (Factory Site)
  Mr. John Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has directed to the attention of Messrs Montupet any sites for a new factory within the constituency of Strangford.

  Mr. Viggers
  The company is at present considering locations within the Province for the siting of a toolroom factory. I have asked the IDB to encourage the company to examine all areas before it reaches its decision.

  Agricultural Land
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the average price paid for agricultural land in Northern Ireland in each year since 1977 showing the sums in cash and real terms.

  Mr. Viggers
  The average price paid for agricultural land in Northern Ireland in each year since 1977 in current prices and in real terms is as follows:

  Calendar Year

  At current prices £ per hectare

  Index in real terms (Base 1985=100)

  1977

  1,846

  121

  1978

  2,618

  158

  1979

  3,327

  177

  1980

  3,227

  146

  1981

  2,897

  117

  1982

  2,683

  100

  1983

  2,866

  102

  1984

  2,958

  100

  1985

  3,130

  100

  1986

  3,128

  97

  1987

  3,205

  95

  Farmers
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish in the Official Report a table to show information available to him on the sums on loan to farmers in Northern Ireland by the banks in each year or financial year since 1977 showing the sums in cash and real terms and also indicate in those same terms the interest charges due on those sums for each year or financial year if more convenient.

  Mr. Viggers
  The annual average level of bank advances for farming purposes and the estimated interest charges due on those sums for each year since 1977 in current prices and in real terms are as follows:
  145
  1 Adjusted to exclude farmers' estimated borrowings for non-agricultural purchases and for land purchases.

  2 Interest on bank advances as in column (1). This differs from the interest estimates published in "The Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture", which also include interest on hire purchase and trade credit agreements.

WALES

  Infant Deaths
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if his Department is providing financial or other forms of assistance to any private company in the research or development of an early warning temperature monitor for human infants.

  Mr. Grist
  Financial assistance has been offered by the Department to a private company to help research the market opportunities for an early warning temperature monitor for human infants and the setting up of a manufacturing facility.

  Domestic Water Supplies
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many disconnections of domestic water supplies there have been in 1988.

  Mr. Grist
  The information is not available in the form requested. In 1987–88 the Welsh water authority disconnected 2,067 properties within their area of supply. Of these 1,400 were reconnected after payment of bills.

  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will meet the chairman of the Welsh water authority to discuss a revised code of practice relating to the disconnection of domestic water supplies.

  Mr. Grist
  The Secretary of State regularly meets with the chairman of the Welsh water authority to discuss a number of issues.

  Football Spectators Bill
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the application of the Football Spectators Bill[Lords] in Wales.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The Bill will apply to England and Wales. I will be responsible for licensing grounds and for designating which football matches in Wales will be subject to the national membership scheme. I propose to set up at an early date a working party to advise me in Wales as to whether any particular match should be designated.

ENVIRONMENT

  Drinking Water
  Mr. Neale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department was under any obligation to notify the European Commission under the terms of directive 80778 Quality of Water Supplied for Human Consumption (article 10); and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Howard
  South-West water authority applied to the Department for an emergency derogation under article 10 of the EC drinking water directive (80/778/EEC) on 3 August 1988 as some water samples in the Camelford area 146
  were continuing to exceed the directive standard for aluminium. The Department concluded that a derogation to permit the directive standard to be relaxed would not be appropriate. It wanted drinking water quality to return to compliance with the standard as soon as possible. It was also satisfied, on medical advice, that there was no public health risk. On 24 October 1988, by which time the Camelford supply had been complying with the aluminium standard for some weeks, the SWWA withdrew the application. Under the directive member states are required to inform the Commission when they grant a derogation under article 10. Because no derogation was granted, there was no obligation to notify the Commission.

  Construction Industry
  Mr. Wall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take to control lump labour in the construction industry.

  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take to control lump labour in the construction industry and to reduce the number of fatal accidents among self-employed construction workers.

  Mr. Trippier
  In construction, the use of self-employed labour is often appropriate because of the industry's fluctuating work loads and the increasing specialisms within it. Contractors and self-employed workers should generally be free to agree on the contractual arrangements that best suit their particular circumstances. Due to the itinerant nature of much of the work force, there have always been special difficulties in collecting the tax properly due from all those engaged in the industry. There is at present a special scheme for collecting tax from self-employed operatives, and this was the subject of an efficiency scrutiny in 1988. Several recommendations have been made for improving the current scheme, and these are now under consideration.

  The Government are concerned about the high level of fatalities and serious injuries occurring in the industry. New regulations are being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health and safety on multi-contractor sites, increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies and amend the site notification procedure to identify sites where there are high-risk activities. The introduction of regulations to make the wearing of safety helmets compulsory on construction sites is also planned. Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive will be paying more attention to the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety. They will pursue their inquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels in companies which do not measure up to the standards expected of them. The Government have also provided the Health and Safety Executive with an additional £6·7 million in 1988–89, which will allow an increase in the number of inspectors and raise the number of inspections carried out.

  Radiation Monitoring
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment where the nearest(a) permanently and (b)

  147
  periodically manned radiation incident monitoring network stations are to Doncaster; and if he will also list the sites of (a) and (b) above along the Al and A1(M) main road routes.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The nearest Rimnet station to Doncaster is at Finningley. Other sites close to the A1/A1(M) are at Heathrow, Wyton, Leeming, Newcastle and Boulmer. All these stations are permanently manned.

  Building Materials (Illegal Tipping)
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has initiated with local authority associations, representatives of the construction industry and others about the illegal tipping of building materials.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  There was very extensive consultation before the Government announcement of 29 June last of their intention to impose on waste producers, including those in the construction industry, a duty to care to ensure the safe and legal disposal of their wastes. The announcement also contained the Government's intention to require the registration of carriers of waste with powers to remove carriers from the register if they are convicted of waste disposal offences, including fly-tipping. Consultation is currently in progress on proposals to make registered keepers of vehicles used in fly-tipping liable to prosecution.

  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to impose tougher penalties to curb the illegal tipping of building materials.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Penalties for fly-tipping include fines of up to £2,000 or, on indictment, unlimited fines and up to two years' imprisonment. We have no plans at present to increase these.

  Leasehold Reform
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire of 1 November 1988,Official Report, column 564, if he has now considered the responses to the consultation paper on disputes about valuations under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967.

  Mr. Trippier
  We are still considering the responses to our consultation paper. I will announce our conclusions as soon as possible.

  Derelict Land Grant
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much derelict land grant has been paid in respect of the site of the former Ansells brewery in Birmingham; and on what date payment was made.

  Mr. Trippier
  The Department's west midlands regional office authorised the approval of derelict land grant of £300,000 in October 1986 in respect of this site.

  Payment of grant totalling £300,000 was made to Birmingham city council in two instalments—£170,393 on 28 May 1987 and £129,607 on 21 January 1988.

  Rating Reform
  Mr. Alexander
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his proposals for the transitional arrangements for the introduction of the national non-domestic rate.

  Mr. Gummer
  As soon as possible.

  Toxic Waste
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state by local authority where the 257 toxic waste disposal facilities are in south Yorkshire.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 19 December 1988 at column 40. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has a record of 257 waste disposal facilities in south Yorkshire. These are listed by local authority area:

  Number

  Barnsley

  63

  Doncaster

  54

  Rotherham

  59

  Sheffield

  81

  They do not all accept special waste. Details of the type of waste for which each facility is licensed can be obtained from the appropriate waste disposal authority, which is required to keep a public record.

  Domestic Property (Compensation Code)
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now publish his proposals for dealing with the compensation code for domestic property which, under current legislation, is based either upon gross, net annual or rateable values for implementation on 1 April 1990, under the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

  Mr. Chope
  The Department and the Welsh Office will shortly be publishing a consultation paper on compensation issues which will refer inter alia to the implications of the abolition of rateable values for home loss payments.

  Housing Land Supply
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he takes to verify the returns of planning authorities to establish that they maintain a five-year housing land supply in accordance with the requirements of PPG3.

  Mr. Chope
  We encourage planning authorities to carry out land availability studies jointly with representatives of the local housebuilding industry. Though my Department is not in a position to check the results in detail, we have no reason to doubt that joint studies give a broadly reliable picture of land availability.

  Housing Act 1985
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the outcome of his review of part III of the Housing Act 1985, previously the Homeless Persons Act; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Trippier
  I shall make a statement when the review is completed.
  149
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has completed the review of the housing subsidy system as it applies to large-scale disposals of local authority dwellings announced by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 11 February 1988 during the Standing Committee on the Housing Act 1988.

  Mr. Trippier
  The Department and the Welsh Office are today issuing a consultation paper resulting from the review of the housing subsidy system. The review was needed to deal with anomalies in the present housing subsidy system for some authorities upon complete or partial disposal of their stock, and to achieve a more equitable and rational mechanism for taking account of disposals. Under the present rules, authorities may sometimes continue receiving subsidy on dwellings sold even if they incur no further expenditure, or may not be entitled to subsidy where they are left with residual debt.

  The new proposals provide for the payment of residual debt subsidy (RDS) in respect of loan charges on any notional residual debt related to the dwellings sold. RDS would be paid at a rate of 75 per cent, of the loan charges for sales under the tenants' choice provisions of the Housing Act 1988, under right to buy, and in respect of individual sales. For all voluntary sales of stock to other landlords it is proposed that the rate of RDS would be 90 per cent, leaving 10 per cent, to be met from the authority's own resources, except in Wales, where it is proposed that RDS should be 90 per cent, in all cases. This arrangement should give authorities an incentive to obtain a keen sale price and to take management decisions which maintain the value of the stock in advance of disposal.

  For those local authorities where it is proposed to create a housing action trust (HAT), the Government intend that any losses caused by the disposal to a HAT, which are not covered by subsidy entitlement following disposal, should be met by the Exchequer by means of a safety net. The idea is to ensure that no additional costs resulting from the transfer of the stock to a HAT should fall on the remaining tenants or ratepayers in the form of rent or rate increases.

  It is intended that the new rules should come into effect from 1 April 1989. Copies of the paper have today been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Mortgage Interest Rates
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations over rehousing are taking place between his Department and local authorities arising from the effect of higher mortgage interest rates on the ability of some families to meet the repayments.

  Mr. Trippier
  None. If a borrower finds it difficult to make his regular repayment he should immediately contact his lender, who can then offer him appropriate advice. If his house is repossessed by the lender the local authority, which has the responsibility for housing the homeless, must decide on the appropriate housing provision, taking account of all the facts of the case.

  Housing (Homeless Persons) Act
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to seek to amend the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act.
  150
  Mr. Trippier
  I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member for Gateshead, East (Ms. Quinn) on 6 December at column 198.

  Nirex
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he now expects to receive the report from Nirex on suitable sites for the disposal of nuclear wastes; and what timetable he envisages for his decision.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to receive Nirex's proposals for a radioactive waste disposal facility shortly. The Government will respond to the proposals as quickly as possible.

  Nationalised Industries (Rating)
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the annual rates bill, at the latest available date, levied on the nationalised industries; and if he will make a statement on what arrangements he proposes for these industries following the reorganisation of local government finance.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Information on nationalised industries' rate bills is not held centrally. These industries will continue to be rated on a basis comparable with the private sector under the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. To the extent that rateable values are determined by statutory formula at present, this form of assessment will continue for the 1990 rating lists. The main exception will be the coal industry, all of whose property will be valued by conventional means from 1990.

  Housing Act 1988
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether an Italian national living in a council house will be eligible to vote under tenants' choice provisions made under the Housing Act 1988.

  Mr. Trippier
  Yes, as long as he or she meets the criteria laid down in the Act. British nationality is not a necessary qualification for voting under tenants' choice.

  Domestic Water Supplies (Disconnections)
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many disconnections of domestic water supplies there have been in each English water authority in 1988.

  Mr. Moynihan
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd) on 30 November at column 282.

  Waste Disposal Sites
  Mr. Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications for planning permission for waste disposal sites have been made in the last five years by private sector companies; how many were granted; how many refusals were appealed against; and how many such appeals were successful.

  Mr. Chope
  The Department does not have information about the number of planning applications for development involving waste disposal. The table gives information
  151
  from the Department's records about appeals against refusal of planning permission for waste disposal sites since 1 April 1984 (the earliest date for which such information is available):

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  Appeals received

  20

  26

  30

  34

  Appeals decided

  2

  14

  29

  21

  Appeals allowed

  0

  4

  13

  11

  Mr. Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many deemed applications for planning permission for waste disposal sites have been made in the last five years by local authorities; how many were granted; how many refusals were appealed against; and how many such appeals were successful.

  Mr. Chope
  Local authorities have powers to grant themselves deemed planning permission for such development; although in certain circumstances they may be required to apply to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for permission. Statistics are not held centrally of the numbers of such permissions and applications.

  Mr. Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications have been made for waste disposal sites licences under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 in the last five years by private sector companies; how many were granted; how many refused; and how many granted on appeal.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  From information held by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, the numbers of waste disposal site licences granted to private sector companies in England and Wales during the period 1983–87 are as follows:

  Number

  1983

  287

  1984

  344

  1985

  367

  1986

  334

  1987

  1362

  1 4 of these were granted on appeal.

  Figures for 1988 are not yet available.

  There is no centrally held information on the number of site licence applications refused by waste disposal authorities.

  Mr. Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many waste disposal sites occupied by waste disposal authorities have been authorised by a resolution of those authorities in the last five years.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  From information held by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, the numbers of waste disposal sites operated by waste disposal authorities in England and Wales and authorised during the period 1983–87 are as follows:

  Number

  1983

  39

  1984

  37

  1985

  34

  1986

  40

  1987

  40

  Figures for 1988 are not yet available.

  Community Charge (Registration)
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library copies of the advice his Department has given to local authorities about drawing up a registration form for the poll tax.

  Mr. Gummer
  The Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. Advice on community charge registration was contained in community charge practice note No. 8, copies of which were placed in the Library when it was published on 11 November 1988. The note includes a model registration form.

  Planning Applications
  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the public inquiry to begin its work in determining planning applications by Mr. J. Jackson which are being called in by his Department; how long he expects the inquiry to last; and when he hopes to be in a position to give his final decision on the application.

  Mr. Chope
  Arrangements are in hand for a public inquiry. I understand that the planning inspectorate will shortly be in touch with Mr. Jackson with dates when an inquiry might begin.

  It is impossible at this stage to say how long the inquiry will last or indeed when the Secretary of State is likely to issue his decision. But I can assure my hon. Friend that all steps will be taken to ensure an early decision.

  Local Authority Housing
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each year since 1978 the number of local authority homes sold to sitting tenants and the number of new local authority homes built(a) in England as a whole and (b) for each local authority in England.

  Mr. Trippier
  The information requested is as listed. The available information for each local authority has today been laid in the Library: this shows total local authority sales and local authority new building completions for each financial year from 1980–81 to 1987–88. The equivalent for England is as follows:

  Local authorities: England: numbers of dwellings

  All sales

  Housebuilding completions

  1980–81

  68,200

  65,300

  1981–82

  128,200

  39,700

  1982–83

  181,200

  27,200

  1983–84

  1122,000

  28,000

  1984–85

  91,400

  26,800

  1985–86

  82,300

  21,400

  1986–87

  86,100

  17,900

  1987–88

  2110,300

  15,300

  1 Includes 3,000 dwellings in Cantril Farm sold to Stockbridge Village Trust.

  2 Includes 5,500 dwellings sold by London Residuary Body to Thamesmead Town Ltd.

  Water Supply
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 12 December,Official Report, column 410, if he will identify areas of

  153
  London where drinking water supplies have, at any time, exceeded standards set in the European Community drinking water directive in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moynihan
  [holding answer 10 Janauary 1989]Some 250,000 analyses a year are carried out in the London area by the Thames water authority and occasionally an analysis will indicate that a standard has been exceeded. This is because of the inherent variability in the nature of water and its supply and the stringency of the standards.

  Hazardous and Toxic Wastes (Barnsley)
  Mr. Patchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the names and addresses of all sites in the Barnsley, East constituency which are used for the disposal and dumping of hazardous and toxic wastes.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 13 January 1989]I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave to the Lon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 19 December 1988 at column 40. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has a record of 257 waste disposal facilities in south Yorkshire, of which 63 are located in the Barnsley local authority area. Its records do not allow for segregation at constituency level. I refer the hon. Member to the Waste Disposal Authority for details of which facilities are licensed to accept special wastes.

  Watermead Country Park
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has received any representations from Leicestershire county council about the proposed access to Watermead country park; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]The Department received representations from Leicestershire county council on 7 December against Leicester city council's proposal for a vehicular access to Watermead country park. The city council decided to deem itself planning consent on 5 December and subsequently sought the Department's views on the validity of that action. A reply to both authorities is in preparation.

  Importers and Exporters (EC Regulations)
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department issued its advice supplementary notice to importers and exporters No. 6 on article 6 of the EEC regulation 3626/82; how many cases have been brought to his Department's attention before and since this advice; and what has been the result of the investigations into those cases.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]Supplementary notice to importers and exporters No. 6, which superseded advice given in earlier notices to importers and exporters, was issued in April 1987. Comprehensive details of infractions of article 6 of EC regulation 3626/82 brought to the attention of the Department are not available. Since 7 November possible infractions have been brought to the notice of the Department; five have been referred to the enforcement authorities for any appropriate action; and two are under consideration within the Department.

  Libraries
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to require local authority libraries to charge for their services.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 12 January 1989]As my consultative paper stated, the Government are committed to the continuing provision of a free basic public library service to individuals. Library authorities already have discretionary powers to charge for some services, and as my consultative paper made clear any additional powers which might be introduced would also be discretionary. As I said on 8 December in reply to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Mr. Fisher) at column 2561 shall make a statement shortly.

  Maerdy Fish Hatchery
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment is he will make a statement on his current plans for the future of the Maerdy fish hatchery in the Clwyd, South-West constituency since the hon. Member for Clwyd, South-West last wrote to him.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  I have been asked to reply. No decision has yet been taken on the future of the Maerdy fish hatchery.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the Attorney-General how many oral parliamentary questions he has answered by written reply because the question was not reached at Question Time, for the most recent year for which figures are available.

  The Attorney-General
  In 1988, of a total of 98 oral parliamentary questions, 55 were answered as written questions, because the question was not reached at Question Time.

  Obscene Publications Act
  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will meet the Director of Public Presecutions to discuss possible action under the Obscene Publications Act in respect of newspaper photographs showing the corpse of a murder victim in Surrey in the week beginning 12 December.

  The Attorney-General
  The Crown Prosecution Service has considered possible action under the Obscene Publications Acts in respect of the photographs referred to but has concluded that there is no realistic prospect of a conviction for an offence under those Acts. I agree with that view.

ENERGY

  Electricity Boards (Liabilities)
  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will identify separately the Central Electricity Generating Board's and the South of Scotland Electricity Board's provisions for(a) decommissioning, (b) reprocessing of irradiated fuel and (c) other liabilities at 1987–88 prices, up to 31 March 1988;
  155
  (2) if he will give details of the provisions made by the Central Electricity Generating Board and the South of Scotland Electricity Board for (a) decommissioning, (b) reprocessing of irradiated fuel and (c) other liabilities, on an annual basis from 1977 until 1988.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  This is a matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member. The South of Scotland Electricity Board is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Scotland.

  Private Coal Mines
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list by year for the last five years(a) the number of private deep coal mines, (b) their locations, (c) the number of miners employed therein and (d) the number of miners employed by British Coal for the same periods; and what assessment he has made of the implications for private deep coal mines of the proposed privatisation of the electricity industry.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  Points(a) to (d) are matters for British Coal, and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member. The privatisation of the electricity supply industry should provide new opportunities for the coal industry as a whole.

  Electricity Supply Industry
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the level of capital expenditure in the electricity supply industry in 1987–88; and what is his estimate of the level of such capital expenditure in 1988–89 and 1989–90.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  Capital expenditure by the electricity supply industry in 1987–88 amounted to £1,089 million. Investment approval for 1988–89 and 1989–90 amounts to £1,474 million and £1,644 million respectively.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what amount planned expenditure on capital investment to the electricity supply industry during 1988–89 was raised following his decision that electricity prices should be increased from April 1988.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  The decision to raise the financial targets of the industry was taken in the light of the forecast disappearance of surplus capacity and the longer-term needs of the industry, not short-term changes in the industry's capital investment programme. The decision on the financial targets did not therefore lead to an increase in the planned capital investment of the industry in 1988–89.

  Plutonium
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will provide in separate tabulated form in the Official Report figures for(a) the total annual amount of civil separated plutonium exported, (b) the total annual amount of civil separated plutonium imported, (c) the total annual amount of civil plutonium in spent fuel exported and (d) the total annual amount of civil plutonium in spent fuel imported for each year since May 1979 until the date for which the most recent records are available.
  156
  Mr. Michael Spicer
  [holding answer 30 November 1988]Total exports and imports of civil separated and unseparated plutonium in the period May 1979 to March 1988 were as follows:

  (Kg)

  Imports

  Exports

  Un-separated

  13,720

  130

  Separated

  245

  2,865

  Total

  13,965

  2,995

  I regret that the total export figure of 2,960 kg given in my reply to the hon. Member on 8 November at column 116 should have read 2,995 kg.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  EC Price Agreement
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the National Fanners Union on the European Economic Community price agreement for 1989.

  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met representatives of the National Farmers Union to discuss the European Community price agreement for 1989.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The Commission is expected to publish the 1989 price proposals shortly.

  Bacon and Meat Industry (Self-regulation)
  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will monitor the Bacon and Meat Manufacturers Association's mandatory scheme of self-regulation with a view to assessing its relevance to other sections of the food industry.

  Mr. Ryder
  I am aware of the initiative taken by members of the Bacon and Meat Manufacturers Association to self-regulate their activities. Each other sector of the food industry must, however, judge for itself the relevance of such a scheme.

  Farm Animal Welfare Council
  Mr. Greg Knight
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met representatives of the Farm Animal Welfare Council; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mr. Ryder
  I met representatives of the Farm Animal Welfare Council on 17 May 1988 to discuss the council's three new studies which are:

  (i) evaluation of new husbandry systems, techniques and equipments;

  (ii) enforcement of existing welfare legislation and compliance with the welfare codes;

  (iii) improvement of welfare by better promotion and education

  Sheep Variable Premium
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the future of the sheep variable premium.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Proposals from the EC Commission for a review of the Community's sheepmeat regime include one to phase out the variable premium. Negotiations on these proposals have made little progress.

  Bovine Somatotropin
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about separating milk from cows being treated with bovine somatotropin while field trials are carried out; what replies he has given; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I have received a number of representations. My replies have explained that the safety of BST was carefully established before certificates to hold the field trials were granted. Milk from cows treated with BST is entirely safe, so there is no reason for it to be treated differently.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive the recommendations of the veterinary products committee on the possible licensing of bovine somatotropin.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The veterinary products committee will be in a position to make recommendations when the companies manufacturing bovine somatotropin have generated and submitted all data necessary to support their product licence applications and these have been assessed.

  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations Her Majesty's Government have had from the veterinary products committee about the use of certain BST products on cows; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I have referred to the veterinary products committee several applications from companies interested in developing and marketing BST products for use in milk production. Following the committee's advice that the data relating to the products' safety and quality are satisfactory, permission for field trials has been granted.

  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has received about the health consequences of the use of BST in milk production; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The advice that I have received is that BST is safe for use in milk production.

  Listeria
  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action his Department is taking to deal with the problem of listeria in food.

  Mr. MacGregor
  My Department is jointly responsible with the Department of Health for regulations under the Food Act. The Department of Health has already issued a statement on 12 January 1989 on the evidence available to it from routine monitoring of human cases of listeriosis.

  As part of our continuing review of the impact of new technology on the safety of food, MAFF has in hand work which we have commissioned on the cooking conditions required to kill listeria monocyctogenes in poultry meat. A major study, jointly funded by industry, on physical aspects of microwave cooking is also under way.

  I can assure my hon. Friend that as soon as the appropriate scientific information is available from these studies, we will immediately consider with the Department
  158
  of Health what further action is required if any is revealed to be necessary. We shall also take into account evidence from other outside studies.

  Meanwhile my Department, together with the Department of Health, and industry representatives, is considering current food processing, distribution, retailing and labelling of cooked and chilled ready-to-eat products to ensure that safety margins are satisfactory.

  Animal Feedstuff's
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what organisations he is consulting in his preparation of the code of practice on the production of animal feedstuffs containing processed animal products; and when he intends making his code of practice public.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]Proposals for the code of practice on the production of animal feedingstuffs will be discussed with those organisations whose members will be affected. Officials have already discussed the matter with the United Kingdom Agricultural Supply Trade Association (UKASTA) and will consult others, including the British Poultry Federation (BPF) and the National Farmers Union (NFU).

  Parallel discussions are also being conducted with other organisations to consider a code of practice for manufacturers of animal protein used in animal feedingstuffs. The codes will be published when the consultations have been completed and the points made in those consultations have been properly assessed.

  Tuberculosis
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food(a) how many animals and (b) what types of animals have been subject to movement restrictions applied under article 15 of the Tuberculosis (England and Wales) and (Scotland) Orders 1984 for each year since 1984; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]Under articles 15 in both the Tuberculosis (England and Wales) Order 1984 and the Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 1984 notices may be served on occupiers of premises where animals are or may be infected with tuberculosis. Details of the numbers of notices served and types of animals to which they applied for each of the last five years are as follows:

  1Number of notices served on occupiers of premises

  Types of animals

  1984

  Nil

  —

  1985

  5

  Deer

  1986

  Nil

  —

  1987

  Nil

  —

  1988

  12

  Deer

  1

  Alpacas and Guanocos

  1 As notices served can apply to a number of animals it is not possible to say how many animals were involved.

  Protein Processing Plants (Salmonella)
  Mr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon.
  159
  Member for South Shields of 14 December, Official Report, columns 579–80, what statutory restrictions there are on the release of the identity of the 21 protein processing plants that were found to contain salmonella in 1987; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]There is no statutory prohibition on the release of the information. However details about protein processing plants are collected by my Department in order to carry out inspections as provided for under the Diseases of Animals (Protein Processing) Order 1981. It would be wrong to disclose such data for purposes other than those for which they were collected.

SCOTLAND

  Dornoch Rail Bridge
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will reassess the Dornoch rail bridge project as a result of recent developments in possible financial support.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  No. Rail investment is a matter for British Rail. However, the Government's commitments to improved transport in the area are shown by the substantial investment of over £100 million in improving the A9 north of Inverness. British Rail's commitment to the rail line is shown by new signalling investment and the introduction of sprinter units.

  Health Boards (Delegation of Functions)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland under what statutory authority health boards delegate functions to their committees.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Section 2(10) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 and paragraph 11 of part II of schedule 1 to that Act; and regulation 8 of the National Health Service (Health Boards: Membership, Procedure and Payment of Subscriptions) (Scotland) Regulations 1975 (SI 1975 No. 197 (S 16)).

  Water
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people resident in Scotland live in areas of Scotland which receive their water services from an authority based in England.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  No part of Scotland receives water services from an authority based in England.

  Fishing
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if there are any prosecutions pending or in progress concerning the use of monofilament net; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Proceedings in respect of three such cases have been raised but have yet to be concluded.

  YTS
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many YTS places are available for 17 and 160
  18-year-olds in the travel-to-work areas for Girvan, Ayr and Cumnock; how many of them have registered for places; how many have been placed; and how many of those remaining without placement have had benefit withdrawn, for each of the above areas, in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

  Mr. Lang
  The information sought either does not exist or is unavailable in the form requested. Information on YTS places is not available by travel-to-work area; nor is it possible to count how many places are filled by young people of a particular age. Information on young people registered with the careers service cannot distinguish between those seeking work only and those seeking a YTS place; nor is it available centrally for separate areas within Ayrshire. Information on numbers of young people who have no benefit and have not been placed on YTS is not available. All 18-year-olds however are entitled to income support.

  Health Service Managers
  Mr. Daly ell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the value of the money spent on merit awards to Health Service managers.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  This information is not held centrally.

  Parliament House, Edinburgh
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of terminating the services of employees providing security services at Parliament House, Edinburgh.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  To date, no such costs have been incurred.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the annual cost of the private security service now in operation at Parliament House, Edinburgh; and if he will indicate the contractors to whom payments are made.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  A joint contract for the provision of security services at Parliament House and Edinburgh sheriff court was awarded from 1 January 1989 for a period of three years to Burns International Security Services (UK) Ltd. The annual cost of the contract is confidential for commercial reasons, but the lowest tender for the service required was accepted.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the annual cost of providing security services at Parliament House, Edinburgh, in 1987–88; and how many people were employed to provide the security services.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The cost of providing security services at Parliament House in the year ending 31 December was £137,000. Eleven staff were employed.

  Education Reform
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total spending on the preparation of the recently launched school boards video.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The cost of production was £31,000.
  161
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has recently met representatives of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  No.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received any representations since June 1987 from the Scottish Council of Independent Schools.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Yes.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received from parents' organisations regarding opting out of the local education authority system.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Two since we published our paper "Self-Governing Schools" on 7 December.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received from teachers unions regarding opting out of the local education authority system.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  One.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities regarding opting out of the local education authority system.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  None.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received from local education authorities regarding opting out of the local education authority system.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  None.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received any requests from non-maintained or independent schools to opt-in to the state sector since 22 November 1988.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  No.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has contacted the Audit Commission regarding the financial aspects of schools opting out.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  No. The remit of the Audit Commission does not extend to Scotland.

  Grant Maintained Trust
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if an application for financial assistance has been received from the grant maintained trust.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  No.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has met or received representations from the grant maintained trust.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Yes.

  Lockerbie Air Disaster
  Sir Hector Monro
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the Government's contribution towards the Lockerbie air disaster appeal.
  162
  Mr. Rifkind
  The sum of £150,000 has been contributed to the appeal fund. Parliamentary approval for this will be sought in a supplementary Supply Estimate for the prisons, hospitals and community health services, etc., Scotland Vote (Class XVI, Vote 14). Pending that approval this expenditure has been met by a repayable advance from the contingencies fund.

  Ayrshire and Arran Health Board
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what appointments or reappointments he has recently made to the Ayrshire and Arran health board; whether each has any known political affiliation; and what such affiliation is in each case.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]The only recent appointment (in July 1988) was that of Mrs. J. A. C. McNally of Ayr, who is a qualified nurse and was appointed to fill a vacancy left by a nurse. Members are appointed according to the individual contributions which they can bring to the board.

  Teachers
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received any representations regarding section 88 of the Education Act; and how many teachers were dealt with under such provisions in each of the years 1985–86 to the most recent date for which information is available.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Following the issue to all schools and further education colleges in October 1988 of an explanatory paper about the proposed repeal of section 88 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, the following bodies have responded:

  Convention of Scottish Local Authorities;

  Teachers' Side of the Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee for School Education;

  Scottish Secondary Teachers Association;

  National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (Scotland);

  Central Regional Council;

  Borders Regional Council;

  Orkney Islands Council;

  The views of two individuals have also been received.

  Information on the number of cases in which education authorities have invoked section 88 of the Act is not held centrally.

  The main committee of inquiry, which reported in October 1986, provided details for the period from 1975 in an appendix to its report.

EMPLOYMENT

  Equal Pay
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has met the chairman of the Equal Opportunities Commission to discuss changes to equal pay legislation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. Friend has not discussed changes to equal pay legislation with the EOC chairman. I understand that the commission will shortly be publishing a consultative document about the legislation.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current levels of employment in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the size of the employed labour force in December 1983, December 1986 and December 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Fowler
  The work force in employment in the United Kingdom was 25,739,000 in June 1988—the highest level on record. This compares with 24,041,000 in December 1983 and 24,982,000 in December 1986. In December 1979 the work force in employment was 25,486,000—about a quarter of a million less than latest estimates.

  Mr. Ken Hargreaves
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current level of unemployment in Lancashire.

  Mr. Lee
  In November 1988 the level of unemployment in Lancashire was 48,039—a fall of 14,787 over the last 12 months.

  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment in how many parliamentary constituencies unemployment fell by 50 per cent, or more between September 1983 and September 1988.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Between September 1983 and September 1988 unemployment fell by 50 per cent, or more in 44 parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain.

  Mr. Summerson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people classed as long-term unemployed were without jobs in December 1988 and December 1983; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  Unemployment figures are analysed by duration quarterly. In October 1988 the number of unemployed claimants who had been unemployed for one year or more in the United Kingdom was 885,504 compared with 1,142,899 in October 1983—a fall of 257,395 over the period. This comparison is slightly affected by changes in the coverage of the count.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of those in employment in the north-west are in manufacturing industries; and what was the comparable figure in 1979.

  Mr. Lee
  Estimates of the civilian work force in employment in manufacturing industries in regions are not available as the self-employed and work-related Government training programmes statistics are not analysed in this way.

  In June 1988, the latest date for which figures are available, 23 per cent, of the total civilian work force in employment (which is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed and participants in work-related Government training programmes) in the north-west region were employed as employees in employment in manufacturing industries. The comparable figure for June 1979 was 34 per cent.

  Mr. David Martin:
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many 16 to 18-year-olds were unemployed in December 1983 and December 1988; and if he will make a statement.
  164
  Mr. Cope
  In November 1988, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 5,826 people aged under 18 claiming unemployment-related benefits. The recent extension of the guaranteed offer of a YTS place to all those aged under 18 not in full-time education or employment means there is now no need for these young people to be unemployed. Consequently, only a few now remain entitled to unemployment-related benefits following the associated change from September 1988 in the benefit regulations for under 18-year-olds. In December 1983 an estimated 199,600 people under 18 were claiming unemployment-related benefits.

  Mr. Bellingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of change in unemployment levels in the last 12 months in East Anglia.

  Mr. Lee
  In November 1988 the level of seasonally adjusted unemployment in the East Anglia region was 43,500, compared with 61,100 in November 1987, a fall of 17,600 or 28-8 per cent, over the last 12 months.

  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current level of unemployment in London.

  Mr. Lee
  In November 1988 the level of seasonally adjusted unemployment in Greater London was 259,800, a fall of 67,000 over the last 12 months.

  Sir Marcus Fox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current levels of unemployment in Yorkshire and Humberside.

  Mr. Lee
  In November 1988 the level of seasonally adjusted unemployment in the Yorkshire and Humberside region was 209,800, a fall of 41,500 over the last 12 months.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were self-employed in the United Kingdom in December 1988 and December 1979, respectively; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently self-employed in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  In June 1988, the latest date for which estimates are available, there were 2,985,000 self-employed in the United Kingdom. In June 1979 there were 1,906,000. Currently 12 per cent, of the work force in employment are self-employed.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the levels of unemployment in the south-west of England.

  Mr. Lee
  In November of 1988 the level of seasonally adjusted unemployment in the south-west region was 118,700, a fall of 37,200 over the last 12 months.

  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the levels of unemployment in the east midlands.

  Mr. Lee
  In November 1988 the level of seasonally adjusted unemployment in the east midlands region was 130,900, a fall of 31,100 over the last 12 months.
  165
  Mr.Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the percentage change in the level of unemployment in Barnsley since 1985.

  Mr. Lee
  In November 1988 the number of unemployed claimants in Barnsley local authority areas was 12,649, compared with 16,739 in November 1985, a fall of 4,090, or 24·4 per cent., over the three-year period. The figures are affected by the change in the compilation of the count in March 1986 to reduce over-recording and by the change in the coverage from September 1988 due to new benefit regulations for young people aged under 18.

  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the unemployment figures for(a) one year ago, (b) two years ago, (c) three years ago and (d) the latest available date.

  Mr. Lee
  The table shows seasonally adjusted unemployment in the United Kingdom for November 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988.

  Unemployed claimants1

  November

  Number

  1985

  3,052,900

  1986

  3,086,700

  1987

  2,604,400

  1988

  2,108,800

  1 Seasonally adjusted, consistent with the current coverage.

  Mr. Holt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current levels of unemployment in the northern region of England.

  Mr. Lee
  In November 1988 the level of seasonally adjusted unemployment in the northern region of England was 163,800, a fall of 23,300 over the last 12 months.

  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current levels of employment in the west midlands.

  Mr. Lee
  In June 1988, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 2,354,000 people in the civilian work force in employment in the west midlands region. This represents an increase of 234,000, or 11 per cent. since June 1983. The civilian work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed and participants in work-related Government training programmes.

  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the three industries or services in the United Kingdom which have provided the largest increase in employment over the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  Between June 1987 and June 1988, the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available, the largest increase in employees in employment in the United Kingdom were observed in the following industries:

  Number

  Per cent.

  Business Service

  +93,000

  +7·3

  Hotels and Catering

  +49,000

  +4·4

  Education

  +34,000

  +2·0

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which travel-to-work area had the lowest 166
  level of unemployment and which had the highest level of unemployment at the most recent available date; what were their respective levels of unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  In November 1988 Crawley travel-to-work area had the lowest rate of unemployment at 1·8 per cent. and Cookstown travel-to-work area had the highest rate of unemployment at 29·5 per cent.

  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current levels of employment in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Lee
  Between March 1983 and June 1988 the work force in employment in the United Kingdom increased by 2,178,000 to 25,739,000, the highest level on record. This rising trend has now continued for more than five years. The figures have been adjusted for the effects of seasonal variations. The work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed, Her Majesty's forces, and participants in work-related Government training programmes.

  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what he will do in 1989 to help reduce unemployment in north Devon in general and the Ilfracombe areas specifically.

  Mr. Lee
  My Department operates a wide range of employment, enterprise, and training measures and offers services in support of small firms and tourism, all of which are available to people throughout north Devon, including Ilfracombe.

  During the 12 months to November 1988 unemployment in the Devon, North constituency fell by 909–26 per cent. of the November 1987 figure. In the same period unemployment in the Barnstaple and Ilfracombe travel-to-work area has fallen by 713–24 per cent. of the November 1987 figure.

  Construction Industry
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to reduce fatalities in the construction industry in the London area.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In my answer to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Doran) earlier today, I set out the action being taken to improve safety in the construction industry on a national basis. As regards London, the action being taken is the same.

  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take to reduce deaths and crippling injuries in the construction industry.

  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to reduce fatalities in the construction industry caused by the use of crane excavators and dumpers.

  Mr. Nicholls
  New regulations are being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health and safety on multi-contractor sites, increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies and amend the site notification procedure to identify sites where there are high-risk activities. The introduction of regulations which would make the wearing of safety helmets compulsory on constructions sites is also planned.
  167
  In addition to concentrating on the inspection of the more hazardous activities in the industry. Health and Safety Executive inspectors will also be paying more attention to the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety. They will be looking at the level of training and supervision that has been provided and the precautions that have been taken to prevent accidents. They will pursue their inquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels in companies which do not measure up to the standards expected of them.

  Mr. Robert Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take to ensure that health and safety law is enforced more stringently on those who have charge of others on construction sites.

  Mr. Nicholls
  I am confident that the law is already being enforced stringently. However, new regulations are being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health and safety on multi-contractor sites and increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies.

  The Health and Safety Commission has also recently published two booklets aimed at improving safety management in the construction industry and in future the Health and Safety Executive inspectors will be paying special attention to the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety.

  Inspectors will also be looking at the level of training and supervision that has been provided and the precautions that have been taken to prevent accidents. They will pursue their inquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels in companies which do not measure up to the standards expected of them.

  Mr. Graham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take to protect those members of the public who stray on to construction sites.

  Mr. Nicholls
  At visits to construction sites, inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive will continue to remind employers and contractors of their obligation under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to ensure that the health and safety of persons not in their employment, including members of the public, is not affected by the way in which they carry out their operations. Enforcement action will be taken in appropriate cases where this duty is not met.

  The Health and Safety Executive is currently revising its published guidance to the industry on the safety of children at construction sites and will continue to use the media to remind contractors, children, parents, teachers and members of the public before major school holidays of the dangers of construction sites.

  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to reduce fatalities in the construction industry due to poor maintenance of plant and equipment.

  Mr. Nicholls
  New regulations are being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health and safety on multi-contractor sites, increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies and amend the site notification procedure to identify sites where there are high-risk activities.
  168
  In addition to concentrating on the inspection of the more hazardous activities in the industry, Health and Safety Executive inspectors will also be paying more attention to the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety.

  They will be looking at the level of training and supervision that has been provided and the precautions that have been taken to prevent accidents such as those arising from poor maintenance of plant and equipment. They will continue to draw attention to Health and Safety Executive published guidance on the maintenance of plant and equipment.

  Inspectors will pursue their inquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels in companies which do not measure up to the standards expected of them.

  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to reduce fatalities in the construction industry due to electrical hazards.

  Mr. Nicholls
  New electricity at work regulations have recently been proposed to the Secretary of State by the Health and Safety Commission and are currently being considered. They are directed at the prevention of injury due to electrical hazards at all places of work including construction sites.

  Other new regulations are being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health and safety on multi-contractor sites, increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies and amend the site notification procedure to identify sites where there are high-risk activities.

  In addition to concentrating on the inspection of the more hazardous activities in the industry, health and safety executive inspectors will also be paying more attention to the quality of site management and its ability to manage heath and safety.

  They will be looking at the precautions that have been taken to prevent accidents, such as those arising from electrical hazards, and will continue to draw attention to HSE published guidance. A new guidance note "Avoiding Danger from Underground Services" will be published in the near future.

  Inspectors will pursue their inquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels in companies which do not measure up to the standards expected of them.

  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take to reduce the number of deaths from construction accidents.

  Mr. Nicholls
  New regulations are being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health and safety on multi-contractor sites, increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies and amend the site notification procedure to identify sites where there are high-risk activities. The introduction of regulations which would make the wearing of safety helmets compulsory on construction sites is also planned.

  In addition to concentrating on the inspection of the more hazardous activities in the industry, HSE inspectors will also be paying more attention to the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety.

  169
  They will be looking at the level of training and supervision that has been provided and the precautions that have been taken to prevent accidents.

  They will pursue their inquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels in companies which do not measure up to the standards expected of them.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to reduce fatalities in the construction industry caused by fires and explosions.

  Mr. Nicholls
  New regulations are being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health and safety on multi-contractor sites, increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies and amend the site notification procedure to identify sites where there are high-risk activities.

  In addition to concentrating on the inspection of the more hazardous activities in the industry, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors will also be paying more attention to the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety.

  They will be looking at the precautions that have been taken to prevent accidents such as those arising from fires and explosions and will continue to draw attention to HSE published guidance on fire and explosion risks. A new guidance note "Avoiding Danger from Underground Services" will be published in the near future.

  Inspectors will pursue their inquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels in companies which do not measure up to the standards expected of them.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to reduce fatalities in the construction industry caused by falling materials or objects.

  Mr. Nicholls
  New regulations are being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health and safety on multi-contractor sites, increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies and amend the site notification procedure to identify sites where there are high-risk activities. The introduction of regulations which would make the wearing of safety helmets compulsory on construction sites is also planned.

  In addition to concentrating on the inspection of the more hazardous activities in the industry, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors will also be paying more attention to the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety.

  Inspectors will be looking at the level of training and supervision that has been provided and the precautions that have been taken to prevent accidents such as those caused by falling materials and objects and will continue to draw attention to HSE published guidance on this subject. They will pursue their inquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels in companies which do not measure up to the standards expected of them.

  "Employment for the 1990s"
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received following the publication of the White Paper, "Employment for the 1990s", and if he will make a statement.
  170
  Mr.Fowler
  To date, over 300 organisations and individuals have made representations about the White Paper "Employment for the 1990s". The overwhelming majority have expressed interest in and support for the establishment of the new training and enterprise councils.

  Tourism
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received in response to his tourism review; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  The review team has spoken to almost 150 individuals and organisations in the tourism industry in preparing the report. In addition, I have received a number of written submissions which have also been seen by the review team. I have also received a number of representations on matters of tourism policy which I shall be considering in addition to the report from the review team.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the chairman of the British Tourist Authority to discuss the promotion of tourism in the north-west of England.

  Mr. Lee
  I last met the chairman of the British Tourist Authority on 9 November 1988. Discussions related to the promotion of tourism in all parts of the country.

  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed in tourism and tourism-related employment in the United Kingdom in December 1988 and December 1983; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  The latest available estimate for employment in tourism-related industries relates to September 1988, when there were 1·4 million employees in employment in tourism-related industries. The equivalent estimates for September and December 1983 are 1·2 million and 1·1 million respectively.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of the tourism review.

  Mr. Fowler
  I hope to consider the report on this shortly.

  Mr. Butterfill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to support tourism and leisure industries within traditional seaside resort towns.

  Mr. Lee
  The development of the tourism and leisure industries in seaside towns is primarily a matter for the private sector and the local authorities. The national and regional tourist boards provide support and advice through a range of marketing and development activities.

  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications were received by the tourist boards for section 4 tourist grant; what were the total funds awarded in 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  In 1988, 694 applications were considered for assistance by the English tourist board under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969. The total value of assistance offered during this period was £12·3 million.

  Rural Areas
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what specific proposals he has to reduce unemployment in rural areas.

  Mr. Cope
  Specific measures introduced by my Department and others to help rural areas are described in "Action for Rural Enterprise" available to Members from the House of Commons Library. Since this was published, our adult training provision has been reorganised and enhanced by the introduction of employment training and we are currently examining ways of further improving rural access to our programmes and services.

  Employment Training
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the progress of the employment training scheme in inner city areas.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Employment training is progressing well in inner city areas, as it is elsewhere. Information on the numbers in training in inner city areas will be available at the end of January.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will provide the latest available figures for(a) the numbers of places and (b) the numbers of trainees in employment training.

  Mr. Nicholls
  There is provision for up to 300,000 places on employment training once the programme is fully operational. At 6 January there were 111,000 people training on the programme.

  Mr. Stevens
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently undertaking training on the employment training scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The number of people training on employment training at 6 January 1989 was 111,000. This is a tremendous achievement after just four months of the programme's operation and is a reflection of the considerable interest shown by unemployed people in getting quality training to help them get back into a job.

  Mr. Ground
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of the employment training programme.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Employment training has made a tremendous start. On 6 January, just four months after the programme's launch, there were already 111,000 people training on the programme.

  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of places on employment training have been taken up by workers aged 50 years or more; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information available is for those aged 51 years and over. So far, about 5 per cent. of all those joining the programme have been in this age group. The programme will continue to provide opportunities for unemployed people over 50 who want to improve their prospects of getting a job through quality training.

  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to meet the general 172
  secretary of the Trades Union Congress to discuss the employment training scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  I have no plans to do so. Employment training has made a very successful start with over 100,000 people training after just three months. The policy adopted at the last conference of the Trades Union Congress towards the programme cannot help long-term unemployed people to get back into jobs.

  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his proposals to meet the skill shortages currently encountered by British industry and commerce.

  Mr. Cope
  I refer my hon. Friend to the training section of the White Paper "Employment for the 1990s", published last month. About 100 training and enterprise councils are to be established with this as one of their prime goals. The business growth through training programme also announced in the recent White Paper will help employers to develop strategies for the training and development of their staff in line with business objectives.

  The Training Agency plays a strategic role in helping employers to plan and take action to develop occupationally specific skills. It seeks to develop young people and to help reskill unemployed adults with programmes to meet labour market needs. Both YTS and employment training are delivered in close collaboration with local industry and commerce.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish estimates of the effects of his White Paper, "Employment for the 1990s", on employer-based training; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  The aim of the new framework for training set out in the White Paper is to ensure that training is carried out to the scale and to the quality our economy will require in the 1990s.

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received from Bury council on the employment training scheme.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. Friend has not received any representations from Bury metropolitan borough council about employment training. Bury college had a contract with the Training Agency to operate as a training agent for employment training. The decision of the borough council to terminate this contract following threatened industrial action by the local branch of NALGO is most deplorable. This cannot possibly be of any help to unemployed people in Bury.

  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will provide the latest available figures for those transferring to employment training from the community programme.

  Mr. Nicholls
  By the end of October 1988, the latest date for which information is available, a total of about 6,000 people had transferred from the community programme to employment training.

  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of employment training places are employer based.
  173
  Mr. Nicholls
  At 6 January there were 111,000 people training on employment training. Information on the percentage of trainees in employer based training is not yet available, but will be available at the end of this month.

  Employer Networks
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what role he proposes for employer networks in the training and employment councils proposed in his White Paper, "Employment in the 1990s"; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  In some areas local employer networks might form the nucleus of a training and enterprise council. In other areas training and enterprise councils might absorb their functions or link with them in a constructive way.

  Job Clubs
  Mr. Burt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of job clubs.

  Dr. Goodson-Wickes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current number of job clubs in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  There are currently 1,220 job clubs open. Since April 1986, when central records began, 121,494 people participating in the job club programme have found jobs and a further 31,268 have gone into other positive outcomes, such as training, a place on the community programme or the enterprise allowance scheme. Currently, 71 per cent. of all those leaving a job club do so having achieved a positive outcome. The shape of the programme for 1989–90 is currently under consideration as part of the employment service's annual planning round.

  I am pleased that job clubs are continuing to give such positive help to long-term unemployed people who are at a disadvantage in the labour market.

  EC (Ministerial Meetings)
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to meet the other Employment Ministers of the European Economic Community countries to discuss unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  The next full meeting of European Community Labour and Social Affairs Ministers will be on 6 March at an informal meeting of the Labour and Social Affairs Council. The United Kingdom will continue its efforts to ensure that trainig and employment growth are Community priorities. Meanwhile, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I also have frequent bilateral meetings with other Community Ministers.

  Lost Working Days
  Dr. Michael Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many working days were lost through strikes in 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The estimate of the number of working days lost through stoppages of work due to industrial 174
  disputes in 1988 is not yet available. The most recently available figure for a 12-month period is for the period ending October 1988 during which it is provisionally estimated that 3,719,000 working days were lost.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take to reduce the incidence of injuries causing people to be off work for over three days.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of people at work is laid upon employers by the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974. The efforts of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive are targeted on those areas of work where people are at the greatest risk from death, injury or disease.

  For 1988–89 the Government increased provision to the commission by £6·7 million gross above the level previously planned. In 1989–90 planned provision will be raised by a further £8·8 million gross, allowing for gross expenditure of £118·3 million. The planned provision for 1989–92 allows for real growth in the HSE's activities. This will enable the executive to increase the number of inspectors and the amount of inspection planned to promote and secure compliance with the law in order to help prevent occupational fatalities, injuries and diseases.

  Mr. Kirkhope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many working days were lost through strikes in December 1987 and December 1978; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The number of working days lost through stoppages of work due to industrial disputes in December 1987 was 60,000; the comparable figure for December 1978 was 542,000.

  YTS
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give details of the number of vacancies on the YTS in the Norwich area.

  Mr. Cope
  At 16 December 1988, of 2,920 agreed YTS places in the Norwich local authority district 787 were unfilled.

  Mr. Grocott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Government are in a position to carry out their commitment of a guaranteed YTS place; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  Yes. There are more than sufficient unfilled YTS places available in all areas of the country to fulfil the guarantee of the offer of a suitable YTS place to all who apply.

  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of unemployed 16 and 17-year-olds who have not been offered a YTS place.

  Mr. Cope
  This information is not available. Once young people leave full-time education they art not required to tell the local authority career service what they are doing. There are a number of options open to 16 and 17-year-olds. Those who chose other options will not, of course, be offered a YTS place. However there are more than sufficient YTS places available in all areas of the country for all who apply.
  175
  Mr. Siliars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the effects on the 16 to 17-year-old group of the operation of the YTS placement scheme.

  Mr. Cope
  YTS has been a resounding success for young people and employers alike, providing good quality structured vocational training in the foundation skills which young people need at the start of their working lives.

  Mr. Andrew MacKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a further statement on the progress of two-year YTS.

  Mr. Cope
  The scheme continues to play a major role in meeting the training needs of young people and employers. Over 2 million young people have been in YTS since its inception and around three quarters of trainees currently find employment or go into further education or training. We shall continue the drive for positive outcomes through YTS, in particular nationally recognised vocational qualifications for all trainees and employment on completion of their training.

  Mr. Couchman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people are currently training on two-year YTS; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people are currently on YTS training schemes; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  At the end of December 1988 there were 419,900 young people in training on YTS.

  As the Government made clear in the recent White Paper "Employment for the 1990s", YTS has been a resounding success. The task now is to increase still further the contribution which YTS can make to meeting the needs of the changing labour market.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to improve the safety of YTS training; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  Health and safety remain of paramount importance in YTS. There is a contractual requirement on all managing agents to secure the health, safety and welfare of trainees both in work placements and in off-the-job training. In addition, a positive commitment to health and safety is one of the criteria which have to be fulfilled by managing agents as a condition of approved training organisation status.

  We constantly try to improve health and safety and we have in hand improved training materials for both young people and trainers.

  Pre-entry Closed Shop
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what recent representations he has received about the pre-entry closed shop; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Ministers and officials in the Department of Employment continue to receive letters from employers and employees describing difficulties that they have experienced as a result of the operation of pre-entry closed shops. As announced in our recent White Paper, "Employment for the 1990s", the operation of the 176
  pre-entry closed shop will be examined over the coming months and we will take any further legislative steps that are needed on this or any other aspects of industrial relations which constitute a barrier to employment.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. Marland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many counselling sessions were provided by the small firms service during the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  In 1987–88 the small firms service in England conducted 39,138 counselling sessions.

  Mr. Franks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to meet the director general of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss the development of small businesses.

  Mr. Cope
  My right hon. Friend and I are in regular contact with the CBI to discuss issues affecting small firms and other matters.

  Mr. Moss
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to meet the British Venture Capital Association to discuss the development of small businesses.

  Mr. Cope
  I met Mr. John Nash, chairman of the British Venture Capital Association when I opened the BVCA financial forum on 1 December. I have no immediate plans to meet representatives from the BVCA again in the near future but I do have regular contact with the association.

  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make it his policy to provide the House with an annual report on the state of small businesses in Britain.

  Mr. Cope
  The annual report of the small firms service is published and is also sent to hon. Members and placed in the Library each year.

  Consideration is being given to the possibility of including in the report in future material covering a wider range of small firm's matters. Reports and discussions on various aspects of small businesses appear in the Employment Gazette.

  Skill Shortages
  Mr. Beaumont-Dark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to deal with skill shortages in British industry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  I refer my hon. Friend to the training section of the White Paper "Employment for the 1990s", published last month. Some 100 training and enterprise councils are to be established with this as one of their prime goals. The business growth through training programme also announced in the recent White Paper will help employers to develop strategies for the training and development of their staff in line with business objectives.

  The Training Agency plays a strategic role in helping employers to plan and take action to develop occupationally specific skills. It seeks to develop young people and to help to reskill unemployed adults with

  177
  programmes to meet labour market needs. Both YTS and employment training are delivered in close collaboration with local industry and commerce.

  Enterprise Allowance Scheme
  Mr. Bright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in 1988 joined the enterprise allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  In the period from 1 January to 20 December 1988, 100,435 people joined the enterprise allowance scheme. Since the scheme began early in 1982, more than 400,000 unemployed people have been helped to start their own business.

  Safety at Work
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take to preserve the lives of people at risk of being killed during simple routine work.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of people at work is laid upon employers by the Health and Safety at Work, Act 1974. The efforts of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive in promoting compliance with the Act are targeted on those areas of work where people are at the greatest risk, regardless of whether the activity is simple and routine or complex and varied.

  For 1988–89 the Government increased provision to the commission by £6·7 million gross above the level previously planned. In 1989–90, planned provision will be enhanced by a further £8·8 million gross, allowing for gross expenditure of £118·3 million. The planned provision for 1989–90 allows for real growth in HSE's activities over the next three years. This will enable the executive to increase the number of inspectors and the amount of inspection planned to promote and secure compliance with the law in order to help prevent occupational fatalities, injuries and diseases.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what new proposals he has to improve the employment prospects for disabled people.

  Mr. Lee
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Kent (Mr. Rowe) on 6 December 1988 at column 141.

  Mr. Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the number of disabled people in employment training.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Comprehensive information on the number of disabled people on employment training is not yet available. Early indications suggest that about 6 per cent. of those joining the programme have disabilities.

  Accident Prevention (HSE Report)
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take in response to the recent report published by the Health and Safety Executive's accident prevention advisory unit.
  178
  Mr. Cope
  The Health and Safety Commission has recently published two booklets aimed at improving safety management in the construction industry and in future HSE inspectors will be paying special attention to the quality of site managment and its ability to manage health and safety.

  New regulations are also being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health arid safety on multi-contractor sites, increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies and amend the site notification procedure to identify sites where there are high-risk activities. It is intended to introduce soon regulations which would make the wearing of safety helmets compulsory on construction sites.

  Industrial Training Boards
  Mr. Sayeed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received on the future of the industrial training boards; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  We have received several representations from industrial training boards and interested organisations about the future of ITBs since the publication of our White Paper "Employment for the 1990s" The Government believe that the voluntary commitment of employers to independent sectoral bodies will yield better results than regulation based on statutory powers. Independent industry-level training organisations have an important role to play in setting standards and forecasting skill needs for their industries. We shall, therefore, be consulting each industrial training board and the appropriate employers' organisations with a view to drawing up a timetabled programme for each board to become an independent non-statutory body.

  Wages Councils
  Mr. Janman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received on the future of wages councils following the publication of his White Paper, "Employment in the 1990s"; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Fifteen such representations have been received up to 10 January. Final decisions on the future of wages councils will be taken in the light of responses to the 1988 consultation document on wages councils, published with the White Paper, which invites comments by 3 February.

  Training and Vocational Experience
  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on progress of the training and vocational education initiative.

  Mr. Cope
  I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Mr. Wood) on 6 December 1988 at column 142.

  Inner city Initiative
  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his Department's contribution to the inner city initiative.
  179
  Mr. Cope
  My Department makes a substantial contribution to inner city regeneration through its employment. Training and enterprise programmes which bring an estimated expenditure of £1·1 billion to the 57 urban programme authorities. Our aim is to ensure that inner city residents share in the growing prosperity of their cities and, in particular, to help them acquire the self-confidence, training and motivation to enable them to compete on equal terms in the jobs market, or in setting up and running their own businesses.

  In addition to existing programmes we have, as part of the action for cities programme, committed £3·25 million this year towards the development of 30 schools/industry compacts which guarantee jobs or training to school-leavers. We have opened six new inner city offices of the small firms service and appointed specialist inner city business advisers.

  We have established a £600,000 loan fund to support projects by local enterprise agencies in inner cities and extended the guarantee on Government loans to small firms in task force areas to 85 per cent. We have provided extra training and advice for enterprise allowance scheme participants and given special help to unemployed people with language, literacy and numeracy difficulties. We continue to improve access to information on jobs and training opportunities and on my Department's programmes.

  Productivity
  Mr. Waller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the increase in productivity in(a) 1987 and (b) 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  Productivity in manufacturing, as measured by output per person employed, was 7·3 per cent. greater in 1987 than in 1986. Figures for the first 10 months of 1988 show an increase of 7·2 per cent. over the corresponding period of 1987. Productivity for the economy as a whole was 2·8 per cent. higher in 1987 than in 1986. Figures for the first half of 1988 show a 3·4 per cent. increase over the first half of 1987.

  Labour Market Information System
  Mr. Favell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the development of the computer-assisted local labour market information system.

  Mr. Cope
  The computer-assisted local labour market information system is based in each of the Training Agency's 57 area offices, and holds information on local employers and their skills and training needs. It is used in planning training and vocational education provision, to help ensure that local labour market needs are met effectively.

  CALLMI was introduced in 1986. A database of, on average, about 1,000 employers per area office has been built up and the labour market analyses produced have made an important contribution to the planning of work-related further education, YTS and employment training.

  Further developments will focus mainly on exploring the most effective means of co-operation with other collectors and users of local labour market information, such as chambers of commerce and local authorities. It is
  180
  expected that training and enterprise councils, as they are set up, will take over responsibility for local aspects of LMI including CALLMI.

  VAT
  Mr. Amos
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many new registrations were made for value added tax in 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  In 1987, the latest year for which figures have been published, the estimated number of new registrations for value added tax was 205,000. The net increase in the number of VAT-registered businesses in 1987 was 45,000, or nearly 900 a week on average. The indications are that the rate of increase during 1988 has been faster.

  Wages
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had with trade union leaders regarding wage increases.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. Friend has had none. Pay is primarily a matter for employers and employees, or their representatives, to determine in the light of their own circumstances.

  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of wage increases; what was the figure for the same month in 1988; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy in relation to the level of wage increases.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Latest available figures show that the underlying increase in average earnings in the 12 months to October 1988 was 9 per cent. over the economy as a whole. This compares with 8 per cent. in the 12 months to October 1987. The average earnings index reflects all movements in pay, including those related to output and productivity, as well as basic pay settlements.

  The Department's approach to pay is set out in chapter 3 of the White Paper "Employment in the 1990s", a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will update the information on establishments underpaying and prosecutions for underpayment given in his answer of 2 December,Official Report, columns 431–32.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information given in my answer of 2 December was incorrect in that, for the years 1979 and 1982, it included prosecutions which were not for underpayment offences. Revised figures, with those for 1988 updated to include the whole of that year, are given in the following table.

  Establishments underpaying

  Prosecutions1

  1979

  10,969

  9

  1980

  12,154

  8

  1981

  10,074

  8

  1982

  9,269

  4

  1983

  9,842

  2

  1984

  9,461

  2

  1985

  9,064

  2

  1986

  8,205

  2

  1987

  4,443

  4

  1988

  25,597

  10

  181
  1 For failing to pay not less than the legal minimum

  2 Provisional

  Industrial Relations (Industry and Commerce)
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to meet the chairman of the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service to discuss industrial relations in the private sector of British industry and commerce; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. Friend has no such plans. Ministers of the Department meet the chairman of ACAS from time to time to discuss matters of mutual interest.

  Vocational Qualifications
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many qualifications have been accredited to date under the National Council for Vocational Qualifications scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  The National Council for Vocational Qualifications has accredited 80 qualifications to date and is making good progress towards the objectives set by the Government in 1986. The council is on target to have the first four levels of the national vocational qualification framework in place by 1991.

  Mr. Lewis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he will be in a position to publish findings of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications inquiry into vocational qualifications; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  The National Council of Vocational Qualifications was established in September 1986, following the report of the review of vocational qualifications working group, to develop a national vocational qualification framework covering all occupations and to improve qualifications themselves by basing them on the standards of competence required in employment. Good progress is being made on both fronts and the council is on target to have levels 1–4 of the framework in place by 1991. A copy of the council's first annual report has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to draw up a scheme of comparable competence for vocational qualifications on completion of the European Community internal market in 1992; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  The Training Agency is already coordinating the United Kingdom's response to the European community's initiative to establish the comparability of vocational qualifications in the Community. It is expected that this work will continue beyond 1992 and that the results of the first qualifications to be compared will be published this year.

  Long-term Unemployment (London)
  Mr. Fishburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received following the publication of the survey of long-term unemployed in London.
  182
  Mr. Lee
  My right hon. Friend has received no representations following the publication of the surveys of vacancies and longer-term unemployed people in London.

  Business Growth Through Training Programme
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received on his proposals to introduce the business through training programme outlined in the White Paper, "Employment for the 1990s."

  Mr. Cope
  No representations on the proposal to introduce the business growth through training programme has been received so far.

  Employer-School Compacts
  Mrs. Maureen Hicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many areas have applied for development funding for employer-school compacts to date; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  Forty-six areas applied for funding to establish a compact. Partnerships of employers and education authorities in 30 of these areas are currently preparing applications for operational funding. I have been pleased by the positive response from both employers and the education service and I look forward to the establishment of the first compacts later in the spring.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he will announce the formation of the first training and enterprise council.

  Mr. Cope
  The first training and enterprise council is likely to be approved before the end of 1989.

  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received on his proposals to create training and enterprise councils contained in the White Paper, "Employment for the 1990s"; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  Since the White Paper was published on 5 December over 300 individuals and organisations have written to this Department to inquire about training and enterprise councils. I am very pleased about the positive response from employers who, throughout the country, are already meeting to discuss the formation of training and enterprise councils in their local area.

  TUC
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to meet representatives of the Trades Union Congress to discuss the effect of his Department's policies and legislation on trade unions.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. Friend has no current plans for such a meeting.

  National Training Task Force
  Mr. Leigh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received on his proposals to introduce the national training task force contained in his White Paper, "Employment in the 1990s"; and if he will make a statement.
  183
  Mr. Fowler
  I refer my hon. Friend to my earlier reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Knight).

  Computerisation
  Mr. Day
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many organisations are currently using the national on-line manpower information system; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lee
  The national on-line manpower information system (NOMIS) is a computer system which gives fast and flexible access to a wide variety of official statistics covering topics such as population, employment and unemployment. It is run for the Employment Department: Training Agency to assist in labour market analysis and planning, but access by other Government Departments and a range of outside users is also encouraged.

  Currently, about 160 organisations use NOMIS. Just under half of these are local government organisations, a third are academic institutions, and the remainder are split between Government Departments and commercial users. The House of Commons Library has had a terminal giving access to the system since 1985. Use of NOMIS is growing rapidly. During 1988 the number of registered users doubled.

  Retail Prices Index
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to ask the retail prices index advisory committee to undertake a further review of any methodological issues.

  Mr. Lee
  The committee is currently considering the effect of the abolition of domestic rates on the construction of the retail prices index, and a report is expected on this shortly. It will then go on to consider the way in which expenditure on holidays should be taken into account in the index and to review progress on implementing longer-term recommendations made in its last report in 1986.

  Loan Guarantee Scheme
  Dr. Hampson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications have been made following the new incentives for loans under the loan guarantee scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  The rate of applications under the loan guarantee scheme has almost doubled since 1987, to over 180 a month. This follows the introduction in January 1988 of simplified administrative procedures for loans up to £15,000 and the increase in the maximum guarantee for businesses in the 16 inner city task force areas from June 1988.

  I have recently announced that the scheme is to be continued and that the maximum guaranteed loan will be increased from £75,000 to £100,000.

  Enterprise Agencies
  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the progress and number of enterprise agencies currently operating in the United Kingdom.
  184
  Mr. Cope
  We know of 429 local enterprise agencies operating in the United Kingdom. Of these, 389 are approved under provisions of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (previously under provisions of the Finance Act 1982) which allows business sector sponsors tax relief on their contributions to such bodies.

  The local training and enterprise councils announced in the White Paper "Employment for the 1990s" will provide a means for ensuring that the provision of small firms counselling and training relevant to local needs is extended and co-ordinated. I would expect enterprise agencies and others to be able to bid for sub-contracts for counselling, training and enterprise councils themselves. This will rest with training and enterprise councils themselves. This will be an important opportunity for local enterprise agencies.

  Skills Unit
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the work of the skills unit.

  Mr. Cope
  The Training Agency skills unit was established in 1986 to gather, analyse and interpret information on overall skills supply and demand, and disseminate that information to those concerned in training and vocational education. The main focus of its work is changes brought about by new technology, changing work practices and new materials. The skills unit produces a regular skills bulletin, a skills monitoring report, and research reports. Copies are held in the Library. It also provides a reference and library service and mounts seminars, workshops and conferences. Its output is being used by industry and commerce, including chambers of commerce and employers' organisations, by the education service, by training providers, and by other Government Departments.

  Health and Safety Executive
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take to ensure that contractors comply with the law and report deaths, major injuries and three-day accidents to the Health and Safety Executive.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive will continue to remind contractors of the requirement under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985 to report deaths, major injuries and "over three-day" injury accidents to the appropriate enforcing authority. They will continue to take prosecutions for failure to report accidents in appropriate cases.

  Hotels
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the number of new hotel developments completed in the United Kingdom in 1988.

  Mr. Lee
  The English tourist board's survey of investment in major tourism projects shows that during 1988, 58 new hotel developments with a value of greater than £500,000 were completed in England.

  Industrial Action (Ballots)
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received on changing the balloting rules to be followed by trade unions before industrial action; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The statutory requirements which must be satisfied if a trade union organising industrial action is to protect itself against legal action by an employer, customer or supplier, or by a member, are set out in part II of the Trade Union Act 1984 as amended by the Employment Act 1988, and in section 1 of the Employment Act 1988. There have been a number of representations, in a variety of forms, about changes to these requirements.

  A draft statutory code of practice to promote desirable practices in relation to the conduct by trade unions of ballots on industrial action was published last November. The consultation period on the draft code continues until 3 February. Some representations received on the draft code have also included suggestions for further changes to the relevant primary legislation.

  Workers Charter
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if there are any plans to introduce within the context of the European single market a workers charter, providing for the rights of workers to be involved in discussions regarding mergers and closures of companies.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. Friend has no such plans.

  Injuries to children, 18 years of age or younger, reported to the Health and Safety Executive's factory and agriculture inspectorates for years beginning 1 April.

  1986–87

  1987–881

  Fatal

  Major2

  Fatal

  Major2

  Resulting from sports activities in school playgrounds

  0

  995

  2

  765

  Resulting from indoor and outdoor play activities in school

  0

  2,161

  1

  1,234

  In playgrounds other than those in schools

  1

  87

  0

  84

  1 Provisional.

  2 Major injuries as scheduled under the Reporting of Injuries' Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1985 (RIDDOR).

  Young People
  Mr. Flannery
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received regarding the Health and Safety Commission's view on the need for control of young persons' hours of work.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. Friend has had none.

  Mr. Flannery
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his policy with regard to the continuation in force of section 74 of the Factories Act restricting the employment of young people on specific operations.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The restrictions on the employment of young people in certain lead processes should remain.

  Skillcentres
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what would be the estimated cost of closing down all the skillcentres, including redundancy payments.

  Mr. Cope
  The White Paper "Employment for the 1990s" explains that the Skills Training Agency must

  Training Agency
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to reduce the number of staff employment by the Training Agency: and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  [holding answer 11 January 1989]: The staffing levels of the Training Agency, as of other Government organisations, are under constant review in the interests of improving efficiency and effectiveness. The major programmes for which the Training Agency is responsible are for the most part demand led; and as unemployment falls there may be some reduction in the total staff required.

  Playground Accidents
  Mr. Robert G Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of children who turn up at hospital because of playground accidents for every month since his Department started collecting figures; and if he will make a statement about those figures.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [pursuant to his reply, 9 December 1988,c.381]: My earlier reply gave details, in a table, of injuries to children 18 years of age or younger as reported to the Health and Safety Executive's factory and agricultural inspectorates. I regret that the table contained an error.

  There were no fatal accidents to children in playgrounds other than school playgrounds in 1987–88.

  The following table gives the correct figures.

  become more competitive and more viable, and that it would be in a better position to seize opportunities for business if it were in the private sector where it could adopt best commercial practices. My right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stamford and Spalding (Mr. Davies) on 21 December, at column 331, announced the appointment of Deloitte, Haskins and Sells to advise on the feasibility of such a move. Its terms of reference do not cover the cost of closure of all skillcentres, and we have no plans to ask it for such an estimate.

  Restart Interviews
  Mr. Bowls
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Battersea,Official Report, 22 December, column 465, what investigations he has made into the non-attendance at restart interviews of 1·5 million out of the 6·5 million called for interview since 1 July 1986.

  Mr. Lee
  Everyone who fails to attend a restart interview is followed up. Some people do not attend for acceptable reasons—for example, they may have started or be about to start work. However, those people who, after
  187
  two invitations, fail to attend their restart interviews are attending. If claimants still do not attend an interview investigated further to find out their reasons for not
  188
  attending. If claimants still do not attend an interview without a valid reason their benefits are withdrawn until they agree to attend.

  HOUSING SUBSIDY SYSTEM REVIEW: CONSULTATION
  HOUSING SUBSIDY SYSTEM REVIEW: CONSULTATION
  PRISONERS' EDUCATION: EXPENDITURE STATISTICS
  PRISONERS' EDUCATION: EXPENDITURE STATISTICS
  MAGISTRATES' COURTS: MANAGEMENT REVIEW
  MAGISTRATES' COURTS: MANAGEMENT REVIEW
  PRISONERS: RECONVICTION RATES
  PRISONERS: RECONVICTION RATES
  REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS: EC POLICY
  REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS: EC POLICY
  CONVICTED MURDERERS: RELEASE STATISTICS
  CONVICTED MURDERERS: RELEASE STATISTICS
  LIFE SENTENCE PRISONERS
  LIFE SENTENCE PRISONERS
  MISLEADING PRICE INDICATIONS: CODE OF PRACTICE
  MISLEADING PRICE INDICATIONS: CODE OF PRACTICE