Written Answers of 19 January 1989

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Conference on Security and Co-operation
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report the finally agreed text of the conference on security and co-operation in Europe in Vienna; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The Vienna concluding document will be published as a White Paper, as will my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary's speech at the concluding session of the Vienna CSCE meeting.

  In the meantime, copies of both the document and the speech will be placed in the Library of the House and issued to members of the public on request.

  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonweath Affairs if he will make a statement on the terms of the concluding document of the Vienna CSCE review conference.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to him on 11 January, at column 830. The Vienna concluding document contains greatly improved commitments on human rights and contacts, including an important new mechanism for the regular review of human rights abuses, and provides for increased co-operation in economic, scientific, environmental, information, cultural and educational fields. It contains a substantial programme of follow up activities including an information forum in London in April/May 1989 and opens the way to negotiations in March on conventional arms control and confidence and security building measures.

  Cyprus
  Mr. Gardiner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government still consider, as indicated to the House on 23 October 1987, that the 1986 United Nations plan for a binational federal Government of Cyprus in which the two communities share power as equal political partners forms a good basis for settlement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We continue to believe that the United Nations Secretary-General's draft framework agreement of March 1986 formed a good basis for a Cyprus settlement. But events have moved on. The leaders of the two communities, President Vassiliou and Mr. Denktash, accepted the Secretary-General's proposal last August that, without any pre-conditions, they should make a fresh attempt to negotiate a comprehensive settlement by 1 June 1989. Their talks continue, with the aim of agreeing the basis for a settlement in present circumstances. We have encouraged each side to negotiate constructively, taking the basic concerns of the other fully into account.

  Iran
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of executions in Iran in the last three months: and if he will list them.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We have received regular press releases and reports of political executions from a variety of sources including Amnesty International.

  We have also received reporting on this subject from our mission in Tehran.

  We examine all such reports with great care.

  Turkey
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Turkish Government concerning improvements in human rights in Turkey; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  My right hon. Friend the Minister of State raised the subject of human rights with the Turkish ambassador on 12 December 1988. We continue to urge the Turkish Government to maintain the improvement in human rights there has been in recent years and to respect and abide by the terms of the relevant international human rights conventions to which Turkey is a signatory.

  Foreign Compensation (China)
  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in implementing the Foreign Compensation (People's Republic of China) Order 1987.

  Mr. Eggar
  Very good progress is being made. 2,032 claims in respect of bonds and 989 claims in respect of property had been received by the Foreign Compensation Commission (which is being assisted with regard to the administrative aspects of the work by the private accountants Ernst and Whinney) by the two deadlines of 30 June and 31 August 1988 laid down in the 1987 order. Of these, 1,488 claims in respect of bonds and seven in respect of property had been determined by the commission by 13 January.

  Adjudication of property claims takes time. The issues raised by many claims are complex. It is hoped, however, that the final distribution from the China fund cart be made by late 1990.

  In the meantime, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has directed that an interim payment of 5 per cent. of the value assigned to a bond should be paid to successful claimants in respect of bonds as from the end of January.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the Member answering for the Public Accounts Commission 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.

  Sir Peter Hordern
  None, during 1988.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the Lord President of the Council 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.

  Mr. Wakeham
  Twenty two, during 1988. Fifteen of which I answered on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Departmental Job Dispersal
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to move jobs in his Department to locations in the Nottingham, North constituency; and if he will make it his policy to inform the hon. Member for Nottingham, North of any developments.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  For our plans for relocating some work from sone London local social security offices I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Mr. Norris) on 16 January, at columns 44–45.

  A team of officials are considering options for moving some headquarters work out of London and are investigating all possible locations which will allow us to improve efficiency. We shall make a full announcement of our conclusions in due course.

  Maintenance Orders
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the arrangements for diversion of maintenance orders for women receiving income support are still as described in paragraphs 13.20–22, "Supplementary Benefits Handbook 1984."

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The arrangements are generally the same. There is a slight change in that claimants are no longer invited to arrange for the court to pass their court order payments to the Department, rather than direct to them, where the order is paid with complete regularity.

  Unemployment Benefit
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in Blyth Valley had their unemployment benefit stopped because they were considered not to be available for work in January 1988.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I regret that information is not available in the form requested. Statistics on adjudication officers' decisions are compiled quarterly for the areas covered by adjudication offices, each of which cover a number of benefit offices. For the quarter ended 31 March 1988, the records for the adjudication office area of Newcastle, which includes the constituency of Blyth Valley, show that 246 adverse decisions on availability for work were given.

  Mr. S. W. Brass
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when his Department's Central Office at 258
  Longbarton, Newcastle, will provide the information requested by Mr. S. W. Brass of 58 Sandy lane, Rugeley, Staffordshire, on behalf of Mrs. D. E. Brass regarding non-receipt of her retirement pension for the weeks commencing 7 and 14 November, Reference 02707276 ZT.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Non-payment of retirement pension in respect of Mrs. Brass for the weeks commencing 7 and 14 November 1988 has now been confirmed and immediate payment of the amount due will be made by the Cannock local office.

  Children (Access Visits)
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what guidance is issued to local offices on payment of fares to a parent who is seeking to make an access visit to his or her child;

  (2) whether financial help is available to a mother who has to travel long distances for an access visit to her child in order to comply with a custody order;

  (3) what help is available to parents seeking help with transport costs in order to pay access visits to their children.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  A community care grant from the social fund may be awarded to a parent receiving income support to cover travelling costs to visit a child who is in the care of the other parent pending a custody decision. Once custody has been decided help can not be given.

  Guidance and directions for the award of such payments appear in the "Social Fund Manual". A copy is in the Library.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Public Expenditure White Paper
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the 1989 public expenditure White Paper.

  Mr. Major
  The 1989 public expenditure White Paper will be published at 3.30 pm on Monday 30 January, and copies will be made available in the Vote Office.

  West German Minister
  Ms. Quin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met his West German counterpart; and what was the content of their discussions.

  Mr. Lilley
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor meets his counterparts in other countries from time to time to discuss a range of issues of mutual interest.

  Interest Rates
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current level of interest rates.

  Mr. Lilley
  Bank base rates are 13 per cent.

  Crown Estate Commissioners
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what matters were discussed when the Crown Estate Commissioners met him to present their annual report.
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  Mr. Lawson
  I met the commissioners on 13 July 1988. We discussed the performance of the Crown Estate in 1987–88 and their broad programme for the future years.I regret that I cannot disclose the specific issues discussed as they are subject to commercial confidentiality.

  Mortgage Interest Rates
  Mr. Grocott
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has as to how many households have their mortgage interest payments adjusted annually.

  Mr. Lilley
  Figures released by the Building Societies Association in July 1988 showed that 37 per cent. of borrowers with the largest 14 building societies had their mortgage payments adjusted once a year. No information is available for banks and other mortgage lenders.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Hanley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the growth of(a) self employment and (b) part-time employment in the United Kingdom since 1979.

  Mr. Major
  Between June 1979 and September 1988 the number of self-employed people in Great Britain rose by 60 per cent. to nearly 3 million. Over the same period, the part-time workforce in employment rose by 30 per cent. to over 6 million.

  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in which regions adult unemployment has fallen over the past year.

  Mr. Major
  Adult unemployment has fallen in every region of the United Kingdom over the last year, and fastest in the west midlands, the north-west and Wales.

  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the fall in the number of long-term unemployed aged 18 to 24 years since October 1986.

  Mr. Major
  The latest available figures for October 1988 show that the number of long-term unemployed aged between 18 and 24 has fallen by one half since October 1986.

  Private Shareholders
  Mr. Greg Knight
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the number of private shareholders in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The joint Treasury and stock exchange survey carried out in January and February 1988 estimated that approximately 9 million people own shares, 20 per cent. of the adult population. This represents a threefold increase since 1979.

  Anti-Dumping Duties
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much in anti-dumping duties on electronic typewriters was collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the last year for which figures are available;

  (2) how much in anti-dumping duties on daisy wheel printers was collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the last year for which figures are available;
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  (3) how much in anti-dumping duties on dot matrix printers was collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the last year for which figures are available;

  (4) how much in anti-dumping duties on photocopiers was collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the last year for which figures are available;

  (5) how much in anti-dumping duties on microchips was collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]The following information is in respect of duty collected in the 12 months to November 1988:

  Category

  Anti-dumping duty (£000's)

  Electronic typewriters

  238

  Daisy wheel printers and dot matrix printers1

  140

  Photocopiers

  5,186

  Microchips

  2

  1 Separate figures for daisy wheel and dot matrix printers are not available. Anti-dumping duty was imposed on dot matrix printers in May 1988 and on daisy wheel printers in July 1988.

  2 Anti-dumping duty is not levied on microchips.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Land Registration
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will investigate the reasons for the delay regarding registration No. WSX 131547; and when the district land registrar of Her Majesty's Land Registry, Weymouth, will conclude this matter.

  The Attorney-General
  The registration of title number WSX131547 was completed on 6 January 1989. Completion of the registration was delayed because replies to requisitions raised by the Land Registry in respect of prior applications, which affected the land in title number WSX131547, had not been received.

  Latent Damage Act
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Attorney-General if he has any plans to monitor the working of the Latent Damage Act; and if he will make a statement upon the aspect of deliberate concealment.

  The Attorney-General
  The Lord Chancellor has no plans to do so at present since it is too early to say whether such an exercise is necessary.

  The Latent Damage Act 1986 provides that the overriding time limit of 15 years in an action for negligence is not to apply where there has been deliberate concealment of any fact by the defendant. A defendant will therefore not be able to take advantage of his own wrongdoing by relying on the lapse of time.

  Freehold
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Attorney-General when he plans to introduce legislation embodying the Law Commission working group's recommendations contained in "Commonhold Freehold Flats and Freehold Ownership of Other Independent Buildings"; and if he will make a statement on the position of existing flat leaseholders' rights to conversion to any such common-hold system.
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  The Attorney-General
  The Lord Chancellor announced on 8 June 1988 that the Government have arranged for legislation to be prepared at the Law Commission giving effect to the recommendations made in the working group report (Cm. 179).

  Decisions on the implementation of the recommendations, and the circumstances in which leaseholds of flats should be convertable into freeholds within commonholds are being considered and will be announced in due course.

PRIME MINISTER

  Space Debris
  Q53. Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will take steps to mount a space mission to investigate the extent of space debris in the earth's orbit.

  The Prime Minister
  This is an area in which it is natural to work through the European Space Agency and where the United Kingdom and other member states are due shortly to consider a working party report. There are, however, no immediate United Kingdom or ESA plans for a space mission to study space debris.

  Newport, Gwent
  Mr. Flynn
  to ask the Prime Minister if she intends to pay an official visit to the Duffryn area of Newport, Gwent.

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

  Cabinet Ministers (Share Dealings)
  Mr. Roberts
  To ask the Prime Minister what are the guidelines for Cabinet Ministers' dealings in shares.

  The Prime Minister
  A memorandum by the then secretary of the Cabinet, which included the guidance given to Ministers on this matter, was submitted in evidence to the Royal Commission on standards of conduct in public life in 1975. A copy is in the Library. The current guidance is to all intents and purposes the same and continues to be based on the principle that Ministers must so order their affairs that no conflict arises, or appears to arise, between their private interests and their public duties.

  Engagements
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 January.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 January.

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 January.

  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 January.

  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 January.

  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 January.

  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 January.
  262
  The Prime Minister
  This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today, including one with the Premier of Quebec.

  Government Legal Services
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Prime Minister whether Sir Robert Andrew's report of his review of the Government legal services is to be published; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  Last year I asked Sir Robert Andrew to undertake a review of Government legal services and to make recommendations on what legal services the Government need, how they can be provided most effectively and economically and what changes are needed in the management of legal staff so as to make best use of them. Sir Robert's report is being published today. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. I am grateful to Sir Robert Andrew for the work he has put into the report.

  Sir Robert Andrew concludes that the Government continue to need a wide range of legal services provided to a high standard and that the need for them is likely to go on increasing. He considers it likely that the bulk of these services will continue to be provided within Government, but Departments should decide on cost-effectiveness grounds whether to meet their needs in Government or outside. He suggests that some of the bodies providing services of a legal nature to the public might usefully become executive agencies and that the relocation of some work out of London should prove cost-effective. The Government accept these conclusions.

  The report proposes some adjustments in organisation to improve the effectiveness of legal services. In the light of these recommendations, I have decided to make the following changes in England and Wales. Under the ministerial direction of the Attorney-General, the Treasury Solicitor will become the head of the Government legal service. As head of profession he will advise on the personnel management of lawyers across Departments, and will be supported in this by a new lawyers management unit. The present Law Officers Department will be renamed the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, and the legal departments for which the Attorney-General is the ministerial head (the Treasury Solicitor's Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Serious Fraud Office) will be known collectively as the Law Officers Departments. The Lord Chancellor's Department will take over responsibi-lity for the Statutory Publications Office from the Treasury Solicitor's Department, probably in April 1990.

  The report makes a number of recommendations aimed at improving the management of lawyers. The Government accept these recommendations and agree that greater effort needs to be put into recruitment and that the areas of recruitment should be broadened. They believe that the Government legal service as a whole will benefit from more co-ordinated personnel management and from improved training and career management. The new lawyers management unit will have a key role in helping the Treasury Solicitor as head of profession work with Departments in implementing the report's recommendations.
  263
  Sir Robert. Andrew also makes a number of recommendations to improve the pay of lawyers. The Government welcome his emphasis on the need for selectivity in considering special pay treatment for lawyers, which is consistent with the Government's policies on pay. The report also recognises the Government's comparatively greater difficulties of recruiting and retaining lawyers in London, which have already led to the establishment of special London pay scales for lawyers at grades 6 and 7 from April 1988.

  Lawyers at grades 2 and 3 form part of the senior open structure, whose pay is decided by the Government on the recommendations of the Top Salaries Review Body. The Government are consulting the TSRB about the recommendations which affect these grades and will respond to this part of the report when they have received the TSRB's views.

  Subject to consultations with the unions, the Government propose to respond to the recommendations of the pay of grades below the senior open structure as follows.

  Around £2,500 a year will be added to the pay of all lawyers in grades 4 and 5 working in London. For grade 5 this will take the form of two points on the pay scale. Staff at grade 4 will receive a £2,500 allowance.

  In addition, it is proposed that up to three points on the scale should be made available as personal pay points for certain grade 5 lawyers selected on the basis of their skills, experience, marketability and value to the Department. Broadly similar treatment will be applied to grade 4.

  The Government regard it as important that all at grade 5 should be eligible for performance pay. For lawyers (including those in London) without personal pay points, up to four performance points will continue to be available. For those on the highest personal point, it is proposed that two should be available.

  Lawyers in grades 5 to 7 are covered by the long-term pay agreement of July 1988, under which these grades will receive pay increases of 4 per cent. from 1 April 1989 and a further review from 1 August 1989 informed by a survey of pay levels in the private sector.

  The Government do not propose to make personal pay points available at grades 6 and 7. But grade 6 lawyers in London will receive an additional scale point, worth around £1,100.

  It is proposed to make these changes to pay in response to Sir Robert Andrew's recommendations from 1 April 1989.

THE ARTS

  Museums Training
  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what developments there have been on museums training following his statement on 17 March 1988.

  Mr. Luce
  In my statement of 17 March 1988 I welcomed the Museums and Galleries Commission working party report on museums training and career structure, which was published in July 1987.

  I was pleased to announce that my Department, with the MSC, was providing support and financial assistance for a museums skills needs assessment study to identify key skills and competencies. This study, for which the principal agent is the Museums Association, is now almost
  264
  completed and will result in the production of new modules for the training of those currently or prospectively working in museums.

  In my 17 March statement I said that it was not my intention to set up a Museums Training Council with regional panels in the form recommended by the MGC report. I considered it appropriate that the primary responsibility for museums training should rest with the museums industry itself, and that the continuing developments in this area should be overseen and guided by a consortium representing the main sectors of the museums industry. I indicated that I would be consulting further about the composition of such a consortium.

  I am pleased to announce that discussions with interested parties, including the representatives of museums interests on the steering committee for the training needs assessment study, have resulted in a proposal that the Museums Association should establish a museums training institute, which would be a subsidiary charitable company of the association. The museums training institute would be responsible for forming a view on the museum industry's training needs, identifying standards for occupations in the industry, reviewing the content and delivery of training, promoting the provision of training, providing training in selected areas and validating training courses. It is the intention that the board of the institute will consist of an independent chairman, members representing the Museums Association, the national, local authority and independent museums, the Museums and Galleries Commission, the area museum councils, and a number of independent members.

  If this proposal is to be developed, as I hope it will be, it is important that the interested parties, including the museums industry and museums organisations, work together to ensure its success. The Office of Arts and Libraries will be contributing £25,000 towards the initial start-up costs of the museums training institute, and towards the preparation of a business plan. Looking beyond the information of the institute, I am prepared to provide limited funding on a pump-priming basis for a period of up to five years. I shall look to the museums industry and employers to contribute a progressively increasing share of the costs of the institute following the substantial public investment in the development of museums training by the Office of Arts and Libraries and the Training Agency.

  In the past 18 months considerable progress has been made in the development of museum training. The analysis of key skills and competencies has provided a sound basis for further progress and I shall continue to take a close interest in progress towards the establishment of a lead industry body for the museums sector which will carry forward and develop these initiatives.

CIVIL SERVICE

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Disbursements)
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service, pursuant to his reply of 10 January,Official Report, column 482, where information relating to the £209,756 of disbursements made by his Department to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1987–88 is to be found; and in what form.
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  Mr. Luce
  I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 7 November 1988, at column 40.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Nursery Education
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is his policy on the education of under-fives; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he has any plans for earmarked grants for the development of education for the under-fives; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  My right hon. Friend has no plans affecting the funding arrangements for the education of the under-fives. The Government will make a full statement of its policies on the education of the under-fives when responding to the report of the Education, Science and Arts Committee on educational provision for the under-fives, published on 11 January.

  Expenditure (Late Claims)
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) pursuant to his reply of 10 January,Official Report, column 483, to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey, how late claims for 1987–88 expenditure by local education authorities are treated in relation to the allocations of grant expenditure between local education authorities for the current year; whether the allocations for the current year were set in the light of expected late claims by some authorities; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) pursuant to his reply of 10 January, Official Report, column 483, to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey, if he will publish a list of the late claims for 1987–88 made to date by local education authorities, showing the amount claimed by each authority; what further information is available to his Department about any other outstanding claims for that year; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) when 1988–89 allocations under the local education authority training grants scheme were determined; what steps were taken to provide carry forward arrangements to compensate individual authorities for any failure to claim money under the scheme in 1987–88; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Claims submitted to date in the current financial year, which were due in the 1987–88 financial year, are as follows:

  Local Education Authority

  Amount £

  Claim for Quarter1

  Barnet

  358,880

  2

  Barnsley

  66,134

  2

  Barnsley

  205,430

  3

  Croydon

  159,675

  3

  Ealing

  120,400

  1

  Ealing

  121,800

  2

  Ealing

  176,900

  3

  Hertfordshire

  658,466

  3

  Salford

  250,537

  3

  Waltham Forest

  134,670

  3

  Wiltshire

  222,940

  2

  Wiltshire

  359,805

  3

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  1 Claims to cover estimated expenditure were due on the following dates:

  Quarter 1 1 June 1987

  Quarter 2 1 September 1987

  Quarter 3 1 December 1987

  In addition, Barnet, Harrow and Hillingdon LEAs did not submit separate claims for one or more of these quarters and Liverpool LEA has not yet submitted a claim for the third quarter.

  Authorities were asked to make provisional end of year claims for expenditure incurred in 1987–88 as soon as possible after the end of the financial year. The following authorities have not yet done so:
  Dorset, Liverpool, Sunderland and Waltham Forest.

  The maximum amounts of expenditure in 1988–89 which would be grant-aided under the local education authority training grants scheme were notified provisionally to authorities in August 1987 and confirmed in December 1987. These amounts were based on proposals made by authorities and relative pupil and student numbers. They took no account of lateness of claims as eligible claims for 1987–88 will continue to be met from authorities' allocations for that year even when submitted late.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give details of the end year flexibility scheme for his Department's 1987–88 cash limits, showing(a) eligible expenditure, (b) maximum carry-forward and (c) actual carry-forward in each case.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 21 July 1988, at columns 725–28, to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire). The increases in provision for 1988–89 arising from capital underspend in 1987–88, allowed under the end-year flexibility scheme, were £2·180 million on class XII, vote 1, where the eligible expenditure was £43·606 million; and £0·370 million on class XII, vote 3, where the eligible expenditure was £153·640 million. In each case the carry-forward was the maximum permitted under the end-year flexibility scheme.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give details of 1987–88 underspending of his Department's 1987–88 cash limits for items in class XII, vote 1, which were outside the end of year flexibility scheme showing(a) expenditure authorised in the Vote and (b) the amount underspent in each case and of the adjustments that have been made to expenditure plans for later years to compensate for the underspending in 1987–88.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The cash limit for class XII, vote 1 in 1987–88 was £378·9 million. Expenditure was £348·5 million. Of the total underspend of £30·4 million, £25·6 million was accounted for by the level of claims for the LEA training grant scheme and £1·8 million by the level of claims for education support grants. The remaining underspend arose from a variety of causes across the Vote. The level of provision for the LEA training grant scheme and for education support grants in 1988–89 has been set to allow for claims arising in respect of earlier years.

  Halls of Residence
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what arrangements the University Grants Committee is making to continue to meet the rating bills of halls of residence of universities in England, Wales and Scotland for the financial year 1989–90; and what representations he is making to the University Grants Committee to ensure that it does not cease to meet the costs of commercial rates in Scottish halls of residence while halls in England and Wales receive monies to cover their rates;

  (2) if he will meet representatives of local authorities to discuss the impact on their revenues of any reduction in tourism arising out of the withdrawal of university halls of residence from commercial letting as a result of University Grants Committee funding changes accompanying the introduction of the community charge:

  (3) what calculation he has made of the impact on tourism of the possible withdrawal of university halls of residence from commercial letting as a result of any reduction in University Grants Committee funding of the commercial rates paid by halls to local authorities;

  (4) if he will meet representatives of local authorities to discuss the impact on their revenues of any reduction in tourism arising out of the withdrawal of university halls of residence from commercial letting as a result of University Grants Committee funding changes accompanying the introduction of the community charge.

  Mr. Jackson
  Rates paid in respect of university halls of residence are not currently reimbursed by the University Grants Committee. A decision by the Universities Funding Council not to reimburse the cost of business rates payable, after the introduction of the community charge, in respect of halls of residence used for commercial letting would effectively maintain the present position and therefore should not affect the commercial letting of university halls of residence or have an adverse impact on tourism or revenue received by local authorities.

  Open University
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has discussed with officials of the Open university the impact of the under supplementation against inflation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  An additional £12·9 million is being made available to the Open university over the next three years. Recurrent grant for 1989 of £68·4 million is over 7 per cent. higher than in 1988. Decisions on grant take full account of advice received from the Open university visiting committee, and of regular discussions with officers of the university.

WALES

  Wrexham Water Works Company
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether the Wrexham Water Works Company is above or below the £30 million assets line; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  The total assets less current liabilities given in the company's annual report for 1987 as £5,528,000

  Community Care
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he now proposes to implement the recommendation of the Griffiths report on community care; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  This report relates explicitly to England. My right hon. Friend is considering its implications for services in Wales, in the light of our separate strategies and initiatives to promote the development of effective community care. He will bring forward proposals as soon as possible.

  EC Free Food Scheme
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what is the total amount of(a) butter and (b) beef allocated to each county in Wales under the European Community free food scheme for 1988–89;

  (2) what is the total amount of (a) butter and ( b) beef distributed in each county in Wales under the European Community free food scheme for 1988–89 to date;

  (3) how much (a) butter and (b) beef was allocated to Wales under the European Community free food scheme for 1988–89; and how much is undistributed at present.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  In Wales 176 tonnes of butter and 332 tonnes of beef were allocated to and distributed by designated organisations under the EC free food scheme in 1988. Figures are not available on a county basis. Local distribution arrangements were a matter for the designated organisations to determine within the rules of the scheme. Consultations on the scheme for 1989 will take place soon.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales from whom applications have been received in each county in Wales to distribute beef and butter in the 1988–89 free food scheme; and which of the applications have been granted.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  All nine organisations which applied for designation under the EC free food scheme in Wales had their applications accepted. A list of the organisations was placed in the Library of the House on 21 April 1988 by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

  Water Act 1973
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a list of orders made by him and his predecessors under section 29 of the Water Act 1973 requiring the Welsh water authority to seek a specified rate of return on its net assets, giving the date of each such order, and the date of return specified in that order.

  Mr. Grist
  The orders made under section 29 of the Water Act 1973 are as follows:

  Statutory Instrument Number

  Effective dates

  Rate of return per cent.

  1981/826

  6 July 1981 to 31 March 1982

  0·30

  1982/1087

  31 August 1982 to 31 March 1983

  0·95

  1983/782

  13 July 1983 to 31 March 1984

  1·20

  1984/1470

  24 October 1984 to 31 March 1985

  1·25

  1985/78

  1 April 1985 to 31 March 1986

  1·45

  1985/1805

  1 April 1986 to 31 March 1987

  1·65

  1986/1952

  1 April 1987 to 31 March 1988

  1·95

  1987/2022

  1 April 1988 to 31 March 1989

  2·35

  269
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since 31 March 1978 his Department made a charges option order under the provisions of section 19 of the Water Act 1973, giving the date of any such order and the location to which it applied.

  Mr. Grist
  None. The section has been replaced by section 62 of the Land Drainage Act 1976.

  Breast Cancer Screening
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many general practitioners have facilities for screening for breast cancer; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  In view of the specialised mammography equipment and radiological expertise required, breast screening in Wales is to be carried out by specialist units and not individual general practitioners.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Disasters (Emergency Funds)
  Mr. Caborn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give a breakdown of the amount diverted from the Government's overseas aid budget to provide emergency funds to the following countries in the wake of recent disasters(a) the Sudan, (b) Bangladesh, (c) Nicaragua, and other Latin American countries affected by Hurricane Joan, (d) Jamaica and (e) Mexico.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  The funds provided for these recent disasters were allocated from contingency provision within the overseas aid budget; none of the money was diverted from planned aid programme expenditure.

  The amounts spent on emergency relief in the countries named in 1988–89 have been:

  £ million

  (a) Sudan (floods, refugees etc)

  12·4

  (b) Bangladesh (floods)

  2·5

  (c) Nicaragua and Costa Rica (hurricane)

  0·27

  (d) Jamaica (hurricane)

  0·55

  (e) Mexico (hurricane)

  0·015

  Aid Statistics
  Mr. Caborn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will set a timetable by which they will attain the United Nations recommendation that donor countries' aid to the Third world should constitute 0·7 per cent. of gross national product.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  Like previous administrations, Her Majesty's Government are not able to set a timetable for attaining this target. Progress towards the target depends on developments in the economy and other claims on resources. We have a substantial aid programme which is now growing in real terms.

  Sir John Stanley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the estimated amounts of(a) principal and (b) interest due to be remitted to the Government by overseas aid debtor
  270
  countries in 1989–90; and what were the amounts actually remitted for the last three years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  In 1989–90, repayments of past aid loans due to Her Majesty's Government amount to £63,148,015 (principal) and £11,424,790 (interest). Actual receipts for the latest three financial years for which figures are available are:

  Principal £

  Interest £

  1987–88

  53,121,271

  9,463,464

  1986–87

  53,349,990

  10,247,424

  1985–86

  56,077,690

  11,139,158

  Sir John Stanley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the planned overseas aid budget of £1,430 million in 1989–90 includes or excludes the estimated amounts of(a) principal and (b) interest due to be remitted to the Government by overseas aid debtor countries in that year.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  The planned overseas aid budget of £1,430 million in 1989–90 excludes any principal repayment or interest payment due to Her Majesty's Government from past aid loans in that year.

  South Africa
  Mr. Caborn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much assistance has been granted by the EEC to the Church organisations in South Africa that have been subject to recent bomb and arson attacks; and what form this assistance has taken.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  The European Community has channelled some 22 mecu (over £14 million) through the South African Council of Churches and the South African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) under the special programme of assistance for victims of apartheid which began in 1986. The United Kingdom's share of this total amounts to some £3 million. The EC programme has financed 70 separate projects implemented by many non-governmental organisations throughout South Africa. The EC has also approved projects to help replace some of the SACBC equipment destroyed, and to help provide new accommodation and facilities for a number of affected organisations, including Church groups.

  Mr. Caborn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much assistance has been given by Her Majesty's Government to the Church organisations in South Africa that have been subject to recent bomb and arson attacks; and what form this assistance has taken.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  Britain's contribution to the needs of the Church organisations in question has been through the share we contribute to the European Community's programme. In addition Britain has provided modest assistance to replace equipment for some of the other organisations based in the same buildings.

  India (Water Project)
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much aid is being
  271
  provided to India for drilling rigs for the Indian Government's water project; and how much aid the Indian Government requested to finance the original programme.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  We were discussing with the Indian authorities finance for a water drilling project costing about £25 million. Unfortunately the project did not pass our appraisal, designed to ensure that it was likely to achieve sustainable benefits. We are considering alternative approaches with the Government of India.

  Brazilian Rain Forests
  Mr. Wray
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the United Kingdom is giving to international efforts to halt the destruction of Brazilian rain forests; and what information he has on their effectiveness.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  We are among those who have raised this issue with the Government of Brazil. There have been reports that President Sarney is to seek international assistance on environmental matters; if these are correct. that would be a welcome development. The World bank already has under discussion a loan of up to ․150 million to strengthen the Brazilian Government's national environmental programme. Environmental conditions attached to earlier World Bank and Inter-American Development bank loans have helped to increase awareness of the issues. As signatories of the international tropical timber agreement, both Brazil and the United Kingdom are pledged to encourage the development of international policies aimed at sustainable utilisation and conservation of tropical forests.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Speeding Offences
  Dame Elaine Kellett-Bowman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many speeding offences in which no other offence was alleged were proceeded against either by fixed penalties or through the courts by the Lincolnshire police in each of the last five years for which statistics are available; and what was the average for England and Wales in these years.

  Mr. John Patten
  The available information on all speeding offences dealt with by court proceedings or fixed penalty notices is published annually by police force area in "Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales, Supplementary tables" (tables 16 and 20 of the issue for 1987); copies are in the Library. Information on how many of these offences were the only ones alleged on a particular occasion is not available. However, Home Office guidelines are that a fixed penalty notice should not be issued where an officer is also reporting other offences for consideration of summons, and it is believed that in the vast majority of cases a prosecution for speeding is not accompanied by a prosecution for another offence.

  Prison Construction
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is(a) the original agreed contract price and (b) the current contract price for each of the new prisons under construction.
  272
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Construction contracts ar awarded on the basis of an accepted tender price excludin variations of price (VOP). The contract value (which is th current contract price) is adjusted during the course of th:ontract to take account of VOP. VOP is calculated fro the NEDO (National Economic Developmen Organisation) formula which is a nationally recognise formula for the calculation of cost increases for project under construction. In the case of two of the five prison listed, adjustments have also been made to take account o the application of VAT to building contracts since Jun 1988.

  Contract

  Original agreed main contract price—tender price (excluding VOP and VAT) £ millions

  Current contract value (including VOP incurred to date and VAT) £ millions

  Brinsford Prison (awarded June 1987)

  23·12

  25·18

  Bullingdon Prison (awarded June 1988)

  33·10

  38·00

  Lindholme II Prison (awarded September 1988)

  31·23

  40·98

  Milton Keynes Prison (awarded December 1988)

  57·17

  71·96

  Whitemoor Prison (awarded February 1988)

  28·85

  31·27

  There are two other new prisons currently under construction. Advance works are taking place at Lancaste Farms young offender institution, where the main contrac has not yet been awarded. At Woolwich prison work i proceeding on the basis of a construction management contract. This involves a number of indivdual contract packages for the completion of the project instead of single lump sum contract. It is not possible to provide comparable estimated cost figures as all the individual contract packages have not yet been let.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Hom Department what is the number of complaints made b boards of visitors as to the standard of workmanship an delays in completion of all major modernisatio programmes of prison building work; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Since 1 January 1988 letters have been received from three boards of visitors about delays in the completion of major modernisation programmes at existing prison establishments. It is our objective to proceed as fast as is practicable with the programmes already under way and with those planned.

  Albany Prison, Isle of Wight
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the present number is of empty cells in the Albany prison, Isle of Wight.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  On Monday 16 January there were nine unoccupied cells in the living accommodation at Her Majesty's prison, Albany.

  Remand Prisoners
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of remand prisoners being held in police station cells on 9 January; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  On Monday 9 January, 152 prisoners, most of whom would have been on remand, were held in police cells in England and Wales. This is 571 fewer than a month previously. Efforts to secure reductions are continuing.

  Leeds Prison
  Mr. Irving
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost, and the expected completion date, of the building programme to redevelop Leeds prison.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  It is expected that work on the redevelopment of Her Majesty's prison Leeds will be completed by 1997. The estimated cost at 1988 price levels is approximately £48 million, including VAT.

  Feltham Remand Centre
  Mr. Irving
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of building Feltham remand centre.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The final cost of building Her Majesty's young offenders institution and remand centre Feltham is likely to be in the order of £29 million subject to the determination of a number of outstanding claims.

  British Summer Time
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the response he has received to his consultation document regarding British summer time; and whether he has yet reached any conclusions.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  A consultation note was sent to Government Departments last year with a request that they seek the views of interested bodies on the options set out in that note for future summer time arrangements.

  The results of this survey are being studied and will form the basis of a consultation document to be published in the near future with the intention of stimulating wider public debate on the matter.

  Sunday Trading
  Sir Bernard Braine
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received the consultative document entitled "The Rest Proposals", published by the Keep Sunday Special Organisation in connection with the reform of the Shops Act 1950.

  Mr. Renton
  Yes. We are considering these together with the other proposals we have received.

  Nigerian Prisoners
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of Nigerian citizens currently serving sentences in Her Majesty's prisons on immigration offences.
  274
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  According to the records held centrally, which may be incomplete, on 30 November 1988 no Nigerian citizens were serving sentences in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales for offences under the Immigration Act 1971.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of Nigerian citizens currently held in prisons in England and Wales pending a Home Office decision on deportation or permission to stay in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Renton
  According to information available centrally, a total of 36 Nigerian citizens were detained as at 31 December 1988 under Immigration Act powers in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales. These include those being dealt with under deportation powers, as illegal entrants and after being detained at ports of entry.

  Prison Works (Vacancies)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of vacancies for prison works craftsmen or women at each of the London prisons on 1 January.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Vacancies for civilian craftsmen or women at the London prisons as at 1 January are set out in the following table.

  Prison

  Complement

  Vacancies

  Brixton

  (24)

  2

  Holloway

  (15)

  2

  Pentonville

  (15)

  2

  Wandsworth

  (19)

  12

  Wormwood Scrubs

  (18)

  11

  Prisons (London)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has already been allocated in the current financial year for repair or modernisation at each of the London prisons.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The amount of money allocated for the current financial year to each of the London prisons is as follows:

  £

  Brixton

  1,288,000

  Feltham

  1,312,000

  Holloway

  267,000

  Latchmere House

  195,000

  Pentonville

  3,140,000

  Wandsworth

  1,125,000

  Wormwood Scrubs

  2,057,000

  Total

  9,384,000

  Prison Hospitals
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a senior member of the prison department last visited each of the London prison hospitals; and on what dates the visits took place; what reports of general conditions within those hospitals were made to his Department; and if he will make a statement.
  275
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The last visits by senior members of the Prison Department to the hospitals of prison service establishments in the London area were as follows:

  Establishment

  Date of visit

  Officer visiting

  Whether report made of hospital conditions

  Ashford

  9 January 1989

  Regional Principal Medical Officer

  No

  Brixton

  2 December 1988

  Regional Principal Medical Officer

  No

  Feltham

  28 August 1988

  Regional Principal Medical Officer

  No

  Holloway

  13 December 1988

  Director Prison Medical Services

  No

  Pentonville

  6 December 1988

  Regional Principal Medical Officer

  No

  Wandsworth

  15 July 1988

  Regional Principal Medical Officer

  No

  Wormwood Scrubs

  13 January 1989

  Director Prison Medical Services

  Yes

  The Director of Prison Medical Services, following his visit to the temporary hospital facility at Wormwood Scrubs prison, has reported that he supports a decision by the managing principal medical officer to close the facility in the interests of health and hygiene. Consideration is being given to means of remedying the defects identified. Provision for a fully equipped hospital is included in the urgent redevelopment scheme for this establishment. Building is scheduled to start in two years' time.

  Proxy Votes
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to amend the law to enable one person to attest the proxy vote of more than one other person in elections.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We hope shortly to issue a consultation paper on absent voting, which will explore the various options for change, including that mentioned by my hon. Friend.

  Shotgun Licences
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the arrangements for the granting of shotgun licences to minors.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Under section 28 of the Firearms Act 1968 it is open to a chief officer of police to refuse to grant a shotgun certificate if he has reason to believe that an applicant is prohibited by the Act from possessing a shotgun, or cannot be permitted to possess one without danger to the public safety or to the peace. In relation to shotguns there are no specified age restrictions, but age is one factor which the chief officer may take into account in reaching a decision.

  New, stricter controls for the issue of shotgun certificates will come into force under the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 later this year. The Act changes the emphasis so that a chief officer has to be satisfied that the applicant can be permitted to possess a shotgun without danger to the public safety or to the peace. It also contains a new provision to the effect that a certificate shall not be issued if the chief officer is satisfied that the applicant does not have a good reason for possessing, purchasing or acquiring a shotgun.

  Burglaries
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many burglaries were committed in Derbyshire in 1983; and how many were committed in the last year for which figures are available.
  276
  Mr. John Patten
  The information is published annually in table S3.1 of "Criminal statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables, Volume 3", a copy of which is in the Library.

  Football Matches (Arrests)
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests took place at Luton police station of Luton Town supporters following the Ipswich Town v Luton Town Littlewoods cup tie on 17 November 1987; and under the name of which club these arrests appear in the 1987–88 season arrest totals.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Fifty-two Luton supporters were arrested in connection with damage to a coach on which they were returning to Luton from Ipswich after this match. All were subsequently released without charge. None of these arrests was included in the totals of arrests at football grounds compiled by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

  Pirate Decoders
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the proposed Independent Television Commission will have responsibility for policing pirate decoders.

  Mr. Renton
  No.

  Football Matches (Policing Costs)
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State For the Home Department whether, pursuant to the answer of 19 December 1988 on football statistics,Official Report, columns 56–60, he will publish similar tables to the 1987–88 English Football League season showing the costs of policing matches and the costs per spectator at each ground, with clubs being listed in the order of those with the cheapest costs per spectator.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  This information is not collected from individual forces by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

DEFENCE

  Challenger Tank
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what impact he expects his announcement on the Challenger tank will have on jobs in the Nottingham travel-to-work area.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Subject to Vickers Defence Systems winning the production contract for the Challenger 2 Mk
  277
  II there will clearly be a beneficial effect on employment opportunities generally, especially when the downstream effects on subcontractors are taken into consideration. It is, of course, for the companies concerned to decide precisely where this work will be carried out. However, traditionally Royal Ordnance, Nottingham has been involved in the manufacture of tank main armament.

  Mess Stewards
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Royal Marine service men are permanently assigned as stewards to Royal Marine messes; and whether those service men who are not permanently assigned as mess stewards and occasionally act as waiters at officers' messes volunteer for these duties;

  (2) whether those service men who are not permanently assigned as mess stewards and occasionally act as waiters at officer' messes receive additional pay for fulfilling such duties; and what are the general criteria concerning the use of servicemen who are not permanently assigned as mess stewards as waiters at mess nights.

  Mr. Neubert
  Royal Marine service men are not permanently assigned as stewards. Within the corps steward billets are filled by volunteers, who serve a normal draft, or by others for a period normally not exceeding six months. Acting as waiter at an officers' mess may form part of a steward's duties and this does not attract additional pay. As far as possible only volunteers perform waiters' duties at mess nights.

  Chipmunk Aircraft
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Chipmunk aircraft the RAF operates; what is their average age; how much per hour they cost to fly; what is the availability of spares; what plans the RAF has to replace the Chipmunks; if he will list the aeroplanes that have been considered as suitable replacements; and whether the RAF has flown the ARV Super Two manufactured at Sandown, Isle of Wight.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Royal Air Force operates a total of 77 Chipmunk aircraft. Their average age is 35 years. Their basic operating cost (including spares and servicing to normal RAF standards) is about £120 per hour; the availability of spares is satisfactory, and on current plans, the Chipmunk is expected to remain in RAF service until about the turn of the century. The RAF has not flown the ARV Super Two, though it has been used at the Empire test pilots school at the Aeroplane and Armament Establishment, Boscombe Down in the training of student test pilots.

  Royal Arsenal Sports and Recreation Association
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure the continuation of the Royal Arsenal Sports and Recreational Association after the construction of the east London river crossing.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The Ministry of Defence has no formal responsibility for the Royal Arsenal Sports and Recreational Association. Part of the Manor Way sports ground will be lost as a result of the construction of the east London river crossing, but sufficient land will remain to constitute a viable sports ground. We shall of course be 278
  discussing with the association whether it wishes to retain most of the site on licence from MOD for recreational purposes.

  Pindar Project
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated date when the Pindar project will be completed; what requirements it is expected to fulfil when it is fully operational; and what is its total estimated cost.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Project Pindar is a facility to improve the effectiveness of higher levels of command and control. It is not the practice to disclose the planned completion dates or estimated costs of projects which are not yet in service.

  Boxer System
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated date on which the Boxer system is expected to be operational; what requirements it is expected to fulfil; and what is its total estimated cost.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 317 and table 3 of volume 1 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1988". The Boxer 2 communications bearer system will provide a nationwide secure and survivable communications system using new fibre-optic technology. It is not the practice to disclose the planned completion dates or estimated costs of projects which are not yet in service.

  Fastnet Project
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated date on which the Fastnet project is expected to be completed; what requirements it is expected to fulfil when it is fully operational; and what is its total estimated cost.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Fastnet is a phased programme to replace and upgrade the Army's aging telephone exchange system with modern digital equipment. It is not the practice to disclose the planned completion dates or estimated costs of projects which are not yet in service.

  Opcon System
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated date on which the Opcon system is expected to be operational; what requirements it is expected to fulfil; and what is its total estimated cost.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The Opcon system has been in successful operational use since 1986. It is an automated message handling system and database for use by Commander in Chief's maritime headquarters at Northwood. It is based on commercial ADP equipment, and the capital cost of the equipment was of the order of £40 million.

  Mapper System
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated date on which the Mapper system is expected to be operational; what requirements it is expected to fulfil when it is fully operational; and what is its total estimated cost.
  279
  Mr. Sainsbury
  The Mapper system, also known as the United Kingdom land forces automated management information system (AMIS), provides information technology facilities to the HQ UKLF linking with nine District Headquarters and other key agencies, including the HQ BAOR and the MOD, to assist in the planning and execution of operations during the transition to war and on peacetime exercises. The system also provides an electronic mail, word processing and management information facility.

  The system was first installed in mid-1985 and is continually being enhanced and expanded to meet the evolving HQ UKLF requirement for better command and control in the UKLF theatre, in support of home defence and NATO reinforcement.

  Total procurement costs to date for the installation and subsequent enhancements and expansions of the system have been in the order of £9 million.

  Battlefield Helicopters
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what troop carrying capacity for battlefield helicopters has been considered by the airmobility working group;

  (2) when the report of the airmobility working group will be completed.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  We have no record of an airmobility working group within the Ministry of Defence.

  Guided Weapons (Expenditure)
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the £624 million variation between expenditure and grant of item J6 (Guided Weapons) noted on page 14, Appropriation Accounts 1987–88, HC 17–1 was caused by(a) over-provision arising from the provisional allocation of carry forward from 1986–87 and (b) slower progress.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Some 96 per cent. of the £624 million variation on Item J6 (Guided Weapons), noted on page 14 of the Appropriation Account 1987–88, related to the provisional allocation of the carry forward from 1986–87 and the remaining 4 per cent. was caused by slower progress.

  Nuclear Safety
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to facilitate the release of information on nuclear safety to the general public living in the Rosyth dockyard area.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Rosyth public safety scheme is available in public libraries in the Rosyth area. All future revisions will also be made available to the public. In addition, the Rosyth local liaison committee provides a forum for exchanges of information between the Royal Navy and the community on nuclear safety matters.

  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has made to the United States Navy authorities following reported incidents involving the discharge of radioactive coolant from United States Navy submarines into Scottish waters.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  None. Her Majesty's Government are satisfied that United States practice in 280
  United Kingdom waters, which has been governed by a written arrangement since 1958, has always remained within established national and international standards on release of radioactivity.

  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to avoid future accidental or deliberate discharges of radioactive coolant into Scottish waters from(a) Royal Navy and (b) United States Navy submarines.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Our operating, maintenance and safety standards for submarine nuclear reactors are exacting, and we are satisfied that the practice of the United States Navy is equally rigorous. Royal Navy submarines are never authorised to discharge significant levels of radioactivity into the sea. We are assured that the same is true of United States nuclear-powered warships in United Kingdom waters.

  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department's contingency plans for an accident involving a nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarine in the Clyde or Rosyth areas were last revised; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  All Ministry of Defence contingency plans for accidents involving nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons are kept constantly under review. Exercises are held regularly to test our plans.

  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take immediate action to withdraw the existing ROSPUBSAFE scheme and replace it with a safety scheme based on full consultation with local community representatives.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  A review of the Rosyth public safety scheme, in full consultation with local authorities and emergency services, has been in progress for some time. The existing scheme will not be withdrawn until the revision is issued.

  Army Stables
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are taken to enforce the ruling relating to the stabling in Army stables of privately-owned horses set out in his answer to the hon. Member for Northampton, North on 13 January,Official Report, column 783.

  Mr. Neubert
  The costs of stabling privately owned horses in Army stables are recovered from the owners each month on the presentation of a bill by the unit concerned. Failure to settle the bill promptly would result in appropriate action being taken against the individual concerned; this could include the removal of the horse from official premises.

EMPLOYMENT

  Community Programme
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the individuals in Nottingham who were on community programme schemes when employment training was introduced are now(a) still on community programme schemes, (b) on an employment

  281
  training scheme, (c) in work, (d) unemployed and (e) in any other relevant category, both as a number and as a percentage.

  Mr. Nicholls
  At the end of August 1988, there were about 1,800 people on the community programme in Nottingham. On 12 January 1989, 800 people remained on the programme. Information on the destinations of the 1,000 people leaving the community programme is not available, although some of the participants would have transferred to employment training.

  Employment Training
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the lastest available figures of how many of the employment training programme's filled places are(a) extended placements from the community programme, (b) new public authority placements, (c) new placements in the voluntary sector and (d) new placements in the private sector: (i) nationally and (ii) in north Staffordshire.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information is not available.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of filled places on the employment training programme(a) nationally and (b) in north Staffordshire.

  Mr. Nicholls
  At 6 January 1989 there were 111,000 trainees on employment training in Great Britain. Figures are not separately available for north Staffordshire, but there were approximately 2,100 filled places in Staffordshire as a whole on the same date.

  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications for the ET child care allowance have been received by his Department; how many have been granted and refused; how much has been paid out in child care allowances; and how many ET trainees are currently receiving child care allowances.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information requested is not available. Information on the number of employment trainees for whom child care payments are made will be regularly collected from March, with the first results available at the end of April 1989.

  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what new arrangements he has made for claiming back the 100 per cent. advance funding given to ET training managers; how many training managers have applied for deferment because paying back the advances would cause them severe financial hardship; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Repayments of advances for the first three months of ET operations commenced from 1 January 1989. However, where a training manager can demonstrate that this would cause substantial cash flow difficulties, they may now defer the start of the repayments for two months, although the advances still have to be repaid over the period of their contract. Information on the number of training managers taking up this option is not collected separately and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people transferred from the community programme to employment training.
  282
  Mr. Nicholls
  By the end of November 1988, the latest date for which information is available, a total of about 11,000 people had transferred from the community programme to employment training.

  Jobstart Allowance
  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications for the jobstart allowance have been received; how many have been granted and refused; how many are currently receiving the allowance; and if he will give a breakdown of the wages of the jobs covered by successful applications.

  Mr. Lee
  In the period from July 1986 to November 1988, 36,791 people applied for jobstart allowance, 27,844 were accepted and 8,947 were rejected because they were not eligible. There are currently 3,966 people receiving the allowance.

  The information requested about the wages of the jobs covered by successful applications is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Training Agents (Investigation)
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will list the training agents currently under investigation by his Department with details of the reason for such investigation.

  Mr. Nicholls
  No training agents in employment training are under investigation by Training Agency officials. All training agents and training managers are subject to financial and operational monitoring.

  Mining Regulations
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many miners should be present in a development roadway with only one means of entry and egress under current mining regulations.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Section 24 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 prohibits the employment of more than nine persons in a place from which there are not two separate means of egress unless a notice of exemption has been given by the inspector for the district.

  Qualifications
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will give, based on the preliminary findings of the 1988 labour force survey(a) the total number of people of working age and (b) the percentage with (i) A level or equivalent or higher, (ii) O level or equivalent, (iii) below O level and (iv) no vocational or educational qualification for each standard English region, Wales and Scotland;

  (2) if he will give, based on the preliminary findings of the 1988 labour force survey, the total number of graduates in employment as a percentage of all in employment in each of the standard English regions, Wales and Scotland;

  (3) if he will give based on the preliminary findings of the 1988 labour force survey, the total numbers of graduates in employment in each of the standard English regions, Wales and Scotland.

  Mr. Lee
  Results from the 1988 labour force survey are not yet available.

  High Moor Colliery (Accident)
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give details of the rescue operation at High Moor colliery on 13 January leading to the freeing of 10 trapped miners.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The widely reported operation involved overcoming the hazard presented by a fall of roof extending over a length of approximately 30 metres, resulting in the need to mount the recovery in potentially hazardous conditions.

  The rescue operation at High Moor, which led to the freeing of the 10 trapped men, demonstrated the traditional expertise and bravery of miners in dealing with such a hazardous situation. The co-operative efforts of all concerned, led by the colliery manager and colliery TU officials, to save life even at great personal risk, was the main factor in the success of the operation.

  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement of the medical and other types of assistance which were given to the 10 miners who were rescued following an accident at High Moor colliery on 13 January.

  Mr. Nicholls
  During the operation the full range of medical services provided by the south Yorkshire area of British Coal were readily available at the mine, and a mine nursing sister was present underground to give any necessary assistance.

  After the trapped men were freed and brought to the surface, they were examined at the colliery medical centre before being allowed home. No major injuries were suffered by any of the men.

  Mine rescue teams with specialised rescue equipment made a rapid response to the emergency. A district inspector from the Health and Safety Executive's mine and quarries inspectorate was underground during the rescue. A principal district inspector was also at the mine to assist in the organisation of the rescue, together with senior officials of both British Coal and the trade unions.

  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give details of the action he has taken to ensure the safety of operations at High Moor colliery following the accident on 13 January in which 10 miners were trapped following a collapse of 30 m of the roof in its main gate heading.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The Health and Safety Executive's mines and quarries inspectorate began its investigation on 16 January 1989. Due to the need to ensure safe conditions for this investigation it will be some time before the cause of the roof collapse can be established. Any action necessary as a result of the investigation will be taken by the Health and Safety Executive.

  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list accidents and other reportable incidents at High Moor colliery since 1985.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information tabled is for the last four calendar years.

  Fatal

  Major injuries

  Dangerous occurrences

  +3-day accidents

  1985

  —

  2

  1

  —

  1 1986

  —

  5

  —

  1 85

  1987

  —

  8

  2

  53

  1988

  1

  4

  —

  29

  284
  1The introduction of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations on I April 1986 required the recording of "plus three-day" accidents. The 1986 figure for these accidents represents a nine-month period only.

  Tourism
  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what period will be allowed for consultation by interested bodies following publication of the report on the review of tourism before any Government action is taken.

  Mr. Lee
  A wide range of individuals and organisations have been consulted during the preparation of the review team's report.

  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to publish the report on the review of tourism.

  Mr. Lee
  My right hon. Friend has no plans to publish the report.

  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to ensure the continuing existence and uprating of section 4 grant aid assistance for the promotion of tourism.

  Mr. Lee
  A review of tourism policy by my Department was announced by my right hon. Friend in July. The section 4 scheme of assistance is being considered as part of this review.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what calculation he has made of the impact on tourism of the possible withdrawal of university halls of residence from commercial letting as a result of any reduction in University Grants Committee funding of the commercial rates paid by halls to local authorities.

  Mr. Jackson
  I have been asked to reply.

  Rates paid in respect of university halls of residence are not currently reimbursed by the University Grants Committee. A decision by the Universities Funding Council not to reimburse the cost of business rates payable, after the introduction of the community charge, in respect of halls of residence used for commercial letting would effectively maintain the present position and therefore should not affect the commercial letting of university halls of residence or have an adverse impact on tourism or revenue received by local authorities.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment 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.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In 1988, a total of 829 oral questions were tabled to the Secretary of State for Employment, of which 719 received a written reply. These figures do not include oral questions which were subsequently withdrawn, unstarred or transferred to other Departments.

  Benefit Offices
  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many part-time unemployment benefit offices there are; how long they are open; and whether he will make a statement.
  285
  Mr. Lee
  There are at present 318 small, part-time benefit offices which are open for between one hour and several mornings each week. In the light of falling unemployment and the smaller number of people now requiring the services of the employment service, we have been considering whether there is still a need to retain all of these. We are, as a result, proposing the closure of 43 part-time offices in areas where demand for their services is low and there is alternative provision. None of the offices concerned is open for more than eight hours a week.

  The employment service is keen to offer an effective service to the public, and particularly to people who are unemployed. This can best be achieved in offices which are large enough to offer a comprehensive range of facilities and by postal signing. It is usual when we consider closure of small part-time offices to write to hon. Members in whose constituencies the offices are, to explain the proposals in detail, and I am doing so in this case.

SCOTLAND

  Set-aside Scheme
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if there is any provision in the set-aside scheme to assist farmworkers whose employment is reduced or lost as a result of the scheme.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave him on 15 December, at column 672.

  Glasgow District Court
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the average time between the lodging of a plea of not guilty and the resultant trial diet in the Glasgow district court for the latest available period for which this figure is available; and if he will give the same information for the same period for cases going for trial before a stipendiary magistrate.

  Mr. Rifkind
  The average time for cases dealt with in November 1988 was 14 weeks for Glasgow district court, excluding the stipendiary magistrates court, and 25 weeks for cases heard by a stipendiary magistrate.

  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of cases in which trial diets are set in Glasgow district court for the latest period for which figures are available and the percentage of those cases where a plea of guilty was presented when the trial was called.

  Mr. Rifkind
  Figures are not available in the precise form requested, but in 1987, 63 per cent, of the 13,368 persons called to court in Glasgow district court pled guilty at some stage in the proceedings.

  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of cases called in Glasgow district court for the latest year in which figures are available and the same figures three and five years ago.

  Mr. Rifkind
  The information requested is given in the table:286

  Persons called to court: Glasgow District Court

  Year

  Number

  1984

  16,704

  1986

  14,892

  1987

  13,368

  Council House Sales
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each local government area the number of council houses sold to tenants under the Housing Acts; and if he will express this as a proportion of the total housing stock in each such area.

  Lord James Douglas-hamilton
  The available information is set out in the table.

  Local authority houses sold to sitting tenants from 1 April 1979 to 30 September 1988

  Area

  Houses sold to sitting tenants from 1 April 1979 to 30 September 1988

  Percentage of stock sold to sitting tenants1

  Scotland

  95,023

  10·63

  Borders

  Berwickshire

  521

  18·18

  Ettrick and Lauderdale

  941

  18·89

  Roxburgh2

  913

  14·57

  Tweeddale2

  270

  16·58

  Central

  Clackmannan

  1,143

  11·84

  Falkirk

  4,250

  12·68

  Stirling

  1,680

  12·79

  Dumfries and Galloway

  Annandale and Eskdale2

  989

  19·95

  Nithsdale

  1,610

  18·74

  Stewartry

  632

  24·83

  Wigtown

  879

  18·67

  Fife

  Dunfermline

  4,196

  18·09

  Kirkcaldy

  4,620

  17·37

  North East Fife2

  1,988

  24·85

  Grampian

  Aberdeen

  3,721

  9·72

  Banff and Buchan2

  2,158

  17·06

  Gordon

  1,291

  21·18

  Kincardine and Deeside

  666

  18·37

  Moray

  2,147

  20·24

  Highland

  Badenoch and Strathspey

  288

  26·89

  Caithness2

  690

  16·04

  Inverness

  1,107

  15·78

  Lochaber

  515

  15·30

  Nairn

  212

  19·12

  Ross and Cromarty

  671

  10·73

  Skye and Lochalsh

  140

  20·00

  Sutherland

  226

  13·06

  Lothian

  East Lothian

  2,621

  16·13

  Edinburgh2

  7,228

  12·71

  Midlothian

  2,308

  17·54

  West Lothian

  2,130

  9·45

  Strathclyde

  Argyll and Bute

  950

  11·45

  Bearsden and Milngavie

  369

  20·20

  Clydebank

  944

  7·98

  Clydesdale

  608

  6·29

  287

  Area

  Houses sold to sitting tenants from 1 April 1979 to 30 September 1988

  Percentage of stock sold to sitting tenants1

  Cumbernauld and Kilsyth

  460

  10·49

  Cumnock and Doon Valley2

  639

  6·17

  Cunninghame

  2,496

  10·59

  Dumbarton2

  854

  6·51

  East Kilbride

  324

  19·95

  Eastwood

  426

  21·00

  Glasgow

  8,055

  4·60

  Hamilton

  1,991

  8·71

  Inverclyde

  1,543

  7·69

  Kilmarnock and Loudoun

  1,620

  8·91

  Kyle and Carrick

  2,977

  16·23

  Monklands 2

  1,396

  4·89

  Motherwcll2

  1,941

  4·86

  Renfrew

  4,076

  10·32

  Strathkelvin

  1,623

  14·81

  Tayside

  Angus

  2,332

  16·00

  Dundee

  2,668

  6·65

  Perth and Kinross

  2,923

  17·93

  Orkney Islands2

  243

  16·76

  Shetland Islands

  331

  13·66

  Western Isles

  483

  20·21

  1 Stock as at 30 September 1979.

  2 Complete figures are not available for this period, due to outstanding returns.

  Rating Reform
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in respect of the local authority areas of Tayside region, Angus district, Dundee district and Perth and Kinross district, he will list the details of the figures he used to calculate(a) the estimate of the total revenue expenditure, (b) the amount of revenue support grant, (c) the amount of non-domestic rates, (d) the amount attributable to the poll tax, (e) the amount of revenue balances he expects each to use and (f) the effective number of registerd persons for each.

  Mr. Lang
  The Secretary of State has not calculated the figures mentioned under(a), (d) and (e). These are matters for the local authorities concerned. Details of calculations of (b), (c) and (f) are given in the "Report on the Revenue Support Grant (Scotland) Order 1988", a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list the full details of how the calculations were arrived at and the assumptions which were made in calculating(a) the poll tax for Tayside region, (b) the water poll tax for Tayside region, (c) the district poll tax for Angus district, (d) the district poll tax for Dundee district and (e) the district poll tax for Perth and Kinross district;

  (2) if he will list the full details of how he calculated the total amount of poll tax payable in each district in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  For Scotland as a whole the 9·8 per cent increase means that if local authorities increase their 288
  expenditure by no more than 6 per cent., plus allowances for the cost of community charge and school board administration, the amount raised in community charges need be no more than that raised in domestic rates this year. The first stage of the calculation of a community charge for each area was therefore to calculate the personal community charge for each local authority, which would raise the same amount as domestic rates did this year. It was assumed that exemptions and losses in collection for community charges would be at a level corresponding to present reliefs and losses for domestic rates.

  The resulting community charge figure for each area was then adjusted to take account of the extent to which the individual authorities' grant increase was larger or smaller than the average for the class of authority.

  The community water charge was calculated as the community charge equivalent to this year's domestic and public water rates, increased for inflation.

  The approach was applied to all local authority areas in Scotland.

  Mylnefield Research Establishment
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the representations he has received regarding the future of the Mylnefield research establishment; and if he will make a statement on its future.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  My right hon. and learned Friend has received 11 letters from growers and others, including one from my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) expressing concern about proposed reductions in Government funding of near market horticultural R and D, on the possible outcome of a review currently in hand on the organisation of horticultural R and D throughout Great Britain, and the implications for the future of the Scottish crop research institute at Mylnefield. No final decisions have been made on the future levels of public expenditure on horticultural R and D, or on the organisation of this work, but the continued existence of the Scottish crop research institute is not in question. Horticultural R and D accounts for around £820,000 out of the institute's current budget of £5,650,000.

  Football Matches (Arrests)
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will detail for the 1987–88 season the total number of arrests within Scottish league grounds during league and cup matches as a percentage of total attendances.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The overall figure is 0·0163 per cent. Details for individual grounds are not held centrally.

  Employment Training
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of employment training places filled in September, October, November and December of 1988 for each regional and island council area.

  Mr. Lang
  This information is not available in the form requested except at disproportionate cost.

  However, as a result of an earlier exercise filled employment training places were calculated by region as at 25 November 1988. The results are shown in the table.
  289

  Filled places on 25 November 1988

  Region

  Number

  Borders

  157

  Central

  1,008

  Dumfries and Galloway

  442

  Fife

  1,826

  Grampian

  802

  Highlands and Islands

  644

  Lothian

  3,079

  Strathclyde

  10,432

  Tayside

  1,183

  Total

  19,573

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number of places in employment training(a) authorised and (b) filled for each of (i) private sector, (ii) local government, (iii) public sector and local government and (iv) voluntary sector.

  Mr. Lang
  This information cannot be provided other than at disproportionate cost.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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.

  Mr. Rifkind
  In the 1987–88 parliamentary Session, approximately 362. It is not possible to extract from this figure the number of questions withdrawn on the day on which they were due for answer.

  Motorways (Crash Barriers)
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of motorway in(a) Scotland, (b) the United Kingdom and (c) England has central reservation crash barriers; and if he has any plans to increase the proportion of motorway in Scotland which has such barriers.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  28 per cent. of trunk road motorway in Scotland currently has central reserve safety fencing. I understand that the English motorway network is fully equipped with central reserve fencing, except where the carriageways are widely separated, and that the position is the same in Wales and Northern Ireland. Our policy is to achieve this position in Scotland as quickly as resources and opportunities permit.

  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many miles of existing motorway in Scotland crash barriers will be provided by the end of(a) 1989, (b) 1990 and (c)

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]It is Scottish Office policy to instal central reserve safety fencing on all new sections of motorway. So far as existing motorway is concerned, central fencing will be provided as quickly as resources and opportunities permit until all sections have been completed. The work is ongoing and I would not wish to speculate over annual rates of progress.

  Hospital Buildings (Sale)
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the current arrangements in force regarding the application of funds raised by the sale by health boards of hospital buildings surplus to their requirements.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) on 11 November, at column 345.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Business Premises (Greater London)
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any information on the change in numbers of(a) greengrocers', (b) butchers', (c) bakers', (d) estate agents' and (e) building societies' trading premises in the Greater London area over the last 10 years.

  Mr. Forth
  The following is the information:

  Heading

  End 1979

  End 1987

  Greengrocers

  1,092

  1,004

  Butchers

  1,148

  1,073

  Bakers

  570

  712

  Property Owning Etc.1

  1,837

  2,575

  Other Financial Institutions 2

  796

  1,256

  1 Includes estate agents.

  2 Includes building societies.

  Separate figures are not available for estate agents or for building societies. The figures for bakers include those classified to manufacturing and retail bread and flour confectionery.

  GATT
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what consultation he had with consumer organisations before the recent GATT mid-term review in Montreal; and if there are to be any consultations with such groups as a result of the breakdown of the review.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  My officials regularly consult consumer organisations about the GATT round of trade negotiations. Such a meeting was held shortly before the Montreal mid-term ministerial meeting and another will take place next week.

  Fireworks (Injuries)
  Dame Janet Fookes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he is yet able to announce the statistics for fireworks injuries for 1988.

  Mr. Forth
  Information from most but not all hospitals has now been received, and the usual reminders are being sent. Busy hospitals are of course doing us a favour in providing the figures. We hope to announce the firework injury statistics, as usual, some time in March.

  Japanese-owned Businesses
  Mr. Amos
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many Japanese-owned businesses have located in(a) the south east, (b) the north east, (c) the north west, (d) the south west, (e) Scotland and (f) south Wales, for the most recent year period for which figures are available.
  291
  Mr. Forth
  Comprehensive statistics on foreign-owned businesses are not available, but the numbers of Japanese-owned manufacturing companies known to have located between January 1979 and December 1988, in the stated regions, are as follows:

  Number

  (a) South East

  14

  (b) North East

  10

  (c) North West

  4

  (d) South West

  2

  (e) Scotland

  11

  (f) South Wales

  9

  Mr. Amos
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many Japanese-owned businesses have located in the United Kingdom in the most recent 10-year period for which figures are available.

  Mr. Forth
  Comprehensive statistics on foreign-owned businesses are not available, but the DTI is aware of 79 Japanese manufacturing companies that have set up in the United Kingdom between January 1979 and December 1988.

  Water
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what other information, other than that contained in the Water Bill and the forthcoming amendments, notice of which was given on 11 January, he will be sending to, or he expects to be requested by, the Commission of the European Economic Community in respect of prospective legislation relating to take over bids and golden shares in the water industry.

  Mr. Forth
  None. Responsibility for the Water Bill lies with the Secretary of State for the Environment.

  European Single Market
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on progress towards completing the European single market in 1992.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  We are continuing to make rapid progress towards the goal of completing the single market by the 1992 target date. This was emphasised in the report produced by the European Commission in November, assessing the position at the half-way point in the single market programme.

  Over 50 separate measures aimed at removing barriers to trade in Europe were agreed during the Greek Presidency which ended in December. This brings the total number of single market measures agreed to date to some 275, including 128 from the Commission's White Paper programme.

  The Government are strongly committed to the completion of the single market: it will provide major opportunities for business and benefits for consumers.

TRANSPORT

  Heavy Goods Vehicles (Tests)
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a detailed analysis for each of the past five years of all roadside tests carried 292
  out by his Department's engineers on heavy goods vehicles specifying where and when these tests occurred; and what were the results.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Information on the results of roadside spot checks is contained in the vehicle inspectorate's annual report and accounts 1987–88. Specific information on the results of roadside checks in each traffic area is contained in the annual reports of the licensing authorities for the five years up to 1987–88. Copies of these reports are in the House Library. Information on the results of individual checks could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Borough Junction, London
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking with British Rail in respect of the Borough junction which serves the London termini of Cannon street, Charing Cross and London bridge, to ensure that there will be no repeat at this junction of the recent incident at Clapham junction.

  Mr. Portillo
  Statutory responsibility for the safe operation of its services rests with British Rail. I know, however, that in the light of the findings of its internal inquiry into the Clapham accident, it initiated urgent investigations to confirm that signalling systems elsewhere on its lines are in order. I understand that London bridge signal box, which controls operations at Borough junction, has been checked as part of this exercise.

  Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to update and amend the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 in line with the recommendations of the Horne committee.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  We have accepted most of the recommendations in the Horne report. Work is progessing well, in collaboration with the highway authorities and utilities, to produce specifications for reinstatements, a code of practice for diversionary works, arrangements for training and certification of workmen and a computerised street works register. Proposals for legislation are being drawn up with the benefit of advice from the street works advisory committee. A Bill will be introduced as soon as a suitable opportunity can be found.

  Oil Pollution
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to identify the vessel responsible for the oil pollution in the English channel.

  Mr. Portillo
  Samples of beached oil and contaminated bird feathers have been obtained from various locations along the south coast. These are being analysed by the Laboratory of the Government chemist to try to determine in the first instance whether the pollution stemmed from a single incident or a series of incidents, and the precise nature of the oil involved. Whether or not further action will be possible will depend on the results obtained.

  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what were the patrol patterns of the anti-oil pollution aircraft over the Christmas and new year holiday periods.
  293
  Mr. Portillo
  Anti-oil-pollution aerial surveillance patrols took place over the North sea on 24 and 31 December, and over the English Channel on 27 December, 30 December and 5 January.

  Railway Stations
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate how many people in mainland Britain live more than 10 miles from the nearest railway station.

  Mr. Portillo
  This information is not available.

  A38 (Saltash)
  Mr. Robert Hicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport why the A38 Saltash road is to be closed to traffic; what is the period when it will be closed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Contrary to recent erroneous press reports, the A38 Saltash tunnel will be closed from 0001 hours to 12 noon on Sunday 22 January 1989 only, for the first of its planned regular maintenance services. This comprises washing the tunnel walls and lighting, changing lighting tubes and bulbs and minor routine maintenance. We expect to close the tunnel overnight at three-monthly intervals to undertake this regular maintenance.

  British Transport Police
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his reply of 10 January,Official Report, column 624, if he will state the form in which information of incidents reported to British Transport police is kept.

  Mr. Portillo
  Information is held by the British Transport police on its central computer on a police divisional basis. Information by individual railway stations is not readily available. The hon. Member should approach the BTP for further information.

  Channel Tunnel Terminal
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ask British Rail to make available to right hon. and hon. Members their assessment of Stratford as a possible location for the second London terminal of the Channel tunnel.

  Mr. Portillo
  I will pass on the hon. Member's request.

  Road Accidents
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will list the road traffic accidents involving death or serious injury which have taken place on the AI in Northumberland in the past three years.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The road traffic accident figures for the period 1 January 1986 to 31 December 1988 are as follows:

  Year

  Fatal

  Serious

  Total

  1986

  5

  24

  29

  1987

  5

  29

  34

  1988

  5

  24

  29

  294

  Year

  Fatal

  Serious

  Total

  —

  —

  —

  15

  77

  92

  Tyre Treads
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research has been done on the effect of low tyre tread depth on tyres to road grip.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer 17 January 1989]The following reports by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory have been placed in the Library:

  Results on wet cornering done in 1985;

  Supplementary report 672 published in 1981 on straight line grip;

  Leaflet 593 published in 1979—Vehicle Defects and their Contribution to Accidents.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of road accidents are caused by insufficient tyre tread.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer 17 January 1989]Well-maintained and properly inflated tyres are important for road safety. Our standards for tyre-tread depth were drawn up with particular regard to necessary adhesion and safety. Accident surveys have shown that although vehicle defects were a main cause in under 10 per cent. of accidents, faulty tyres featured in nearly a third of these. The main problems were blow-outs and wrong pressures. Inadequate tyre depth was a factor in less than 0·8 per cent. of the cases.

  Air Services (North America-Manchester)
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of negotiations for direct services between North America and Manchester International airport.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]At the most recent negotiations on greater access for US carriers to serve Manchester airport, held in London between 4 and 6 January 1989, the two sides could not reach a mutually acceptable conclusion.

  The Government recognise the importance of these additional services into Manchester airport and are therefore seeking further discussions.

  Transport Infrastructure
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what moneys have been received from the European Community specifically for transport infrastructure investment since 1980; and what projects such moneys have been used to finance.

  Mr. Portillo
  [holding answer 17 January 1989]: About £930 million is expected to have been received by the Department from the European Community between 1980–81 and 1988–89 to finance transport infrastructure investment, as follows:

  Recent major projects included in totals

  £ million

  National roads

  Newcastle Western bypass, A38 Manadon-Tamar Bridge, A30 Marsh Mills-Manadon

  430

  295

  Recent major projects included in totals

  £ million

  Rail

  East coast main line electrification, Windsor rail link in Manchester

  220

  Local roads

  Manchester/Salford inner relief route, Bradford City ring road, A456 Bewdley bypass, A30 Penzance primary distributor road

  180

  Ports

  50

  Bus stations, airports etc.

  50

HEALTH

  South East Thames RHA
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much rental is being paid annually for the office accommodation in Randolph house, Wellesley road, Croydon; if he will break the figure down into rental per square foot; to whom the rent is being paid; and when was the last time that the area rented was(a) used by any South East Thames regional health authority staff and (b) fully used by South East Thames regional health authority staff.

  Mr. Freeman
  South East Thames regional health authority pays a gross rent of £525,000 annually for office accommodation in Randolph house. The net rent, after taking into account accommodation which has been sub-let, is £304,400. This equates to just under £7 per square foot. Rent is paid to Sun Life Properties Ltd. as required by the terms of the lease, which expires on 16 August 1990, and the terms of the lease do not allow sub-letting at a lower rent. The accommodation was fully utilised by regional health authority staff until April 1984 and vacated by them in July 1984.

  Leptospirosis
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by year for the last five years by district health authority the number of cases of leptospirosis, Weil's disease, that have been reported; how many were fatal; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Cases of infectious diseases are notified by the doctor in attendance to the proper officer for each local authority area. Notifications of leptospirosis are therefore not generally available at the district health authority level. However, the table shows the number of notifications of leptospirosis (including Weil's disease) for regional health authorities for the latest five years available. Evidence from the identifications of the disease by the public health laboratory service indicates that there is undernotification and that perhaps only about one in three cases is formally notified. Also given are the number of deaths registered with underlying cause of death assigned as leptospirosis for RHA of usual residence. From the registration of the death alone, it is not possible to determine whether the case had been formally notified.

  Numbers of (a) notifications of and (b) deaths registered withunderlying cause as: Leptospirosis (including Weil's disease)

  ICD (9)1 100

  Regional Health Authority 1983–1987

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  21987

  (a) Notifications

  RHA Area of notification

  Northern

  —

  —

  3

  1

  2

  296

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  21987

  Yorkshire

  1

  —

  2

  1

  2

  Trent

  4

  3

  2

  1

  3

  East Anglian

  1

  2

  2

  —

  1

  North West Thames

  2

  —

  3

  2

  2

  North East Thames

  —

  —

  1

  2

  1

  South East Thames

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  South West Thames

  2

  1

  —

  1

  1

  Wessex

  1

  2

  1

  2

  5

  Oxford

  2

  1

  1

  1

  —

  South Western

  2

  5

  5

  8

  2

  West Midlands

  1

  2

  2

  1

  2

  Mersey

  —

  —

  1

  —

  2

  North Western

  2

  2

  3

  1

  2

  (b) Deaths

  RHA of usual residence

  Northern

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Yorkshire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Trent

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  East Anglian

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  North West Thames

  —

  —

  —

  —

  North East Thames

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  South East Thames

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  South West Thames

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Wessex

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Oxford

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  South Western

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  West Midlands

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  Mersey

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  North Western

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision.

  2Provisional.

  Note: Figures for deaths from 1986 exculde those at age under 28 days.

  Organ Transplants
  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish comparable figures on(a) the United Kingdom's heart transplant programme and (b) that in other countries in the European Community.

  Mr. Freeman
  For details of the United Kingdom heart transplant programme I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Health on 14 December 1988 at column 602. I regret that we do not collect statistics on heart transplantation in other countries in the European Community.

  Diet
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the nation's health in relation to dietary matters.

  Mr. Freeman
  The nation's nutritional health can best be assured if people eat a balanced diet, not too much or too little of any food.

  There is evidence that some people do not eat a balanced diet. For instance the Government accept that the current rates of cardiovascular disease might be lessened if people's intakes of fat and particularly saturated fatty acids, were to be reduced.

  Further information about the national diet is emerging from the results of the dietary and nutritional survey of British adults, undertaken by OPCS in association with the Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which are now being analysed.

  Hospital Cleaning
  Mr. Wray
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what type of information is centrally gathered by his Department regarding the impact in National Health Service hospitals in(a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales of the privatisation of cleaning services; and whether such information refers to (i) the present standards of cleaning works, (ii) savings for health boards in England, Scotland and Wales and for the United Kingdom as a whole and (iii) working conditions of the cleaning staff of such private contractors.

  Mr. Mellor
  Since the launch of the competitive tendering initiative in 1983, health authorities in England have been required to put their cleaning services out to tender. Information collected centrally, following the initiative, concerned the progress made by authorities in implementing the policy, the award of contracts and the savings generated. Virtually all domestic services have now been tendered with about 80 per cent, of the tenders being won in-house. Savings on these services total over £80 million.

  No information is held centrally on standards, which is a matter for health authorities, or on conditions of service for staff of private contractors, which is a matter for the companies concerned and their employees.

  Information about Scotland and Wales is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Post-operative Treatment
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what National Health Service post-operative treatment is available, similar to that found in other European countries; in which areas post-operative treatment can be obtained under the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Any post-operative treatment which the responsible doctors deem to be clinically necessary is normally provided on the National Health Service. If the hon. Member knows of difficulties which have been experienced with any particular form of such treatment perhaps she would let me know.

  Nurses' Pay
  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the median level of earnings for nurses expressed as a proportion of average earnings in each year from 1983–84 to the most recent available date.

  Mr. Mellor
  We cannot derive the information requested from the data on earnings which are held centrally.

  Cancer Screening
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his further plans for the screening of women for cervical cancer.

  Mr. Freeman
  Comprehensive guidance to health authorities and family practitioner committees on cervical cancer screening services was issued in January 1988. All 298
  district health authorities in England have now implemented computerised call and recall systems. All women aged 20 to 64 are to be invited for screening by March 1993—unless their general practitioner has indicated that they should be excluded—and recalled at least every five years. We shall continue to monitor progress.

  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received concerning the psychological effects on patients of the current system of cervical cancer screening.

  Mr. Freeman
  None. Nevertheless we recognise the importance of minimising the anxieties women might have about participation in the cervical cancer screening programme. We have asked health authorities to aim their local health education programmes at encouraging women to respond positively to their screening invitations and to ensure that women who require treatment following their test are offered counselling and support.

  Midwives (Cornwall and Isles of Scilly)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding the regrading of midwives in the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority.

  Mr. Mellor
  The Department has received some 50 written representations, including a petition from the Cornwall branch of the Royal College of Midwives.

  Salaries
  Mr. Ian Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discretion is allowed to regional health authorities in determining clinical and nursing salary scales.

  Mr. Mellor
  The salaries of nurses employed in the National Health Service are determined by reference to national salary scales, with appropriate supplements for staff working in London. These are set in the light of the recommendations of the independent nurses pay review body and health authorities currently have no discretion to vary these salary scales.

  Protection Orders (Northumberland)
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were regarded as under protection orders on a month to month basis in Northumberland in 1988.

  Mr. Mellor
  Information about the number of children removed to a place of safety is collected centrally on an annual basis only. The number in 1988 in Northumberland was 25 and is given in the provisional feedback "Children removed to a place of safety, year ending 31 March 1988, England"; copies are available in the Library of the House.

  School Nurses (Statistics)
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses are engaged in educational medicine and the care of children in hospitals; and if he will give similar figures for the last five years.

  Mr. Mellor
  The total number of nursing staff employed in the school health service in England at 30 September each year from 1983 to 1987 was:
  299

  Year

  Wholetime equivalents

  1983

  2,890

  1984

  2,910

  1985

  2,920

  1986

  2,810

  1987

  2,790

  Note These figures exclude nursing staff employed in special schools.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses in educational medicine and the care of children in schools were in each grade before and after the recent grading review.

  Mr. Mellor
  We do not hold this information centrally.

  Certificate of School Nursing
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what pay enhancements were offered to nurses acquiring the certificate of school nursing in each of the last five years, and before and after the recent grading review.

  Mr. Mellor
  The new clinical grading structure is designed to recognise and reward the possession of post basic nursing qualifications, including the certificate of school nursing. The Department's guidance to health authorities is that the minimum grade appropriate for posts which require first level registration and the school nursing certificate is scale E.

  Possession of the certificate was not a factor in grading prior to the introduction of the new structure. No additional allowances are or were payable to those who have acquired the certificate.

  Listeriosis
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, in any of the notified cases of listeriosis in 1987 and 1988, there was any evidence of a vector other than food.

  Mr. Freeman
  Three of the 546 listeria cases reported to the public health laboratory service in 1987 and 1988 were microbiologically confirmed as being food associated. No vector was identified in the other cases.

  Food Poisoning
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to reduce the incidence of food poisoning.

  Mr. Freeman
  Apart from regular liaison with the food industry and enforcement agencies, action is being taken on a number of fronts. The Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have a number of studies under way on a range of subjects; the public health laboratory service, in addition to its routine monitoring of laboratory reports, also has in train a number of specific studies. The Department is working with the manufacturing and retail sectors of the food industry on the prevention and control of contamination in foods.

  On a wider front, the Department is jointly responsible with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for the Food Act and legislation made under it. A review ol both the Act and the food hygiene regulations is under way.
  300
  We are considering what further action is necessary.

  Elderly Persons' Homes (Calderdale)
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total cost, and to which Government Departments, of funding private and voluntary homes for the elderly in Calderdale in each year from 1979.

  Mr. Freeman
  Private and voluntary homes are not funded directly by the Government.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many places there were in(a) local authority elderly persons homes and (b) private homes for elderly persons in Calderdale in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information readily available for the period relates to the number of places in homes for elderly people and younger physically handicapped people. Information for the years ending 31 March 1981 to 1986 is published in "Residential Accommodation for Elderly and Younger Physically Handicapped People: All Residents in Local Authority, Voluntary and Private Homes Year ending 31 March 1981 to Year ending 31 March 1986 England", a copy of which is available in the Library. The information for the year ending 31 March 1980, and provisional information for the year ending 31 March 1987, is given in the table.

  Number of places in residential care homes in Calderdale local authority for elderly people and for younger physically handicapped people, as at 31 March, 1980 and 1987

  Year

  Local authority homes

  Voluntary homes

  Private homes

  All homes

  1980

  656

  91

  131

  878

  19871

  702

  32

  438

  1,172

  1 Provisional.

  Operations (Waiting Lists)
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people waiting for operations(a) nationally and (b) in Calderdale, have been removed from waiting lists because they became ill, in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Mellor
  We do not collect the information requested centrally.

  Private Health Sector (Calderdale)
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private beds were available, and how many consultant hours were worked, in the private health sector in Calderdale in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Mellor
  The only available information centrally is given in the table.

  Number of beds in private hospitals, homes and clinics registered under section 33 of the Registered Homes Act 1984-Calderdale health authority

  Year

  Total beds

  1982

  141

  1983

  145

  1984

  168

  1985

  272

  1986

  340

  Cook-Chill Food
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to ensure the public can safely consume cook-chill food from supermarkets that store such food in systems that contravene his Department's 1980 guidelines.

  Mr. Freeman
  This Department, in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the food industry, is drawing up guidelines for cooked-chilled manufactured food sold from retail outlets. The proposed guidelines will cover storage and display conditions and will take account as appropriate of the recommendations in the Department's existing guidelines on pre-cooked chilled catering foods.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking following the publication of the results of a survey into food hygiene in National Health Service hospitals in England and Wales undertaken by the Institution of Environmental Health Officers which indicated that the cook-chill processes in 19 per cent, of the hospitals surveyed between 1 April 1987 and 31 March 1988 did not comply with his Department's 1980 guidelines.

  Mr. Freeman
  Health authorities have been asked to provide information on standards of hygiene in their kitchens including those involving cook-chill and this will be carefully considered for further action.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many members of the Yorkshire regional health authority have declared a pecuniary interest in cook-chill catering; and when these interests were declared;

  (2) how many members of the Wakefield district health autority have declared a pecuniary interest in cook-chill catering; and when these interests were declared.

  Mr. Freeman
  None. But as recorded in the DHA minutes, one member of Wakefield health authority gave notice on 25 November that he had received an invitation to join/advise a company specialising in 100 per cent, sterile food. I understand the company currently operates on the continent but has plans to undertake marketing trials in the United Kingdom.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he is giving to Calderdale health authority on cook-chill in the light of the recent new evidence on listeria.

  Mr. Freeman
  The advice contained in the 1970 guidelines on cook-freeze catering, as amended by the guidelines on pre-cooked chilled foods published in 1980, is still operational. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Health said in his reply of 14 December to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) at column 601 are satisfied that provided these guidelines are carefully followed, microbiologically sound food will be produced.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if it is possible for cook-chill food to be supplied from the private sector to National Health Service hospitals with food production units within the requirements of his Department's 1980 guidelines on cook-chill food.
  302
  Mr. Freeman
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 17 January at column 114

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Wakefield of 16 January 1988, the public health laboratory service of cook-chill food has included food supplied to hospital patients.

  Mr. Freeman
  The public health laboratory service survey referred to in my reply of 16 January at column 43 includes cook-chill food supplied by NHS hospitals.

  Water Fluoridation
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what action his Department intends to take in the light of the proposals by the Severn-Trent water authority to give notice to terminate the agreement by which fluoridated water is supplied from the Elan valley reservoir to Birmingham, Solihull and adjacent areas unless by 1 February his Department and the Water Authorities Association resolve the current dispute over the terms of the indemnity granted to water suppliers;

  (2) what are the terms of the indemnity granted to water suppliers who have previously agreed to requests for fluoridation schemes; how the indemnity offered to water suppliers for new schemes has been implemented since the Water (Fluoridation) Act 1985; how such indemnities were implemented before that Act; and what extensions to the existing indemnity have been offered to the Water Authorities Association in recent negotiations with his Department.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) on 16 January at columns 41–42 which said that a copy of the terms of the indemnity for water undertakers had been placed in the Library. The only major change to the indemnity since the passage of the Water Fluoridation Act 1985 has been the withdrawal of cover in the event of a legal challenge to the powers of water undertakers to add fluoride to the water supply. This is because the Act itself removed any doubt about these powers.

  We are considering the terms of the indemnity following representations from the Water Authorities Association.

  Cyclotron (Expenditure)
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what grounds he made his decision to spend ?6 million on a cyclotron to be sited at St. Thomas's hospital; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  On 7 June 1988 Ministers approved a grant of £6 million to the Cyclotron trust as a contribution towards the charitable funds it is raising to install a Cyclotron at St. Thomas's hospital. The decision was made on the understanding that the Neutron therapy the cyclotron can provide, can give relief from the effects of certain cancers. Ministers decided to support the voluntary fund raisers in order to make such treatment more widely available to NHS patients.

  Hospital Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, by regional health authority the number of vacant posts in 1988 for hospital pharmacists grade 1 and grade 2 and pharmacy technicians.

  Mr. Mellor
  We do not collect this information centrally.

ENVIRONMENT

  Housing Finance
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make available to hon. Members any evidence collected from local authorities which supports his answer of 19 December,Official Report, column 42, that his proposals on housing finance will not significantly affect council house rents either in Nottingham or nationally.

  Mr. Trippier
  My earlier reply explained that my right hon. Friend's proposals for capital expenditure and finance were not expected to have any impact on council house rents. We have made separate proposals on housing finance, suggesting new machinery for subsidising local authority housing revenue accounts. The effect these proposals will have on council rents will depend partly on the way we choose to operate the system year by year, and partly on the decisions taken by individual local authorities, who will retain ultimate responsibility for setting their own rents.

  Water Act 1973
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the directions made by his Department under section 30 of the Water Act 1973 since the implementation of the Act, giving the date of each such direction, the authority to which it applied and the nature of the change to which the direction referred;

  (2) what directions he has made for the charges schemes under the provisions of section 31 (3) of the Water Act 1973 since that Act came into force, giving the date and the authorities subject to such directions in each instance.

  Mr. Moynihan
  No directions were given under section 30(5) and none have been given under section 3(4) of the Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Act 1988 which has replaced it.

  No directions have been given under section 31(3).

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what dates since the implementation of the Water Act 1973 he has made regulations under section 32(2) of that Act with respect to the installation of meters.

  Mr. Moynihan
  No regulations were made under section 32(2) of the Water Act 1973, which was repealed by the Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Act 1988. Two sets of regulations have been made under section 5 of the 1988 Act: the Water (Meters) Regulations 1988 No. 1048 and the Water (Meters) (Amendments) Regulations 1988 No. 1288. These were made on 14 June 1988 and 25 July 1988 respectively.

  Alexander Fleming House
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will publish details of any plans to carry out a scheme of refurbishment to Alexander Fleming house, London SE1;

  (2) if he has any plans to list Alexander Fleming house, Elephant and Castle, London SE1 under the Town and Country Planning Acts as a building of architectural significance.

  Mr. Chope
  Alexander Fleming house is a leased building and the landlord has yet to take a final decision about a major refurbishment. I have no plans to list this building under the Town and Country Planning Acts.

  Housing Starts
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the figures for private sector housing starts for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Trippier
  Figures of private sector housing starts appear in table 6.1(a) of "Housing and Construction Statistics, 1977–1987", a copy of which is available in the Library.

  Inner City Regeneration
  Mr. Heddle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he proposes to take to encourage local authorities to use simplified planning zones to facilitate private sector investment in inner city regeneration.

  Mr. Chope
  My Department has already issued advice on the preparation of SPZ schemes (PPG5), on the statutory procedures (circular 25/87), and on the application of environmental assessment procedures in these areas (circular 24/88). Promotional literature has been widely circulated to local planning authorities, businesses and other organisations involved in regenerating inner city areas. SPZ schemes have already been established at Derby and Corby and other schemes in preparation include those at Birmingham, Enfield, Rotherham, Cleethorpes and Glanford/Scunthorpe.

  Economic Development Projects
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the proposed new economic development power will contain restrictions to prevent local authorities assisting in providing wages or salaries for staff in economic development projects.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Restrictions on the use of the new power will be set out in regulations on which we shall consult local government. The Government do not believe that local authorities should be giving long-term direct subsidies to wages and salaries of private-sector firms.

  Water (Privatisation)
  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans his Department has developed to ensure adequate investment in the sewage system infrastructure after the privatisation of the water supply industry.
  305
  Mr. Moynihan
  Capital programmes costing £900 to £1,000 million have been developed by water authorities, aimed at bringing substandard sewage treatment works into compliance with their discharge consents by March 1992. It will be for the proposed National Rivers Authority to ensure that these programmes are satisfactorily implemented, and to monitor the performance of sewage treatment works to ensure an acceptable standard of continuing performance.

  Housing (New Towns)
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Government intend to continue with the management agency agreement to take over the running of all housing in new towns.

  Mr. Trippier
  The management of their rented housing stock is entirely a matter for new town development corporations. The decision to offer a management agency agreement to anyone is taken by the board of the development corporation. The Government have no standing in these matters.

  Fire Service and Civil Defence
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much in percentage terms ratepayers pay for their fire service in each of the fire and civil defence authority areas outside London.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  In 1987–88 the precept incomes of fire and civil defence authorities expressed as percentages of rates paid by all ratepayers in each metropolitan area are as follows:

  Area

  per cent.

  Greater Manchester

  4·3

  Merseyside

  2·9

  South Yorkshire

  3·9

  Tyne and Wear

  4·4

  West Midlands

  3·4

  West Yorkshire

  4·8

  Estate Action
  Mr. Greg Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the increase in provision for the Estate Action programme for 1989–90.

  Mr. Trippier
  The Estate Action provision for 1989–90 has been increased by £40 million to £190 million, which is 36 per cent, more than the current year's provision.

  Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when was the last time a code of guidance as to sites of special scientific interest was issued.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The code of guidance was issued in November 1982. A revised code is in preparation and it is expected to be submitted for approval by Parliament later this year.

  Water
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which of the 31 water supplies subject to 306
  action programmes agreed by his Department now comply with the European Community drinking water directive limiting the levels of aluminium in the water supply; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moynihan
  Two of the 31 drinking water supplies subject to remedial programmes for aluminium now comply with the European Community drinking water directive. These are Tunstall (Northumbrian water authority) and parts of Halifax served by Thrum Hall treatment works (Yorkshire water authority).

  Most of the remaining 29 supplies should comply by 1990.

  Rents and Rates
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the projected rise in local authority(a) rents and (b) rates for each year between 1988–89 and 1990–91 in current prices and 1987–88 prices.

  Mr. Trippier
  [holding answer 18 January 1989]We cannot say what local authorities will choose to do in future years. For 1988–89, however, local authorities in England increased their rents by an average of £1·57 per week over the previous year. (£l·48p at 1987–88 prices). The average increase in general rates in 1988–89 was 17·10p in the £, or 16·09p at 1987–88 prices.

  Lowermoor Water Treatment Works
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many requests for a drinking water derogation order were made to his Department by the South West water authority with respect to the incident at Lowermoor water treatment works on 6 July 1988; and on what dates they were received.

  Mr. Ridley
  [holding answer 18 January 1989]South West water authority submitted to my Department on 3 August 1988 an application for an emergency derogation under article 10 of the EC drinking water directive. Letters from SWW dated 15 August, 31 August and 14 September requested extension of its application.

  I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Minister for Water and Planning gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Cornwall, North (Mr. Neale) on 17 January, [Official Report Vol. 145, col. 147].

  Pollution
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give for the latest available year and for each of the previous five years the volume of chemical waste and the volume of waste material dumped off the British coast.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I have been asked to reply.

  I refer the hon. Member to the replies that I gave on 10 January to the two questions from the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd) concerning industrial waste, dredge spoil and sewage sludge at columns 527–28.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Bees
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has received regarding bee diseases.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  During 1988, I received representations from twelve beekeeping associations and from 15 individual bee interests about bee diseases and related matters.

  Food (Microbiological Research)
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his Department's programme of microbiological research into food produced in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Ryder
  The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food undertakes an extensive programme of research in food microbiology, hygiene related methodology development, costing about £1·9 million in the current financial year. The research is carried out at many establishments including universities, the Food Research Institute, and research associations. The programme of research is aimed at improving the safety and quality of food for the community. A list of individual projects within this programme has already been given in my reply of 22 December 1988 to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley).

  Green Pound
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has made to the European Economic Community regarding devaluation of the green pound as part of the 1989 price proposals.

  Mr. MacGregor
  Following United Kingdom pressure during the 1988 price fixing, the Council and the Commission agreed that the completion of the internal market required the progressive dismantlement of all MCAs, and monetary gaps. The Commission is committed to making proposals for further steps, and I expect to see the 1989–90 price proposals shortly.

  Mr. Marland
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has assessed the likely impact of the green pound rate changes which come into effect on 18 January on farm incomes.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The green pound devaluations agreed at the 1988 price fixing came into effect on 1 January this year. Taken on their own, they would increase aggregate farm income (the value of United Kingdom agricultural output) by some £120 million in a full year.

  Horticulture (Market Research)
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received concerning the level of research and development funding in near market research in horticulture.

  Mr. Ryder
  We have received representations on the level of funding for near market research in horticulture from all the main organisations with an interest in horticultural research as well as from other interested parties.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had with the National Farmers Union about the common agricultural policy.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I meet representatives of the National Farmers Union frequently to discuss agricultural matters.

  Eggs
  18. Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the United Kingdom's present capacity for production of hens' eggs.
  Mr. Ryder
  It is not possible to make a precise estimate of the United Kingdom's total capacity for production of hens' eggs. In 1988, approximately 12 billion hens' eggs were produced in the United Kingdom, but this may not have reflected the use of all the capacity for production that was available.

  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the number of egg laying poultry that have been culled under his scheme announced on 19 December.

  Mr. Ryder
  Latest available information is that some 200,000 birds have been culled so far under the slaughter of hens scheme.

  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the future of egg production in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the future of egg consumption in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Ryder
  The two schemes which my hon. Friend the Minister announced on 19 December have helped to restore stability to the egg market. The further measures to improve animal health and hygiene in the egg industry should enable public confidence to be restored in eggs as a safe and nutritious food. Egg producers should now be able to use their commercial judgment to draw up their future plans.

  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date he expects salmonella in poultry to be so reduced as to permit old and young people to eat eggs safely again and other people to use them in mayonnaise and similar products.

  Mr. Ryder
  I regret that it is not possible to give a precise answer. Salmonella infection is a highly complex issue involving a great number of factors. It would be misleading to state that it can definitely be eradicated. No country to our knowledge has salmonella-free flocks, but we are working urgently to tackle the problem at every point in the production chain to reduce incidence. In the meantime, consumers should continue to follow the chief medical officer's advice about the use of eggs.

  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his latest estimate as to the true extent of infection by salmonella enteritidis in eggs and poultry in Britain.
  309
  Mr. Ryder
  It is not possible to make a precise estimate as to the extent of infection by salmonella enteritidis in eggs or in poultry. As far as eggs are concerned, I agree with what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health told the House on 5 December 1988 at column 19, that the risk to any individual is small and the risk to the healthy adult small indeed. As for poultrymeat, thorough thawing of frozen poultry, thorough cooking of poultry and proper handling of poultrymeat in the kitchen should remove any risk.

  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the number of jobs likely to be lost in the poultry industry as a result of the culling of 4 million hens under the proposals he announced on 19 December 1988.

  Mr. Ryder
  The schemes which my right hon. Friend announced on 19 December to assist the disposal of surplus eggs and to help the industry to reduce the size of the laying flock have helped to stabilise the market and to restore a degree of confidence.

  I have no firm information about the number of people who may have lost employment in egg production and packing plants following the sudden drop in demand which occurred last month. I regret if any jobs have been lost and hope that with the recovery of the market they will soon be restored.

  It would be quite wrong to suggest that the Government's schemes have been responsible for job losses. Quite clearly, the schemes have helped to sustain employment in the industry.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give his estimate of the size of the United Kingdom laying hen flock at the present date.

  Mr. Ryder
  The annual agricultural census at June 1988 recorded a total of 37·1 million laying fowls in the United Kingdom. In addition, it is estimated that there are a further 250,000 laying fowls on those very small holdings which are not required to make annual returns under the census. The census results will be published shortly.

  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he most recently met representatives of the United Kingdom poultry industry to discuss the emergency measures to assist egg producers.

  Mr. Ryder
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Mr. Barron) earlier today.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much compensation he now estimates will be paid to egg producers following his statement of 19 December.

  Mr. Ryder
  The latest available information is that up to £2·6 million will be paid in the United Kingdom for the destruction of eggs under the eggs industry scheme and about £800,000 for the culling of hens under the slaughter of hens scheme.

  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the total imports of foreign eggs to the United Kingdom in December 1988 and 1987.
  310
  Mr. Ryder
  In December 1987, 55,700 boxes of eggs in shell (containing 360 eggs/box) were imported into the United Kingdom. The provisional figure for December 1988 is 21,575 boxes.

  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has of the quality of British eggs and those of the other 11 European Economic Community countries.

  Mr. Ryder
  All hens' eggs marketed in the European Community must comply with Council regulation 2772/75 and Commission regulation 95/69 which lay down common requirements for quality, weight, labelling and marking throughout the production chain.

  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many eggs have been tested for salmonella since the statement of the former Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Derbyshire, South (Mrs. Currie); what the results have been; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ryder
  The information is not available in the form requested. However, during the period 23 November to 13 January a total of 9,425 eggs from 320 flocks or units were tested for salmonella by Ministry of Agriculture officials. None were found to be infected. The PHLS has, of course, continued to monitor outbreaks of food poisoning some of which may be related to eggs.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the incineration of bovine spongiform encephalopathy infected cattle carcases.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Incineration is a safe and effective method of disposing of carcases of cattle suspected of having BSE.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy were identified in December 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  In December 1988, 339 cases of BSE were confirmed by the laboratory examination of brain tissue.

  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the British Veterinary Association about the control of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Ministry officials have frequent discussions with the British Veterinary Association on a range of topics, including BSE.

  Farm Walls and Hedges
  Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the amount of money paid out by his Department as grants for maintenance, repair or construction of farm walls and hedges, for each of last three years and for the current year.

  Mr. Ryder
  The amount of grant paid in England each year since 1985 for repair or construction of walls and the planting of hedges and hedge laying was:
  311

  £ million

  1985

  0·75

  1986

  0·87

  1987

  1·97

  1 1988

  1·26

  1 To June.

  Routine maintenance operations are not grant aided.

  Beef Cattle
  Mr. Livsey
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about present prices for beef cattle; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I have received no recent representations about prices for beef cattle. Throughout 1988 prices have been markedly above those for 1987. Producers' expectations of higher prices have also been reflected in prices for calves and store cattle.

  Vegetables (Pesticides)
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to revise the official standards in regard to pesticide and other chemical residues in vegetables.

  Mr. Ryder
  The use of all pesticides is rigorously controlled in the United Kingdom by the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986. In addition to those controls on use, the House recently approved the setting of over 800 statutory maximum residue levels for pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables. These MRLs will be revised as and when appropriate.

  Beef and Sheepmeat
  Mr. Amos
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the progress to date of his discussion with the European Community on the future of the beef and sheepmeat regimes.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  The Council of Ministers has only briefly discussed proposals from the EC Commission for a review of the sheepmeat regime. Little progress has been achieved in these discussions. Regarding beef, no decision on the proposed reform of the regime was reached at the December Agriculture Council. The existing arrangements have therefore been extended until 5 March with a view to discussions continuing.

  Dairy Farming
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he is next due to meet the president of the National Farmers Union to discuss the dairy sector.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  My right hon. Friend the Minister and 1 have regular contacts with the president of the National Farmers Union to discuss issues affecting the farming industry.

  Food (Purity)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what new initiatives he intends to take to improve the purity of food.
  312
  Mr. Ryder
  Both the nutritional value and the safety of food are kept under close and continuous review by an expert advisory committee, whose most recent report, entitled "Food Surveillance 1985 to 1988" was published last November. The report is available in the Library of the House.

  Intervention Stock
  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he expects falls in e level of intervention stocks in the coming year.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Intervention stock levels are influenced by a wide range of factors, notably harvest size, market demand and EC support arrangements. The measures agreed by the European Council in February 1988 exert downward pressure on surplus production and thus help to limit intervention.

  Livestock Sector
  Mr. Geraint Howells
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to help the livestock sector of the industry during the coming year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I shall continue to make appropriate provision to support the livestock sector during 1989. Actual levels of support will be dependent upon the outcome of this year's price-fixing negotiations; and, in the beef and sheep sectors, the results of the current negotiations on the future of the relevant CAP regimes.

  Agricultural Research
  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement on the future of agricultural research.

  Mr. Ryder
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Dorset, North (Mr. Baker) on 1 December 1988 at column 324.

  Board of Agriculture
  Mr. Favell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his Department plans to mark the centenary of the creation of the Board of Agriculture.

  Mr. MacGregor
  A number of celebratory events have been planned for 1989. The principal ones are: the launch in January of a centenary appeal for the Save the Children Fund; the publication in March of a specially commissioned history of the Ministry; a reception at Lancaster house to be attended by Her Majesty the Queen; and a major exhibition of the Ministry's work in Hyde park in May as part of the festival of food and farming.

  Deer (Tuberculosis)
  Mr. Grocott
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in farmed deer; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I refer the hon. Member to the announcement 1 made in the House on 15 December 1988 at columns 674–75.
  313
  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he is having with the Deer Farmers Association about tuberculosis in farmed deer.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  In my announcement to the House on 15 December 1988 (Hansard columns 674–75) I explained the discussions I was having with the British Deer Farmers Association. I met the Association again on 21 December to discuss these matters further. My officials have also written to a wide range of organisations with an interest in deer farming, inviting their comments on the proposed new measures.

  Mr. Haynes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has for the extent of tuberculosis in farmed and wild deer.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Since the beginning of 1986 tuberculosis in farmed deer has been confirmed in six out of an estimated 250 deer farming premises in Great Britain. Since 1971 only eight wild deer have been found to have been infected with tuberculosis out of a total of 734 carcases inspected in connection with official operations in areas where there is a high risk of infection from badgers.

  The extent of tuberculosis in farmed deer will become more clear when legislation, to be introduced shortly, will make the disease notifiable in farmed deer.

  EC Conversion Grants
  Mr. McWilliam
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to meet representatives of the National Farmers Union to discuss the new European Community conversion grants.

  Mr. MacGregor
  My Department is in regular touch with the union on the Commission's most recent proposals.

  Mr, Ray McSharry
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) when he intends to meet the new European Community Agriculture Commissioner, Mr. Ray McSharry;

  (2) when he plans to meet the new European Community Commissioner for Agriculture.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I expect to meet Mr. McSharry at the meeting of the Agriculture Council on 23–24 January.

  Country Landowners Association
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the president of the Country Landowners Association; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Ryder
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicestershire, North, West (Mr. Ashby) on 1 December 1988 at column 325.

  British Poultry Federation
  Mr. Hanky
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the president of the British Poultry Federation; and what matters were discussed.
  314
  Mr. Ryder
  My right hon. Friend the Minister met the president of the British Poultry Federation on 5 May 1988 at the lunch following the federation's annual general meeting. They discussed a number of issues of interest to the industry.

  GATT (Agricultural Trade)
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he expects to be made in the general agreement on tariffs and trade discussions on agricultural trade over the next few months following the mid-term review in Montreal.

  Mr. MacGregor
  It was agreed in Montreal that a further meeting of senior trade policy officials should take place in Geneva in April to resolve the outstanding issues and bring the mid-term review of the GATT negotiations to a positive conclusion. Meanwhile, the director general of the GATT will be holding bilateral consultations with the major participants in the negotiation and agriculture will be one of his main concerns.

  The Government will be working with our partners in the Community to resolve the differences of view, notably with the United States, over how to carry forward reform of agricultural trade policies so that the April meeting can agree a clear and detailed framework for the subsequent conduct of the negotiation. All parties to the negotiation will need to take a flexible and constructive approach for progress in this direction to be achieved.

  Women's Farming Union
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the chairman of the Women's Farming Union; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I met the chairman of the Women's Fanning Union on 23 November 1988 when I addressed the union's annual general meeting on various subjects, including the opportunities and challenges facing the marketing boards.

  Countryside Commission
  Dr. Twinn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next intends to meet the chairman of the Countryside Commission; and what issues he expects will be discussed.

  Mr. Ryder
  I met the chairman of the Countryside Commission on 7 November, when we had a very useful discussion on a wide variety of issues. I expect to have similar meetings in future whenever we have matters of mutual concern to tackle.

  Poultry Feed
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to stop the use of recycled animal protein in poultry feed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I have no plans to do so. The Diseases of Animals (Protein Processing) Order 1981 requires all protein material for animal feeding stuffs to be manufactured free from salmonella. My officials routinely inspect all premises producing such protein to ensure that this requirement is met.
  315
  In addition, discussions are under way between my officials and representatives of the animal feedingstuffs industry to consider the application of the present controls and any further measures which may be needed to reduce salmonella contamination in feeding stuffs.

  Set-aside Scheme
  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with his European counterparts about the setting up of an effective set-aside scheme.

  Mr. Richard Ryder
  Set-aside is operating effectively in the United Kingdom and I understand that the majority of member states have now introduced schemes. I welcome the European Commission's declared intention to open infraction proceedings under the treaty against member states which had not, by the end of 1988, met their obligations to apply set-aside schemes.

  Potato Marketing Board
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the chairman of the Potato Marketing Board; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Ryder
  Ministers meet the chairman of the board from time to time when necessary to discuss various aspects of the potato marketing arrangements.

  Farming (Diversification)
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action his Department proposes to take to help farmers understand the impact of their attempts to diversify their business.

  Mr. Ryder
  On 9 January we launched "Planning Permission and the Farmer", which has been prepared jointly by MAFF, DOE and the Welsh Office and can be obtained through HMSO bookshops. This guide explains how the planning system works; describes some of the relevant provisions of planning legislation, and how to find out whether or not a project is likely to need planning permission; and suggests what can be done before, during and making a planning application to present a convincing case. Copies of a free leaflet will be sent with the February edition of the ADAS divisional bulletins. Any farmer in England and Wales who does not receive an ADAS bulletin and wishes to obtain a copy of the leaflet should contact their local divisional office. The leaflet will contain a brief description of the guide and also explain how to obtain a copy. Copies of the guide and the leaflet will be placed in the Vote Office.

  Wool Board
  Mr. Patnick
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the chairman of the Wool Board; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I met the chairman of the British Wool Marketing Board on 24 October 1988 to inform him of the Government's intention to abolish the guarantee price agreements for wool.

  Small Farmers Association
  Mr. Conway
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next intends to meet the chairman of the Small Farmers Association; and what issues he expects will be discussed.

  Mr. Ryder
  I have no plans to do so at present, though I have frequent contact with all sections of the farming community.

  Unpasteurised Milk
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ban the retail sale of unpasteurised milk.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I have no such plans at present.

  Farm Woodland Scheme
  Mr. Charles Wardle
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will indicate what the initial reaction of farmers has been to the farm woodland scheme; and whether he expects his Department's uptake targets to be met.

  Mr. Ryder
  There has been a good level of interest shown by farmers in the farm woodland scheme. However, the scheme only opened on 1 October 1988 and it is too early to say whether the maximum total areas for planting over the three-year experimental period will be reached. My right hon. Friend will be issuing more details on the pattern of uptake later this month.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how fanning practices have changed in areas of the United Kingdom covered by ESA's since the scheme's inception.

  Mr. Ryder
  Farmers participating in ESAs agree to use farming practices which conserve the environmental features of the area. It is too early to make a full assessment of the effects of the scheme but I expect to publish a report shortly which will explain how the scheme is intended to affect farming practices in each area and indicate progress made so far.

  GATT (Review)
  Mr. Knowles
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of the general agreement on tariffs and trade mid-term review in Montreal.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made to the House on 12 December 1988 by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, at column 400.

  Cod Quotas
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has had about the 1989 North sea cod quotas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I took full account of the views of the Members of this House and the industry when I gave
  317
  my agreement to the total allowable catch (TAC) for cod in 1989 at the December Fisheries Council. I made quite clear that this agreement was subject to the TAC being reviewed if the biological assessment of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries Management in May 1989 indicates that this might be appropriate.

  Tenant Farmers Association
  62. Mr. Summerson:
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the chairman of the Tenant Farmers Association; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Ryder
  Although I have not yet met the chairman of the Tenant Farmers Association, I am glad to say that I shall be addressing the association's annual conference in February. In the meantime, the Department is in regular touch with the association on a wide range of issues.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with European Community Agriculture Ministers about the future of the common agriculture policy.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South-West (Mrs. Shephard) on Tuesday 20 December 1988 about Agriculture Council discussions on a number of Commission proposals including the reform of the beef and sheepmeat regimes. These discussions continue.

  European Community Farm Animal Convention
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has as to disparity in practice in implementing the EEC farm animal convention in member states of the Community.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I take it that the hon. Member is referring to the European convention on the protection of animals kept for farming purposes, elaborated in the Council of Europe rather than the European Community. It contains very general provisions, which contracting parties are free to implement in their own way, and I have no information about disparities in the steps they have taken.

  Farm Animals (Definition)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what representations he has received concerning the proposed designation of farm animals as sentient under the treaty of Rome;

  (2) what plans he has to propose to the Council of Ministers that the treaty of Rome be amended in order to designate farm animals as sentient creatures;

  (3) what plans he has to press for a reappraisal of the status of farm animals within the EEC in the context of a single European market in 1992.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  I am aware of suggestions that farm animals should be given a new status under the treaty, but have received no representations about this. It is clear, however, that the treaty already provides power to adopt farm animal welfare measures, and the European Commission is working on a number of new regulations 318
  within the context of the single European market. I therefore see no need to press for a change in the status of farm animals.

  Slaughterhouses
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of slaughterhouses in the United Kingdom conform to EEC standards for meat export; what proportion conform to United States Department of Agriculture standards for meat export; and what steps are being taken to raise United Kingdom slaughterhouse standards to the appropriate levels.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Approximately 10 per cent, of red meat slaughterhouses are currently approved for export to other EC member states. At present, these account for nearly 40 per cent, of the national throughput. All licensed poultry slaughterhouses have to comply with the relevant EC directive.

  As yet, no red meat slaughterhouses have formally applied for USDA approval although a number of companies have expressed an interest. One poultrymeat establishment has applied for, and been granted, approval to export to US.

  Officials of my Department are ready to advise all slaughterers on the conditions necessary for intra-Community trade or for export to the USA or any other country.

  Chlorine
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking on the three reports he is studying on the effects of chlorine on food and drink.

  Mr. Ryder
  I assume that the question refers to the possible occurrence of dioxins in food as a result of migration from paper-based packaging materials made from wood pulp bleached with chlorine.

  The data currently available indicate that the levels of dioxins in feed are extremely small and do not pose a hazard to health. However, as I indicated in an earlier answer to the hon. Member, my Department is presently carrying out a thorough investigation into this issue, including a programme of laboratory analysis. When the reports referred to are completed, we shall decide what further action is necessary.

  River Pollution
  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the number of incidents of river pollution caused by farms' slurry in 1988.

  Mr. Ryder
  This information is not yet available, but will be contained within the 1988 report on water pollution from farm waste being compiled jointly by my Department and the Water Authorities Association. I will write to the hon. Member at the time of publication.

  Agrochemicals
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what current restrictions there are on tank-mixes of agrochemicals which farmers may apply to their crops; and if he will make a statement.
  319
  Mr. Ryder
  Ministers responsible for the control of pesticides have recently agreed that certain tank-mixes of pesticides should be prohibited. I refer my hon. Friend to the revised consent on use of pesticides which will be published in the London Gazette tomorrow.

  Food Acts
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to seek to amend the Food Acts; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. MacGregor
  In October 1987 my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary announced, on behalf of our colleagues in the Department of Agriculture for Scotland, DHSS and DHSS (Northern Ireland) our intention to update and streamline food legislation. Since then officials have been holding consultations with a wide variety of interested organisations to consider revisions to existing legislation. Consultations are now at an advanced stage and officials will shortly be reporting back to Ministers. Of course, the timing for the introduction of any new legislation must be subject to the other pressures on the parliamentary timetable.

  Rats (Farms)
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he is giving to farmers to control rats in their farm buildings; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ryder
  Advice on rat control in farm buildings is provided by the Ministry's Agricultural Development and Advisory Service. Rat control is needed in order to prevent dangerous structural damage to electrical cables and buildings, to prevent damage to or contamination of stored foodstuffs and, particularly, to reduce risks of diseases being spread to people and livestock.

  Farmers should be aiming to remove any existing rats and to reduce the likelihood of further infestations. ADAS can provide advice on effective rat control practices including the appropriate choice of anti-coagulant pesticides, proper surveying of infestations, correct baiting procedures and measures for protecting non-target species. Additionally, farmers are advised on suitable preventative action including proofing of buildings and removal of harbourages. Ministry advisory publications on the subject are: "Keeping rats and mice out of farm buildings" (leaflet 627) "Control of rats on farms" (leaflet 608).

  Listeria
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the research projects he is funding into listeria monocytogenes and the research establishments where these projects are undertaken; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ryder
  My Department is funding research projects on listeria monocytogenes. These projects form part of the extensive on-going research programme on food safety which my Department undertakes.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to reduce the incidence of listeria monocytogenes in raw poultry; and if he will make a statement.
  320
  Mr. Ryder
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for York (Mr. Gregory) on 17 January 1989 at column 159.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will be in a position to report on the results of his Department's studies into the temperature sensitivity of listeria monocytogenes.

  Mr. Ryder
  My Department expects to receive a report of this work next month.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide details of the studies commissioned by his Department into the temperature sensitivity of listeria monocytogenes.

  Mr. Ryder
  We have a substantial research project in hand on the heat treatment required to kill listeria monocytogenes in a variety of foods, in particular white poultry meat, red meat and carrots. Results of this work will enable us to ensure that the cooking conditions used in the manufacture of these foods are appropriate and allow adequate safety margins to be maintained.

  Sheepmeat Regime
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the implication for sheep farming in(a) Northumberland and (b) similar areas of current proposals for the European Economic Community sheepmeat régime.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  It is not possible to evaluate in precise details how the proposals would affect Northumberland or other areas in the locality.

  Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list his statutory duties with regard to the provision of advice and information to owners and occupiers of sites of special scientific interest.

  Mr. Ryder
  Under section 33 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, I am required to prepare, jointly with other Ministers, a code of guidance on sites of special scientific interest for the benefit of the relevant authorities and for persons affected, that is, owners and occupiers of land in SSSIs.

  I have many other powers and duties to advise and inform owners and/or occupiers of agricultural land, which will include those that occupy land in SSSIs.

  US Secretary for Agriculture
  Mr. Bellingham
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he met the new United States Secretary for Agriculture; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I have met Mr. Yeutter, the Agriculture Secretary-designate, on a number of occasions in his capacity as United States trade representative, most recently at the mid-term meeting of the GATT round negotiations in Montreal in December. I look forward to meeting him in new capacity at an early date.

  Food and Farming Year
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans his Department has to take part in the Hyde Park festival of food and farming, to celebrate Food and Farming Year.

  Mr. MacGregor
  We are preparing a major exhibition for this festival, with the title "Our Land, Our Food". It will include the Ministry's own centenary exhibition, with the emphasis on quality and safety, and will demonstrate the inextricable links between the agriculture and fishing industries and food consumers.

  Chickens (Feedstuffs)
  Mr. Wray
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list each one of the plants processing and producing feeding stuffs for chickens which has been the subject of inspection by health officials, and indicate where such inspections took place, for each year since 1980.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  [holding answer 17 January 1989]My officials routinely visit and inspect plants producing animal protein for incorporation into animal feedingstuffs including feedingstuffs for chickens, and take samples of their products for laboratory testing. Information on the identity of plants is held by my Department in order to carry out these operations as provided for by statute. It would be wrong to disclose such data for purposes other than those for which it was collected.

  Free Food Scheme
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total amount of(a) butter, and (b) beef allocated to each region of England under the European Community free food scheme for 1988–89, the total amount distributed to date and the total amount still undistributed.

  Mr. Ryder
  The allocation of produce in England for 1988, which was made to designated organisations rather than on a regional basis was 1,677 tonnes of butter and 570 tonnes of beef, all of which has been withdrawn from intervention store for distribution. The arrangements for local distribution is a matter for the organisations. for 1989,the Commission has recently notified member states of their allocations. In the United Kingdom up to 4,075 tonnes of butter and 2,975 tonnes of beef is available within a financial allocation of about £14·5 million. We expect to be consulting designated organisations soon.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list(a) the total number of applications and (b) the local authorities which made applications to distribute beef and butter under the European Community free food scheme for 1988–89 in each region of England.

  Mr. Ryder
  Excluding parish councils, there are approximately 400 local authorities in England, of which seven applied to participate in the surplus food scheme.

  Salmonella
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether there is a minimum acceptable percentage of salmonella contamination in poultry carcasses; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  It is desirable that any bacterial contamination should be kept to a minimum, although salmonella is destroyed if poultry is cooked properly. Two codes of practice have been introduced for poultry breeders and hatcheries to minimise the risk of transmission of salmonella. In my reply to my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Central (Mr. Lord) on 18 January I set out the further measures I am proposing to reduce the risk of transmission through breeding stock. Statutory hygiene controls are designed to avoid contamination during processing.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many investigations of salmonella species in poultry flock have been carried out in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr Donald Thompson
  The Zoonoses Order 1975 requires that all isolations of salmonella from food poisoning animals are reported. Since April 1988, in response to the emerging human health problem associated with salmonella enteritidis, all reports of this salmonella have been investigated. The number of investigations carried out in flocks of fowls in each of the last five years is as follows:

  Number

  1984

  3

  1985

  3

  1986

  4

  1987

  5

  1988

  1 182

  1 provisional

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which species of salmonella have been found in the ovaries of poultry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Of the very many known salmonella species only the following species have been isolated from ovaries of poultry:

  Salmonella typhimurium

  Salmonella typhimurium var Copenhagen

  Salmonella enteritidis

  Salmonella heidelberg

  Salmonella menston

  Salmonella gallinarum

  Salmonella pullorum

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of vaccinating poultry against salmonella species; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  A vaccine can only be effective against an individual species of salmonella, of which there are many hundreds. Vaccines are available against salmonella pullorum and salmonella gallinarum; both have been virtually eradicated from this country but the vaccines are used in other countries with some degree of success. Vaccines are not available for the control of other species of salmonella.
  323
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research his Department is carrying out into(a) the identification of salmonella species in poultry and (b) the vaccination of poultry against salmonella species; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  My Department is currently funding a number of research projects including the development of a quick and simple blood test to detect salmonella enteritidis in live birds and the investigation of factors determining intestinal colonisation by salmonella. This includes studies of oral and systemic immunisation of poultry against salmonella.
  324
  Research work on the development of a salmonella enteritidis vaccine is being carrid out under a commercial contract at the central veterinary laboratory of my Department.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under what criteria egg producers are able to label eggs salmonella free; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  As it is not feasible for the health status of individual eggs to be tested in a way which does not destroy them, claims that eggs offered for sale are free from salmonella may be open to legal challenge.

  PROBATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ORDERS: COSTS
  PROBATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ORDERS: COSTS
  PRISONERS IN DORMITORY ACCOMMODATION
  PRISONERS IN DORMITORY ACCOMMODATION
  TIDAL BARRAGES: EFFICIENCY COMPARISON
  TIDAL BARRAGES: EFFICIENCY COMPARISON
  HIV INFECTION STATISTICS
  HIV INFECTION STATISTICS
  SALMONELLA: DEATHS
  SALMONELLA: DEATHS