Written Answers of 24 January 1989

TRANSPORT

  Severn Bridge
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to end the imposition of tolls on the Severn bridge; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  No.

  Vehicle Weights
  Mr. Ward
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to require that all commercial vehicles entering the United Kingdom by sea pass over a weighbridge before travelling on the public roads; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  We are about to install automatic equipment in the main ferry ports which will indicate whether incoming vehicles are overloaded. This will supplement the existing weighbridges used by the Department's traffic examiners.

  Air Traffic Control
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what was the number of air traffic controllers employed at each of Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports for each of the past 20 years;

  (2) what was the number of new air traffic controllers employed in positions in England in each of the past 20 years;

  (3) what was the total number of air traffic controllers employed in England in each of the past 20 years;

  (4) what has been the capital investment in air traffic control systems for each of the past 20 years;

  (5) what was the capital expenditure on air traffic control facilities at Heathrow airport, both on general facilities and on computer systems, in each of the 10 years prior to privatisation.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  These matters have all been within the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority and the National Air Traffic Services since 1972. I suggest the hon. Member writes to the chairman of the authority.

  Heathrow Airport
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the capital expenditure on general facilities at Heathrow by the airport authority itself in each of the 10 years prior to privatisation.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The Department does not hold this information.

  For the years 1977–78 to 1983–84 such information was given in the authority's annual report and accounts, which are in the Library; for the three subsequent years I suggest the hon. Member approaches BAA plc direct.

  M3 Extension
  Mr. Ward
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether contracts have yet been let for the southern section of the M3 extension.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Necessary works in advance of the main contract for the Compton to Bassett section of the M3 are under way. We hope to invite tenders for the main contract shortly to enable work to start this summer.

  Mr. Ward
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has now received the independent inspector's report on the latest public inquiry about the final link between the M27 and M3 motorways; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Yes. The inspector's report of the reopened inquiry into the Bar End to Compton section of the M3 extension was received at the end of November. It will be considered together with that of the 1985 inquiry inspector. The reports cover the many complex issues covered at the inquiries. My right hon. Friends will announce their joint decisions as quickly as they can.

  Dangerous Cargoes
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what permission needs to be sought by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, British Nuclear Fuels Limited or commercial handlers of nuclear materials to transport by air radiotoxic materials such as plutonium or tritium within the United Kingdom, or from the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The consignors of all radioactive materials by air must satisfy the Department of Transport that the arrangements comply fully with the national and international regulations.

  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to review the safety of air transportation of dangerous toxic cargoes, including radio isotopes, depleted uranium, radioactive wastes and plutonium.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The transport of radioactive materials by all modes of transport must comply fully with the national and international regulations which are under continuous review by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

  The IAEA is currently undertaking a special review to decide whether any regulatory changes are needed to cover the particular circumstances of air transport.

  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, during the next meeting of the Council of European Transport Ministers, he will make it his policy to initiate an EEC review of the hazards of the air, sea, road and rail transport of radiotoxic nuclear materials.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The transport of all radioactive materials must comply with the international regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is a United Nations body. These are under continuous review. All EEC countries are member states of the IAEA, and there is no need for a special EEC review.

  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to set up a review
  469
  study of the rail transport of spent nuclear fuel on the north and south London rail network lines, to study the appropriateness of the routeing and the preparedness of emergency plans in the event of an accident involving the significant release of radioactivity.

  Mr. Portillo
  All movements of spent nuclear fuel must comply with regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The required design of the steel flasks ensure that even in the event of a severe railway accident there would be no significant release of the contents.
  Long-standing and well-rehearsed emergency arrangements exist to provide a rapid response to any incident involving nuclear materials in transit.

  Boeing 757 (Safety)
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to the time and date when the Boeing Aircraft Company first became aware of wiring problems in their 757 aircraft; when the Federal Aviation Authority was notified; when the federal authority gave instructions that the aircraft were to be checked; what the time and date was when the Civil Aviation Authority was notified; and when the Civil Aviation Authority notified United Kingdom airlines operating these aircraft.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  I understand that the United States Federal Aviation Administration and the Boeing Company are investigating the chronology of the notification of wiring faults in the hold fire warning and extinguishing system of the Boeing 757.

  My information is that the Civil Aviation Authority was notified by the FAA, by telephone, at 5.30 pm on Friday, 13 January, that an airworthiness directive was being issued which concerned the wiring of the B757 hold fire warning and extinguishing system. By 7.30 that evening the CAA had notified all United Kingdom operators of the forthcoming airworthiness directive.

  On Saturday morning, 14 January, the full airworthiness directive was received by the CAA by telex. The CAA confirmed immediately that all United Kingdom operators of the aircraft had received the telex. Action was by then under way and by the end of the morning British Airways, for example, had already inspected and cleared 12 of their B757s.

  Urban Programme
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his provision for the urban programme for 1988–89 and for the next three years at cash prices and at 1987–88 constant prices.

  Mr. Portillo
  The Department of Transport's cash provision for the urban programme in 1988–89 and each of the succeeding three years is £11 million. This is £10 million per annum at 1987–88 constant prices.

  In addition to the urban programme works, which are administered by the Department of the Environment, urban areas receive substantial benefit from the Department of Transport's other programmes, including those for trunk road construction, local authority roads and public transport.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes he proposes to make to the cash limits on his votes and to his Department's running costs limit.

  Mr. Channon
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates, the cash limits for my votes are to be changed as follows:

  £'000

  Current cash

  Change

  Revised cash

  limit

  limit

  Class VIII Vote 1

  1,027,307

  14,145

  1,041,452

  2

  215,838

  3,390

  212,448

  4

  122,453

  1,130

  123,583

  The increase in class VIII, vote I will be charged to the Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure. This increase takes account of a reduction of £1,585,000 to compensate for an overspend of the cash limit in 1987–88. This follows the normal practice of reducing the cash limit for one financial year by the amount of the previous year's overspend.

  The reduced cash limit on class VIII, vote 2 takes account of transfers of:

  (a) £1,130,000 to class VIII, vote 4 to offset an equivalent increase on that vote;

  (b) £2,110,000 to class VIII, vote 5 as a partial offset to increased public expenditure on rural bus grants on that vote; and

  (c) £150,000 to class XI, vote 3 in respect of a transfer of civil defence provision to the Home Office.

  The balance of the increased requirement for rural bus grants will be offset by savings on class VIII, vote 5 and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  The running costs limit of the Department of Transport has been reduced by £38,000 from £257,017,000 to £256,979,000. This amount will be transferred to the running costs limit of Her Majesty's Treasury to cover the cost of additional work incurred in respect of the forthcoming transfer of the Department of Transport payroll to the Chessington computer centre.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Sales Practices
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) whether he intends to introduce further measures to curb the practice known as telephone cold calling;

  (2) how many representations he has received since 1 January 1988 regarding the sale practice known as telephone cold calling; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  My Department has received 39 complaints from consumers about unsolicited telephone sales calls since 1 January 1988. The Office of Fair Trading, the Office of Telecommunications and local authority trading standards departments have also received complaints about this practice.
  The British Direct Marketing Association is planning to introduce a telephone preference service which would enable telephone subscribers to choose to have their details excluded from lists used by direct selling organisations. Discussions about the form of such a service are taking
  471
  place with the Office of Fair Trading and other interested Government bodies. My Department is keeping in touch with these developments.

  Local Pay Additions
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the number of staff in his Department, by grade, in receipt of local pay additions outside London and the south east economic planning region; what are the different amounts paid to staff by grade; whether this figure varies due to location; what qualifying period of scale-related criteria is used; and whether this varies by location.

  Mr. Forth
  Nine administrative officers, four administrative assistants and two personal secretaries are receiving local pay additions in offices of the Department of Trade and Industry in Cambridge, which is outside London and the south-east economic planning region. The annual salaries of the administrative officers and administrative assistants are increased to £300 above the national rate in the first year of service in the Department; thereafter annual salaries are increased to £600 above the national rate, except where staff are on the maximum of their salary scale, when the annual salaries are increased to £400 above the national rate. The annual salaries of personal secretaries are adjusted in the same manner, except that they are increased to £600 above the national rate in the first year of service. The criteria for payment of these additions do not vary between offices.

  Aircraft (Research)
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made in the review of support for civil aircraft and aero engine research.

  Mr. Atkins
  In the White Paper "DTI—The Department for Enterprise" (CM 278, January 1988) my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced that the Government intended to review during 1988 the Department's support for civil aircraft and aeroengine research and demonstration.

  A comprehensive review has now been carried out by officials of my Department and implementation of the recommendations is under way. It concluded that there is a continuing need for the Government to fund research in support of the United Kingdom civil aircraft industry in view of the particular circumstances of this international market. At the same time, the review recommended that the Government should seek measures in the international arena to reduce the market distortions which play their part in making such Government support necessary. We are considering further how to take this forward.

  As a result of the review, we shall be taking a number of steps and introducing procedures that are designed both to bring the support in line with wider Government and departmental research objectives and to ensure that we obtain good value for money from the funding. These include withdrawing near market support and encouraging more collaborative research. Because of the particular nature of the industry we shall continue, exceptionally, to make available support for longer-term single company research projects in the airframe, aeroengine and helicopter sectors, limited to a maximum funding of 25 per cent. of total project costs. Also, for research carried out
  472
  either in Government research establishments or agencies, we shall in future expect aerospace companies, as major beneficiaries of the work, to contribute to the funding, usually by seconding staff to the research teams.

  Century Newspapers Ltd., Belfast
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many days he has allowed for consultation between the date of the announcement of the proposed takeover of Century Newspapers Ltd., Belfast, by Thompson Regional Newspapers and the date when the submissions must be received by him before a decision on referral to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, what is the normal period for such consultation; and whether he has received any representations from the National Graphical Association and the National Union of Journalists about the possibility of a monopoly of newspaper ownership being created in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Maude
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]On 10 January my Department issued a press notice inviting comments on the proposal by 17 January.
  The Department's procedures for a formal consultation period were introduced in October 1988. This is the fist application for consent to a newspaper merger under the financial urgency provisions received since then. I have received seven representations on the proposal including a full submission from the National Graphical Association.

  Net Book Agreement
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will set up an inquiry into the working of the net book agreement with a view to examining its effect on booksellers, publishers and book purchasers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  [holding answer 19 January 1989]: The Restrictive Practices Court has considered the net book agreement on two occasions and has found it not to be contrary to the public interest. Under the relevant legislation, the Director General of Fair Trading may apply to the court for a review of its decision if at any time he considers that there has been a material change in circumstances on which the original judgment was based. It is not open to Ministers to make such an application.

  In the circumstances it would serve no useful purpose for the Government to set up an inquiry. However, the Government have proposed fundamental reforms to restrictive trade practices legislation under which, among other things, it is intended that arrangements such as the net book agreement which have been cleared under existing legislation should be reconsidered in due course by the appropriate competition authority under criteria laid down in the new legislation.

  Inner Cities Initiative
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the allocation for the inner cities initiative for 1988–89 and each of the next three years at cash prices and at 1987–88 constant prices.

  Mr. Newton
  The inner cities unit of my Department has an allocation of £21·3 million for 1988–89 (£20·0 million in 1987–88 constant prices). Information about
  473
  planned expenditure in the following three years will shortly be published in the public expenditure White Paper.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Eritrea
  Mr. Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, in view of the greater use now being made of the United Nations Security Council in the sphere of conflict resolution, the Government have raised the issue of Eritrea in informal contacts in Security Council circles; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We are concerned about the continuing conflict in Eritrea and take every opportunity to urge all those involved to reach a solution by negotiation. We do not believe it would be helpful to raise the issue in the Security Council.

  British Embassies and High Commissions
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total number of British embassies and high commissions; what is the number of staff employed in them, and what is the total annual cost.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  There are 130 embassies and high commissions, and 78 subordinate and miscellaneous other posts. The total running cost in financial year 1987–88 was £241·4 million.

  UN Security Council
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give for the last full year for which figures are available the number of meetings of the United Nations Security Council; and the number of times it voted.

  Mr. Eggar
  Between 16 June 1987 and 15 June 1988 (the last full year for which figures are available), the United Nations Security Council held 67 meetings, and voted 33 times.

  British Antarctic Territory
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he proposes to take with regard to the administration of the British Antarctic Territory; and whether he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  The British Antarctic Territory was established as a separate dependent territory in 1962. Since then, as a matter of convenience, the territory has been administered by an high commissioner resident in Stanley. Following consideration of the future administrative needs of the territory, we have decided that from 1 July this year the administration of the BAT will be repatriated to London and that the commissioner will be a senior official of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The present high commissioner has been informed and is informing the Falkland Islands Councillors. The British Indian Ocean Territory has been similarly administered from London since 1977.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Capital Allocation (Warwickshire)
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out in the Official Report his Department's capital allocation in real terms to Warwickshire county council for each year since 1978–79.

  Mr. Butcher
  The information requested for the years 1981–82 to 1989–90 is set out in tables 1 and 2. Before 1981–82 local education authorities did not receive block allocations but were notified annually, in the context of a rolling programme, of a limit on the value of building starts in the following year.

  Table 1

  Warwickshire Lea Prescribed capital expenditure 1981–82 to 1989–90

  Cash Prices

  1Constant Prices

  £000s

  £000s

  1981–82

  1,366

  1,843

  1982–83

  1,367

  1,722

  1983–84

  1,991

  2,398

  1984–85

  1,428

  1,637

  1985–86

  1,703

  1,853

  1986–87

  1,236

  1,301

  1987–88

  1,162

  1,162

  1988–89

  1,375

  1,294

  1989–90

  1,729

  1,550

  1 These figures are calculated at 1987–88 prices using the GDP deflator.

  Table 2

  Allocations/or capital expenditure by Governors of Aided Schools in Warwickshire 1981–82 to 1989–90

  Cash prices

  Constant
  prices

  1981–82

  —

  —

  1982–83

  259

  326

  1983–84

  346

  417

  1984–85

  110

  126

  1985–86

  245

  267

  1986–87

  19

  20

  1987–88

  80

  80

  1988–89

  715

  673

  1989–90

  631

  566

  Notes:

  1. Allocations for 1981–82 and earlier years were made on a different basis and have therefore been omitted.

  2. The allocations shown are those announced before the start of the financial year in question and do not reflect subsequent revision.

  3. These figures are calculated at 1987–88 prices using the GDP deflator.

  Teacher Numbers
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the figures for the total number of teachers employed in schools maintained by the local education authorities of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Hereford/Worcester.

  Mr. Butcher
  The total number of full-time equivalent teachers in January 1988 were as follows:
  475

  LEA

  Qualified teachers within schools1

  Total number of teachers paid by the local education authority2

  Derbyshire

  7,859

  8,353

  Staffordshire

  8,124

  8,746

  Nottinghamshire

  8,315

  8,702

  Hereford and

  Worcester

  4,894

  5,273

  1 Full-time equivalent qualified teachers within maintained nursery primary and secondary schools.

  2 The total number of full-time equivalent teachers including qualified teachers, student teachers and instructors employed for service in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools.

  Pupil Numbers
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the figures for the total number of pupils attending schools maintained by the local education authorities up to the age of 19 years, in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Hereford/Worcester.

  Mr. Butcher
  The total number of pupils up to and including those aged 19 and over attending maintained schools in January 1988 were as follows:

  LEA

  Pupil Numbers1

  Derbyshire

  143,000

  Staffordshire

  160,998

  Nottinghamshire

  154,699

  Hereford and Worcester

  96,527

  1 Total number of pupils in secondary and special schools maintained nursery, primary, middle, Includes those attending part-time.

  Superannuation (Compensation)
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has made compensation regulations under section 24 of the Superannuation Act 1972.

  Mr. Butcher
  My right hon. Friend has made the following compensation regulations under section 24 of the Superannuation Act 1972

  1. The Colleges of Education (Compensation) Regulations 1975.

  2. The Teachers' (Compensation for Redundancy and Premature Retirement) Regulations 1985.

  Special Educational Needs
  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if his Department has plans to increase funds available for the education of children with special educational needs.

  Mr. Butcher
  The Government's expenditure plans for 1989– provide for local authorities to spend £59 million, or over 10 per cent., more in cash on maintained special schools than was allowed for within the 1988–89 plans, at a time when pupil numbers in special schools are declining. Expenditure on pupils with special educational needs in ordinary schools cannot be separately identified.

  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps his Department is taking to safeguard special educational needs after the implementation of the Education Act 1988.
  476
  Mr. Butcher
  The Education Act 1988 contains many safeguards for children with special educational needs. The National Curriculum Council and the Schools Examination and Assessment Council are fully aware of the particular difficulties faced by such children. The Government believe that all children, including those with special educational needs will benefit from the provisions of the 1988 Act. Nevertheless, provision for children with special educational needs will continue to be monitored after the implementation of the Act, as it is at present, by Her Majesty's inspectorate.

  Glandular Fever
  Sir David Price
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research he is supporting into infectious mononucleosis—known as glandular fever; arid what are the prospects of developing a successful anti-body to the Epstein-Barr virus.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid from this Department, is currently supporting a virological study of Paul-Bunnell negative glandular fever at the communicable diseases division of the MRC clinical research centre. In addition, the MRC and university departments and medical schools support a range of basic research which may have relevance to glandular fever.

  The council's sub-committee on herpes virus vaccines has recently concluded that it is now possible to undertake studies of whether an Epstein-Barr virus antigen will stimulate immunity in humans. Proposals for such studies are presently being formulated.

  Viraj Mendis
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the cost to public funds of Mr. Viraj Mendis's maintenance and tuition at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology between 1973 and 1979.

  Mr. Jackson
  I understand that Mr. Mendis is recorded as having supported himself during his attendance at the university of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology between 1973 and 1979. However, the tuition fees charged to overseas students at that time were subsidised and an element of the cost of Mr. Mendis' tuition will therefore have been met through the public funding of higher education institutions. It is not possible to quantify this element.

  List 99
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report for each academic or calendar year since 1970 (a) the total number of teachers on list 99, (b) the number included on the list under each of the four principal reasons for inclusion, (c) the number removed and granted permission to resume teaching and (d) the number subsequently relisted; and if he will make a statement on the operation of the list 99 process.

  Mr. Butcher
  The table shows the number of persons added to list 99 in each financial year from 1 April 1970 to 31 March 1988 categorised as requested, and the number
  477
  of persons removed from the list in each year. The total number of persons on list 99 at present is 1,471. The other information requested is not available.

  List 99 contains the names, dates of birth, and departmental reference numbers, of teachers, youth workers, and others whom the Secretary of State has directed should be excluded wholly or partially from

  Year

  Number of persons included on list 99 categorised by type of misconduct

  Total

  Number of persons removed from list 99

  (1)

  (2)

  (3)

  (4)

  (5)

  1970–71

  55

  3

  19

  4

  2

  83

  19

  1971–72

  49

  8

  7

  2

  4

  70

  6

  1972–73

  53

  2

  10

  3

  3

  71

  14

  1973–74

  21

  1

  3

  —

  1

  26

  9

  1974–75

  44

  1

  7

  —

  —

  52

  14

  1975–76

  32

  —

  5

  1

  5

  43

  7

  1976–77

  30

  2

  3

  —

  3

  38

  10

  1977–78

  22

  I

  —

  1

  1

  25

  11

  1978–79

  16

  1

  1

  1

  4

  23

  10

  1979–80

  31

  1

  4

  —

  1

  37

  6

  1980–81

  29

  —

  4

  1

  4

  38

  4

  1981–82

  34

  2

  7

  —

  2

  45

  7

  1982–83

  28

  1

  7

  —

  3

  39

  1

  1983–84

  25

  2

  5

  —

  7

  39

  6

  1984–85

  35

  2

  6

  —

  1

  44

  6

  1985–86

  31

  7

  9

  —

  4

  51

  3

  1986–87

  47

  7

  10

  —

  1

  65

  8

  1987–88

  28

  7

  2

  3

  7

  47

  6

  Categories:

  1. Sexual misconduct.

  2. Drugs cases.

  3. Financial cases.

  4. False claims as to qualifications.

  5. Others.

  University Lecturers (Pay)
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when was the last independent review of university lecturers' pay; what it recommended; and to what extent its findings have been implemented.

  Mr. Jackson
  Since 1970 the pay of university lecturers has been settled by negotiations between employers and employees under an independent chairman. The last such settlement was in 1987: it provided for pay rises of 16·6 per cent. with effect from 1 December 1986 and a further 7·4 per cent. with effect from I March 1988. Those increases have been implemented.

  Urban Programme
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his provision for the urban programme for 1988–89 and for the next three years at cash prices and at 1987–88 constant prices.

  Mr. Rumbold
  My right hon. Friend has made provision for education projects under the urban programme of:

  £ million

  Cash

  1987–88 prices

  1988–89 forecast outturn

  44

  41

  1989–90 plans

  45

  42

  1990–91 plans

  46

  43

  1991–92 plans

  47

  44

  478
  teaching or work with children or young persons under the age of 19, on grounds of misconduct, in accordance with the Education (Teachers') Regulations 1982. Copies of the list are held on a confidential basis by local education authorities and certain other employers and national bodies concerned with the employment of teachers or workers with children or young people.

  Under-fives
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the relevant current expenditure on schools for under-fives in 1988–89 and for the next three years.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Information for local authority actual spending on education in 1988–89 is not yet available. Provisional outturn spending on under-fives in 1988–89 is £495 million, a 25 per cent. increase in cash over spending in 1986–87. The Government's plans for spending in 1989–90 provide for £536 million to be spent on the under-fives, a further cash increase of over 8 per cent. over provisional outturn in 1988–89. The information requested on spending on under-fives beyond 1990 is not available.

  Schools (Opting Out)
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to be able to make his first decisions about the applications by schools to opt out under the Education Reform Act 1988.

  Mr. Butcher
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: The first schools have now published proposes for grant-maintained status, and a number of others are preparing to do so. My right hon. Friend will determine such proposals as quickly as the statutory procedures and his consideration of all the relevant factors permit.

WALES

  Hospital Equipment
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those hospitals in Wales which have (i) echo cardiagrams, and (ii) lithotripsy machines; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  Information on the acquisition of echo cardiagram equipment by NHS hospitals in Wales is not held centrally. No NHS hospital in Wales has yet acquired a lithrotripter. The Welsh Office is currently considering proposals for the provision of a lithotripsy service in Wales.

  Education (Special Needs)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning his plans to safeguard the schooling of children with special needs.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  The Education Act 1981 and the Education Reform Act 1988 make comprehensive provision to safeguard the schooling of children with special educational needs. The Department is also issuing this week for consultation a draft circular on procedures for assessments and statements of special educational needs.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact of the

  Nursery Schools1

  Welsh counties

  1977–78

  1978–79

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  Clwyd

  15·3

  16·7

  18·3

  19·6

  20·8

  20·1

  19·9

  19·7

  19·6

  18·6

  16·5

  Dyfed

  190

  16·8

  15·4

  17·7

  18·9

  20·1

  18·5

  18·9

  22·4

  22·4

  22·7

  Gwent

  18·3

  20·7

  19·9

  21·2

  21·6

  23·6

  23·0

  22·8

  22·5

  22·8

  23·1

  Gwynedd

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Mid Glamorgan

  17·8

  18·9

  19·4

  18·9

  18·8

  19·1

  19·2

  19·2

  18·7

  20·4

  19·4

  Powys

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  South Glamorgan

  20·2

  20·3

  20·4

  17·9

  18·8

  19·1

  18·8

  18·1

  18·4

  19·5

  18·6

  West Glamorgan

  19·2

  21·0

  18·5

  16·0

  23·5

  23·7

  22·7

  24·0

  29·1

  23·4

  23·4

  Primary Schools1

  Welsh counties

  1977–78

  1978–79

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  Clwyd

  23·2

  23·0

  23·1

  22·9

  23·3

  23·2

  23·2

  23·4

  23·8

  24·1

  24·0

  Dyfed

  19·0

  19·3

  18·4

  18·8

  19·1

  19·2

  19·0

  19·7

  20·7

  20·6

  20·8

  Gwent

  23·8

  22·7

  22·8

  22·8

  22·8

  22·1

  22·3

  22·3

  22·2

  21·9

  22·5

  Gwynedd

  21·3

  21·0

  20·5

  19·9

  19·5

  19·8

  19·7

  20·0

  20·2

  20·4

  20·3

  Mid Glamorgan

  23·8

  23·3

  23·6

  23·6

  23·5

  23·5

  22·3

  22·9

  22·9

  23·3

  22·9

  Powys

  18·3

  18·1

  18·7

  18·7

  19·5

  18·8

  18·6

  19·5

  19·5

  19·3

  19·3

  South Glamorgan

  23·2

  23·4

  23·2

  22·8

  22·9

  22·9

  22·9

  22·8

  22·9

  22·9

  22·7

  West Glamorgan

  21·8

  21·2

  21·1

  20·7

  21·2

  21·4

  21·5

  21·7

  21·6

  21·2

  21·3

  Secondary schools1

  Welsh counties

  1977–78

  1978–79

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  Clwyd

  16·9

  16·9

  17·0

  17·0

  17·2

  16·9

  16·7

  16·8

  16·7

  16·5

  15·9

  Dyfed

  17·9

  17·1

  16·8

  16·6

  16·4

  16·4

  16·1

  16·1

  16·0

  15·8

  15·5

  Gwent

  16·7

  16·5

  16·1

  16·6

  16·4

  16·1

  15·8

  15·8

  15·5

  15·3

  15·0

  Gwynedd

  17·3

  16·8

  16·2

  16·1

  16·0

  16·0

  15·5

  15·6

  15·2

  15·3

  14·8

  Mid Glamorgan

  17·2

  16·9

  16·8

  16·8

  17·6

  17·4

  16·6

  16·7

  16·7

  16·5

  16·0

  Powys

  16·3

  16·2

  16·0

  15·9

  15·7

  15·9

  15·5

  15·2

  14·9

  14·8

  14·5

  South Glamorgan

  17·2

  17·0

  16·8

  16·9

  16·9

  16·7

  16·7

  16·6

  16·5

  16·5

  16·4

  West Glamorgan

  16·7

  16·4

  16·4

  16·1

  16·0

  15·8

  15·7

  15·9

  15·6

  15·3

  14·8

  Special schools1

  Welsh counties

  1977–78

  1978–79

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  Clwyd

  8·6

  7·3

  8·5

  8·6

  8·6

  8·4

  8·5

  8·2

  7·9

  7·7

  7·2

  Dyfed

  7·6

  7·2

  7·5

  7·5

  1·2

  7·2

  7·5

  6·7

  6·8

  6·8

  6·7

  Gwent

  8·4

  8·9

  8·6

  8·3

  8·5

  7·8

  7·1

  7·2

  7·3

  7·6

  6·8

  480
  Education Reform Act upon the professional activity of those teachers engaged at primary and secondary school level in the special needs section; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  The Education Reform Act offers the opportunity for a significant improvement in the provision made for children with special educational needs. The entitlement of all children to a basic curriculum from five to 16, together with the extensive flexibility which the Act provides for this to be tailored to the needs of individual children, sets a framework which should encourage a better educational experience for many children with special needs. Further work is being undertaken to provide their teachers, with helpful guidance in the light of the Act.

  Pupil-teacher Ratios
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing pupil-teacher ratios in schools in each Welsh local education authority by type of school for the latest available date for which such information is available; and if he will give the figures for the previous 10 years.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Pupil-teacher ratios within maintained schools are shown by type of school in the following tables:
  481

  Welsh counties

  1977–78

  1978–79

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  Gwynedd

  7·7

  6·9

  7·7

  7·8

  27·7

  7·6

  7·0

  6·6

  6·9

  7·3

  7·3

  Mid Glamorgan

  10·2

  7·8

  7·9

  8·1

  8·5

  8·6

  28·4

  8·0

  7·9

  7·1

  7·4

  Powys

  7·6

  7·2

  7·3

  6·5

  5·9

  6·5

  6·5

  6·3

  5·7

  6·1

  6·0

  South Glamorgan

  7·4

  7·0

  7·0

  7·2

  7·0

  6·7

  6·5

  6·1

  6·2

  6·1

  6·2

  West Glamorgan

  7·3

  7·0

  7·3

  7·1

  7·3

  7·3

  7·2

  6·9

  6·2

  6·1

  5·9

  1 At January for each academic year.

  2 Estimated figure.

  Second Homes
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimates he has as to the number of second houses liable for community charge in each district council area.

  Mr. Grist
  The Welsh Office is presently consulting on where the boundary between domestic and non-domestic properties should be drawn and thus which properties should be subject to the standard community charge. It is therefore not yet possible to provide the figures requested. General information on second homes is, however, available, and table 2.7 of the 1986 Welsh intercensal survey, a copy of which is in the Library, provides estimates of their distribution among districts. These figures can only provide a broad indication of this distribution as they are derived from a sample survey of about 60,000 Welsh households and there are some difficulties in distinguishing between second homes and other categories of housing in a general survey of this type.

  Retirement Homes
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for the Pembroke constituency the number of registered places in residential homes for the elderly in(a) each local authority home and (b) each privately owned home; and if he will indicate in each case the number of beds provided for people requiring nursing care.

  Mr. Grist
  The information requested is given in the following tables.

  Local authority homes for the elderly in the Pembroke constituency as at 31 March 1988

  Home

  Number of residential1 places

  Heywood

  18

  Havenhurst

  38

  Prendergast House

  36

  Riverside Home

  40

  Merlin House

  41

  Sunnybank Home

  58

  1 Local authority homes do not provide nursing beds.

  Private Homes for the Elderly in the Pembroke Constituency as at 31 March 1988

  Home

  Number of Residential Places

  Number of Nursing Places1

  Bangeston Hall

  27

  —

  Ridgeway Home for the Elderly

  25

  20

  Glenwood House

  16

  —

  Parc-y-Llyn

  11

  15

  Montrose

  12

  —

  Nightingales

  10

  —

  Cartref

  24

  —

  Brooklands

  7

  —

  482

  Home

  Number of Residential Places

  Number of Nursing Places1

  Rostley

  8

  —

  Apley Lodge

  8

  —

  Maesteg House

  6

  2

  Rosehill Country Home

  17

  —

  Belvedere Residential Home

  15

  —

  Ashdale Residential Home

  30

  —

  Lynnefield

  6

  —

  Canterbury House

  12

  —

  Castle View

  12

  —

  Woodfield House

  15

  —

  1 Registered with the health authority under Part II of the Registered Homes Act 1984. Nursing places are not included in the residential places shown in this table.

  Environmental Research
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was Welsh Office expenditure on environmental research in Wales in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  The information is as follows:

  £000s cash

  1979–80

  93

  1980–81

  80

  1981–82

  126

  1982–83

  165

  1983–84

  187

  1984–85

  205

  1985–86

  270

  1986–87

  887

  1987–88

  367

  The increase in expenditure in 1986–87 was due to payments for studies relating to: the redevelopment of Cardiff bay, the staging of a national garden festival in Wales, and the intensive monitoring of sheep and other agricultural produce following the Chernobyl accident in 1986.

  Environmental Health Services
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total expenditure on local authority environmental health services in Wales and the number of environmental health officers employed, in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  Expenditure on local authority environmental health staff and the staff employed in each financial year since 1979–80 is shown in the following table:
  483

  Current expenditure

  Capital expenditure

  Environmental health officers and support staff

  (£000)

  (£000)

  (fte)1

  1979–80

  12,373

  508

  1,258

  1980–81

  16,142

  746

  1,253

  1981–82

  18,111

  608

  1,235

  1982–83

  20,368

  580

  1,238

  1983–84

  22,011

  750

  1,292

  1984–85

  23,093

  721

  1,407

  1985–86

  24,312

  609

  1,353

  1986–87

  25,511

  1,071

  1,342

  1 In March each financial year.

  Information on the number of Environmental Health Officers alone is not held centrally.

  Doctors (Working Hours)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many junior hospital doctors work(a) more than 104 hours a week in (i) Wales, (ii) Clwyd health authority, (iii) East Dyfed health authority, (iv) Gwent health authority, (v) Gwynedd health authority, (vi) Mid Glamorgan health authority, (vii) Pembrokeshire health authority, (viii) Powys health authority, (ix) South Glamorgan health authority, and (x) West Glamorgan health authority and (b) more than 112 hours a week in (i) Wales, (ii) Clwyd health authority, (iii) East Dyfed health authority, (iv) Gwent health authority, (v) Gwynedd health authority, (vi) Mid Glamorgan health authority, (vii) Pembrokeshire health authority, (viii) Powys health authority, (ix) South Glamorgan health authority, and (x) West Glamorgan health authority.

  Mr. Ian Grist
  Information about the hours worked by junior hospital doctors is not available centrally. The numbers of junior doctors who are contracted for the standard working week and to be available on standby or on-call together totalling more than 104 hours is eight out of a total of approximately 1,400 junior doctors in Wales.

  Exhaust Emissions
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has of the scale of pollution in Wales from road vehicle emissions of(a) carbon monoxide, (b) hydrocarbons, and (c) nitrogen oxides; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Information about emissions from road vehicles is not held in this form but total United 484
  Kingdom figures are published annually in the Department of the Environment's "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics".

  Nitrogen dioxide figures can be taken as an adequate indicator of the level of road vehicle pollution. A United Kingdom wide survey of Nitrogen dioxide made for the Department of the Environment by Warren Spring laboratory in 1986 showed levels in Welsh cities to be generally below the average for the United Kingdom.

  Noise Pollution
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the number of noise pollution complaints received by environmental health officers in Wales; what are the sources of that noise pollution; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  The information is not maintained centrally.

  Water Pollution
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of water pollution incidents in Wales for each year since 1979 and the sources of that pollution; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  The annual reports of the Welsh water authority, copies of which are in the Library, contain some references to the number of pollution incidents affecting water in the Welsh water authority's area.

  The detailed information is not held centrally, so I have asked the chairman of the Welsh water authority to write to the hon. Gentleman.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the numbers of lakes in Wales without fish due to pollution or acid rain; what steps he is taking to improve the situation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  There is no definite evidence to show that any lake in Wales has become fishless because of the effect of acid rain. However, it is generally accepted that acidic deposition can bring about the acidification of lakes in areas with sensitive strata. The Welsh Office, with the Department of the Environment, funds an extensive programme of research with the aim of assessing the relative contribution which air pollution, afforestation, land type, land use and practice makes to the acidification of Welsh lakes and the effect that acidification has on fish populations.

  Hospital Waiting Lists
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest waiting list figures for(a) in-patients for each Welsh health authority, (b) in-patients for each Welsh health authority (i) waiting more than one month for an urgent operation and (ii) waiting more than one year for a non-urgent operation and (c) out-patients.

  Mr. Grist
  All the information requested by the hon. Gentleman is contained in the 10th issue of the "Welsh Hospital Waiting List Bulletin," a copy of which is in the Library.

PRIME MINISTER

  President Bush
  Mr. Latham
  To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to meet President Bush.

  The Prime Minister
  I met Mr. Bush in November. On present plans, we shall next meet at the economic summit in Paris.

  Ash-cum-Ridley
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to pay an official visit to Ash-cum-Ridley.

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

  Food
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will transfer all responsibility for matters relating to food to the Ministry of Health.

  The Prime Minister
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Holland with Boston (Sir R. Body) on 17 January 1989, at column 128.

  Engagements
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 January.

  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 January.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 January.

  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 January.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 January.

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 January.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 January.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 January.

  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 January.
  486
  The Prime Minister
  This morning I had meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

  Windscale Fire 1957
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will now review the decision not to release all the documents in respect of the fire at Windscale in 1957.

  The Prime Minister
  The release of public records is governed by the requirements of the Public Records Acts. I have nothing to add to the replies that I gave the hon. Gentleman on 19 January 1988 at column 597 and to the hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham) on 14 January 1988 at column 353.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Aid (Cash Limits)
  Mr. Sims
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what change has been agreed in the 1988–89 cash limits for overseas aid.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary spring supplementary estimate the cash limit for the overseas aid vote (class II, vote 5) will be increased by £51,204,000 from £1,223,114,000 to £1,274,318,000. The change includes allowance for the increase in the overall provision for overseas aid announced on 14 November 1988 (at column 371). Voted provision is being further increased by £1,400,000 for emergency assistance provided in the current financial year following the earthquake in Armenia. The increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure. The running costs limit for the Overseas Development Administration within the voted provision will be reduced by £1,000 to £42,932,000. This decrease will be matched by an increase in the running costs limits for the Office of the Minister for the Civil Service (class XX, vote 1) and reflects the transfer of costs for recruitment under the direct entry grade 7 competition, 1988.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioner, 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. Alison
  In 1988, of a total of 38 oral questions, 10 were answered as written replies because the question was not reached in the time allotted.

  Clergy
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement about the number of(a) clergy who are likely to retire and (b) ordination candidates during the next 15 years.
  487
  Mr. Alison
  It is estimated that the number of clergy retiring over the next 15 years will average 410 per year. Taking into account the numbers likely to move in and out of the parochial ministry in mid career, it is estimated that to produce a stable total number of full-time male clergy over the same period would require an ordination rate of about 375 a year. This would represent an increase over the recent steady average, which is about 320 a year. However, any shortfall could be made up, at least in part, by the increased numbers of women entering the ministry.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Land Registry
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the number of(a) the Land Registry Office's backlog of substantive searches,(b) its backlog of preliminary searches and (c) the extra staff who have been taken on to deal with the backlog.

  The Attorney-General
  The total number of applications held at the Land Registry at the various stages of processing at the end of December 1988 was 1,171,402. Preliminary searches have always received priority. 90 per cent. of these searches are processed within four working days. Since April 1988 over 2,000 staff have been recruited and trained. An additional authorisation in August of 900 posts was approved to meet the high intakes.

  Viraj Mendis
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Attorney-General what estimates he has as to the cost of court proceedings in the case of Mr. Viraj Mendis.

  The Solicitor-General
  The costs of court proceedings in the case of Viraj Mendis include the costs of Mr. Mendis's original application to the Queen's Bench Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal, and his two recent applications for judicial review relating to his deportation to Sri Lanka. He received legal aid for all these applications.

  The fees payable to Mr. Mendis's legal advisers have not yet been finally assessed by the court. The legal aid
  administration has not, therefore, yet received any claims in respect of those costs. My right hon. Friend the Home
  Secretary has provided details of the legal costs incurred by the Home Office, in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Halifax (Mrs. Mahon) on 23 January 1989.

CIVIL SERVICE

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service 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. Luce
  [holding answer 19 January 1989: In 1988 a total of 60 questions were tabled to the Minister for the Civil Service, of which 18 received a written reply. These figures do not include oral questions which were subsequently withdrawn, unstarred or transferred to other Departments.

THE ARTS

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the Minister for the Arts 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. Luce
  [holding answer 19 January 1989]: In 1988 a total of 222 questions were tabled to the Minister for the Arts, of which 186 received a written reply. These figures do not include oral questions which were subsequently withdrawn, unstarred or transferred to other Departments.

  Museums and Galleries (Attendances)
  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will publish in the Official Report the attendance figures for 1988 reported by the national museums and galleries in England for which he is responsible, broken down into the individual institutions but including their outstations, with figures in each case of the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1987.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 16 January 19891: The estimated number of visitors during 1988 to the 11 national museums and galleries for which I am responsible are as follows:

  Estimated attendance in 1988

  Percentage change from 1987

  British Museum

  4,172,472

  + 4·1

  British Museum(Natural History)

  1,671,380

  - 16·4

  Imperial War Museum

  1,086,587

  -8·3

  National Gallery

  3,228,153

  -9·5

  National Maritime Museum

  707,399

  + 60·0

  National Museum and Galleries on Merseyside

  1,525,672

  +14·8

  National Portrait Gallery

  638,595

  + 8·1

  Science Museum

  3,861,433

  -18·4

  Tate Gallery

  12,091,267

  + 20·0

  Victoria and Albert Museum

  1,430,637

  + 2·3

  Wallace Collection

  157,524

  -6·3

  TOTAL

  20,571,119

  1 Figure includes Tate Gallery Liverpool which opened in May 198S.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Competitive Tendering (Merit Pay)
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there have been any instances of rewarding staff through merit pay for carrying through a successful competitive tendering exercise.

  Mr. Brooke
  Merit pay is awarded by individual Departments and the information requested is riot available centrally. Personal salary details, as opposed to the pay rate for the job are, however, normally confidential to the individual concerned.

  Developing Countries (Debt)
  Sir John Stanley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the information relating to official
  489
  debts by all developing countries outstanding at the end of 1987 in the same format as that given as at the end of 1986 to the hon. Member for Eccles (Miss Lestor) on 18 April 1988, Official Report, columns 328–30.

  Mr. Lawson
  I regret that this information is not yet available.

  Taxes and Royalties attributable to United Kingdom and UKCS oil and gas (and gas levy) at 1978–791prices

  £million

  Financial Year

  1978–79

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  Royalty

  289

  537

  716

  917

  1,000

  1,117

  1,365

  1,092

  471

  490

  Supplementary Petroleum Duty

  —

  —

  —

  1,331

  1,468

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Petroleum Revenue Tax2

  183

  1,228

  1,740

  1,570

  2,006

  3,529

  4,039

  3,384

  609

  1,120

  Total Corporation tax before ACT set-off

  93

  214

  246

  447

  319

  514

  1,365

  1,545

  1,372

  680

  ACT set-off

  40

  67

  70

  177

  124

  252

  696

  573

  579

  340

  Mainstream CT

  53

  147

  176

  270

  196

  262

  669

  972

  792

  340

  Total3 Revenues

  565

  1,979

  2,703

  4,265

  4,793

  5,160

  6,769

  6,021

  2,451

  2,290

  Gas Levy

  —

  —

  —

  252

  289

  306

  281

  279

  264

  245

  1 By reference to movements in the GDP deflator.

  2Includes Advance Petroleum Revenue Tax (APRT).

  3Constituent figures do not add up due to rounding.

SCOTLAND

  Fisheries
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement on the up-to-date situation regarding the application for a Loch Awe Protection Order under the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  On 26 September 1988 the consultative committee on freshwater fisheries decided that it could not recommend that the Secretary of State should grant proposals for statutory protection of freshwater fishing rights in Loch Awe, Loch Avich and the River Avich.

  My right hon. and learned Friend is currently considering whether to accept or to reject the proposals or to hold a local inquiry in the light of the consultative committee's advice, the views of objectors and the comments of the proposers. A decision will be announced as soon as possible.

  Conservation
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to take to limit the amount of compensation paid to farmers and landowners to prevent them damaging areas of special conservation interest.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  While my right hon. and learned Friend makes payments to facilitate the conservation of certain areas, compensation payments in relation to sites of special scientific interest are made by the Nature Conservancy Council from funds provided by the Department of the Environment.

  Oil and Gas (Taxes and Royalties>
  Mr.Salmond
  To ask the chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table, similar to table 18 on page 72 of the current edition of "Development of Oil and Gas Resource of the United Kingdom", showing taxes and royalties attributable to United Kingdom and United Kingdom continental shelf oil and gas, at constant Prices.

  Mr.Lilley
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: The figures are as follows:

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Allan Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Lord Advocate proposes any changes to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service cash and running cost limits for 1988–89.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The cash limit on class XI, vote 14 will be reduced by £100,000 from £21,267,000 to £21,167,000 and the running costs limit by £100,000 from £18,820,000 to £18,720,000.

  East End Executive, Glasgow
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many jobs in each classification have been created to date by the East End Executive, Glasgow.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 16 January 1989]: Such statistics are not held centrally. I understand that the East End Executive's records show that, from its inception in August 1987 until 31 December 1988, businesses in receipt of advice and counselling from the executive have provided a total of 1,627 jobs in the area; of these, 558 were in manufacturing industry and 1,069 in the service sector.

  Employment Training
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total number of authorised places in employment training in 1988–89 and 1989–90.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 19 January 1989]: There is provision for 41,473 employment training places in Scotland in 1988–89 once the programme is fully operational. Provision for 1989–90 has not yet been finalised.
  491
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total amount of planned expenditure on employment training in 1988–89 and 1989–90.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 19 January 1989: Up to £180 million is available for employment training in Scotland in 1988–89. Expenditure plans for 1989–90 have not yet been finalised.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to reduce the number of authorised employment training places.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 19 January 19891: Provision for employment training in Scotland is kept under review in the light of changing circumstances including the level of long-term unemployment.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give in percentage form the local government rate support grant settlement for each of the years 1977–78 to 1987–88.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 23 January 1989J: The information requested is as follows:

  Scotland

  Percentage

  1977–78

  68·5

  1978–79

  68·5

  1979–80

  68·5

  1980–81

  68·5

  1981–82

  66·7

  1982–83

  64·2

  1983–84

  61·7

  1984–85

  60·2

  1985–86

  57·7

  1986–87

  56·1

  1987–88

  55·5

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Gipsies
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many gipsies have been encamped at the junctions of the Middletown-Rookford roads, Armagh, during December 1988; how many caravans were there; how many caravans were burnt; what assistance he has given towards the replacement of damaged caravans; on how many occasions the Royal Ulster Constabulary and fire authority were called to this camp in December; whether the gipsy children attended school; what financial and social assistance was given to these gipsies; how many of them came from the Republic of Ireland; what action he took to remove them; and whether any public nuisance was caused by them.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  During December 1988 some 40–50 travelling people were encamped at the junctions of the Middletown/Rookford roads, Armagh. Two of the 19 caravans on the site were burnt. No claim under the Criminal Damage (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 has been received for damage caused during December 1988 to property at that location.

  I understand that the Royal Ulster Constabulary was called to the site on 16 occasions during December 1988. The Northern Ireland Fire Authority was called to the site on two occasions in December.
  492
  It is understood that the children of the itinerant families did not attend school while at the location.

  It has been possible to identify five travellers from the site who during this time were in receipt of social security benefit. However, any of the people on the site who applied would have received the benefits to which they were entitled. Social work help, mainly in relation to welfare rights inquiries, was provided.

  Details of the number of travelling people from the Republic of Ireland are not available.

  It was considered by the district council that a public health nuisance was caused by those at the site and 12 statutory notices to remove them were issued. In addition, it was also considered that a road traffic hazard was being caused.

  Community Unit of Management (Belfast)
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide details of the budgetary provision for 1987–88 and 1988–89 for the community unit of management in north and west Belfast; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  The final budget allocation to the north and west Belfast community unit of management in 1987–88 was £18,250,758, including capital. The unit's initial budget allocation for 1988–89 was £18,410,452. In addition, in 1988–89 the unit received an additional allocation of £611,250 through the "Making Belfast Work" initiative. The final budget allocations for 1988–89 have not yet been determined.

  Health Standards (Belfast)
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the standards of health of the population of north and west Belfast.

  Mr. Needham
  A recent report by the Eastern health and social services board indicates that in general morbidity and mortality rates are higher among the population in north and west Belfast than in other parts of the city. Action is being taken on a number of fronts to tackle this problem. These include the allocation of special funds for health related projects in north and west Belfast as part of the "Making Belfast Work" initiative, which also aims to relieve social deprivation; the setting up of an action team to improve low immunisation uptake rates; and the participation of Belfast in the World Health Organisation's healthy cities project.

  Eastern Health and Social Services Board
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action is to be taken on the Eastern health board's complementarity study on the Royal Victoria hospital, Belfast City hospital and Mater hospital; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  The recommendations of the complementarity study have recently been considered by the Eastern board and have now been included in the board's draft operational plan for 1989–90 as a basis for consultation. When this process has been completed I will wish to discuss with the chairman the board's conclusions.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the likely
  493
  costs and savings of the recommendations contained within the Eastern health board's complementarity study, giving details for each relevant recommendation.

  Mr. Needham
  Estimates of the costs and savings of the recommendations contained in the complementarity study report are not yet available.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Eastern health board's proposal to close the Mater hospital's casualty unit at night and the likely impact on the population of north Belfast.

  Mr. Needham
  This proposal is one of the recommendations of the Eastern board's complementary study which are currently the subject of consultation as part of the board's draft operational plan for 1989–90. When the board reaches conclusions on the study I shall want to discuss with the chairman the implications for the Mater hospital and the population it serves.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Eastern health board's proposal to close the Royal Victoria hospital's casualty service on certain nights and the impact on the population of north and west Belfast.

  Mr. Needham
  The proposal is one of the recommendations of the Eastern board's complementarityy study which is currently the subject of consultation as part of the board's draft operational plan for 1989–90. When the board reaches conclusions on the study I shall want to discuss with the chairman their implications, including the impact on the population served.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Eastern health board's proposal to close the Royal College of Surgeons' recommended trauma unit on certain nights.

  Mr. Needham
  The proposal is one of the recommendations of the Eastern board's complementarity study which are currently the subject of consultation as part of the board's draft operational plan for 1989–90. When the board reaches conclusions on the study I shall want to discuss their implications with the chairman. In case of accident and emergency services I will take into account all the recommendations contained in the recent report by the Royal College of Surgeons on the management of patients with major injuries.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Eastern health board's proposal to develop a unified management structure for the Royal Victoria, Mater and Belfast City hospitals and the budgetary implications.

  Mr. Needham
  I believe that it is essential to improved management and delivery of acute hospital services in Belfast to secure greater co-ordination and harmonisation between these three hospitals. I welcome the recommendation from the complementarity study for a unified management structure and I await with interest detailed proposals from the Eastern board to take this forward.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of gynaecology beds in the Royal Victoria, Mater and Belfast City 494
  hospitals in the years 1986, 1987 and 1988; and if he will make a statement on the Eastern health board's proposals for the future of gynaecological services for those three hospitals.

  Mr. Needham
  The information is as follows:

  1986

  1987

  1988

  Royal Victoria

  38

  38

  38

  Belfast City

  60

  60

  60

  Mater

  20

  20

  20

  The current proposals for rationalisation of gynaecology services in these hospitals stem from the Eastern board's complementarity study which is currently the subject of consultation as part of the board's draft operational plan for 1989–90. When the board reaches conclusions on the study I shall be discussing their implications with the chairman of the board.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future of all specialties presently provided by the Royal Victoria hospital in the light of the Eastern health board's recent complementarity study.

  Mr. Needham
  The Eastern board has yet to reach decisions on the recommendations of the complementarity study, some of which relate to the Royal Victoria hospital. The hospital however is, and will continue to be, the major centre of excellence in Northern Ireland, providing the bulk of regional medical services to the population as a whole.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of gynaecology re-admissions at the Royal Victoria, Mater and Belfast City hospitals in the years 1986, 1987 and 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  This information is not available.

  North and West Belfast Health District
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the relocation of the salaries and wages department of the North and West Belfast health district.

  Mr. Needham
  In view of the poor standard of accommodation occupied by the salaries and wages office of the royal group of hospitals unit of management (formerly north and west Belfast district) the Eastern health and social services board decided to relocate the office in more suitable accommodation in the centre of Belfast. Staff were consulted about the move and agreed to it.

  Royal Victoria Hospital
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on action being taken to upgrade the buildings of the Royal Victoria hospital.

  Mr. Needham
  Over the past few years there has been an extensive programme of works designed to improve and extend the buildings and facilities at the royal group of hospitals. This is in addition to routine or day-to-day
  495
  maintenance (including redecoration and repairs) undertaken by both directly employed maintenance staff and private contractors. The total cost of the programme of works carried out in the three financial years from 1985/86 was £8,839,550. Estimated expenditure on works in the current financial year, some of which will carry over into 1989–90, is £2,192,475, giving a total over the four years of £11,032,025. Details of the projects undertaken are available in the Library.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of patients not treated at the Royal Victoria hospital due to (i) lack of access, and (ii) security problems in each year since 1975.

  Mr. Needham
  This information is not available.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list staffing levels within the internal security work force of the Royal Victoria hospital in each year since 1975.

  Mr. Needham
  The number of staff engaged specifically on security duties at the royal group of hospitals, including the Royal Victoria hospital, at 30 September each year was as follows:

  Staff in post

  1975

  n/a

  1976

  n/a

  1977

  n/a

  1978

  48

  1979

  48

  1980

  48

  1981

  48

  1982

  47

  1983

  42

  1984

  43

  1985

  39

  1986

  37

  1987

  37

  1988

  39

  The figures for the years prior to 1985 relate to staff employed by the former north and west Belfast district, which included those hospitals forming the present royal group of hospitals unit of management.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on plans to remedy internal security problems within the Royal Victoria hospital.

  Mr. Needham
  Security at the Royal Victoria hospital site is primarily the responsibility of the Eastern health and social services board, which has recently spent £400,000 on security measures recommended by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The board has now issued a consultative document proposing further measures aimed at reducing all crime on the site. I am satisfied that the board is taking seriously the problem of protecting the interests of patients, staff and visitors while, at the same time, preserving reasonable access to the hospital's services.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the Royal Ulster Constabulary report on security at the Royal Victoria hospital; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for this report not being made available to the Health Service trade unions.
  496
  Mr. Needham
  For obvious reasons, reports by the crime prevention unit of the Royal Ulster Constabulary are confidential documents. However, the additional measures recommended by the RUC to combat crime and vandalism on the site are contained in a paper which has been issued to interested parties, including the trade unions, for comment.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on present negotiations between the Northern Ireland Office, the Eastern health board and Health Service trade unions on security at the Royal Victoria hospital.

  Mr. Needham
  I understand that the royal group of hospitals unit of management has recently invited interested parties, including the Health Service trade unions, to participate in discussions on its proposals for additional security measures to combat the level of crime and vandalism on the royal site. I welcome this initiative and hope that all concerned will react positively to t his invitation in the interest of providing the best possible protection to patients, staff and visitors using the hospitals.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the level of funding being made available in 1988–89 and 1989–90 for improving internal security at the Royal Victoria hospital.

  Mr. Needham
  I understand that in 1988–89 the Eastern health and social services board expects to spend some £580,000 on salaries and wages for security staff at the royal group of hospitals, including the Royal Victoria hospital. Expenditure on non-staff costs associated with security on the site is not separately identifiable. The budget for 1989–90 will be determined in the light of the outcome of the consultations with trade unions and other interests on the additional security measures which the board has now proposed.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has any plans for the use of a new site as part of the rebuilding plans for parts of the Royal Victoria hospital; and if he will make a statment.

  Mr. Needham
  Options for the use of the former Kelvin school site which adjoins the royal group of hospitals are currently being examined by the Eastern health and social services board. The board has recently approved a proposal by the unit of management group to use part of the site for additional car parking. This is an interim measure and does not prejudice continuing consideration of the best use of the Kelvin school site to meet the longer term development needs of the royal group of hospitals.

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has any plans to carry out a study on the role of the Royal Victoria hospital as a district hospital serving north and west Belfast, as a general hospital serving the whole city and greater Belfast area and as the home of regional specialties; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  I have no plans to carry out such a study. The royal group of hospitals, including the Royal Victoria hospital, is the major centre of excellence with the bulk of regional specialties based there; it also provides acute
  497
  services for the Eastern board population. I intend that it will continue to fulfil these roles and as evidence of the Government's commitment I have recently announced that two capital schemes will proceed in 1989–90—the regional neonatal referral unit and expanded recovery facilities for cardiac surgery.

  Health Service (Staffing)
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of senior management posts presently being filled by secondments within the royal group of hospitals.

  Mr. Needham
  The following three senior management posts are currently being filled by secondments within the royal group of hospitals:

  a. Group Administrator

  b.Catering Manager

  c.Senior Administrative Officer (Clinical Activity and Resource Analysis)

  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the operation of the secondment process for senior management positions in the Royal group of hospitals, detailing the steps taken to safeguard fair employment practices.

  Mr. Needham
  The use of secondments at the royal group of hospitals is a matter for the Eastern health and social services board. Currently three managerial positions are being filled on this basis at the royal group.

  Fair employment practices are safeguarded by the board's policy on equality of opportunity which provides for equal opportunity for all staff regardless of religious affiliation, sex or disability.

  Antrim Hospital
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received from general practitioners in the Northern health and social services board area opposing the provision of the new Antrim hospital; and if he will make a statement on the reasons given for opposition.

  Mr. Needham
  I have received representations recently on behalf of a number of general practitioners in the Northern board area opposing the new Antrim hospital and questioning the underlying strategy for the development of acute hospital services in that board. I have indicated the Government's view that the project is essential to ensure that the population of the Northern board have in the future the high quality medical care to which they are entitled.

  Accidents (Donaghadee)
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many accidents have occurred, in each of the past 10 years, in the vicinity of the junction of Windmill road and Killaughey road, Donaghadee; what is the recorded number of injuries and fatalities; and if he will consider undertaking a scheme to improve road safety at this junction.

  Mr. Needham
  No statistical record of damage only accidents in this vicinity is kept, but the personal injury and fatal accident history over the past 10 years is as follows:498

  Number of personal injury/fatal accidents

  Year

  Number

  1979

  Nil

  1980

  1

  1981

  Nil

  1982

  11

  1983

  Nil

  1984

  1

  1985

  Nil

  1986

  1

  1987

  Nil

  1988

  Nil

  1 Fatal.

  The Department of the Environment's roads service is currently considering measures to improve this junction.

  Handyman's Course (Donaghadee Technical College)
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the handyman's course, due to commence on 10 January 1989 at Donaghadee technical college, has been withdrawn; and if arrangements are being made to offer this course later in the present academic year.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The organisation of courses is a matter for the South-Eastern education and library board.

  This course was withdrawn because potential participants were unable to obtain a training grant from the Department of Economic Development's action for community employment (ACE) programme as funds available had already been committed and applicants were not themselves prepared to pay the required tuition fees. If the necessary fees support can be provided it may be possible to mount the course later this year.

  Stalker-Sampson Inquiry
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Royal Ulster Constabulary officers have been(a) the subject of disciplinary proceedings, (b) dismissed from the Royal Ulster Constabulary, (c) required to resign, (d) allowed to resign due to ill health, (e) permitted to take premature retirement, (f) demoted, (g) repremanded or (h) otherwise disciplined, following the events investigated by Mr. Stalker and Mr. Sampson.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  Disciplinary proceedings have not yet been concluded in respect of any of the 20 RUC officers referred to in the Chief Constable's statement of 4 July 1988. The answer to(b) (c) (e) (f) (g) (h) of the hon. Member's question is none. The two suspended officers to whom my right hon. Friend referred in his statement of 17 February 1988, at column 977, who have never been the subject of any disciplinary proceedings, have since been medically discharged under the RUC Pensions Regulations 1973 (as amended) because they were not fit to carry out the duties expected of them.

  Council Houses
  Mr. Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show the number of dwellings in each council area in Northern Ireland which have a net annual valuation below £60; how many of these in each council area are in (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector; in each sector how

  499
  many are owner-occupied; and what percentage of the dwellings in each council area such dwellings represent in each category of ownership and occupation, or as much of the information sought as is available to him.

  Mr. Needham
  The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Rates
  Mr. Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many domestic hereditaments for rating purposes there are in(a) Limavady council area, (b) Coleraine council area and (c) Magherafelt council area.

  Mr. Needham
  The information at 31 December 1988 is as follows:

  Council area

  Number of domestic hereditaments

  Limavady

  8,723

  Coleraine

  19,725

  Magherafelt

  11,245

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Ministerial Staff (Pay)
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the number of staff in his Ministry, by grade, in receipt of local pay additions outside London and the south-east economic planning region; what are the different amounts paid to staff by grade; whether this figure varies due to location; what qualifying period of scale-related criteria is used; and whether this varies by location.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  Outside London and the south-east economic planning region 52 administrative assistants in Ministry offices in Cambridge receive a local pay addition of £300 per annum. There is no qualifying period for receipt of the allowance.

  Meat Exports
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what volume of British meat exports to the United States of America has been debarred or delayed so far, as a result of United States retaliation against the European Economic Community ban on imports of hormone-treated meat.

  Mr. Donald Thompson
  When the European Community banned imports from third countries of meat derived from animals treated with hormone growth promoters, the United States response was to impose penal levels of import duties—at 100 per cent.—on certain EC exports, rather than a complete ban. The list includes two meat items only: boneless beef and hams and shoulders. There were no United Kingdom exports to the United States of these products during the last 12 months for which statistics are available; the United States action is therefore most unlikely to affect United Kingdom meat exporters.

ENVIRONMENT

  Rating Reform
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report a list of all those categories of people who will (a) be excluded from liability to pay the community charge and (b) be entitled to a rebate on community charge payments; and what the scale of such rebates will be.

  Mr. Gummer
  The categories of people who will be exempt from liability to pay the personal community charge are listed in schedule 1 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

  People whose income is at or below the level of income support will receive rebates of 80 per cent., and income support will be increased to take account of the 20 per cent, liability. We estimate that there will be 5 million adults in this category, and that an additional 4½ million adults, whose income is above the level of income support, will receive rebates, on a sliding scale, of up to 80 per cent. In addition, ¼ million full-time students will pay only 20 per cent, of the full charge.

  Sir Eldon Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what savings in staff per thousand accounts he expects local authorities on average to achieve on the basis of the report he commissioned from Price Waterhouse on the costs of collection of the community charge.

  Mr. Gummer
  Price Waterhouse estimated that: if authorities maintained their existing performance levels on rate collection one employee would be required for every 1,700 community charge accounts. However, Price Waterhouse also estimated that if all authorities were: to work as efficiently as the most efficient in their category, one employee would be required for every 2,100 accounts. I would expect authorities to be working towards this higher productivity level, which could save nearly 5,000 staff.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the statutory instruments now being prepared connected with the preparation of poll tax registers in England and Wales and the likely dates of laying them; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]There will be no statutory instruments dealing with poll tax registers, since the Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. We intend to lay before the House in March one statutory instrument covering the administration and enforcement of the community charge, including the compilation of registers.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what replacement funding will be provided for fire, police and transport services on the advent of the poll tax; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]The Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. In metropolitan areas, joint police and joint fire and civil defence authorities will precept on the collection funds operated by each charging authority within their areas. Precepts on the collection fund will be met by income from
  501
  the community charge, needs grant and business rates. In addition, police authorities will continue to receive police grant from the Home Office. Passenger transport authorities will issue levies to their constituent district councils.

  In shire areas, these services are provided by county councils or district councils as appropriate. Their expenditure will also be supported by income from community charges, needs grant and business rates, and by police grant.

  Homeloan Scheme
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many first-time buyers received assistance under the homeloan scheme, in the latest year for which figures are available, in each of the regions of England.

  Mr. Trippier
  Information on the take-up of the homeloan scheme is not available for individual regions. The number of people receiving assistance in 1987–88, the last year for which figures are available, is estimated to be 2,580.

  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last reviewed the homeloan scheme of assistance for first-time home buyers.

  Mr. Trippier
  The homeloan scheme is reviewed from time to time, both with regard to its general effectiveness and to the price limits for the home purchased.

  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria are used to upgrade the price limits on house purchases under the homeloan scheme; when these limits were last reviewed; and when they will next be reviewed.

  Mr. Trippier
  The price limits in the homeloan scheme are intended to allow about two thirds of first-time buyers to qualify for the scheme's benefits. They are based on the prices actually paid by first-time buyers borrowing from building societies, and are reviewed as often as changing house prices makes necessary. The present limits were introduced on 18 March 1988. They have been reviewed recently, and we shall be tabling an order shortly which proposes increases in all areas in Great Britain.

  Hedgerows
  Dame Janet Fookes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many miles of hedgerow have been destroyed in the last 20 years.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  There has been a certain amount of hedgerow removal in recent years as a result of changing agricultural circumstances and for other reasons. The current rate is not easy to establish. Estimates have been made for past periods, though none covers the last 20 years.

  A survey of landscape change in England and Wales carried out for the Department and the Countryside Commission by Hunting Surveys and Consultants Ltd. showed annual losses of some 2,900 miles of hedgerow between 1969 and 1980 and 4,000 miles between 1980 and 1985. A survey of environmental topics on farms carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food showed annual losses of 500 miles between 1980 and 1985.
  502
  The two surveys were very different in approach and neither can be regarded as definitive. The Hunting survey used air photography covering 1·1 per cent, of England and Wales, backed up by ground survey. The MAFF survey used a postal questionnaire to some 6,000 farmers asking them to estimate changes in hedgerow lengths and covered approximately 6 per cent, of England and Wales. Work is continuing to improve information both on the rate of removal and on the extent of new planting.

  Dame Janet Fookes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many miles of hedgerow have been destroyed in Devon in the last 10 years.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The sample surveys of landscape change so far completed have not provided information at the level of individual counties.

  Dame Janet Fookes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to stem the loss of hedgerows by the introduction of landscape conservation orders or by other means.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Hedgerows need positive management to keep them in good condition. The main priority is to ensure that farmers and other owners continue to maintain them voluntarily. Agricultural advisers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food encourage farmers to retain hedgerows wherever possible and to manage them effectively. MAFF aids the planting of new hedgerows and hedgerow laying under the agriculture improvement scheme. It is anticipated that such grants will form part of the new farm and conservation grant scheme which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced last November. Where appropriate the Countryside Commission and the Nature Conservancy Council can also offer assistance.

  Ozone Layer
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps have been taken to implement the European Environmental Council directive about the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The EC regulation to implement the Montreal protocol is directly applicable in all member states and therefore forms part of the law of each member state. The Department is considering whether any topping-up regulations may be required under the European Communities Act 1972.

  Local Authority Staff
  Mr. Kirk wood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report for each local authority the staff increases they have experienced in each of the last three years; and what estimates there are of any increases in future years.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Information on changes in local authority staff numbers in England is compiled by LACSAB on behalf of DOE and the local authority associations and published quarterly in a joint manpower watch press notice, tables D to M. Copies of the press notices containing mid-year figures have been placed in the Library of the House. Estimates of any future increases are not made centrally.

  Widdicombe Report
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to seek to implement any of the recommendations of the Widdicombe report in the current parliamentary session.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Yes.

  Endangered Species (Control of Trade)
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many part-time and full-time staff have been assigned to implement the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1985 per month since enforcement of the regulations; and what is the cost to his Department.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Departmental staff have not been assigned exclusively to implement the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1985. In 1987-88 26 staff in the Department's wildlife division were involved on endangered species matters and were assisted, as required, by a panel of 90 fee-paid inspectors. The cost of the full-time staff involved was approximately ?465,000. Enforcement of the regulation is a matter for HM Customs and Excise and the police as appropriate.

  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many person hours have been spent implementing the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1985 per month since enforcement of the regulations; and what is the cost to his Department.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not available.

  Infractions
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 17 January to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington, Official Report, columns 154-55, what was the nature of the five infractions that have been referred to the enforcement authorities and of the two infractions at present under consideration by his Department.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  All possible infractions involve suggestions that CITES appendix I or EC Regulation 3626/82 annex C part 1 specimens were being offered for sale.

  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 17 January to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington, Official Report, columns 154-55, if he will specify the number and nature of any possible infractions which have been referred to his Department between April 1987 and October 1988; and what action his Department has taken on these.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not readily available, as the Department kept no central record of possible infractions during this period.

  Nitrogen Dioxide (Monitoring)
  Mr. Allan Roberts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of sites in London monitoring nitrogen dioxide levels under European Community directive 85/203; and where are those sites.
  504
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  There are two sites in London monitoring nitrogen dioxide levels in accordance with European Community directive 85/203/EEC; they are in Pembroke road, Kensington W8 and Vauxhall bridge road, Victoria SW I .

  Waste Treatment Works
  Mr. Allan Roberts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions the Government have held with United Nations environment programme and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on the subject of encouraging the establishment of waste treatment works in the countries of source to discourage the transfrontier shipment of such wastes.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The Government are participating actively in discussions within the
  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and United Nations environment programme to develop international controls on transfrontier shipment and supports the principle that countries should establish their own disposal facilities to reduce transfrontier shipment to a minimum compatible with environmentally sound and efficient management.

  Litter Collections
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the spending on litter collection for 1988-89 and for each of the next three years.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Details of local authority expenditure on litter collection are not available centrally.

  Council House Sales
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of capital receipts from the right to buy for 1988-89 and his forecasts for the coming three years.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Estimates and plans for local authorities' initial capital receipts from the sale of dwellings in England, both under the right-to-buy and on
  a voluntary basis are given in the table. Figures are not
  available for right-to-buy receipts alone.

  Local authorities initial capital receipts from sale of dwellings

  Initial receipts

  £ million

  1988–89 (estimate)

  2,555

  1989–90 (plan)

  2·915

  1990–91 (plan)

  2,525

  1991–92 (plan)

  2,440

  Keep Britain Tidy Campaign
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the Government budget for the Keep Britain Tidy campaign for each year since 1979 and for the next three years at current prices and at constant 1987-88 prices.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The Government's grant aid to the Tidy Britain Group (formerly Keep Britain Tidy Group) since 1979 at current prices and at 1987-88 prices is as follows:
  505

  Year

  Current

  At 1987–88

  prices £000

  prices £000

  1979–80

  275

  477

  1980–81

  250

  366

  1981–82

  275

  367

  1982–83

  292

  363

  1983–84

  525

  624

  1984–85

  510

  581

  1985–86

  547

  587

  1986–87

  554

  577

  1987–88

  568

  568

  1988–89

  1,254

  1,194

  1989–90

  3,000

  2,773

  Decisions on the future level of grant aid have yet to be made. A review of the programme of pilot projects being carried out by the group will be undertaken later in the year.

  Street Cleaners
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of street cleaners in 1979, and today.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Details of the number of street cleaners employed by local authorities are not held centrally.

  Water Privatisation
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the Government propose to safeguard the countryside and the public's access to it, after privatisation of the water authorities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Howard
  In the last decade, the water authorities have shown a growing appreciation of the importance of furthering conservation, maintaining public access to their land and water, and promoting recreation. This is something we wish to continue and build upon for in many of its operations, such as the construction and maintenance of reservoirs, the protection of water catchment areas and the abstraction of water from rivers, the water industry has a unique, profound and continuous impact on the environment.

  That is why the Water Bill currently being considered by Parliament would impose on all the water and sewerage companies, the National Rivers Authority and certain other water bodies a duty to carry out their functions in a way that furthers conservation, preserves public rights of access and promotes recreation.

  In enforcing these duties on the new water plcs the Secretary of State would take into account the extent to which they have followed the terms of statutory codes of practice giving practical guidance in relation to these duties. These new codes will give added emphasis to these important duties.

  I have today published a draft of the code of practice on conservation, access and recreation and have invited the NRA and the water authorities and statutory water companies to comment on these draft guidelines. I have placed a copy of the draft code, with a summary of its contents, in the Library of the House.
  506

  Housebuilding(Rentals)
  Mr. Patnick
  To ask Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses were built to be rented in the public sector in each successive year since 1974.

  Mr. Trippier
  The information requested listed below. Over 1 million dwelling were built for rent by the public sector England between 1974 and 1987. In addition over 1 million renovations would in many cases have provided additional dwelling for rent.

  New Public Sector Housebuilding completions for Rent: England, in thousands

  (Figures exclude new build for sale and shared ownership)

  Year

  1974

  1104·9

  1975

  1127·9

  1976

  1130·3

  1977

  1138·0

  1978

  1112·4

  1979

  89·3

  1980

  91·8

  1981

  70·5

  1982

  39·3

  1983

  37·7

  1984

  36·6

  1985

  29·7

  1986

  25·7

  1987

  23·2

  1estimate.

  Public sector here consists of local authorities, new towns and housing associations.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the additional consultation paper on waste disposal law amendments as announced on 29 June, Official Report, column 254.

  Mr. Ridley
  [pursuant to the reply, 23 November 1988, c. 4]The Government are concerned about criticisms of the regulation of waste disposal, exemplifed in the reports of the former hazardous waste inspectorate (now part of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution). My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have accordingly reviewed existing arrangements in England and Wales and have today published a consultation paper with proposals for reform. Copies of the paper have been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Our proposals are aimed at securing high national standards of waste management which are consistently and fairly enforced at local level. They build on the arrangements established under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 but address weaknesses and criticisms which have emerged in the light of experience.

  National standards, applicable to both public and private sector operations, will be achieved by requiring regulation authorities to have regard to waste management papers prepared by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in carrying out its functions. The regulatory and operational functions of waste disposal authorities will be separated by organising operational functions into arm's-length local authority disposal companies. Disposal authorities will be retitled waste regulation authorities and will be required to publish annual reports on their regulatory performance to strengthen public accountability.
  507
  Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will be given statutory powers to examine and report on the regulatory performance of waste regulation authorities, with rights of access to documents and land. There will be more finely targeted default powers for the Secretaries of State with regard to authorities which consistently fail to exercise their regulatory duties properly.

  Waste collection authorities will have a duty to arrange for the disposal of waste they have collected. They will be required to seek competitive tenders which both local authority waste disposal companies and private sector companies will be eligible to submit. In assessing tenders, waste collection authorities will be required to have regard to the environmental effects of the proposed method of disposal.

  These proposals complement the measures to strengthen controls on waste disposal announced on 29 June last and the proposals announced in the House on 23 November. Together they form a package which will be the subject of early legislation.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Betting and Gaming
  Mrs. Golding
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give consideration to the case for increased financial support to national hunt racing when determining the 28th levy scheme for 1989-90 in addition to the need to improve the conditions of a substantial number of those employed in racing.

  Mr. John Patten
  Yes. These matters are referred to in submissions to my right hon. Friend which he is taking into account in determining the 28th horseracing betting levy scheme.

  Mrs. Golding
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received a memorandum from the three Government appointed members of the Horserace Betting Levy Board on the 28th levy scheme 1989-90; and whether he will implement their recommendation that serious consideration should be given to raising levy rates to a level designed to give British racing a fairer return from the large volume of betting turnover and that as an interim move the 28th levy scheme should be based on a return to racing of at least 1 per cent. of leviable betting turnover.

  Mr. John Patten
  My right hon. Friend has received the memorandum and is considering all the recommendations in it in determining the 28th horserace betting levy scheme.

  Race Relations
  Ms. Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make breaches of the prison department's race relations policy a disciplinary offence; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  It is already possible to bring disciplinary proceedings against a member of staff who behaves in a racially prejudiced or discriminatory manner.

  Ms. Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce a system of rewards to encourage all prison department staff to act in a professional and non-discriminatory way; and if he will make a statement.
  508
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  All staff are under a specific duty to act in a professional and non-discriminatory way, and are rewarded accordingly. We see no need for a special system of the kind suggested by the hon. Member, which might give the impression that professional behaviour was optional.

  Ms. Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that proven commitment to the goals of the prison department's race relations policy is a factor which is taken into account when considering a prison officer's prospects for promotion; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The prison service race relations policy statement defines the standard of professional behaviour required of staff and helps to inform the annual assessment of an officer's working relationships with inmates and others. Those considering candidates for promotion give significant weight to that aspect of performance.

  Animal Experiments
  Dame Janet Fookes
  To ask the Secretary of State far the Home Department how much of the ?60,000 allocated for the refinement, reduction and replacement of animal use in experiments in the last 12 months for which records are available was allocated to the development and validation of alternatives to tests used for cosmetic safety and efficacy.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  About ?13,000; of the four projects which have been grant-aided, one should have direct applicability to the irritancy testing of cosmetic substances.

  Dame Janet Fookes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many project licences have been granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for safety and efficacy testing of cosmetics and toiletries.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Six project licences have been granted for the safety testing of cosmetic substances.

  Dame Janet Fookes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each project licence for cosmetics tests granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, what species and how many animals are to be used.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The use of animals in cosmetics testing for the last available year is given in table 3 of the "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals 1987" (Cm. 515). It is not our practice to reveal details of individual projects.

  Dame Janet Fookes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional restraints the animals procedures committee has imposed on project licence applications for cosmetics tests.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  As the APC has revealed in its annual report (HC 36, para 3.6), it has identified a number of common requirements for cosmetic testing licences and these have been incorporated in the guidance notes for applicants. I have accepted the committee's recommendation that licensees should make a detailed statistical return for the APC's use.
  509
  Dame Janet Fookes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any licences have been issued for cosmetics testing that go beyond the mild severity category in the project licence.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  A minority of the project licences for the testing of cosmetic substances have been assessed as "moderate", the remainder as "mild". This reflects the range of procedures used and the types of substances required to be tested by individual companies.

  Local Pay Additions
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of staff in his Department, by grade, in receipt of local pay additions outside London and the south-east economic planning region; what are the different amounts paid to staff by grade; whether this figure varies due to location; what qualifying period of scale-related criteria is used; and whether this varies by location.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  There are no Home Office staff outside London and the south-east region in receipt of local pay additions.

  Trevi Group
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many meetings he has attended with ministers in the Trevi group in each year from 1985 to 1988; and what subjects he has discussed.

  Mr. Hurd
  Since I became Home Secretary in September 1985 I have attended three Trevi ministerial meetings in 1986 (two of which I chaired), two in 1987 and two in 1988. The main subject of discussion has been co-operation in counter-terrorism matters but we have also dealt with a variety of other topics including football hooliganism, drug trafficking and other serious organised international crime.

  In the second half of 1986, on my initiative, complementary meetings of Ministers were also established to consider immigration matters. I chaired the first meeting of this group in October 1986 and have attended the two meetings held each year subsequently.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had in connection with subjects discussed with the Trevi group of ministers; and with which organisations he has discussed matters raised at Trevi meetings.

  Mr. Hurd
  I do not discuss Trevi matters in specific terms with other organisations because much of. Trevi's work and its proceedings, especially on terrorism, is classified. Some of the general subject areas with which Trevi is concerned also feature in other fora, in bilateral contacts with other countries at both ministerial and official level and in discussions with various organisations and individuals as appropriate.

  Table 1: Firearms surrendered to the police during the firearms amnesty September 1988 by police force area

  England and Wales

  Number of items surrendered

  Police force area

  Fully automatic

  Self-loading

  Rifles Manual

  All

  Pistols and revolvers

  Total firearms

  Avon and Somerset

  4

  37

  161

  198

  630

  832

  Bedfordshire

  1

  4

  80

  84

  128

  213

  Cambridgeshire

  1

  9

  63

  72

  211

  284

  510

  Entry Policy (EC)
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has held and proposes to hold in connection with proposals to operate a common policy of entry at all European Economic Community ports of entry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hurd
  I have attended a series of meetings of Trevi Ministers and European Community Immigration Ministers in which these and related issues have been extensively discussed. For information about the most recent of these meetings in Athens, and about future work to be undertaken by the supporting meetings of officials, I refer the hon. Member to my answers to questions from my hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Waterside (Mr. Colvin) on 14 December at columns 576-77 and 15 December 1988 at column 709. These consultations will continue.

  Waterloo-South Bank (Incidents)
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will request from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis a list of incidents reported or investigated by the Metropolitan police that occurred during the past year in the area between the south bank centre and British Rail's Waterloo station in the evening hours.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I understand from the commissioner that such a list is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. If the hon. Member has a specific problem in mind he is welcome to write to my right hon. and noble Friend about it.

  Firearms Amnesty
  Mr. Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the weapons handed in during the recent amnesty were disposed of; and whether any effort was made to realise their cash value.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Weapons surrendered under the recent firearms amnesty were destroyed, save for those of historical significance which, under special arrangements, were acquired by museums. None was offered for sale.

  Mr. Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show how many of the firearms and other weapons listed in his reply to the hon. Member for Londonderry, East of 13 December 1988 Official Report, columns 509-510, were handed in to each police force; and if he will list them as in his reply of 13 December.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The information is as follows:
  511

  Rifles

  Police force area

  Fully automatic

  Self-loading

  Manual

  All

  Pistols and revolvers

  Total firearms

  Cheshire

  1

  2

  105

  107

  384

  492

  Cleveland

  —

  —

  34

  34

  130

  164

  Cumbria

  —

  —

  83

  83

  208

  291

  Derbyshire

  4

  1

  72

  73

  268

  345

  Devon and Cornwall

  21

  26

  232

  258

  1,005

  1,284

  Dorset

  1

  5

  140

  145

  540

  686

  Durham

  2

  —

  47

  47

  167

  216

  Essex

  5

  7

  152

  159

  512

  676

  Gloucestershire

  32

  6

  84

  90

  259

  381

  Greater Manchester

  3

  14

  101

  115

  585

  703

  Hampshire

  4

  3

  261

  264

  951

  1,219

  Hertfordshire

  3

  13

  146

  159

  256

  418

  Humberside

  6

  1

  71

  72

  224

  302

  Kent

  1

  —

  193

  193

  618

  812

  Lancaster

  16

  6

  121

  127

  438

  581

  Leicestershire

  1

  5

  115

  120

  334

  455

  Lincolnshire

  2

  12

  126

  138

  280

  420

  London, City of

  1

  —

  3

  3

  19

  23

  Merseyside

  8

  1

  89

  90

  465

  563

  Metropolitan Police District

  12

  15

  337

  352

  1,728

  2,092

  Norfolk

  1

  9

  105

  114

  304

  419

  Northamptonshire

  —

  9

  73

  82

  167

  249

  Northumbria

  2

  27

  127

  154

  493

  649

  North Yorkshire

  —

  1

  106

  107

  364

  471

  Nottinghamshire

  —

  7

  62

  69

  348

  417

  South Yorkshire

  —

  4

  41

  45

  297

  342

  Staffordshire

  2

  1

  65

  66

  246

  314

  Suffolk

  3

  12

  118

  130

  285

  418

  Surrey

  2

  3

  152

  155

  524

  681

  Sussex

  3

  12

  182

  194

  846

  1,043

  Thames Valley

  11

  36

  143

  179

  703

  893

  Warwickshire

  2

  —

  51

  51

  180

  233

  West Mercia

  3

  4

  127

  131

  522

  656

  West Midlands

  5

  6

  127

  133

  570

  708

  West Yorkshire

  2

  —

  99

  99

  506

  607

  Wiltshire

  2

  1

  119

  120

  262

  384

  Dyfed Powys

  4

  6

  76

  82

  236

  322

  Gwent

  1

  —

  54

  54

  150

  205

  North Wales

  3

  6

  93

  99

  257

  359

  South Wales

  3

  4

  120

  124

  405

  532

  All forces

  178

  315

  4,856

  5,171

  18,005

  23,354

  Table 2

  Shotguns surrendered to the police during the firearms amnesty September 1988 by police force area England and Wales

  Number of items surrendered

  Long barrelled shotguns

  Short barrelled shotguns

  Total

  Police force area

  Traditional

  Other

  All

  Traditional

  Other

  All

  shotguns

  Avon and Somerset

  358

  8

  366

  7

  5

  12

  378

  Bedfordshire

  281

  —

  281

  4

  —

  4

  285

  Cambridgeshire

  188

  —

  188

  10

  3

  13

  201

  Cheshire

  205

  8

  213

  1

  —

  1

  214

  Cleveland

  87

  1

  88

  2

  —

  2

  90

  Cumbria

  243

  —

  243

  1

  5

  6

  249

  Derbyshire

  159

  5

  164

  8

  —

  8

  172

  Devon and Cornwall

  766

  6

  772

  33

  3

  36

  808

  Dorset

  342

  —

  342

  7

  —

  7

  349

  Durham

  77

  —

  77

  2

  —

  2

  79

  Essex

  376

  16

  392

  2

  3

  5

  397

  Gloucestershire

  194

  4

  198

  5

  —

  5

  203

  Greater Manchester

  156

  2

  158

  34

  6

  40

  198

  Hampshire

  556

  7

  563

  3

  —

  3

  566

  Hertfordshire

  130

  1

  131

  4

  —

  4

  135

  Humberside

  137

  1

  138

  3

  —

  3

  141

  Kent

  346

  4

  350

  15

  4

  19

  369

  Lancashire

  276

  13

  289

  6

  4

  10

  299

  Leicestershire

  188

  1

  189

  19

  —

  19

  208

  Lincolnshire

  255

  1

  256

  18

  —

  18

  274

  London, City of

  2

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  2

  Merseyside

  157

  2

  159

  13

  —

  13

  172

  Metropolitan Police District

  526

  13

  539

  5

  1

  6

  545

  Norfolk

  302

  5

  307

  35

  6

  41

  348

  512 513

  Number of items surrendered

  Long barrelled shotguns

  Short barrelled shotguns

  Total

  Police force area

  Traditional

  Other

  All

  Traditional

  Other

  All

  shotguns

  Northamptonshire

  120

  3

  123

  1

  —

  1

  124

  Northumbria

  176

  2

  178

  10

  —

  10

  188

  North Yorkshire

  337

  19

  356

  —

  —

  —

  356

  Nottinghamshire

  167

  5

  172

  3

  —

  3

  175

  South Yorkshire

  114

  1

  115

  —

  1

  1

  116

  Staffordshire

  178

  3

  181

  14

  2

  16

  197

  Suffolk

  320

  —

  320

  24

  3

  27

  347

  Surrey

  265

  —

  265

  —

  4

  4

  269

  Sussex

  378

  4

  382

  25

  10

  35

  417

  Thames Valley

  379

  13

  392

  29

  8

  37

  429

  Warwickshire

  122

  I

  123

  2

  —

  2

  125

  West Mercia

  337

  3

  340

  42

  1

  43

  383

  West Midlands

  224

  6

  230

  6

  —

  6

  236

  West Yorkshire

  192

  —

  192

  6

  —

  6

  198

  Wiltshire

  202

  —

  202

  —

  2

  2

  204

  Dyfed Powys

  244

  1

  245

  1

  —

  1

  246

  Gwent

  95

  3

  98

  —

  2

  2

  100

  North Wales

  240

  5

  245

  2

  —

  2

  247

  South Wales

  204

  4

  208

  2

  5

  7

  215

  ALL FORCES

  10,601

  171

  10,772

  404

  78

  482

  11,254

  Table 3

  Other firearms surrendered to the police during the firearms amnesty September 1988 by police force area

  England and Wales

  Number of items surrendered

  Police force area

  Prohibited

  Air rifles and air pistols

  Others including imitations

  Total other firearms

  Avon and Somerset

  3

  211

  25

  239

  Bedfordshire

  —

  86

  14

  100

  Cambridgeshire

  5

  70

  11

  86

  Cheshire

  8

  151

  19

  178

  Cleveland

  —

  59

  27

  86

  Cumbria

  2

  60

  —

  62

  Derbyshire

  1

  85

  14

  100

  Devon and Cornwall

  2

  219

  100

  321

  Dorset

  1

  169

  86

  256

  Durham

  —

  63

  21

  84

  Essex

  2

  170

  18

  190

  Gloucestershire

  —

  69

  11

  80

  Greater Manchester

  2

  331

  177

  510

  Hampshire

  2

  319

  83

  404

  Hertfordshire

  1

  165

  —

  166

  Humberside

  —

  107

  11

  118

  Kent

  1

  166

  34

  201

  Lancashire

  12

  172

  69

  253

  Leicestershire

  1

  100

  37

  138

  Lincolnshire

  —

  98

  44

  142

  London, City of

  1

  2

  1

  4

  Merseyside

  1

  208

  101

  310

  Metropolitan Police District

  1

  576

  320

  897

  Norfolk

  —

  106

  4

  110

  Northamptonshire

  —

  83

  39

  122

  Northumbria

  1

  169

  31

  201

  North Yorkshire

  —

  93

  13

  106

  Nottinghamshire

  —

  148

  23

  171

  South Yorkshire

  —

  94

  2

  96

  Staffordshire

  —

  102

  43

  145

  Suffolk

  3

  81

  27

  111

  Surrey

  1

  144

  4

  149

  Sussex

  8

  253

  134

  395

  Thames Valley

  7

  203

  38

  248

  Warwickshire

  —

  54

  5

  59

  West Mercia

  —

  124

  45

  169

  West Midlands

  —

  247

  82

  329

  West Yorkshire

  —

  228

  124

  352

  Wiltshire

  3

  104

  20

  127

  Dyfed Powys

  —

  27

  —

  27

  Gwent

  —

  41

  11

  52

  North Wales

  —

  67

  19

  86

  South Wales

  —

  102

  35

  137

  All forces

  69

  6,126

  1,922

  8,117

  514 515
  Mr. Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Londonderry, East Official Report, columns 509-10, 13 December, if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show how many of the firearms listed in each category in the reply were (a) held illegally, (b) held previously and (c) currently held on (i) firearms certificates, (ii) shotgun certificates and (iii) did not require any certificate, or as much of such information as is available to him.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  This information was not collected, since there was no obligation on those in legal possession of firearms to hand them in, most of those surrendered are thought to have been held illegally.

  Mr. Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is (a) collected by the police, and (b) sent or held by his Department, in relation to (i) firearms and (ii) shotguns held on certificates; and whether such information was collected on each firearm, shotgun and other weapon handed in during the recent firearms amnesty.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  In addition to an applicant's personal details, information relating to the type, calibre, maker's name and serial number of weapons held on a firearm certificate is collected by the police. This information is not held by the Home Office. Corresponding information about weapons held on a shotgun certificate will not be collected by the police until the provisions of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 relating to notification of transactions involving shotguns are introduced later this year.

  Under the arrangements for the amnesty there was no obligation on any person surrendering a weapon to provide details of this kind but, where available, information on the calibre, type, maker's name and identification of weapons was recorded, for purposes of description and categorisation.

  Breath Tests
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Reigate (Mr. Gardiner), 18 January, Official Report, column 202, whether he will give the number of positive breath tests for each police force area together with the number of (a) fatal and (b) other personal injury accidents in the period 19 December 1988 to 1 January 1989.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The official breath test and road accident statistics for 1988 will not be available until later this year. The Association of Chief Police Officers has, however, collected provisional figures for the number of positive breath tests and accidents involving personal injury (including fatalities) in each police force area between 19 December 1988 and 1 January 1989. These are given in the table:

  Police force area

  Number of positive

  Number of injury

  breath tests

  accidents

  Avon and Somerset

  113

  145

  Bedfordshire

  45

  50

  Cambridgeshire

  47

  73

  Cheshire

  93

  11l

  City of London

  15

  9

  Cleveland

  51

  53

  Cumbria

  45

  34

  516

  Police force area

  Number of positive

  Number of injury

  breath tests

  accidents

  Derbyshire

  78

  88

  Devon and Cornwall

  142

  146

  Dorset

  57

  20

  Durham

  72

  54

  Dyfed-Powys

  45

  51

  Essex

  149

  223

  Gloucestershire

  50

  64

  Greater Manchester

  422

  272

  Gwent

  58

  57

  Hampshire

  170

  114

  Hertfordshire

  84

  108

  Humberside

  81

  69

  Kent

  130

  110

  Lancashire

  139

  205

  Leicestershire

  79

  70

  Lincolnshire

  62

  90

  Merseyside

  135

  175

  Metropolitan

  980

  387

  Norfolk

  33

  58

  Northamptonshire

  45

  63

  Northumbria

  137

  112

  North Wales

  92

  43

  North Yorkshire

  71

  97

  Nottinghamshire

  101

  90

  South Wales

  108

  132

  South Yorkshire

  120

  75

  Staffordshire

  121

  115

  Suffolk

  43

  69

  Surrey

  76

  97

  Sussex

  81

  88

  Thames Valley

  213

  169

  Warwickshire

  43

  36

  West Mercia

  121

  92

  West Midlands

  259

  310

  West Yorkshire

  182

  194

  Wiltshire

  73

  41

  Total

  5,261

  4,272

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the grounds on which a police officer may require a motorist to take a breath test; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The current police powers to require breath tests are contained in the Road Traffic Act 1972 (as amended by the Transport Act 1981). Under section 159, a police constable in uniform has the power to stop any vehicle; and under section 7 to require a breath test:

  (a) where there is reasonable cause to suspect that the
  driver has alcohol in his body; or

  (b) where there is reasonable cause to suspect that the
  driver has committed a moving traffic offence; or

  (c) where there is reasonable cause to believe that the
  driver has been involved in an accident.

  Viraj Mendis
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has as to the total costs to date to his Department of the Viraj Mendis case.

  Mr. Renton
  It is unfortunately not practicable to identify the staffing and other resources spent by the Department in connection with the case, but they were considerable.

  Women Prisoners
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of females
  517
  sentenced to a period of imprisonment during 1987 and 1988 in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The information requested for 1987 can be found in table 7.15 "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1987" (Cm. 498), copies of which are in the Library of the House. Information for 1988 is not yet available.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the female prison population in England and Wales at the most recent date available.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  At unlocking on Friday 20 January, 1,765 female inmates were held in prison service establishments in England and Wales

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many females with dependent children under the age of five years were sentenced to a period of imprisonment in England and Wales during 1987; and if he will make a statement

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. A census on 11 August 1986 revealed that 340 females in custody were known to be the mothers of 455 children aged five years or under.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of places available in prison establishments for female detainees with dependent children and babies in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Three female prison establishments provide a total of 39 places for mothers with babies up to the age of 18 months.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many females gave birth during the currency of a prison sentence during 1987 and 1988 in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Information for calendar years is not readily available. Between 1 April 1986 and 31 March 1987, 55 sentenced females gave birth during their sentences. Between 1 April 1987 and 31 March 1988, 64 did so.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of females currently serving a prison sentence in England and Wales; what is the proportion and number of such females who have committed an offence involving robbery or violence; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The information is published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales" (table 1.8 of the latest issue, for 1987). I shall reply as soon as possible giving provisional information for 1988.
  518

  Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
  Mr. Maples
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the statement by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on his strategy for 1989.

  Mr. Hurd
  I am placing copies of the commissioner's strategy statement for 1989 in the Library of the House today. I am also sending copies to all right hon. and hon. Members whose constituencies fall wholly or partly within the Metropolitan police district. I hope to meet London Members soon to discuss the strategy.

  Prisons
  Mr. Summerson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he intends to make in the rules governing the conduct of adjudications within prisons; and if he has decided to accept the recommendation of Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons, in his report on grievance procedures, that the offences of making a false and malicious allegation against an officer and of repeatedly making groundless complaints should be abolished.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Revised prison rules, which will be laid before the House shortly, will simplify and clarify the code of offences in the current prison rule 47 under which prisoners may be charged. Many of the changes are designed to give effect to the Government's response to the Prior committee report, contained in a White Paper published in October 1986.

  It has been decided, in the context of these changes, to abolish the current offences under rule 47(12), of making a false and malicious allegation against an officer, and prison rule 47(16), of repeatedly making groundless complaints. The so-called "simultaneous ventilation" rule, contained in prison standing orders, is also to be abolished.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Incomes
  Mr. Lester
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing the weekly disposable incomes of a married couple and a lone parent, each with two children aged four and six years and each paying average local authority rents and rates, in each of the following circumstances(a) out of work on income support, (b) participating in the new employment training scheme, (c) in part-time work earning £25 and (d) in full-time work earning £150.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information is set out in the table. The results are arbitrary. They cannot reflect, except by chance, the actual circumstances of particular people. The use of average rent and local authority rates means these illustrations do not reflect the full range of housing costs which people can pay.
  519

  Current benefit system: average local authority rent and rates. Married couple with two children aged 4 and 6

  (a) Not working

  Earnings

  Tax

  NI

  Rent

  Rates

  Housing benefit

  CHB

  FSM

  FWM

  Net income after housing costs

  Income support

  64·60

  —

  —

  —

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  14·50

  2·55

  1·83

  81·84

  (b) On the new employment training scheme

  Training allowance plus income support1

  74·60

  —

  —

  —

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  14·50

  2·55

  1·83

  91·84

  (c) Working part-time—earning £25 Income support2

  44·60

  25·00

  0·00

  0·00

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  14·50

  2·55

  1·83

  86·84

  1Assumes previously in receipt of basic rate of Income Support.

  2 Assumes receipt of Supplementary Benefit/Income Support for less than two years.

  Earnings

  Tax

  NI

  Take home pay

  Family credit

  Rent

  Rates

  Housing benefit

  CHB

  Total net income

  Net income after housing costs

  (d) Working full-time earnings £150

  150·00

  17·81

  13·50

  118·69

  0·00

  19·90

  8·20

  0·00

  14·50

  133·19

  105·09

  Current benefit system: average local authority rent and rates.

  Lone mother with two children aged 4 and 6

  Earnings

  Tax

  NI

  Rent

  Rates

  Housing benefit

  CHB

  FSM

  FWM

  Net income after housing costs

  (a) Not working Income support

  45·35

  —

  —

  —

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  19·40

  2·55

  1·83

  67·49

  (h) Working part-time-earning £25 Income support

  35·35

  25·00

  0·00

  0·00

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  19·40

  2·55

  1·83

  82·49

  (c) On the new Employment Training Scheme.

  Training allowance plus income support

  55·35

  —

  —

  —

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  19·40

  2·55

  1·83

  77·49

  Notes:

  1Lone mother assumed to be over 25 years.

  2Lone mother assumed to have been on basic rate of Income Support prior to acceptance on Employment Training Scheme.

  (d) Working full-time

  Tax

  NI

  Take home pay

  Family benefit

  Child benefit

  Rent

  Rent rebates

  Rates

  Rates rebates

  Total net income

  Net income after housing costs

  Earnings head

  150·00

  17·81

  13·50

  118·69

  0·00

  19·40

  19·90

  0·0

  8·20

  0·00

  138·09

  109·99

  Mentally Handicapped Persons
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the cost falling to the social security budget resulting from the transfer of care for mentally handicapped persons in Bexley from the local authority to a private company.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I regret that the information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate expense.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the overall spending on the social fund during each month in 1985, 1986 and 1987.
  520
  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The first part of the social fund, relating to regulated payments for maternity and funeral expenses came into operation on 6 April 1987. Discretionary payments under the social fund for community care grants, budgeting and crisis loans, came into operation on 11 April 1988. Expenditure for calendar months in 1987 was as follows:

  £

  April

  935,565

  May

  2,087,250

  June

  2,829,890

  July

  2,569,383

  August

  2,867,333

  September

  2,363,906

  October

  2,409,383

  November

  2,976,350

  December

  1,648,302

  521

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security 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. Peter Lloyd
  From January 1988 until 25 July, when the Department of Health and Social Security was divided into two separate Departments of State, 611 of the 748 oral questions tabled to the Secretary of State for Social Services received a written reply. From 25 July to the end of the year 132 oral questions were tabled to the Secretary of State for Social Security, 114 of which received a written reply.

  These figures do not include oral questions which were subsequently withdrawn, unstarred or transferred to other Departments.

  YTS
  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evaluations or research his Department has commissioned into the operation of YTS since the introduction of benefit changes in September 1989; and when the results will be available.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  None. We are, however, closely watching the impact of the reformed social security system on all client groups, including 16 and 17-year-olds.

  Month ending

  30 April

  31 May

  30 June

  31 July

  31

  30

  31 October

  30

  31

  1988

  1988

  1988

  1988

  August

  September

  1988

  November

  December

  1988

  1988

  1988

  1988

  Oldham ILO

  Income support

  Claims

  Intake

  690

  1,181

  1,152

  1,361

  1,260

  1,217

  1,098

  1,147

  856

  Processed

  503

  1,241

  1,080

  1,402

  1,301

  1,160

  1,131

  1,157

  816

  Outstanding

  187

  127

  199

  158

  117

  174

  141

  131

  171

  Assessment review

  outstanding

  46

  38

  19

  20

  59

  10

  79

  3

  70

  Unlinked post

  19

  13

  7

  11

  12

  8

  10

  10

  17

  Live load

  16,197

  15,854

  Supplementary benefit work outstanding

  Claims

  86

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Single payments

  3,500

  2,690

  1,218

  585

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Additional requirements

  2,200

  1,911

  932

  193

  40

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Failsworth ILO

  Income support

  Claims

  Intake

  479

  591

  690

  804

  742

  761

  745

  639

  484

  Processed

  388

  595

  674

  812

  757

  728

  769

  645

  494

  Outstanding

  91

  87

  103

  95

  80

  113

  89

  83

  73

  Assessment review

  outstanding

  42

  36

  30

  41

  12

  25

  34

  36

  40

  Unlinked post

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  2

  1

  34

  Live load

  12,247

  11,855

  Supplementary benefit work outstanding

  Claims

  44

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Single payments

  1,081

  277

  127

  36

  20

  6

  2

  1

  2

  Additional requirements

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund applications were made each month since 11 April 1988 at the Oldham and Failsworth offices of his Department for(a) budget loans,

  Oldham and Failsworth Local Offices
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many new claims for income support were made each month since 11 April 1988 at the Oldham and Failsworth offices of his Department; and how many claims were determined each month;

  (2) what was the average number of new claims and cases since 11 April 1988 awaiting review at the Oldham and Failsworth offices of his Department which were recorded as outstanding each month; and how many related to (a) supplementary benefit claims and (b) single payment claims;

  (3) how many items of unlinked correspondence were recorded each month since 11 April 1988 at the Oldham and Failsworth offices of his Department;
  (4) what load of current cases have the Oldham and Failsworth offices of his Department carried in the past six months.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information available is set out in the tables.

  The figures on unlinked post are supplied from local office records. The source of the live load figure is the 100 per cent. count of cases in action and is available only on a quarterly basis. The figures given include a small number of cases not actually in receipt of benefit.

  (b) crisis loans, and (c) community care grants; and how many applications in each of these categories were determined in each month.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Information on the numbers of applications for social fund loans and grants processed
  523
  and awarded, listed by local office, including information on budget allocations and expenditure, is available from the details held in the Library.

  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give for Oldham and Failsworth offices of his Department the current staffing complement, broken down by staffing grades of(a) how many permanent staff are currently in post; (b) how many temporary staff are currently in post; (c) how many staff members are currently being trained; and (d)
  the annual turnover of permanent staff.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is as follows:

  Permanent Staff

  Oldham ILO

  Failsworth ILO

  Grade 7

  1·0

  1·00

  SEO

  1·0

  1·00

  HEO

  9·5

  9·00

  LO1

  55·0

  42·50

  LO2

  102·5

  77·50

  AA

  25·0

  18·00

  Typing Manager

  1·0

  —

  Typist

  4·0

  3·00

  Security Guard

  —

  2·00

  Messenger

  3·0

  1·00

  Telephonist

  2·0

  1·00

  204·0

  156·00

  Temporary Staff

  —

  12·00

  Total Staff

  204·0

  158·00

  Annual Turnover

  8·9

  6·94

  Staff Under Training

  0·0

  0·00

  1 AA Grade.

  Note: ILO-Integrated Local Office.

  Mr. Viraj Mendis
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has as to the total amount of social security benefits paid to Mr. Viraj Mendis since 1973.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  It is not the Department's policy to release information from social security records of individuals, which is obtained and held in confidence, without the individual's approval.

  Pensions
  Mr. John Stanley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by what percentage the basic state pension has been increased since May 1979; and what was the percentage increase in the retail price index inflation to the latest month for which figures are available.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The basic state pension has been increased from £19·50 in November 19781 to £41·15 in April 19882, representing an increase of 111 per cent. The corresponding percentage increase in the retail price index was 106 per cent.

  1 The level of pension in payment in May 1979 came into force in November 1978.

  2The level of pension currently in payment came into force in April 1988.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what estimates he has as to the number 524
  of women aged (a) 60 to 62½ years and (b) 621½ to 65 years in the United Kingdom; and how many are in receipt of state retirement pensions;

  (2) what estimates he has as to the number of men aged (a) 60 to 62½ years and (b) 62½ to 65 years in the United Kingdom; and how many are in receipt of state retirement pensions.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Actual population figures for 1988 are not available. Projected population figures1 for that year for Great Britain indicate that there were approximately 893,000 women and 837,000 men aged 60–62, and 934,000 women and 808,000 men aged 63–65. The Department's records show that, as at March 31 1988, 590,000 women aged 60–62 and 811,000 women aged 63–65 were in receipt of retirement pension. Retirement pension is paid to men aged 65 and over.

  Source: Government Actuary's Department. 1Based on mid-1985 data.

  Note: information provided is for Great Britain.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received concerning the possibility of reducing the retirement age for men to(a) 60 years or (b) 62½ years and increasing the retirement age for women to that age; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Between 13 January 1988 and 10 January 1989 we received a total of 364 representations about state pension age. Records do not indicate the precise ages about which correspondents wrote.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimates he has as to the cost to public funds of(a) reducing the retirement age for men to 60 years and (b) reducing the retirement age for men to 62½ years and raising the retirement age for women to 62½ years.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information is not available in the form requested. The most recent estimates, which are based on 1985–86 benefit rates, are that the net annual cost to public funds of equalising state pension age at 60 years would be approximately £3,000 million, and at 63 years the net costs would be approximately £800 million.

  Benefits and Allowances
  Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in Great Britain were receiving (a) attendance allowance at (i) the higher rate, and (ii) the lower rate, (b) invalid care allowance, (c) mobility allowance, (d) invalidity benefit, (e) severe disablement allowance, (f) industrial disablement pension, (g) war disablement pension, (h) retirement pension, (i) income support, and (j) supplementary benefit at the latest dates for which figures are available; and what are those dates.
  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is as follows:

  Benefit

  Number of recipients

  Date

  Attendance allowance

  (i) higher rate

  287,000

  March 1988

  (ii) lower rate

  425,000

  March 1988

  Invalid care allowance

  109,000

  January 1989

  Mobility allowance

  557,000

  January 1989

  525

  Benefit

  Number of recipients

  Date

  Invalidity benefit

  967,900

  April 1987

  Severe disablement allowance

  260,200

  April 1987

  Industrial injuries disablement pension

  183,000

  April 1988

  War disablement pension

  197,800

  December 1988

  Retirement pension1

  9,300,000

  March 1988

  Income support2

  4,354,000

  May 1988

  Supplementary benefit2

  4,834,000

  November 1987

  1Excludes cases where graduated pension only is payable.

  2Source: Quarterly Statistical Enquiries

  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what benefits are available to an employed person who has to be admitted to hospital for a serious illness or operation; for how long such benefits are paid; and if he will give similar information for a self-employed man or woman.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  An employed person who is sick and incapable of work will usually qualify for statutory sick pay (SSP) from his employer. SSP is payable for up to 28 weeks of incapacity, providing the contract of employment continues. If there is no title to SSP or entitlement ends before 28 weeks, state sickness benefit is payable, subject to the satisfaction of the relevant contribution conditions. Sickness benefit and/or SSP is replaced by invalidity benefit after incapacity has lasted 28 weeks. SSP sickness and invalidity benefits continue in payment whilst the claimant is in hospital, but sickness and invalidity benefit are reduced after six weeks free in-patient treatment. A further reduction is made at the 12 months stage.

  A self-employed person is not entitled to SSP, but qualifies for sickness and invalidity benefit on the same basis as an employed person.

  There may be other social security benefits payable while a person is in hospital, depending on his particular circumstances. If my hon. Friend has a specific case in mind, I should be happy to look at it.

  Cold Weather Payments
  Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants in Wales were paid

  Current benefit system: average local authority rent and rates Lone mother with two children aged three and five

  Income support

  Earnings

  Tax

  NI

  Fares to work

  Rent

  Rates

  Housing benefit

  CHB

  FSM

  FWM

  Net weekly spending power

  (a) Not working

  45·35

  —

  —

  —

  —

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  19·40

  2·55

  1·83

  67·49

  (b) (i) Working part-time—earning £15 and £5·00 fares to work

  45·35

  15·00

  0·00

  0·00

  5·00

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  19·40

  2·55

  1·83

  77·49

  (b) (ii) Working part-time—earning £25 and £5·00 fares to work

  35·35

  25·00

  0·00

  0·00

  5·00

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  19·40

  2·55

  1·83

  77·49

  (b)(iii) Working part-time—earnings £40 and£5·00 fares to work

  20·35

  40·00

  0·00

  0·00

  5·00

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  19·40

  2·55

  1·83

  77·49

  Training allowance plus income support

  Fares to work

  Rent

  Rates

  Housing benefit

  CHB

  FSM

  FWM

  Net weekly spending power

  (c) On the new employment training scheme with £5·00 fares to work and £50·00 child care costs

  55·35

  5·00

  19·90

  8·20

  26·46

  19·40

  2·55

  1·83

  72·49

  under the cold weather payments scheme for the last five years; how much benefit has been paid in each of the last five years; and how many claims were refused.
  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The available information is as follows:

  Winter

  Number of claimants paid

  Amount paid £

  Number of claims refused

  1984–85

  11,494

  92,679

  Not known

  1985–86

  38,769

  1,039,294

  Not known

  1986–87

  161,000

  640,295

  31,592

  1987–88

  1,735

  8,675

  697

  21988–89

  nil

  nil

  5

  1 Estimate based on the number of £5 payments made.

  2 To date.

  Detailed information as above not collected before 1984–85.

  Lone Parents (Spending Power)
  Sir Ian Gilmour
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing the net spending power of a lone mother with two children aged three and five years, paying average local authority rent and rates, who is(a) not working, (b) working part-time earning £15, £25 and £40 a week, and paying £5 for travel costs to work, (c) in the new employment training scheme, and (d) working full-time, earning £100, £150 and £200 a
  week, and paying £55 for travel to work and child minding
  costs.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [holding answer 6 December 1988]: The information is set out in the table.

  As specified in the question, net weekly spending is assumed to be benefits plus earnings less housing costs and other identified expenditures. The results are arbitrary. They cannot reflect, except by chance, the actual circumstances of particular people. The use of average rent and local authority rates means the answers do not reflect the full range of housing costs which people can actually pay.
  527
  Notes:

  1.£50·0 child care costs are paid by Department of Employment direct to the childminder.

  2.Lone mother assumed to be over 25 years.

  3.Lone mother assumed to have been on basic rate of Income Support prior to acceptance on Employment Training scheme.

  Earnings head

  Tax

  NI

  Family credit

  Child benefit

  Rent

  Rent rebate

  Rates

  Rate rebate

  Fares to work

  Child care costs

  Net weekly spending power

  (d) Working full-time with £5·00 fares to work and £50 child care costs

  100·00

  5·31

  7·00

  18·83

  19·40

  19·90

  0·00

  8·20

  0·00

  5·00

  50·00

  42·82

  150·00

  17·81

  13·50

  0·00

  19·40

  19·90

  0·00

  8·20

  0·00

  5·00

  50·00

  54·99

  200·00

  30·31

  18·00

  0·00

  19·40

  19·90

  0·00

  8·20

  0·00

  5·00

  50·00

  87·99

HEALTH

  King's College Hospital
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will pay an official visit to King's College hospital, Denmark Hill, to discuss the funding of services.

  Mr. Freeman
  The South East Thames regional health authority is currently having discussions with Camberwell health authority about its financial allocation for 1989–90. It would not therefore be right for me to visit the hospital specifically to discuss funding at this time.

  Junior Doctors
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with representatives of hospital consultants about the hours worked by junior doctors.

  Mr. Mellor
  There were detailed discussions between the Health Departments and the profession's representatives, including hospital consultants, before the Government asked health authorities in June 1988 to work towards a reduction in junior doctors' rota commitments.I met representatives of the British Medical Association, including hospital consultants, on 9 January and plan to meet them again next month.

  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to obtain opinions concerning the maximum number of hours which should be worked by junior hospital doctors in any one working week, or continuously; and if he will publish the responses he receives.

  Mr. Mellor
  In June 1988, following agreement with doctors' representatives, we asked health authorities to work towards the elimination of rotas requiring a junior doctor to be on duty on average more than one night and one weekend in three. We discussed junior doctors' hours at a meeting with representatives of the British Medical Association on 9 January; and we plan to meet them again next month.

  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he possesses concerning the number of hours worked by junior hospital doctors, additional to their contracted hours.

  Mr. Mellor
  In 1985, when average weekly contracted hours of junior hospital doctors were 86, the average weekly hours worked when off duty was one, compared with three in 1981, when average weekly contracted hours were 89.
  528
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the specific proposals and resources offered by his Department to enable health authorities to reduce the hours worked by junior doctors on call in hospitals.

  Mr. Mellor
  In June 1988 we announced a scheme to reduce the hours of work of junior hospital doctors and dentists. Details were set out in circular EL(88) P82, a copy of which was placed in the Library. I have asked regional health authorities to report to me by 20 January as to the progress being made.

  Needle Exchange Scheme
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his policy towards the establishment of needle exchange schemes to reduce the spread of HIV among injecting drug users; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  We have now received the final report of the evaluation of exchange schemes and are urgently considering its implications. We have already issued guidance to health authorities on establishing syringe exchange schemes and estimate that there are currently some 60 to 100 schemes operating in England.

  Hospital Waiting Lists
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made in reducing hospital waiting
  lists in the Mersey region.

  Mr. Freeman
  Waiting lists in the Mersey region are some 10,000 lower than at March 1979. The number of patients waiting over one year is now down to 6,300–4,000 lower than at March 1979.

  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the latest figures for change in throughput of patients in National Health Service hospitals.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information is given in the table.

  In-patient cases treated per available bed per annum (throughput), NHS hospitals, England, 1978, 1986 and 1987–88

  Percentage changes between:-

  Throughput

  1978

  14·5

  1986

  20·3

  1987–88

  22·3

  1978 and

  1987–88

  53·4

  1986 and

  1987–88

  9·8

  529
  Over the period since 1978 increased throughput has been possible, not only because of greater health authority efficiency, but because new treatments and techniques have meant that stays in hospital are now shorter.

  Community Care
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he now expects to make a statement on his Department's plans for implementation of the proposals contained in the Griffiths report on community care.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  We are actively engaged at present in working up our own proposals for the future of community care. I hope to be in a position to bring forward our plans in the near future.

  Health Authorities
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will supply his latest estimate of the projected budget deficit in(a) the current financial year and (b) the next financial year of (i) London health authorities and (ii) health authorities.

  Mr. Mellor
  Health authorities report on their income and expenditure position as part of quarterly monitoring introduced in 1988–89. At the half-year stage, the projected income and expenditure deficit for 1988–89 of the four Thames regional health authorities, together with the eight postgraduate special health authorities, was £23· 5 million. The deficit projection for all English health authorities was £59· 9 million.

  The information relating to the rest of the United Kingdom is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales, Northern Ireland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland. Projections of the income and expenditure position for the next financial year will be provided by health authorities in their short-term programmes.

  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to promote flexible employment conditions in health authorities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  This is one of the key aims of our personnel policies and we have in particular encouraged health authorities to offer more opportunities for flexible working arrangements, part-time working and job sharing.

  We have commissioned a senior National Health Service personnel officer to carry out a comprehensive review of conditions of service, including the scope for greater decentralisation. This is now nearing completion and we shall be making full use of the findings in deciding on further action in this field.

  Nurses (Pay)
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's evidence to the pay review body on plans for regional variations in nurses' pay.

  Mr. Mellor
  The Health Department's written evidence to the review body which we published in October says that there is scope for a more flexible system of pay to respond to geographical and skill shortages. We have since asked the Review Body to consider setting aside around £5530
  million within their overall recommendations for a pilot exercise in supplementing national rates of basic pay where this is deemed appropriate on recruitment and retention grounds.

  Staff Regrading
  Mrs. Maureen Hicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinical regrading appeals have been considered to date; and what percentage of those have been regraded as a result.

  Mr. Mellor
  We do not hold this information centrally.

  Dr. Reid
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of nurse regrading appeals which have been made.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many appeals against nurses' gradings have been heard by health authorities; and how many appeals remain to be considered.

  Mr. Mellor
  We do not hold this information centrally.

  Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received about midwives' pay since the new pay structure was introduced.

  Mr. Mellor
  The Department has received some 400 written representations since the implementation process was completed. In addition, my right hon. and learned Friend met the president and the general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives on 7 December and had a friendly and useful discussion with them.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress being made on nurses' appeals over their recent regrading.

  Mr. Mellor
  I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State's reply to the hon. Member for Ynys Mon (Mr. Jones) earlier today.

  Ms. Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received concerning the nurses' regrading review.

  Mr. Mellor
  The Department has received some 2,300 written representations since the implementation process was completed. In addition, we had friendly and constructive meetings with the president and the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing on 5 December, and the president and general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives on 7 December.

  Hospital Doctors
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital doctors there were in 1978 and in 1986; and what proportion of them in each year were women.

  Mr. Mellor
  In 1978 and 1986 there were 38,527 and 43,992 hospital doctors respectively in England. Of these, 19· 4 per cent. in 1978 and 24·8 per cent. in 1986 were women.

  Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health why letters from general practitioners referring
  531
  patients with non-urgent surgical conditions are presently being stockpiled by the medical records officer at the Coventry and Warwickshire hospital; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  With the help of central funding under our waiting list initiative in 1987–88, Coventry reduced the number of patients who had waited more than a year for general surgery from 355 in March 1987 to 217 in March 1988. Provisional data indicated a further reduction by September 1988 to 146, but this put pressure on the hospital's budget. Combined with the pressure on beds from urgent medical conditions over winter and high staff sickness particularly among nurses, this has led to a reduction in activity since October, and some 200 non-urgent out-patient cases referred by general practitioners to surgeons—5 per cent. of their normal workload—have not yet been given appointments. The district general manager is discussing with the surgeons how best to schedule appointments for all patients who have not yet been seen.

  NHS Review
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement concerning his plans to extend the mechanism of the internal market in the National Health Service.

  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce the results of the review of the National Health Service.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to allow hospitals to opt out of the present National Health Service management structure.

  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to make an announcement on the Government's review of the National Health Service.

  Mr. Gerald Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish his White Paper on the future of the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.

  Ms. Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide details of proposals currently being considered which would have the effect of some district general and other hospitals opting out of the structure of the National Health Service.

  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the implications for the distribution of hospitals in the National Health Service of measures to promote increased competition.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the findings of the review of the National Health Service.

  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to publish the results of the current review of the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for experiments in the delivery of health care to National Health Service customers.
  532
  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the results of the National Health Service review.

  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the National Health Service review.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish his White Paper on the future of the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor:
  I refer my hon. Friends and the hon. Members to the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Members for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen), for Western Isles (Mr. MacDonald), for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire), for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Blunkett) and for Suffolk, South (Mr. Yeo) earlier today.

  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for ensuring greater cost-effectiveness in the National Health Service.

  Mr. Mellor
  The NHS is not a business, but it has to be more business-like. There is still a huge gulf between the best and the worst in terms of efficiency, customer choice, standards, good management and clear decision-taking. The Government intend to spread the best qualities of the enterprise economy more widely throughout the NHS, and we shall be bringing forward proposals to this end shortly.

  Abortions
  Mr. Burt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to instruct health authorities to take disciplinary action against staff who do not take all possible actions to preserve the life of foetuses born alive after attempted abortion operations.

  Mr. Mellor
  It is for health authorities to determine within well-established disciplinary procedures action to be taken in cases involving professional misconduct or incompetence.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of abortions performed in England in the latest year for which figures are available were performed because the child was likely to have been born severely handicapped.

  Mr. Freeman
  There were 170,197 notifications of abortions which were carried out in England in 1987 under the Abortion Act 1967, of which 1,826 (1·07 per cent.) mentioned ground 4 (there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped).

  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to seek to amend the Abortion Act 1967.

  Mr. Freeman
  Like their predecessors of both parties, the Government consider that amendments to the 1967 Act are a matter for private Members' legislation

  Mr. Amos
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions during the last 12 months, for which figures are available, officials of his Department
  533
  have visited private abortion clinics licensed by his Department in order to monitor the implementation of the Abortion Act 1967.

  Mr. Freeman
  In 1988 the Department's medical, nursing and administrative officers made 79 visits of inspection to places approved under the Abortion Act 1967.

  Mr. Ashby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many recent representations he has received from right hon. and hon. Members urging more thorough monitoring of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act.

  Mr. Freeman
  We have had no such representations.

  Mr. Ken Hargreaves
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has as to the numbers of abortions performed by individual doctors; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  I regret that this information is not available centrally.

  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the most common technique for performing abortions after 18 weeks currently used in National Health Service abortion centres; and what that technique involves.

  Mrs. Peacock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the most common technique for performing abortions after 18 weeks currently used in private abortion clinics.

  Mr. Freeman
  The most common technique for performing abortions carried out under the Abortion Act 1967 after 18 completed weeks gestation in both NHS and non-NHS premises in England and Wales is the use of prostaglandins, either alone or with other agents. This technique involves the introduction of prostaglandins within the uterus.

  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has yet taken any steps to implement the 1973 recommendation of the Select Committee on Abortion that there should be no financial links between doctors and agencies who counsel women in difficult pregnancies and the centres in which abortions may subsequently be performed upon those women.

  Mr. Freeman
  We have no plans to alter the long-standing administrative conditions governing financial links between doctors and agencies who refer women for abortions and the private sector clinics in which such abortions are performed.

  Mr. Dickens
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has as to how many foetuses born alive following abortion operations survived in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  No information is collected at birth registration which distinguishes between foetuses born alive following abortion operations and other live births. Hence, no information would be available on the survival of such foetuses. The notification of abortions carried out under the Abortion Act 1967 does not require information about the outcome of the aborted foetus to be recorded.
  534
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were carried out in the United Kingdom in 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Complete statistics are not yet available for abortions performed in the United Kingdom for 1988. The table shows the latest figures for England and Wales for half of 1988, and figures for the constituent parts of the United Kingdom for the whole of 1987. The Abortion Act 1967 does not apply in Northern Ireland.

  Notifications of abortions carried out under the Abortion Act 1967 in the United Kingdom and its constituents parts 1987, 1988

  Area

  1987

  March and June quarters 19881

  England and Wales

  174,276

  92,715

  Scotland

  9,351

  n/a

  United Kingdom

  183,627

  n/a

  1Provisional—includes notifications received by end of August.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of all abortions performed under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967 have been performed(a) in the case of a pregnancy resulting from rape or (b) in emergency to save the life of the mother.

  Mr. Freeman
  The total number of notifications of legal abortions, to resident and non-resident women, carried out under the Abortion Act 1967, from 27 April 1968 to 30 June 1988, is 2,899,4051. Of these, 1301 (0·004 per cent.) were performed in an emergency in order to save the life of the pregnant woman.

  As rape is not in itself a statutory ground for performing an abortion under the 1967 Act, and is not required to be specified on the notification form by the certifying doctor, the exact number of notifications of abortions associated with rape is not known. However, in some cases the information is volunteered, and arrangements have been made to code separately and analyse all notifications forms which mention rape from 1 January 1987. Of the 266,991 notifications received for the period January 1987 to June 1988 inclusive, 45 (0·02 per cent.) mentioned rape. Earlier, but non-comparable, data were collected clerically and published for the years 1968–73, in table 12 of the Registrar General's "Statistical Review, Supplement on Abortion", copies of which are in the Library. The reliability of these earlier data is uncertain.

  1 The total number of abortions is based on notifications received (1968 to 1980) and on occurrences (1981 to 1986). Data for 1988 are provisional.

  Hospices
  Mr. Ian Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the number is of terminally ill patients now being cared for in hospices; what the figure was for five years ago; and what has been the change in Government funding for hospice projects over the same period.

  Mr. Freeman
  Information is not available in the form requested. We are, however, currently collecting information from health authorities on the estimated demand for specialist services for the terminally ill and on their arrangements for the financial support of voluntary hospices.
  535

  Smoking (Health Warnings)
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide details of the options considered by his Department for changing the wording of Government health warnings in relation to smoking and health.

  Mr. Freeman
  Health warnings are included on some tobacco products in the United Kingdom by virtue of a voluntary agreement with the tobacco industry. We will seek renegotiation of this agreement and new health warnings will be considered. The Commission of the European Communities has also brought forward proposals on tobacco labelling including health warnings, which are at present under discussion.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his proposals for strengthening Government health warnings on cigarette packets.

  Mr. Freeman
  Health warnings are included on packets of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco by virtue of a voluntary agreement with the tobacco industry. That agreement will stand at least until 31 October 1989. We intend to seek renegotiation of the agreement and new health warnings will be one of the matters which will be considered.

  Cancer Screening
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will report on progress in setting up the breast cancer screening programme.

  Mr. Freeman
  I am pleased to announce the arrangements for the provision of breast cancer screening services to all district health authorities in England. The service will provide routine screening for women aged 50 to 64 and for older women on request. The list shows both the first regional centres which were established early last year and the further centres and consortia which regions plan to set up by 1990 to serve the remaining population, although these may be subject to slight alteration as proposals are finalised. Against each name is a list of the district health authorities which it will serve. In some cases more than one unit will operate from the base named. Those centres which to date have become operational are marked with an asterisk. Equitable access to services will be ensured by the provision, where appropriate, of a combination of static and mobile facilities. Detailed information about local arrangements can be obtained through regional health authorities.

  We are very pleased with the commitment which health authorities and their staff are showing towards this programme which will make a significant contribution to the health of the women in this country.

  Breast cancer screening service

  Screening centre or consortium

  Districts served

  Northern Regional Health Authority

  Gateshead *

  Gateshead

  Durham

  South Tyneside

  Sunderland

  Newcastle

  Newcastle

  North Tyneside

  536

  Screening centre or consortium

  Districts served

  Northumberland

  North West Durham

  North Tees

  North Tees

  South Tees

  Darlington

  Hartlepool

  South West Durham

  West Cumbria

  West Cumbria

  South Cumbria

  East Cumbria

  Yorkshire Regional Health Authority

  Huddersfield*

  Huddersfield

  Calderdale

  Dewsbury

  Hull

  Hull

  East Yorkshire

  Grimsby

  Scunthorpe

  York

  York

  Scarborough

  Northallerton

  Bradford

  Airedale

  Leeds

  Bradford Leeds Eastern

  Leeds Western

  Pontefract

  Wakefield

  Harrogate

  Trent Regional Health Authority

  Nottingham*

  Nottingham

  Central Nottinghamshire

  Bassetlaw

  Leicester

  Leicestershire

  Lincolnshire*

  North Lincolnshire

  South Lincolnshire

  South Yorkshire

  Barnsley

  Doncaster

  Rotherham

  Derbyshire

  North Derbyshire

  Southern Derbyshire

  Sheffield

  Sheffield

  East Anglian Regional Health Authority

  Peterborough

  West Norfolk and Wisbech

  and West Norfolk*

  Peterborough

  Suffolk

  East Suffolk

  West Suffolk

  Great Yarmouth

  and Waveney (part)

  Norwich

  Norwich

  Great Yarmouth

  and Waveney (part)

  Cambridge and Huntingdon

  Cambridge

  Huntingdon

  North West Thames Regional Health Authority

  Charing Cross Hospital

  Riverside

  Hounslow and Spelthorne

  Ealing

  Hillingdon

  537

  Screening centre or consortium

  Districts served

  Edgware General Hospital*

  Barnet

  Harrow

  Parkside

  South West Hertfordshire

  Luton and Dunstable Hospital

  North West Hertfordshire

  North Bedfordshire

  South Bedfordshire

  North Hertfordshire

  East Hertfordshire

  North East Thames Regional Health Authority

  Epping*

  West Essex

  Redbridge

  Bloomsbury*

  Bloomsbury

  Hampstead

  Islington

  East London

  City and Hackney

  Newham

  Tower Hamlets

  Chelmsford and Colchester

  North East Essex

  Mid Essex

  Whipps Cross

  Waltham Forrest

  Barking,

  Barking,

  Havering and Brentwood

  Havering and Brentwood

  North Middlesex

  Enfield

  Haringey

  South Essex

  Southend Basildon and Thurrock

  South East Thames Regional Health Authority

  Camberwell*

  Camberwell

  West Lambeth

  Lewisham

  and North Southwark

  Greenwich

  Bexley

  Bromley

  Canterbury

  Canterbury and Thanet

  South East Kent

  Maidstone

  Tunbridge Wells

  Medway

  Dartford and Gravesham

  East Sussex

  Brighton

  Eastbourne

  Hastings

  South West Thames Regional Health Authority

  Guildford (1)*

  Mid Surrey

  North West Surrey

  South West Surrey

  (2)*

  West Surrey

  and North East Hants.

  East Surrey

  Worthing

  Worthing

  Chichester

  Mid Downs

  Wandsworth (1)

  Wandsworth

  Croydon

  Kingston and Esher

  Merton and Sutton

  (2)

  Richmond, Twickenham

  and Roehampton

  538

  Screening centre or consortium

  Districts served

  Wessex Regional Health Authority

  Southampton*

  Southampton

  and South West Hampshire

  Salisbury

  Isle of Wight*

  Isle of Wight

  Portsmouth*

  Portsmouth

  and South East Hampshire

  Dorset

  East Dorset

  West Dorset

  Bath/Swindon

  Bath

  Swindon

  Winchester/Basingstoke

  Winchester

  Basingstoke

  and North Hampshire

  Oxford Regional Health Authority

  Aylesbury*

  Aylesbury Vale

  Northampton

  Northampton

  Wycombe

  Wycombe

  Milton Keynes

  Milton Keynes

  Kettering

  Kettering

  Reading*

  West Berkshire

  Windsor

  East Berkshire

  Oxford/Banbury

  Oxfordshire

  South Western Regional Health Authority

  Cornwall*

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

  West Devon

  Plymouth

  North Devon

  East Devon

  Exeter

  Torbay

  Somerset

  Somerset

  Avon

  Bristol and Weston

  Frenchay

  Southmead

  Gloucestershire

  Gloucester

  Cheltenham and District

  West Midlands Regional Health Authority

  Stoke-on-Trent (1)*'

  North Staffordshire

  (2)

  Mid Staffordshire

  South East Staffordshire

  Coventry (1)

  Coventry

  North Warwickshire

  (2)

  Rugby

  South Warwickshire

  Solihull

  Dudley

  Dudley

  Wolverhampton

  Walsall

  Walsall

  Sandwell

  Birmingham (1)

  North Birmingham

  East Birmingham

  West Birmingham

  Birmingham (2)

  Central Birmingham

  South Birmingham

  539

  Screening centre or consortium

  Districts served

  Bromsgrove General Community

  Hospital

  Worcester

  Hereford

  Kidderminster and District

  Bromsgrove and Redditch

  Shrewsbury

  Shropshire

  Mersey Regional Health Authority

  Liverpool (1)*

  Liverpool

  (2)

  Southport and Formby

  South Sefton

  St. Helen's and Knowsley (part)

  Warrington

  Warrington

  Halton

  St. Helen's and Knowsley (part)

  Crewe

  Crewe

  Macclesfield

  Macclesfield

  Wirral

  Wirral

  Chester

  Chester

  North Western Regional Health Authority

  South Manchester*

  North Manchester

  Central Manchester

  South Manchester

  Stockport1

  Tameside and Glossop

  Oldham

  Trafford

  Salford

  Wigan*

  Wigan

  West Lancashire

  Chorley and South Ribble

  Bolton*

  Bolton

  Bury

  Rochdale

  North East Sector

  Blackburn, Hyndburn

  and Ribble Valley

  Burnley, Pendle

  and Rossendale

  North West Sector

  Preston

  Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde

  Lancaster

  Dental Treatment
  Mr. Janman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many courses of dental treatment were carried out in 1978 and in 1986; and how many dentists there were in each year.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information requested is set out in the table.

  General dental services—England

  Year

  Number of courses of treatment 000s

  Number of dentists

  1978

  27,105

  11,919

  1986

  32,279

  14,516

  Hepatitis B
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received for additional funds to meet the cost to district health authorities of funding of vaccination of National Health Service employees against Hepatitis B.

  Mr. Freeman
  Written representations on behalf of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale community health council have been received from three hon. Members, including one from the hon. Member himself. I have replied in writing to the hon. Member.

  In-patients
  Mr. Cash
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were treated as in-patients in 1978 and how many in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Freeman
  In the financial year 1987–88, 6,619,354 in-patient cases were treated in England. This was 23 per cent. more than the 5,370,319 cases treated in 1978.

  Family Practitioner Committee
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the powers and responsibilities of family practitioner committees.

  Mr. Mellor
  The present statutory powers and responsibilities of family practitioner committees are set out in the following statutes:

  National Health Service Act 1987 Chapter 49

  Health and Social Security Act 1984 Chapter 48

  NHS Functions (Directions to Authorities and
  Administration Arrangements) Regulations 1989.
  SI 1989 No. 51

  NHS England and Wales. The Family Practitioner
  Committees (Membership and Procedure) Regulations
  1985. SI1985 No. 213

  NHS (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services)
  Regulations 1974. SI 1974 No. 160,

  NHS (Family Practitioner Committees Supply of Goods)
  Regulations 1974. SI 1974 No. 191

  NHS (Service Committees and Tribunals) Regulations
  1974. SI 1974 No. 455

  NHS (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations
  1980. SI 1980 No. 1503

  NHS (General Dental Services) Regulations 1973. SI1973
  No. 1468

  NHS (General Ophthalmic Services) Regulations 1936.
  SI1986 No. 975

  NHS (Payment for Optical Appliances) Regulations 1936.
  SI1986 No. 976

  These are augmented by administrative circulars from time to time issued by my Department.

  Competitive Tendering
  Mr. Bellingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's record in encouraging local health authorities to put their services out to tender.

  Mr. Freeman
  The competitive tendering initiative launched five years ago concentrated on domestic, catering and laundry services. Virtually all these services have now been subjected to the tendering process. The initiative has generated not only substantial annual savings (almost £110 million) but has provided improved specification of services, more flexible provision, tighter budgetary control
  541
  and improved productivity. In the light of these perceived benefits a number of health authorities have extended, or are planning to extend, the range of services subject to the tendering process, for example portering and security services, estate services, computer services and supplies distribution. Over £1·2 billion of National Health Service services are now subject to routine competition. We shall continue to encourage health authorities to consider competitive tendering as a means of improving efficiency in the way services are delivered thus maximising the resources available for patient care.

  Rural Maternity Units
  Mr. Latham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response he has made to the representations which he received regarding the proposals of the Leicestershire health authority to close rural maternity units; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  This is at present a matter for the district health authority with the region following consultations on the proposals issued last September. The standard procedure in relation to the closure of health facilities requires Ministers to make the final decision if agreement cannot be reached locally among the community health council and the health authorities. My hon. Friend will appreciate that it would be inappropriate for me to comment at this stage.

  Hospital Consultants
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the number of hospital consultants; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  Health authorities are responsible for determining the number of consultants they require to meet service needs. Their strategic plans indicate an annual increase in the number of consultants which averages 2 per cent. per annum and regions will be held to account for achieving these plans. In addition to this, "Achieving a Balance", a 10-year plan to reform hospital medical staffing, introduced specific measures to give a further boost to the number of consultant posts.

  Community Care
  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to complete his consideration of the recommendations of the Griffiths report on community care; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he now expects to make a statement on implementation of the recommendations of the Griffiths report.

  Mr. Mellor
  We are actively engaged at present in working up our own proposals for the future of community care. I am mindful of concern that we should reach a conclusion as soon as possible. We hope to be in a position to bring forward our plans in the near future.

  Food Quality
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from consumer health organisations about the impact on health of the quality or contents of food available in the United Kingdom.
  542
  Mr. Freeman
  We have not received any such representations. The Secretary of State for Health and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food jointly consider all proposals for regulations under the Food Act and are required to consult widely before making such regulations. The consumer organisations are among those whose views are sought and our officials have frequent contacts with these organisations.

  NHS Patients (Private Hospitals)
  Mr. Grocott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost to the National Health Service of paying private hospitals to treat National Health Service patients in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Mellor
  The summarised accounts of health authorities for 1987–88 record total expenditure on contractual hospitals and homes of £52·4 million. At this stage the figure is provisional as it is subject to audit.

  Hospitals (Resource Management)
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the results of the pilot projects on resource management in hospitals.

  Mr. Mellor
  The resource management experiments will be formally evaluated by the Joint Consultants Committee and the NHS Management Board, the joint sponsors of the initiative, in October 1989.

  Piloting at the reference sites is still continuing. The work to date has already demonstrated the significance of a number of elements. These include the importance of good quality medical records data; the value associated with involving doctors and nurses in decision making and giving them a sense of ownership of their data; the importance of involving all staff in the projects and of good quality local management; the desirability of introducing nurse management and other information systems and the feeding back to managers and clinicians of existing information. These and other issues were discussed at a meeting with RHA chairmen on 18 January.

  Wheelchairs
  Mr. Flannery
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received any representations during the past year for more battery powered wheelchairs for the chronically disabled.

  Mr. Mellor
  These are matters for the Disablement Services Authority, to which the hon. Member should address questions.

  Sex-change Operations
  Dr. Goodson-Wickes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the number of sex-change operations performed by the National Health Service, both male to female and female to male, for each of the last 20 years, giving the cost to the Exchequer in each case.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Mrs. Winterton) on 1 March 1988, at column 557.

  Wessex Regional Health Authority
  Mr. David Martin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans next to meet the chairman of the Wessex regional health authority.

  Mr. Mellor
  I met the Wessex chairman at the region's ministerial review on 10 January. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State and I saw all chairmen on 18 January and will expect to meet Mr. Buchanan again at our next regular meeting with regional chairmen on 14–15 March.

  NHS Expenditure
  Mr. David Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what proportion spending on the National Health Service has increased above the rate of inflation since 1979; and what is his estimate of the likely figure when the additional resources he has announced for the coming year are taken into account.

  Mr. Mellor
  I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Hughes) on 14 December 1988, at column 597.

  Cook-chill Catering
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to make available the amended recommendations concerning the introduction of the cook-chill meals system into hospitals under the charge of the Wakefield district health authority; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Wakefield district health authority is responsible for arrangements for the introduction of the cook-chill meals system in hospitals under its charge and there is no reason why it should not introduce the system forthwith provided it ensures that the existing departmental guidelines on pre-cooked chilled foods are followed. Updated guidelines are nearly ready for publication, but there is no reason to delay the use of cook-chill equipment while we are waiting for publication.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to be in a position to publish his Department's revised guidelines on pre-cooked meals in catering, chilled and frozen.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The updated guidelines are nearly ready for publication.

  Hospitals (Staffing Review)
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the number of regional steering groups, concerned with the safety net review of hospital medical staffing, which have issued guidance to their respective district working parties in accordance with his suggested timetable, or later, respectively.

  Mr. Mellor
  We do not hold this information centrally. We have requested an interim report on progress in carrying out the review of juniors' hours and the safety-net from health authorities by later this month.

  Hypothermia
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the latest estimate of the number 544
  of deaths in the United Kingdom from hypothermia and cold-related diseases in the last winter period for which figures are available.

  Mr. Freeman
  The latest complete winter period for which figures are available is the winter of 1987–88. The provisional number of deaths registered in the United Kingdom with any mention of hypothermia on the death certificate, irrespective of whether it appeared as the underlying cause of death or did not, for the period October 1987 to March 1988 inclusive, is 449.

  Transplants
  Mr. Richard Page
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what is being done to improve the supply of donor organs for transplants.

  Mr. Freeman
  We have recently issued detailed guidance to health authorities on this subject. For further information, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) on 13 December, at column 555.

  We are also carrying out a continuing publicity programme. My reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry) today gives further details.

  Mr. Curry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will report progress on the current campaign on donor cards.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Department's donor card campaign is continuing to progress well. The range of outlets where the cards are available has been expanded and there has been a substantial increase in the number of cards distributed compared with last year.

  "Readers Digest" is producing and distributing over 5 million donor cards in its February issue at no cost to the Department.

  A video for transplant co-ordinators displays and a new range of leaflets will be launched in the spring.

  Norwich Health Authority
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what extra funds have been made available to the Norwich health authority during the past year.

  Mr. Mellor
  Allocations to district health authorities are a matter for the regional health authorities concerned. However, I understand that in 1988–89 the East Anglian regional health authority made available an additional £6,145,000 to the Norwich health authority. Norwich health authority is also to receive a further sum of about £1·4 million to meet the cost of the nurses regrading exercise.

  "Look After Your Heart"
  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has plans for a media campaign on "Look after your Heart".

  Mr. Freeman
  A major publicity campaign began at the end of December and is planned to continue throughout 1989. It includes national and regional television advertising, and a series of advertisements in the national press. The campaign will complement a comprehensive
  545
  programme of activity involving industry and commerce, local groups, primary health care activity and special promotions.

  North-West Region
  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional resources have been provided to health authorities in the north-west over the past 18 months.

  Mr. Mellor
  Gross revenue expenditure in North Western regional health authority increased in 1987–88 by 8·7 per cent. in cash and 3·2 per cent. in real terms over the previous year. The region's initial revenue cash limit for 1988–89 was £1,038·8 million. Subsequent in-year additions have been made for:

  £ million

  Review Body pay awards

  53·5

  Waiting lists

  2·6

  AIDS

  0·5

  Other services

  0·4

  As a result expenditure this year is expected to rise by over 9 per cent. compared with 1987–88, a real terms increase of some 3 per cent.

  The allocation of funds to districts within the region is a matter for the regional health authority.

  Yorkshire Regional Health Authority
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next intends to meet the chairman of the Yorkshire regional health authority; and what he expects to discuss.

  Mr. Mellor
  I last met him on Wednesday 18 January and I expect to do so again shortly. A wide range of issues were discussed.

  Mr. Kirkhope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on major hospital building schemes costing more than £1 million in the Yorkshire regional health authority area.

  Mr. Freeman
  Information held centrally shows that last year six schemes, each costing more than £1 million, were completed by the Yorkshire regional health authority, including phase 1 of the redevelopment of Staincliffe district general hospital. A further 42 schemes are at various stages of planning, design and construction including major developments at Scunthorpe, St. James hospital, Leeds and St. Lukes hospital, Bradford.

  Health Education Authority
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the director of the Health Education Authority; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mr. Freeman
  My right hon. and learned Friend, the Secretary of State and my predecessor the hon. Member for Derbyshire, South (Mrs. Currie) last met the chief executive of the Health Education Authority on 8 December 1988 to discuss the "Look After Your Heart" campaign.

  Abortions and Infertility Treatment
  Mr. McAvoy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to require health 546
  authorities to provide separate facilities for women having abortions and those receiving infertility treatment in National Health Service hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Provision of health services is a matter for individual health authorities in the light of local needs and priorities. We would, however, expect health authorities to consider the individual needs of patients, in this respect, as far as is possible.

  Nurses (Training)
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will make a statement on post-registration training courses for nurses.

  Mr. Mellor
  The chief executive of the National Health Service Management Board will be writing shortly to health authority general managers asking them to submit bids for pump-priming new developments in post-registration nurse training in the high technology specialties.

  This follows a survey by the management board of training and development in the high technology specialties. The results of the survey are being sent to health authorities and a copy will be placed in the Library. In addition, the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting has been asked to draw up proposals to review the structure of post-registration training in order to widen access and reduce any duplication or overlap between different courses.

  Some £4 million will be available in 1989–90 for these complementary activities. This demonstrates the importance we attach to equipping nurses with the skills they need in an increasingly complex health care environment.

  Royal College of Midwives
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next expects to meet officers of the Royal College of Midwives.

  Mr. Mellor
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State had a friendly and useful discussion with the president and the general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives on 7 December. No date was set for a future meeting, but we have regular meetings with the royal college to discuss a wide range of issues and I would expect and hope that this practice will continue.

  Drugs Campaign
  Mr. Franks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will report on progress on the current campaign against drugs.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. and learned Friend the Minister for Health to my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr. Stevens) on 13 December 1988, at column 550.

  Stillborn Children (Parents)
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what attention is given to the emotional needs of the parents of stillborn children.

  Mr. Freeman
  The 1985 Maternity Services Advisory Committee report "Maternity Care In Action", which was
  547
  commended to all health authorities in England and Wales, emphasises the crucial importance of helping parents of stillborn children to come to terms with their loss and grief. It gives detailed guidance on the ways in which this can be done. A copy of the report is available in the Library.

  The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (SANDS), which has received £75,000 in funding from the Department in the last three years, also makes a valuable contribution by raising awareness of the needs of parents.

  Mentally Handicapped Persons
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received concerning the transfer of control of care for mentally handicapped persons in Bexley to Social Policy Management Services Ltd.

  Mr. Freeman
  None.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance he issues to local authorities concerning the transfer of responsibility for care of mentally handicapped persons to private companies;
  (2) what is his policy on the privatisation of local authority services for the care of mentally handicapped persons.

  Mr. Freeman
  No specific guidance has been issued. The Department encourages local and health authorities, which have statutory responsibility for providing care for mentally handicapped people, to work closely together with the private and voluntary sectors to develop a fully integrated range of services tailored to the specific needs of mentally handicapped people in the most cost-effective way.

  Docklands
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of extra demand for health care consequent upon the development of the docklands area of the London borough of Newham.

  Mr. Mellor
  It is for health authorities to plan local health services in the light of changing local needs and circumstances.

  We understand that Newham health authority and the City and East London FPCs, which are responsible for health provision in the docklands area of the London borough of Newham, are working with the London docklands development corporation to ensure that it is able to take account of future demand for health care. The hon. Member may wish to approach the chairmen of Newham health authority and City and East London FPCs for further information.

  NHS Property
  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis National Health Service land was valued before and after the two dates given in his reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North Official Report, 16 November 1987, column 441, 27 November 1987, columns 319–21 and 19 April 1988, column 382, and upon whose advice; and what would be the notional value of this National Health Service estate with planning consent.
  548
  Mr. Freeman
  My predecessor's reply of 16 November 1987, at column 439, gave the 1985 existing use value of the NHS estate (£12·7 billion). The existing use value is the summation of the depreciated replacement cost of the buildings and the value of the land on which they stand. The 1987 revaluation increased this figure to £18·1 billion.

  My predecessor's reply of 19 April 1988, at column 382 gave the provisional open market value of the estate following the 1987 revaluation. The final calculation of this value gave a figure of £7·4 billion. The open market value, which assumes the most likely planning consent, represents the opportunity cost of the land and buildings.

  All valuations are carried out by the chief valuers office of the Inland Revenue.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list the receipts from the sales of National Health Service mental hospital property and land since 1979 by regional health authorities in relation to the total receipt of sales of National Health Service property and land, by region, giving anticipated receipts similarly classified for future years.

  Mr. Freeman
  The most recent information on receipts from sales of surplus NHS property and land by regional health authority was given by my hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State for Health to the hon. Member for Mansfield (Mr. Meale) on 19 December 1988. Information is not routinely collected on sales of surplus NHS property and land defined by functional group and to collect it by means of a special exercise would involve disproportionate cost. Regional health authorities' forecasts of sales proceeds for the current and next three years are set out in the table.

  Forecast-receipts from the sale of NHS properties and land

  £ million

  Region

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  Northern

  5·3

  2·2

  1·3

  0·8

  Yorkshire

  13·5

  14·0

  0·9

  4·2

  Trent

  17·2

  11·0

  3·6

  2·9

  East Anglian

  11·0

  3·0

  3·1

  2·5

  North West Thames

  45·2

  54·0

  37·2

  50·0

  North East Thames

  71·0

  58·0

  22·0

  44·8

  South East Thames

  40·7

  28·0

  21·0

  21·0

  South West Thames

  25·0

  1

  1

  1

  Wessex

  20·5

  10·0

  5·0

  5·0

  Oxford

  17·6

  1·0

  3·2

  0·1

  South Western

  21·0

  19·7

  3·0

  4·4

  West Midlands

  11·3

  3·0

  5·7

  5·2

  Mersey

  8·8

  6·7

  3·6

  1·6

  North Western

  24·7

  2·5

  0·7

  1

  SHAs

  4·2

  22·5

  nil

  nil

  England

  337·0

  2235·6

  2110·3

  2142·5

  1Not available.

  2Provisional figure.

  Departmental Staff (Pay)
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of staff in his Department, by grade, in receipt of local pay additions outside London and the south-east economic planning region; what are the different amounts paid to staff by grade; whether this figure varies due to location; what qualifying period of scale-related criteria is used; and whether this varies by location.
  549
  Mr. Mellor
  There are no Department of Health staff in receipt of local pay additions outside London and the south-east economic planning region.

  Adverse Drug Reaction
  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many doctors and dentists used the yellow card adverse reaction reporting procedure on(a) one occasion,(b) two occasions, (c) three occasions, (d) four occasions and (e) five occasions or more in each of the years between 1985 and 1988;
  (2) how many doctors and dentists made adverse drug reaction reports to the Committee on Safety of Medicines in each of the years between 1985 and 1988, inclusive;
  (3) how many adverse drug reaction reports from doctors and dentists were received by the Committee on Safety of Medicines in each of the years 1985 to 1988.

  Mr. Mellor
  The total number of adverse drug reaction reports received by the Committee on Safety of Medicines in each of the years 1985–88 was as follows:

  Number

  1985

  12,652

  1986

  15,527

  1987

  16,431

  1988

  19,022

  We do not record the numbers of individual doctors and dentists who report adverse drug reactions to the CSM and this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Malignant Neoplasms
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the reply of 17 January to the hon. Member for Southend East,Official Report, columns 114–15, why no figures on newly diagnosed cases of malignant neoplasms in persons under 15 years of age are available since the year 1984; and when he expects the figures for 1985 and later years to be available.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys publishes annual cancer statistics using data collected by 12 regional registries which are funded by the regional health authorities.

  The target for the publication of data for individuals diagnosed in 1985 was the middle of 1988. In practice the timing of publication is largely governed by when the slowest regional cancer registry provided OPCS with data. It should be borne in mind that regional registries exist to produce data for local management and research purposes as well as supplying data for the national cancer scheme. They sometimes have local priorities which conflict with the timely supply of data to OPCS.

  OPCS is currently waiting for data from two registries on approximately 8,000 individuals diagnosed with cancer in 1985. Information on these cases is expected to be received by the end of February and we plan to publish the 1985 cancer registration volume in the summer of this year.

  Doctors (Complaints)
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received about the procedures available to investigate complaints against doctors; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Government's proposals for changing the complaints procedures for the family practitioner services were published in the White Paper "Promoting Better Health". The aim of the proposals is to simplify and streamline procedures and to recast the governing regulations as a whole in simpler and plainer language. Consultations with interested bodies have not yet been completed.

  Directions on the procedures for complaints by hospital patients were issued to health authorities in June 1988. No representations have been received.

  Osteoporosis
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to introduce a national screening programme for women at risk from osteoporosis.

  Mr. Freeman
  There are at present no plans to introduce a national screening programme for women at risk from osteoporosis. Further research is required on the appropriate techniques to use for screening and which criteria should be used to identify those at highest risk. The Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid from the Department of Education and Science, has set up a specialist group which is considering this question and we shall keep developments under review.

  Imported Food
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prosecutions have been made for breaches of the Imported Food Regulations 1984.

  Mr. Freeman
  This information is not collected centrally.

EMPLOYMENT

  Earnings
  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many weekly or monthly paid people in the United Kingdom are estimated to earn in excess of(a) £20,000, (b) £25,000 and (c) £50,000 per annum.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The latest estimates available from the Inland Revenue's survey of personal incomes for the tax year 1986 –87 are as follows:

  Income from employment in excess of £

  Numbers (thousands)

  20,000

  347

  25,000

  298

  50,000

  38

  Staff (Pay)
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the number of staff in the Training
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  Agency, by grade, in receipt of local pay additions outside London and the south-east economic planning region; what are the different amounts paid to staff, by grade; whether this figure varies due to location; what qualifying period of scale-related criteria is used; and whether this varies by location;

  (2) what is the number of staff in his Department, by grade, in receipt of local pay additions outside London and the south-east economic planning region; what are the different amounts paid to staff, by grade; whether this figure varies due to location; what qualifying period of scale-related criteria is used; and whether this varies by location.

  Mr. Cope
  Neither the Employment Department nor the Training Agency make any local pay additions to staff outside London and the south-east planning region.

  Employment Training
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will extend the employment training scheme to include the sponsorship of young persons wishing to become commercial airline pilots.

  Mr. Nicholls
  There are no plans to make commercial pilot training available in employment training. The Air Transport Industry Training Association already carries out comprehensive training to meet its own requirements, including a thorough selection and assessment process.

  Opencast Mining
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the code of practice setting out national standards for opencast mining in the vicinity of water courses will be published.

  Mr. Nicholls
  It is not possible to give a final date for the publication of the code of practice on the stability of excavated slopes at opencast coal sites, but it is expected this summer.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he is taking to ensure that small businesses are well managed and that, where appropriate, managers employed in large businesses are encouraged to join small businesses.

  Mr. Lee
  The Training Agency currently supports a wide range of programmes aimed at improving the business and management skills of small firms and the small firms service offers advice to large numbers of owner/managers. In the White Paper "Employment for the 1990s" published last month, I announced plans to bring these together under the Training Agency and to establish training and enterprise councils. These developments will ensure that advice and training are closely linked, relevant to the business objectives of owner/ managers and reflect local needs.

  Managers in large businesses may be encouraged to join small firms by the strength of the small firms sector and the range of encouragement to enterprise that we have introduced.

  Viraj Mendis
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to any claims by, and payments made to, Mr. Viraj Mendis for unemployment benefit since 1973.

  Mr. Lee
  My officials are unable to trace records of Mr. Mendis's benefit claims before December 1980. I can confirm that although Mr. Mendis made a number of claims for unemployment benefit after this date, no unemployment benefit was paid.

  Business Growth Training
  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about his plans for the business growth through training programme, announced in the White Paper entitled "Employment for the 1990s", Cm. 540

  Mr. Fowler
  I can now announce that the programme, "Business Growth Training" will start on 1 April and that expenditure on it will be £55 million in a full year. The programme is designed to help the smaller business in particular and it will have four major components:help for smaller firms with fewer than 500 employees to obtain outside advice to improve their performance through better training. Up to £15,000 will be available to meet up to half the costs of professional assistance to plan for the training of their employees as part of a strategy for managing change; associated training of managers and supervisors; purchase of open learning materials, and other forms of training new to the firm;
  training of owners and managers of very small businesses in better management and business skills in order to help them run and develop their business;
  projects to demonstrate how new approaches to training and development can help employers meet their business needs more effectively. Selected firms will be given up to half of the agreed costs, up to a maximum of £60,000, to mount the projects and to disseminate the results to other employers;
  projects to help to start up partnerships between businesses on a national sectoral basis or locally, to define needs for training in key skills, and to develop a long-term strategy for improving the supply of those skills. Funding will be limited to a maximum of £60,000, up to half the costs. The Training Agency will draw up priorities for responding to applications for this pump-priming funding.

  With the introduction of these new arrangements on 1
  April, the local grants for employers scheme, local collaborative projects and national priority skills scheme will end. Existing commitments will of course be honoured. Those elements of the former training for enterprise programme which do not form part of employment training (the private enterprise programme, graduate enterprise programme, firmstart and growth programmes) will continue under business growth training.

  Transfer of Undertakings Regulations
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to amend(a) the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 or (b) the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 1987.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: My right hon. Friend has no such plans.

  Graduates
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment with whom he has discussed the graduates in employment statistics outlined in the January 1989 edition of the Employment Gazette, at pages 22 and 23;

  (2) if he has any plans to discuss the graduate in employment statistics outlined in the January 1989 edition of the Employment Gazette at pages 22 and 23 with the Confederation of British Industry and the Scottish Council (Development and Industry).

  Mr. Lee
  [holding answer 19 January 1989]: We have no plans to initiate discussions on the information in the article.

  The article itself was based on a paper prepared for the Department of Education and Science-led review of the demand for graduates, which in turn was based on information extracted from the labour force survey.

  The Confederation of British Industry is represented on the review's working groups, which also include officials from relevant Departments, including the Scottish Office, and representatives from the Council for Industry and Higher Education. The Scottish Council for Development and Industry is not a member.

  Departmental Advertising
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much he has spent on advertising in each of the last three years, and what was the breakdown of expenditure on advertising in each of these years.

  Mr. Cope
  [holding answer 20 January 1989]: The amount spent by the Department of Employment on advertising during the financial years 1985–86, 1986–87 and 1987–88, broken down by media category was as follows:

  £million

  Year

  Television

  Press/Radio

  Posters

  Total

  1985–86

  Nil

  0·1

  Nil

  0·1

  1986–87

  9·3

  3·0

  0·4

  12·7

  1987–88

  3·0

  0·5

  2·6

  6·1

  These figures include production costs and VAT.

  HSE (Prosecutions)
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria are used by the Health and Safety Executive when deciding if a prosecution should go on indictment to the Crown court.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: It is a decision for magistrates courts, and not for the Health and Safety Executive, whether particular cases should be taken on indictment to the Crown court.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment on how many occasions in 1988 private solicitors were instructed to conduct prosecutions on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive; and if he will consider transferring all prosecution work under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act and associated legislation to the Crown Prosecution Service.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: In England and Wales in 1987–88, the latest years for which
  554
  figures are available, 234 cases were conducted by private solicitors on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive. My right hon. Friend has no plans to transfer prosecution work in the highly technical and specialised field of health and safety law to the Crown Prosecution Service,

  Hantergantick Quarry (Fatalities)
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many informations were laid before Bodmin magistrates by the Health and Safety Executive in respect of the double fatality at Hantergantick quarry on 25 August 1987; and to what breaches of statutory provisions each of these informations related.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 23 January 1989): A total of two informations were laid: one under section 2(1) of the health and Safety At Work, etc. Act. 1974, and another under section 109 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment why all informations laid before Bodmin magistrates in connection with the double fatality at Hantergantick quarry of 25 August 1987 were not proceeded with.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: The section of statute under which the successful prosecution proceeded was the result of the considered advice of solicitors and counsel.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether the prosecution relating to the double fatality at Hantergantick quarry on 25 August 1987 was conducted by the Health and Safety Executive's own staff, or whether outside solicitors were instructed.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: The prosecution was undertaken by a local firm of solicitors, under the instructions from HSE legal division.

  Safety at Work
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has made an assessment of the service provided by the procurator fiscal's department in conducting all prosecutions in Scotland under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: No.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps are taken to ensure that all inspectors authorised to conduct legal proceedings under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 have received sufficient training and have a sufficient knowledge of magistrates courts proceedings to enable them to conduct the proceedings correctly; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: All newly appointed Health and Safety Executive inspectors who will be required to conduct legal proceedings attend, as part of their training, a course on magistrates court procedures, collection of evidence, presentation of cases and the conduct of proceedings in court. Further courses covering the same material are provided for inspectors in mid career either to update their skills and knowledge or before they are likely to conduct legal proceedings in a magistrates court.
  555
  HSE's inspectors are also provided with comprehensive written guidance on magistrates court procedures and the conduct of proceedings in court.

  Summerwest World (Injury)
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action was undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive following the injury to a small boy at Butlins Summerwest World, Minehead in September 1988 on the water slide; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 23 January 1989]: In accordance with the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1977, enforcement of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 at Butlins Summerwest World, Minehead is carried out by West Somerset district council, and consequently the Health and Safety Executive has no information about this incident.

DEFENCE

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 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. Younger
  In 1988, 721 oral parliamentary questions were answered by written reply owing to the question not being reached at Question Time.

  Royal Air Force Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre
  Mr. John Hunt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates his Department has made of the expected revenue savings from the transfer of the RAF officer and aircrew selection centre from Biggin hill to Cranwell.

  Mr. Neubert
  Some £10 million in running costs will be saved over the next 10 years. Once the move has been completed running cost savings of more than £2 million per annum at current prices are expected to accrue.

  Mr. John Hunt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates his Department has made of the expected level of capital receipts following disposal of the existing RAF officer and aircrew selection centre site at Biggin hill.

  Mr. Neubert
  Following the closure announcement discussions are now being held with Bromley council to consider the future uses for the site of the officers and aircrew selection centre. This will assist us to determine the capital value of the site. The final estimate will however be a matter of commercial confidentiality and it would not be our normal practice to disclose it.

  Mr. John Hunt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expenditure is envisaged to accommodate the RAF officer and aircrew selection centre following its proposed transfer from Biggin hill to Cranwell, including provision for the selection centre itself and the residential accommodation required for the personnel.

  Mr. Neubert
  The estimated cost of the facilities concerned, including extensions to existing facilities, is some £5½million at current prices.

  Woolwich Arsenal West
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to release the area of surplus land at Woolwich Arsenal west; how the developer is to be selected; what form the development is likely to take; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Neubert
  The Woolwich Arsenal west site including the riverside area is owned jointly by the Ministry of Defence and the Crown Estate Commissioners with whom discussions are already in progress on disposal arrangements. We are also in informal consultation with the local planning authority, Greenwich borough council, to establish potential uses for the surplus land which will protect and be compatible with the many listed buildings on site.

  It is our normal practice to select a developer through open market competition.

  Radioactivity
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer,Official Report, column 280, to the hon. Member for Dumbarton of Thursday 19 January, if he will specify the document covering United States practice in United Kingdom waters which embodies standard and international standards on the release of radioactivity.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  United States practice is consistent with the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The commission adopted its most recent recommendations on 17 January 1977, and these are contained in ICRP publication 26.

  PUBSAFF
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Dumbarton of Thursday 19 January; if he will summarise the changes required by the local authorities and emergency services during the consultation process on Clyde PUBSAFE.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Clyde public safety scheme is currently under review, in consultation with local authorities and emergency services. It would not be appropriate to release details of any proposed changes before the revision is issued.

  Nuclear Accident Exercises
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Dumbarton of Thursday 19 January,Official Report, column 280, how many exercises in each of the past five years have been carried out under the existing scheme.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  In the Clyde area, there were seven nuclear accident exercises in 1985, six in 1986, five in 1987 and six in 1988. In Rosyth, there has been one exercise during each of the last five years, and practice evacuations of part of the naval base in 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1988.

  Radioactivity (Submarines)
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for
  557
  Dumbarton of Thursday 19 January,Official Report, column 280, what levels of radioactive material Royal Navy submarines are authorised to discharge.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Releases of radioactivity from United Kingdom nuclear-powered submarines are strictly controlled within the established national and international standards, as recommended by the International Commission on radiological protection.

  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Dumbarton of Thursday 19 January,Official Report, columns 279–80, if he has been informed by the United States Navy of the maximum level of radioactivity in waste discharged into United Kingdom waters by their submarines; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Her Majesty's Government are satisfied that any releases of radioactivity have not breached established national and international standards. Early United States operations in Holy Loch did lead in the 1960s to the detection of some Cobalt 60 in harbour sediment samples. This radioactivity was well below the internationally agreed public safety levels at the time, and was also below the much more stringent levels which apply now. Since then, the United States has made technical advances and has instituted even more rigorous control over discharges.

  I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, West (Lord James Douglas-Hamilton) to the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) on 23 January 1989 at column 407.

  Aircraft (Urban Areas)
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what height military aircraft are permitted to fly over urban areas which are not located within one of the avoidance areas or transit areas marked on the Civil Aviation Authority chart of United Kingdom areas of intense aerial activity, aerial tactics areas and military low flying system.

  Mr. Neubert
  [holding answer 16 December 1988]: Military fast jet aircraft are instructed not to fly over the centres of major conurbations and built up areas below 2,000 feet, whilst the limit for light propeller driven aircraft and helicopters is 1,000 feet. However, we cannot guarantee to avoid overflying the outskirts of major towns or smaller communities. Nevertheless pilots will make every effort to avoid populated areas wherever possible.

  Low-level Flying (Morocco)
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress in talks with the Government of Morocco on the use of facilities in Morocco for low-level training by the Royal Air Force.

  Mr. Neubert
  [holding answer 16 December 1988]: I have nothing further to add to the answer given by my predecessor, the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman), on 10 May 1988 at column 104. The details of discussions of this sort is confidential.

  Low Flying
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if normal low-flying training sorties down to 250 ft are permitted within the three tactical training areas at the same time as operational low-flying training down to 100 ft.

  Mr. Neubert
  [holding answer 16 December 1988]: Low flying training sorties down to 250 ft by non-operational low flying units are not permitted within the three tactical training areas when operational low flying is taking place except under special arrangements and with special approval.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence over what proportion of the land surface of the United Kingdom military low flying is permitted.

  Mr. Neubert
  [holding answer 16 December 1988]: In principle military low flying is permitted over the whole of the United Kingdom landmass except for main conurbations, danger areas and certain other areas such as civil air traffic zones, airports, glider sites, and nuclear power stations.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the military low flying management group met in 1987 to consider proposals for changes to the United Kingdom low flying system.

  Mr. Neubert
  [holding answer 16 December 1988]: The Military low flying management group met on three occasions in 1987 to consider and discuss a variety of matters concerning the United Kingdom low flying system including proposals for minor changes to the system.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Royal Air Force police personnel are currently employed on surveying potential new areas for low flying;
  (2) if he will make a statement on the criteria and methods used by the Royal Air Force when surveying potential new areas for low flying.

  Mr. Neubert
  [holding answer 16 December 1988]: There are currently no plans to change the basic structure of the United Kingdom low flying system implemented in 1979 although, as part of the continuous review of the system, two RAF police senior NCOs are occupied full time in the tasks referred to in my predecessor's answer to the hon. Member of 19 November 1987 at column 453, working according to the criteria set out in that answer.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the approximate current land area covered by low flying area 7(T); and if he will list any changes made to the boundaries of this area since 1979.

  Mr. Neubert
  [holding answer 16 December 1988]: Low flying area 7(T) covers the south west portion of the constituency of Montgomery, the north west quarter of Brecon and Radnor, the north east corner of Carmarthen and the eastern part of Ceredigion and Pembroke north. There have not been any changes to the boundaries of this area since 1979.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what conditions fixed-wing military aircraft not operating from local bases are permitted to use those low-flying areas dedicated to local users.
  559
  Mr. Neubert
  [holding answer 16 December 1988]: Pilots are required to obtain clearance from a co-ordinating authority before flight in a low flying area dedicated to local users.
  560

  ST. GEORGE AND DRAGON STATUE, HYDE PARK
  ST. GEORGE AND DRAGON STATUE, HYDE PARK
  EC WORKS DIRECTIVE 71/305
  EC WORKS DIRECTIVE 71/305
  WORLD HERITAGE SITES: DEVELOPMENT IMPLICATIONS
  WORLD HERITAGE SITES: DEVELOPMENT IMPLICATIONS
  WASTE DISPOSAL: REFORM PROPOSALS
  WASTE DISPOSAL: REFORM PROPOSALS
  POLISH VISITORS: VISA APPLICATIONS
  POLISH VISITORS: VISA APPLICATIONS
  DOGS AND EXPLOSIVES: MIDDLE EAST ALLEGATIONS
  DOGS AND EXPLOSIVES: MIDDLE EAST ALLEGATIONS
  PRISON RULES: REVISION PROPOSALS
  PRISON RULES: REVISION PROPOSALS