Written Answers of 21 June 1989

SCOTLAND

  Handicapped Children
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will give details of the financial aid available to send handicapped children and their parents to the Peto Institute in Hungary.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Provision is included in the Self-Governing Schools Etc. (Scotland) Bill to enable education authorities in Scotland to pay all or part of the fees, travelling, maintenance and other expenses in respect of a child's attendance at an establishment which makes provision wholly or mainly for persons with pronounced, specific or complex special education needs. The Peto Institute in Hungary is such an establishment. The assistance can include, where appropriate, the expenses of parents or another accompanying person.

  Blind People
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many registered blind persons there are in Scotland.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The provisional figure for March 1988 is 13,760.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a report on environmentally sensitive areas in Scotland.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  My right hon. and learned Friend is pleased to announce that a first report on environmentally sensitive areas in Scotland was published today and a copy placed in the Library. The report sets out the background to the designation of ESAs in Scotland, the main characteristics and objectives of each of the Scottish ESAs and the arrangements for monitoring the scheme.

  Forestry Commission (Wildlife)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the last advice he received from the Nature Conservancy Council concerning the practice of blocking of badger setts and digging of fox earths by fox hunters on Forestry Commission land.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. and learned Friend has received no advice from the Nature Conservancy Council on this subject, although it is possible that council staff have given informal advice to the Forestry Commission on a local basis. I understand, however, that the Nature Conservancy Council is preparing a report which will include discussion of the issue.

DEFENCE

  HMS Cambridge
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to give instructions to the Property Services Agency with regard to the erection of a proposed fence around HMS Cambridge at Wembury, Plymouth.

  Mr. Neubert
  The Property Services Agency, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, submitted a notification under the provisions of circular 18/84 to the South Hams district council of a proposal for the erection of new boundary fencing around the gunnery school at HMS Cambridge. The district council has objected to this proposal. No instructions will be given to the Property Services Agency for the erection of the proposed fence until the matter has been determined in accordance with normal planning procedures.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Immigration
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the average time from an appeal being notified to his Department from(a) Bombay high commission, (b) other Foreign Office outposts, (c) the Foreign Office itself, (d) the Home Office to (i) the date of the appeal being set and (ii) the hearing taking place.

  The Attorney-General
  This information is not recorded in the form requested. Currently, however, it is estimated that the time taken from receipt of the notice of appeal by the immigration appellate authorities in London to the despatch of the appeal papers to both parties' representative in the United Kingdom is four to eight weeks. Appeals cannot thereafter be listed for hearing until both parties' representatives indicate that they are ready to proceed: this is in the hands of the parties, and times vary from a few weeks to several months. If no response is received within nine months the appeal is automatically listed for hearing.

  When both parties have indicated their readiness to proceed, the IAA are generally able to list the case for hearing within the following eight weeks, although where a party requests an expedited hearing such requests can usually be met. However, where a party seeks an adjournment, the hearing may take place more than eight weeks after the parties have indicated their readiness to proceed.

THE ARTS

  Exhibitions (Private Funding)
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what contribution private funding has made to new exhibitions at national museums and galleries in the last 12 months, in addition to public funding.

  Mr. Luce
  Full details of private funding of new exhibitions are not held centrally but notable examples of such funding over the last 12 months are The British museum's "Treasures for the Nation" exhibition attracting £150,000 from British Gas. The Tate gallery successfully raised £423,000 in sponsorship for exhibitions, and the
  131
  Science museum's new "Food for Thought" gallery has attracted over £950,000 in commercial sponsorship. Such initiatives are to be encouraged.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Mechanically Recovered Meat
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce regulations to control the use of mechanically recovered meat in food products; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ryder
  Mechanically recovered meat is used in a number of meat products. The Food Labelling Regulations 1984 already require that a treatment given to a food, or food ingredient, should be shown in the appropriate place on the label if the omission of such an indication would mislead the purchaser.

  Food and Wine Exports
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total amount spent by the European Economic Community and by member states in subsidising the exports of food and wine in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and if he will include in the total the moneys spent on exporting food and wine from intervention stores.

  Mr. Ryder
  Expenditure on export refunds for food and wine in 1988 was £6,638 million (provisional), of which £165 million was for food aid.

  This includes refunds on exports of commodities from the free market and from intervention stocks. The breakdown between member states is shown below.

  Mecu

  £ million

  Belgium

  297

  201

  Denmark

  689

  467

  Germany

  1,543

  1,047

  Greece

  76

  52

  Spain

  395

  268

  France

  2,577

  1,748

  Ireland

  317

  215

  Italy

  557

  378

  Luxembourg

  0

  0

  Netherlands

  2,698

  1,830

  Portugal

  2

  1

  United Kingdom

  636

  431

  TOTAL EC

  9,787

  6,638

  Less-favoured Areas
  Mr. Marland
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the progress on the case for extending the United Kingdom's less-favoured areas.

  Mr. Ryder
  Yesterday, my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, handed over to Mr. Raymond MacSharry the EC Commissioner for Agriculture a case to the EC Commission for an extension of the United Kingdom's less-favoured areas by 95,000 hectares of land in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This extension will require the agreement of the Commission before payment of any benefit can be considered. At this stage, I cannot say how 132
  long it will take to secure that agreement. The form of the submission follows from the initial discussions we have held with the EC Commission, which has made it clear that it will be examining our submission rigorously against the criteria on economic and demographic performance laid down in directive 75/268.

  I am arranging for copies of the results of our application of these criteria, together with an illustrative map of the areas submitted to the Commission, to be placed in the Library at the House and in local Ministry offices in the areas concerned. Farmers, who made representations following the 1984 extension, will be notified individually whether their land has been included in the submission.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Hague
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish a report on the environmentally sensitive areas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The first report on the environmentally sensitive areas scheme is being published today by HMSO, meeting our obligation under section 18(8) of the Agriculture Act 1986.

  The environmentally sensitive areas scheme has been warmly welcomed by conservation bodies and farmers alike. Since going to press we have received further applications from over 300 farmers wishing to bring over 9,000 hectares (22,230 acres) of their land into the scheme this year. Overall, this gives us a total of 2,708 applications and agreements covering 110,495 hectares (273,000 acres) of land in England alone since the scheme was introduced in 1987. This represents over 90 per cent. of the land which we considered likely to enter the scheme and shows overwhelmingly the farming industry's commitment to environmentally conscious farming. It points to real progress in conserving some of our most beautiful countryside.

  My colleagues the Secretaries of State for Wales and Scotland have made similar announcements. The report sets out how the scheme operates in each of the designated areas and how we intend to assess its impact. I hope it will add to a wider understanding of environmentally sensitive areas and what they are designed to achieve.

  Copies of this report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and will be available from HMSO bookshops.

  Agriculture Council
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Agriculture Council in Luxembourg on 19 and 20 June.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The main item on the agenda of this Council, at which I represented the Government, was the Commission's proposal for changes to the support arrangements for sheep. The Commission indicated ways in which it might be prepared to adjust its proposal. I emphasised the main points which would be necessary for the proposals to be acceptable to the United Kingdom including the conditions which are necessary for a unified regime. Discussion showed that major differences of view persist and the Council will return to the matter at a subsequent meeting.
  133
  The arrangements for the import of New Zealand butter into the United Kingdom, which some member states regard as closely linked to progress in the support system for sheep, were rolled forward for a further month (July) on the basis of unchanged quantities and prices.

  The Council adopted a directive laying down health and hygiene standards for egg products. This will bring legislative standards for pasteurised egg in the Community as a whole up to the level of the best practices already applied by the major United Kingdom egg producers.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  "Broadcasting in the 1990s"
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the United Christian Broadcasters letter to him on the White Paper, "Broadcasting in the 1990s"; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

  Mr. Renton
  I have today placed in the Library a copy of my private secretary's reply of 8 June.

  Drugs
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of his Department as to the requirements of each prison in England and Wales to report the finding of drugs; and how often such reports are required to be made.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  All prison service establishments are required to report to their regional office every find which is made of an illicit drug. A report on each incident should be submitted as soon as possible after the find is made.

  Voting Rights
  Mr. Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to introduce legislation giving full voting rights indefinitely to Britons abroad for both United Kingdom elections and European Parliament elections, in line with the rights accorded to other European nationals.

  Mr. Greg Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has reached any conclusions, in the light of responses to Home Department consultation papers No. 1 Representation of the People: British Citizens Overseas, issued on 29 April 1988, and No. 2 Representation of the People: Absent Voting, issued on 2 March 1989; and if he has any proposals to amend electoral law; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hurd
  The Representation of the People Act 1985 brought the United Kingdom into line with most other western democracies by making provision for British citizens to vote whilst living abroad. This step was greatly welcomed by many British citizens worldwide. The detailed arrangements represented a cautious, evolutionary approach. They had the effect, amongst other things, of limiting in time the right to be registered as an overseas elector to five years from the date for which a British citizen was last registered as a United Kingdom resident; requiring the applicant to make a declaration, including a prescribed statement about residence intentions; requiring 134
  the declaration to be attested by a consular official; and requiring the overseas elector to make a fresh declaration annually. These provisions, stricter than in many other countries, considerably restricted the numbers abroad who could have access to the franchise and imposed significant burdens on those who did. The Government made a commitment, at the time the legislation was passing through Parliament, to review the new arrangements once they were in operation, and, in particular, to reconsider the five-year time limit.

  It is evident from the under-use of the franchise during its first three years of operation, and from replies to consultation paper No. 1, that the measures introduced in 1985–86 are unduly restrictive. They exclude from the franchise British citizens working on longer-term contracts abroad, often in the United Kingdom's interests, and they exclude completely anyone who left the United Kingdom before he was old enough to have been included in a register of electors. In addition, applicants are discouraged by the procedures for registration, and they are not reminded of the need to be registered annually, as are their counterparts resident in the United Kingdom.

  The overseas electors' franchise deprives too many British citizens abroad of the right to vote and the existing application procedures should be simplified. I am presenting today a Representation of the People Bill to amend the law relating to overseas electors. This would extend to 25 years the period abroad during which British citizens may apply to be registered to vote in United Kingdom parliamentary and European Parliament elections. The Bill would extend the overseas franchise to include those not previously registered as electors in the United Kingdom by reason of age; and it would remove from the declaration which overseas electors must now make the statement about residence intentions. Proposals to amend the relevant representation of the people regulations, so as to simplify further the registration procedures for overseas electors, will be brought forward.

  The Representation of the People Act 1985 also extended, for the first time, the right to a postal or proxy vote to any United Kingdom resident, registered as an elector, who cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at his allotted polling station at a particular election. This reform meant that holidaymakers, people who had fallen ill, and those whose work took them away from home on polling day could nevertheless exercise their right to vote. Detailed conditions, which applicants for the new absent voting facility must satisfy, are specified in regulations. These include a requirement that applications for an absent vote at a particular election must be attested and, for the most general case, that the attester must not be related to the applicant and shall not have attested any other application in respect of the election for which the application is being made. The general election in 1987 provided the first major test of these new absent voting arrangements, and the attestation requirement gave rise to considerable difficulty with many applications being rejected as a result. We have already greatly simplified the application forms in the light of that experience, but it is clear from the response to consultation paper No. 2 that there should be some easing of the application procedures themselves. Accordingly, proposals to amend the relevant regulations will be brought before this House; it will be convenient to deal with them at the same time as the regulations relating to overseas electors.
  135
  The Bill which I am presenting seeks also to deal with a pressing difficulty which has developed over the limits on candidates' expenses at parliamentary by-elections. Electoral law makes no distinction for the purposes of such expenses between a parliamentary general election and a by-election. The character of parliamentary by-elections has changed considerably since the law on which the existing scheme is based was passed, over a century ago. They are, increasingly, national events which focus the attention of political commentators and the media and which, consequently, attract the close involvement of the various party organisations. This trend, which is unlikely to be reversed, has implications for the system of controls on candidates' expenses set out in the Representation of the People Act 1983. I propose to review these implications, in consultation with the representatives of the political parties and the returning officers who have responsibility, under the law, for conducting parliamentary elections. As a first step, I am putting in hand the preparation of a public consultation paper which will set out the background and promote consideration of the issues and options involved. Such a review will take time. In the interim it is important that the limits on candidates' expenses at parliamentary by-elections are realistic and take account of the campaigning activity which takes place. Accordingly, the Bill I am presenting today sets a new limit on candidates' expenses at parliamentary by-elections. The new limit, which is four times the one currently specified (which will continue to apply at general elections), is without prejudice to the outcome of the longer-term review I have described.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the Kurdish asylum seekers from Turkey who have arrived since the beginning of May were refused admission at airports and removed immediately; and to which countries they went.

  Mr. Renton
  None; immigration officers are required to refer all applications for asylum to the refugee unit of the Home Office for decision.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were made in 1988; and what were the nationalities of the applicants.

  Mr. Renton
  This information will be contained in the 1988 issue of the annual Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom" which will be published next month.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Kurdish asylum seekers from Turkey have arrived since the beginning of May; how many are currently held in(a) prison, (b) Harmondsworth detention centre and (c) elsewhere; and if he will list the institutions where they are being held.

  Mr. Renton
  The information is not readily available in the precise form requested since records do not identify different ethnic groupings. As of midnight on 19 June, 2,838 Turkish nationals had arrived since the beginning of May and had sought asylum; 81 were detained in prison establishments at Winchester, Dorchester, Exeter and Gloucester; 92 were detained in Harmondsworth detention centre, Gatwick beehive and Latchmere house remand centre.
  136
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Kurdish asylum-seekers from Turkey who have arrived in Britain since the beginning of May have been interviewed about their claim for asylum; and how many of these have been(a) given refugee status, (b) given exceptional leave to remain, (c) refused leave to remain and removed and (d) refused leave to remain and are awaiting removal.

  Mr. Renton
  By 19 June the asylum applications from 138 Turkish nationals had been considered in detail. The results of this consideration are:12: met the criteria of the 1951 UN convention and have been recognised as refugees;
  38: have been given leave to remain in the United Kingdom on an exceptional basis;
  5: are receiving further consideration;
  3: departed voluntarily before a final decision was reached;
  61: have been notified of a provisional decision that they do not qualify for asylum and any further information/representations are awaited;
  19: did not qualify for asylum or leave to enter under the immigration rules, were refused entry and have been returned to Turkey.
  In addition, 128 have made voluntary departures after withdrawing their claims for asylum.

  EC Broadcasting Directive
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Council of Ministers did not approve the broadcasting directive on 14 June; and what plans the Commission has to pursue the matter.

  Mr. Renton
  The directive was not approved on that occasion because not enough member states were in a position to adopt it. It is proposed that the discussion of the Commission's re-examined proposal on the directive will continue under the French presidency.

  Immigration
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many overseas visitors were initially refused entry to the United Kingdom in(a) January to May 1988, inclusive, and (b) January to May 1989, inclusive, and what were their nationalities;

  (2) how many Jamaican citizens were initially refused entry into the United Kingdom as not being genuine visitors in (a) January to May, inclusive 1988 and (b) January to May, inclusive, 1989.

  Mr. Renton
  [holding answer 15 June 1989]: The total numbers of passengers by nationality who were refused leave to enter and removed from the United Kingdom between January and April of 1988 and 1989 are given in the table; figures for May 1989 are not yet available. It is not possible from the information available centrally to ascertain how many sought entry as visitors.

  Of the 113 Jamaican citizens removed between January and April 1988 and the 307 removed between January and April 1989, 108 and 273 respectively failed to satisfy the immigration officer that they qualified as genuine visitors under paragraph 17 of the rules. Some of the remainder may also have sought entry as visitors but have been refused for other reasons.

  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested as
  137
  being illegal immigrants in the first five months of 1989, and in the corresponding five months in 1988; and what were their nationalities.

  Mr. Renton
  [holding answer 15 June 1989]: The available information is of persons against whom action was commenced as illegal entrants, which is published quarterly in table 13 of Home Office statistical bulletin "Control of Immigration: Statistics", a copy of which is in the Library. The latest available figures relate to the fourth quarter of 1988 (in Bulletin 10/89). The figure for the first quarter of 1989 will be published in the next issue around the end of this month. A breakdown by nationality of the figures for the first and second quarters of 1988 is given in the following table.

  Persons against whom action was commenced as illegal entrants by nationality

  Number of persons

  Nationality

  1988

  1st Quarter

  2nd Quarter

  Europe

  182

  162

  Austria

  3

  2

  Bulgaria

  1

  —

  Cyprus

  10

  4

  Czechoslavakia

  2

  —

  France

  5

  —

  Federal Republic of Germany

  —

  2

  Hungary

  2

  4

  Italy

  2

  2

  Malta

  —

  1

  Netherlands

  —

  1

  Norway

  —

  1

  Poland

  2

  4

  Portugal

  20

  51

  Romania

  —

  —

  Spain

  15

  4

  Sweden

  3

  1

  Switzerland

  2

  1

  Turkey

  108

  72

  Yugloslavia

  6

  12

  Americas

  51

  55

  Brazil

  11

  6

  Canada

  3

  —

  Chile

  —

  4

  Colombia

  11

  13

  Jamaica

  12

  16

  Mexico

  1

  1

  Peru

  2

  4

  Trinidad and Tobago

  —

  2

  United States of America

  11

  9

  Africa

  265

  287

  Algeria

  21

  23

  Egypt

  4

  10

  Ethiopia

  1

  1

  Ghana

  93

  112

  Libya

  —

  3

  Mauritius

  5

  3

  Morocco

  15

  13

  Nigeria

  118

  111

  South Africa

  1

  2

  Sudan

  1

  4

  Tunisia

  3

  2

  Uganda

  1

  —

  Zaire

  2

  —

  Zambia

  —

  3

  Asia

  210

  223

  Bangladesh

  43

  65

  China

  1

  1

  Hong Kong BDTC

  9

  3

  India

  63

  55

  Iran

  8

  4

  Iraq

  1

  4

  138

  Nationality

  1988

  1st Quarter

  2nd Quarter

  Israel

  3

  4

  Japan

  8

  2

  Jordan

  —

  4

  Malaysia

  8

  15

  Pakistan

  33

  39

  Phillipines

  2

  2

  Saudi Arabia

  1

  —

  Singapore

  1

  1

  Sri Lanka

  26

  20

  Syria

  1

  1

  Thailand

  2

  3

  Australasia

  Australia

  2

  3

  Other

  30

  38

  British Overseas Citizens

  4

  —

  Other countries not otherwise specified

  14

  27

  Stateless

  12

  11

  All Nationalities

  740

  768

TRANSPORT

  Radioactive Material
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list year by year for the last 10 years how many tonnes of radioactive material were imported to Sellafield; what method of transport was used to convey the material to Sellafield; and from what countries the radioactive material was imported.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  During the past 10 years, over 2,500 tonnes of irradiated fuel have been imported for reprocessing at Sellafield from the following countries:Japan, Italy, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and Switzerland.

  The bulk of this material has been transported by sea in BNFL's own ships with the balance being sent by rail/sea from European countries. To break this information down by individual years would involve disproportionate effort.

  Blood Testing (Motor Accidents)
  Mr. Brandon-Bravo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, in the light of the remarks by the chief constable of Gwent, echoing those by petitioners in Nottingham, of 11 May 1987,Official Report, column 150, he will seek to review the ban against blood testing of unconscious persons involved in motor accidents.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The White Paper "The Road User and the Law" (Cmnd. 576) published in February this year recorded in paragraph 2.41 the conclusion that the case for taking blood samples from unconscious drivers was not generally yet felt to be sufficiently strong to overcome the present serious legal and ethical issues perceived to be involved.

  Bus Services (London)
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what powers he has permitted commercial bus companies to operate in the Greater London area which are not under the auspices of London Regional Transport; and if he will state the conditions under which such services now operate.
  139
  Mr. Portillo
  Local bus services in London other than those controlled by London Regional Transport are licensed by the metropolitan traffic commissioner under part II of the Transport Act 1985. Between October 1986 and March 1989, 101 licences for local services were granted together with 72 licences for excursions or tours. Conditions attached to licences vary according to the case, and are for the traffic commissioner to decide.

  Road Safety
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what records are maintained of accidents occurring on the public highway involving registered blind or visually handicapped persons; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Our records of injury accidents occurring on the public highway do not include details of the disabilities of people involved. The Department works closely with local authorities and with organisations of blind and partially sighted people to improve facilities available to those who are visually handicapped so that they can go out with greater safety and confidence.

  Great Central Railway Line
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with the chairman of British Rail the withdrawal from auction, on 6 July, of sites on the Great Central line.

  Mr. Portillo
  These are commercial matters for the British Rail property board and it would not be appropriate for Ministers to intervene.

  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with the chairman of British Rail the action he is taking to secure the route of the Great Central line as far as Rugby as a potential route for trains from the Channel tunnel.

  Mr. Portillo
  Securing land which may be required for potential rail routes to the Channel tunnel is a matter for the proposers of the route.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Pakistan (Non-proliferation Treaty)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any information on the terms and conditions set out by Pakistan that need to be met before Pakistan would sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

  Mr. Eggar
  Pakistan has stated on several occasions that it will accede to the non-proliferation treaty if and when India agrees to do so.

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will take steps to ensure that holders of Hong Kong British passports are given equal treatment with holders of full British passports in the matter of exit in emergency situations from the People's Republic of China; and if he will make a statement.
  140
  Mr. Eggar
  Our policy is to give Hong Kong people holding British nationality exactly the same treatment for consular purposes as any other British national. This approach was demonstrated by the help and advice given to Hong Kong people by the British embassy in Peking and the consulate general in Shanghai during recent weeks.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Manufacturing Trade Deficit
  Mr. Graham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the manufacturing trade deficit in 1989.

  Mr. Allan Roberts
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the manufacturing trade deficit in 1989.

  Mr. Major
  I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett) on 8 June at column 204.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the deficit in manufactured trade for 1989–90.

  Mr. Major
  The Financial Statement and Budget Report for 1989–90 provides a forecast for trade in manufactures for calendar year 1989 only (table 3.5).

  Trade Deficit
  Mr. Ernie Ross
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his best estimate of the trade deficit in 1989.

  Mr. Patchett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the trade deficit in 1989.

  Mr. Major
  I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Lloyd) on 6 June at column 115.

  Composite Rate Investigations
  Mr. Gerald Bowden
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make an announcement on the next composite rate investigation under section 483(5) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  I have asked Inland Revenue to consult the savings institutions on arrangements for conducting a survey in respect of 1991–92.

WALES

  Perinatal Services
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to receive the report by Professor Sir Eric Stroud on the perinatal services in Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  I understand that the expert advisory group on perinatal intensive care services in Wales, under the chairmanship of Professor Sir Eric Stroud, is presently concluding its deliberations and expects to report shortly.

  Education Authorities (Funding)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make a special allocation of cash to
  141
  local education authorities in Wales to enable them to meet their legal obligations consequent upon the enactment of the Education Reform Act;

  (2) if he will make a special allocation of cash to local education authorities in Wales to enable them to meet their obligations concerning the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) if he will make a special allocation of cash to local education authorities in Wales to enable them to meet their obligations concerning local management of schools; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  LEAs' expenditure requirements arising from the Education Reform Act are considered in the context of the revenue support grant negotiations. Specific additional support for aspects of ERA implementation is provided through education support grant and the LEA training grant scheme and through direct Welsh Office funding of the Curriculum Council for Wales.

  River Pollution
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will issue a direction to the Welsh Water Authority to prosecute all alleged industrial polluters of south Wales' rivers.

  Mr. Grist
  No.

  Prescription Charges
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will make it his policy that when prescriptions are supplied in a combination pack of two or more items which cannot be taken in isolation and therefore are supplied only to he taken together as one course of treatment, only one prescription charge should be levied on the patient.

  Mr. Grist
  Unless the patient is entitled to exemption a prescription charge is payable in respect of each quantity of a drug prescribed and the fact that, for convenience, two or more individual preparations may be supplied in one pack does not affect the liability for payment. It would be wrong to allow manufacturers packaging arrangements to determine the amount a patient is liable to pay.

  Blind People
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many registered blind persons there are in Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  There were, in Wales, 8,564 people registered as blind on 31 March 1988.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will publish a report on environmentally sensitive areas in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  I am very pleased to say that the first report on ESAs in Wales has been published today. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Similar announcements are being made by my colleagues the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and by the Secretary of State for Scotland.

  The report explains the reasons for designating the Cambrian mountains and Lleyn peninsula ESAs and
  142
  describes the way the schemes are operating. It sets out progress on implementation and outlines our plans to monitor the effects of the schemes.

  Progress with the scheme is very encouraging. Almost two-thirds of the holdings in the original Cambrian mountains ESA have applied to join the scheme. Fifty-four per cent. (13,931 ha) of the semi-natural rough grazing in that area is already subject to management agreements, and this proportion will increase when further applications are processed. I anticipate similar success in the Cambrian mountains extended area in due course. In little more than a year, 15,403 ha (38 per cent.) of the 39,700 ha of agricultural land in the Lleyn peninsula ESA has been the subject of applications to join the scheme. This progress is a sign of considerable interest in the scheme, and of the industry's commitment to farming in an environmentally conscious way.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Northern Ireland Police Authority
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when Mrs. Phyllis Bateson was appointed as a member of the Northern Ireland Police Authority; whether her position as a member of the authority was a matter of consultation or discussion with the Government of the Republic of Ireland under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Agreement; and what was the proposed period of her membership of the authority.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  [holding answer 19 June 1989]: For security reasons it is not our policy to disclose the names of members of the Northern Ireland Police Authority. Nor is it normal practice to disclose whether any views have been put forward on the composition of individual public bodies under article 6 of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Community Charge
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his advice issued to local authority associations that access by community charge registration officers to the schools admissions register was not allowed because the register is under the control of school governors still applies; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Yes. The advice on this subject issued in a letter from the Department to the local authority associations dated 2 May, repeated in a letter dated 17 May from my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member, remains valid.

  National Curriculum (Heritage)
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consideration has been given to the needs of archaeology and the conservation and protection of the British heritage in the development of the national curriculum.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  My right hon. Friend announced on 13 January the establishment of a working group to make recommendations on attainment targets and programmes of study for history within the national curriculum in
  143
  England and Wales. He asked the group to take into account, amongst other things, the cultural heritage of Britain; it will also consider links between history and related fields such as archaeology. The group's interim report is to be submitted to him by 30 June, and its final report by Christmas.

  Employment Training
  Mr. Wall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many people are on employment training schemes whilst studying at college;

  (2) if he will list all employment schemes, other than educational training, which are based in the further education sector; how many students are on these schemes; and how they are funded.

  Mr. Jackson
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment is responsible for administering and funding most training programmes. The information available for the number of students training in public further education colleges in England on 1 November 1987 (the latest year for which information is available), excluding YTS and TVEI, is as follows:

  Thousands

  Industrial Type Training Course1

  7

  Adult Training Scheme2

  13

  Other Courses3

  12

  1 Industrial type training courses are courses at a college consisting entirely of training without a further education element, mounted at the behest of an industrial training board or employer, for which an economic charge is made.

  2 Adult training scheme, includes students enrolled under the job training scheme, training for enterprise and wider opportunities training programmes.

  3 Other courses include access to information technology and local grants to employers schemes.

  Discretionary Awards
  Mr. Wall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much each of the local authorities in England and Wales spend on discretionary awards as a total and as a percentage of their total budget; and what is the maximum and minimum awards given by them.

  Mr. Jackson
  The table shows provisional outturn figures for the total amount spent on discretionary awards by each local education authority in England in 1987–88; and for the percentage this represents of their total net expenditure on education in each case where the latter figure is available. Policy for discretionary awards including the amount of support which should be given in each case is for each local authority to determine in the light of its own priorities and information about the value of individual awards is not collected centrally. Expenditure on education by local authorities in Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Local education authority

  Total expenditure on discretionary awards

  (i)

  (ii)

  (£000's)

  As per cent. of total net expenditure on education

  Barking

  163

  0·26

  Barnet

  561

  n.a.

  Bexley

  264

  0·44

  144

  Local education authority

  Total expenditure on discretionary awards

  (i)

  (ii)

  (£000's)

  As per cent. of total net expenditure on education

  Brent

  3,342

  3·31

  Bromley

  613

  0·90

  Croydon

  355

  0·42

  Ealing

  805

  n.a.

  Enfield

  110

  0·16

  Haringey

  385

  n.a.

  Harrow

  237

  0·43

  Havering

  192

  0·30

  Hillingdon

  194

  0·33

  Hounslow

  200

  n.a.

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  155

  0·28

  Merton

  179

  0·44

  Newham

  389

  n.a.

  Redbridge

  297

  0·54

  Richmond-upon-Thames

  348

  1·06

  Sutton

  97

  0·25

  Waltham Forest

  591

  0·79

  ILEA

  20,156

  1·89

  Birmingham

  852

  0·28

  Coventry

  350

  0·31

  Dudley

  226

  0·28

  Sandwell

  399

  0·43

  Solihull

  212

  0·41

  Walsall

  276

  0·32

  Wolverhampton

  211

  n.a.

  Knowsley

  19

  0·03

  Liverpool

  30

  0·02

  St· Helens

  128

  0·22

  Sefton

  357

  0·49

  Wirral

  1,051

  1·15

  Bolton

  325

  0·49

  Bury

  380

  0·77

  Manchester

  878

  0·45

  Oldham

  227

  0·37

  Rochdale

  222

  0·35

  Salford

  212

  n.a.

  Stockport

  378

  0·51

  Tameside

  201

  0·33

  Trafford

  425

  0·80

  Wigan

  385

  0·40

  Barnsley

  578

  0·99

  Doncaster

  503

  0·58

  Rotherham

  193

  0·26

  Sheffield

  1,016

  n.a.

  Bradford

  1,777

  1·15

  Calderdale

  394

  0·73

  Kirklees

  1,023

  0·77

  Leeds

  1,124

  0·52

  Wakefield

  720

  0·79

  Gateshead

  129

  0·24

  Newcastle-upon-Tyne

  352

  0·34

  North Tyneside

  235

  n.a.

  South Tyneside

  5

  0·01

  Sunderland

  798

  0·83

  Isles of Scilly

  2

  0·29

  Avon

  1,905

  0·74

  Bedfordshire

  883

  0·57

  Berkshire

  1,164

  n.a.

  Buckinghamshire

  776

  0·44

  Cambridgeshire

  1,159

  0·69

  Cheshire

  3,349

  1·26

  Cleveland

  1,216

  0·63

  Cornwall

  390

  0·35

  Cumbria

  1,558

  1·13

  Derbyshire

  538

  0·20

  Devon

  3,896

  1·58

  Dorset

  1,479

  1·04

  Durham

  381

  0·24

  East Sussex

  725

  0·46

  Essex

  2,251

  0·57

  Gloucestershire

  2,182

  1·67

  Hampshire

  4,586

  1·16

  Hereford and Worcester

  1,007

  0·62

  145

  Local education authority

  Total expenditure on discretionary awards

  (i)

  (ii)

  (£000's)

  As per cent, of total net expenditure on education

  Hertfordshire

  1,442

  0·53

  Humberside

  2,500

  0·97

  Isle of Wight

  330

  1·08

  Kent

  3,702

  1·06

  Lancashire

  2,547

  0·65

  Leicestershire

  3,463

  1·32

  Lincolnshire

  1,388

  1·01

  Norfolk

  988

  0·58

  North Yorkshire

  3,341

  1·96

  Northamptonshire

  845

  0·53

  Northumberland

  400

  0·49

  Nottinghamshire

  1,305

  0·43

  Oxfordshire

  957

  0·65

  Salop

  1,202

  1·12

  Somerset

  546

  0·48

  Staffordshire

  1,232

  0·43

  Suffolk

  1,818

  1·20

  Surrey

  1,126

  0·51

  Warwickshire

  1,125

  0·90

  West Sussex

  364

  0·26

  Wiltshire

  1,094

  0·78

  Further Education
  Mr. Wall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much each of the local authorities in England and Wales spend on further education as a percentage of their total budget.

  Mr. Jackson
  Information in the form requested is not available. According to returns made to the Department of the Environment by local education authorities in England the percentage of the total net expenditure on Education spent on maintained establishments of further education other than polytechnics in 1987–88, the latest year for which actual expenditure is available, was as given in the table. The figures include the expenditure incurred on higher education within the other maintained establishments. Nationally, this represented some 20 per cent. of the total.

  Figures for Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Net Expenditure on other Maintained Establishments of Further Education as a Percentage of Total Net Expenditure on Education

  Local Education Authority

  Percentage

  Barking

  7·9

  Barnet

  n/a

  Bexley

  7·7

  Brent

  10·8

  Bromley

  10·7

  Croydon

  10·8

  Ealing

  n/a

  Enfield

  9·4

  Haringey

  n/a

  Harrow

  21·8

  Havering

  7·6

  Hillingdon

  4·4

  Hounslow

  n/a

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  11·1

  Merton

  12·1

  Newham

  n/a

  Redbridge

  4·1

  Richmond-upon-Thames

  21·4

  Sutton

  8·8

  Waltham Forest

  8·6

  ILEA

  12·1

  146

  Local Education Authority

  Percentage

  Birmingham

  8·0

  Coventry

  10·2

  Dudley

  14·6

  Sandwell

  13·8

  Solihull

  11·4

  Walsall

  7·8

  Wolverhampton

  n/a

  Knowsley

  6·3

  Liverpool

  10·3

  St. Helens

  12·9

  Sefton

  9·0

  Wirral

  12·0

  Bolton

  16·2

  Bury

  10·2

  Manchester

  11·9

  Oldham

  9·2

  Rochdale

  6·0

  Salford

  n/a

  Stockport

  10·9

  Tameside

  8·6

  Trafford

  12·2

  Wigan

  13·7

  Barnsley

  7·0

  Doncaster

  9·7

  Rotherham

  10·7

  Sheffield

  n/a

  Bradford

  12·1

  Calderdale

  6·2

  Kirklees

  9·5

  Leeds

  7·8

  Wakefield

  13·2

  Gateshead

  7·8

  Newcastle-upon-Tyne

  8·9

  North Tyneside

  n/a

  South Tyneside

  14·6

  Sunderland

  6·4

  Avon

  10·5

  Bedfordshire

  13·4

  Berkshire

  n/a

  Buckinghamshire

  10·4

  Cambridgeshire

  13·2

  Cheshire

  11·5

  Cleveland

  9·5

  Cornwall

  11·2

  Cumbria

  9·9

  Derbyshire

  8·6

  Devon

  12·6

  Dorset

  16·0

  Durham

  9·6

  East Sussex

  9·3

  Essex

  10·3

  Gloucestershire

  14·1

  Hampshire

  13·5

  Hereford and Worcester

  14·4

  Hertfordshire

  12·1

  Humberside

  12·7

  Isle of Wight

  10·3

  Kent

  9·0

  Lancashire

  11·7

  Leicestershire

  9·0

  Lincolnshire

  9·2

  Norfolk

  10·4

  North Yorkshire

  8·7

  Northamptonshire

  11·5

  Northumberland

  5·5

  Nottinghamshire

  8·6

  Oxfordshire

  9·9

  Salop

  9·6

  Somerset

  14·6

  Staffordshire

  9·4

  Suffolk

  9·7

  Surrey

  11·1

  Warwickshire

  12·6

  West Sussex

  9·8

  Wiltshire

  14·3

  England Total

  10·8

  147
  Mr. Wall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much was spent in England and Wales on further education in each year from 1979 to 1989.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information requested in respect of spending on further education, formerly non-advanced further education, in England, is set out in the table. The corresponding figures for Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Financial year

  Cash (net) £ million

  1979–80

  546

  1980–81

  688

  1981–82

  790

  1982–83

  878

  1983–84

  931

  1984–85

  998

  1985–86

  979

  1986–87

  1,054

  1987–88

  1,148

  11988–89

  1,225

  1 Provisional outturn spending.

  Mr. Wall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on how many further education colleges in total and as a percentage of all further education colleges have(a) subsidised creche facilities for students, (b) free creche facilities for students, (c) no creche facilities for students, (d) subsidised meals for students, (e) sabbatical officers of student unions and (f) a student union office.

  Mr. Jackson
  No information is held centrally on the number of further education institutions providing creche facilities, subsidised meals or a student union office. Although we have no record of the total number of sabbatical officers, the DES survey of student unions suggested that it is unusual for mainstream further education colleges to have sabbatical officers.

  YTS Trainees
  Mr. Wall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report the number of YTS trainees based in further education colleges (a) in total at any one time, (b) five days a week for the duration of the academic year, (c) five days a week for a limited period, for example, one term, (d) two to three days a week for the duration of the academic year, (e) two to three days a week for a limited period and (f) one day a week on day release.

  Mr. Jackson
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment is responsible for administering and funding YTS programmes. The information available for the number of trainees in public further education colleges in England on 1 November 1987 (the latest year for which information is available) is as follows:

  Thousands

  Total

  141

  Trainees attending full-time for the duration of the course

  42

  Other trainees

  99

  University Funding
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements have been 148
  made to wind up the University Grants Committee following the assumption from 1 April of full funding responsibilities by the Universities Funding Council.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The terms of office of the last members of the University Grants Committee expired on 31 March. To allow for the orderly winding-up of the UGC's affairs, the secretariat will continue to have an existence until 14 July 1989, exactly 70 years after the committee's inception. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the way members and officers of the committee have, over that long period, discharged their responsibilities to help steer our universities steadily through periods of great change.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Incomes
  Mr. Lester
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are his latest estimates of the median weekly incomes, net and gross, of couples with(a) one child aged under five years, (b) single pensioners aged 75 years or over and (c) couples with one child under 16 years.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information is set out as follows:

  Median net and gross weekly incomes in 1986

  Net £

  Gross £

  Single pensioner aged 75 or over

  59

  60

  Couples with (just) one child aged under five

  171

  209

  Couples with (just) one child aged under 16

  186

  239

  Notes:

  1. Gross income is defined as income from all sources (earnings, benefits, investment and other income).

  2. Net income is defined as gross income from all sources less income tax and national insurance.

  3. The median is defined as the middle case in the distribution. Half the number of cases fall below the median and half above.

  4. These figures are derived from the family expenditure survey. The figures may, therefore be subject to sampling errors.

  5. Figures are given in cash terms rounded to the nearest £1.

  Income Support
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what action is being taken to ensure that adjudication officers are aware of the relevant case law in relation to suspension of income support through claimant's misconduct or leaving without good cause;

  (2) what guidance he issues to his officials with regard to 26 weeks being the maximum figure for disqualification from income support on the grounds of misconduct or leaving without good cause, and not the standard figure.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Written guidance, which takes account of relevant case law, is given to adjudication officers by the chief adjudication officer in paragraphs 28901–28966 of the adjudication officers' guide. The adjudication officers' guide is published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. A copy is in the Library.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average length of disqualification from income support for claimants who have lost their job through their misconduct, or leaving without good cause.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No one is disqualified from receiving income support because they have either lost a job through
  149
  their misconduct or left it voluntarily without just cause. In such cases the claimant's personal level of income support is reduced—usually by 40 per cent. but by 20 per cent. if the claimant or a member of the family is seriously ill or pregnant and the family has less than £200 in savings. The average length of such reductions could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the rates bill estimates used to calculate the adjustments made in income support to cover claimants' 20 per cent. liability.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The calculations in April 1988 were based on details of rates paid by housing benefit recipients in 1986 uprated to estimated 1988–89 levels. Income support levels were further adjusted from April this year to include help towards the minimum 20 per cent. contribution to the community charge that recipients would be expected to pay. The amounts included continue to provide help towards the minimum contribution to domestic rates for people living in England and Wales.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average domestic rates bill in England and Wales for 1989–90 of people in receipt of income support.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I regret that this information is not available.

  Family Credit
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of claims for family credit were approved and resulted in payment of this allowance since 1 March; and what proportion of those claims resulted in payment of £2 per week or more.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  A total of 58·9 per cent. of claims decided from 1 March 1989 to 16 June 1989 have been successful.

  Information about the proportion of these claims where the award was £2 a week or more is not available, but 97·6 per cent. of all families receiving family credit on 18 June were receiving £2 a week or more.

PRIME MINISTER

  Abortion
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Prime Minister (1) if she will publish in the Official Report a copy of the letter she sent to a Pro-Life group about the Government's intention to allow a clause on the upper time limit for abortion to be added when the Warnock Bill is introduced;

  (2) what response she has given to the letter she was sent by a local anti-abortion group claiming that 12,000 abortion notification forms are returned each year with no medical condition recorded.

  The Prime Minister
  On the basis of the information in the questions I regret that I am not able to identify the correspondence mentioned.

  European Community Directives
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will outline the arrangements made for the Cabinet Office to 150
  co-ordinate the consideration of European Economic Community directives; when the arrangement was established; what existing procedures within Government have been replaced; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The Cabinet Office provides support to the Cabinet and its committees on European Community issues as it does in all other key areas of Government business. A European secretariat was established in 1973 within the Cabinet Office specifically to handle Community issues and under the direction of Ministers to co-ordinate the United Kingdom's approach to the Community. Its work includes ensuring that all Community developments of importance are examined in good time; that policy is co-ordinated between the relevant Departments; and that the processes required to facilitate parliamentary scrutiny of Community legislation are properly observed by Departments.

  Rain Forests
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to her reply of 8 June,Official Report, column 368, if she will give details of the beneficial measures that Her Majesty's Government are taking in relation to the rain forests.

  The Prime Minister
  Details of the Overseas Development Administration's activities to protect rain forests are given in a supplement to the December 1988 issue of "British Overseas Development", copies of which are in the Library. More recent activities were described by my hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development on 23 May, at columns 932–936. Following a visit by a team of British experts my hon. Friend hopes to reach outline agreement on a package of environmental and forestry assistance when he visits Brazil in July. We are discussing the provision of technical co-operation in the forestry sector with the Indonesian Government and sent a mission on a successful visit last month.

  European Community (Contributions)
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the issue of the size of the net contributions made to the European Economic Community by the various member states; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  No. The review of the Community's finances concluded at the European Council in Brussels on 11–13 February 1988 confirmed the arrangements for abating the United Kingdom's contributions. The Fontainebleau mechanism remains totally intact; and it will last as long as the new own resources arrangements, reducing the United Kingdom's payments to the Community by over £1·3 billion in 1989–90.

HEALTH

  Trent Regional Health Authority
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, pursuant to his answer of 2 March,Official Report, column 314, to the hon. Member for Don Valley, he can now make an announcement as to which other hospitals in the Trent regional health authority are to be involved in the resource management initiative.
  151
  Mr. Freeman
  I announced on 20 March the names of 50 hospitals which have been chosen to prepare for resource management in the coming months.

  Those hospitals in the Trent regional health authority are listed as follows:

  Hospital

  District

  Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospital

  North Derbyshire

  Glenfield Hospital

  Leicester

  City Hospital

  Nottingham

  Royal Infirmary

  Doncaster

  Northern General Hospital

  Sheffield

  Children's Hospital

  Sheffield

  General Practitioners
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there will be any implications for the doctor-patient relationship arising from the increased capitation element in the general practitioners' contract.

  Mr. Mellor
  By increasing the proportion of GPs' income which comes from capitation payments, we will be encouraging greater competition in the family doctor service. This will ensure a better service for patients by giving GPs a greater incentive to provide the best possible range and quality of services geared to patients' needs. As a result, the relationship between doctor and patient will be improved.

  North Western RHA
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the Chairman of the North Western regional health authority; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I last met the chairmen of regional health authorities, including the chairman of the North Western regional health authority on 17 May 1989. Topics discussed included management of the service and implementation of the White Paper "Working for Patients". I have had no recent separate discussions with the chairman of the North Western regional health authority. My hon. and learned Friend the Minister for Health and my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State both met the chairman of the North Western regional health authority on 19 June, and discussed health authority appointments and a capital project issue.

  Prescription Charges
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health why applications for exemption from prescription charges are now centralised through Newcastle; when this new system was introduced; what representations he has received about its functioning; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  In line with a recommendation of an efficiency scrutiny, all claims for exemption from prescription and other NHS charges on low income grounds have, since 11 April 1988, been dealt with centrally by the agency benefits unit of the Department of Social Security which administers the scheme on our behalf. Operational matters are the responsibility of that 152
  Department. On other matters the Secretary of State has received one parliamentary question, 17 letters from Members of Parliament and two letters from members of the public referring specifically to exemption from prescription charges.

  Stored Blood
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking, what research he is supporting, and what sums from the estimates approved by Parliament for the current year are being expended in respect of the extension of the usable life of stored blood.

  Mr. Freeman
  The use of improved anti-coagulants since 1981 has extended the usable life of whole blood to 35 days under standard conditions. Experience has shown that this is adequate to ensure that most blood can be used before it reaches its expiry date. In the case of rare blood groups it is possible and worthwhile to extend the usable life further by freezing, and facilities to freeze and store red blood cells have been set up at some regional transfusion centres. The Department is not currently supporting any research on further developments to extend the usable life of stored blood.

  Consultations (Waiting Time)
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will undertake a study into the waiting time to see a consultant following referral by a general practitioner.

  Mr. Mellor
  We have no plans to mount a special study, although we do intend to begin to collect, for the first time, information about out-patient waiting lists and times. In and out-patient waiting times in the 22 districts with serious waiting problems are already being investigated by a team of management consultants. Under the waiting list initiative regional health authorities have been asked to agree with their district targets for reducing waiting times for out-patient treatment.

  Doncaster Community Health Council
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by name and nominating organisation, the current serving members of the Doncaster community health council.

  Mr. Mellor
  We do not hold this information centrally. It is contained in Doncaster community health council's register of members which the hon. Member can inspect at all reasonable hours at thier offices.

  Hospitals (Flowers)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost to the Trent regional health authority during the current financial year of supplying(a) plastic flowers and (b) natural cut flowers, to hospital wards and other establishments.

  Mr. Freeman
  This information is not collected centrally. I suggest that the hon. Member contacts the chairman of Trent regional health authority for the information he seeks.

  Physicists
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has as to which health authorities currently experience difficulties in the maintenance of services involving adequate staffing of graduate physicists.

  Mr. Mellor
  We do not hold this information centrally.

  Margaret Pyke Centre
  Sir Charles Morrison
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he is now in a position to make a statement about the future funding of the Margaret Pyke centre.

  Mr. Freeman
  In recognition of its role as a national centre of training family planning doctors and nurses and its work in preventing the spread of AIDS I am discussing with North East Thames regional health authority ways of making up the shortfall of £100,000 which would otherwise have arisen in its funding this financial year. These steps are being taken as an interim arrangement before the new funding arrangements proposed in "Working for Patients" comes into operation in 1991–92. There will be further discussions with the region about funding arrangements for 1990–91.

  Childhood Cancer
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the report by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment on the incidence of childhood cancer in the West Berkshire and North Hampshire area will be published.

  Mr. Freeman
  The report has been published today and copies placed in the Library. The committee concludes that there is a small but statistically significant increase in the incidence of childhood leukaemias and other childhood cancers in the vicinity of the atomic weapons establishments at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire. In the committee's judgment, the authorised and accidental radioactive discharges from these two sites, and from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's establishment at Harwell, Oxfordshire, are far too low to account for the observed increase in childhood cancer incidence in the area. COMARE has considered a number of possible explanations for its findings, including other mechanisms by which radiation may be involved, but the committee's view is that there is insufficient evidence to point to any one particular explanation and it is possible that a combination of factors may be involved.

  More generally, the committee states that
  "the findings set out in this report, taken with those in previous reports, indicate that there is a statistically significant increase in the incidence of childhood leukaemia in the vicinities of Sellafield, Dounreay and Aldermaston and Burghfield".

  Although the committee cannot exclude completely the possibility that these observations are due to chance, or due to the selection of sites referred to them for consideration, it concludes that these findings warrant further investigation.

  COMARE has recommended that studies of the geographical distribution of childhood cancer incidence on a nationwide basis be carried out (recommendation 4). In relation to sites not so far examined by COMARE, the committee has stated that
  154
  "We consider it unlikely that useful information will emerge from further detailed investigations of alleged childhood cancer incidence around individual nuclear installations".

  COMARE has pointed out that such investigations would be difficult to interpret until the results of national studies of childhood cancer incidence, referred to in recommendation 4 of the report, are available. Once the results of these national studies are available, COMARE has recommended that it be asked to participate in a review of the evidence relating to the incidence of childhood cancer and nuclear installations (recomrnendation 5).

  COMARE's other recommendations relate to:
  The case-control study in West Berkshire and North Hampshire, which is already underway (recommendation 1);
  Studies of any possible effects on the health of children of employees at the nuclear installations studied by COMARE (recommendation 2);
  Improvements to the national cancer registration scheme (recommendation 3).

  The Government are grateful to the committee for its comprehensive report and accepts all the recommendations made for further work. The case-control study of childhood cancer in west Berkshire and north Hampshire, is already underway and is being funded by the Department. This study will aim to identify possible factors which may have contributed to the excess incidence of childhood cancer in the area.

  Abortion Agencies
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will list all agencies which are currently licensed by his Department to counsel or refer women for abortions; what are the names of the owners; and whether they are run by a registered charity.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information is as follows:

  Pregnancy Advisory Bureaux

  Name of Proprietor

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Basingstoke Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  Church Grange Health Centre

  Bramleys Drive

  Basingsloke RG21 1QN

  Birmingham Pregnancy Consultation Service

  Fraterdrive (PAS) Ltd.

  848 Bristol Road

  Selly Oak

  Birmingham B29 6HW

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Birmingham Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  Guildhall Buildings

  Navigation Street

  Birmingham B2 4BT

  Blackpool Pregnancy Testing and Counselling Centre

  Sister Rose Ltd.

  Stanley Buildings

  3 Caunce Street

  Blackpool

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Bournemouth (Pelhams) Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  Pelhams Clinic

  Millhams Road

  Bournemouth

  155

  Pregnancy Advisory Bureaux

  Name of Proprietor

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Bournemouth (Dean Park) Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  23 Ophir Road

  Bournemouth

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Brighton Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  Wistons Site

  Chatsworth Road

  Brighton

  Sussex BN1 5PA

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Chester Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  98A Foregate Street

  Chester CH1 1HB

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Coventry Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  Coundon Health Clinic

  Baker Butts Lane

  Coventry

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Doncaster Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  The Bungalow

  1a Avenue Road

  Doncaster

  South Yorkshire

  Rosslyn

  Pregnancy Advisory Service Ltd.1

  17 Rosslyn Road

  East Twickenham

  Middlesex

  TW1 2AR

  Sister Rose Pregnancy Advisory Centre (Hull)

  Sister Rose Ltd.

  139 Beverley Road

  Hull

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Hull Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  32 Beverley Road

  Hull HU3 1YF

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Leeds Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  8 The Head row

  Leeds

  Yorkshire

  Sister Rose Pregnancy Advisory Centre (Leeds)

  Sister Rose Ltd.

  4 Albion Street

  Leeds 1

  Marie Stopes Centre

  Population Services1

  10 Queens Square

  FP Programmes Ltd.

  Leeds 2

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Liverpool Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  20–22 Rodney Street

  Liverpool L1 2TQ

  Pregnancy Advisory Service Fourth Floor

  Fraterdrive (PAS) Ltd.

  Hepworth Chambers

  Church Street

  Liverpool L1 3BG

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service London Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  7 Belgrave Road

  London SW1

  156

  Pregnancy Advisory Bureaux

  Name of Proprietor

  Birth Control and Pregnancy Counselling

  Population Services

  10 Coptic Street

  FP1 Programmes Ltd.

  London WC1

  London Youth Advisory Centre

  London Youth Advisory Centre

  26 Prince of Wales Road

  London NW5

  Metropolitan Pregnancy Control Centre

  Population Services

  40 Mortimer Street

  FP Programmes Ltd.1

  London W1

  Pregnancy Advisory Service

  Pregnancy Advisory Service Ltd.1

  11–13 Charlotte Street

  London W1

  Preterm

  Population Services1

  40 Mortimer Street

  FP Programmes Ltd.

  London W1N 7RB

  The Well Woman Centre

  Population Services1

  Marie Stopes House

  FP Programmes Ltd.

  108 Whitfield Street

  London W1

  The Well Woman Centre

  Population Services1

  114 Whitfield Street

  FP Programmes Ltd.

  London W1

  Pregnancy and Gynaecological

  Detingen Ltd.

  Advisory Service

  26 Fouberts Place

  London WIN 1HG

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Luton Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  3A Upper George Street

  Luton LU1 2QY

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Manchester Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  Suite F, Ground Floor

  Fourways House

  57 Hilton Street

  Manchester M1 2EJ

  Marie Stopes

  Population Services1

  1 Police Street

  FP Programmes Ltd.

  Manchester M2 7LQ

  Pregnancy Advisory Service—Manchester

  Fraterdrive (PAS) Ltd.

  5th Floor

  Newton Buildings

  Newton Street

  Manchester M1 2EJ

  Sister Rose Pregnancy

  Sister Rose Ltd.

  Advisory Centre (Manchester)

  Fifth Floor

  2 St. John Street

  Manchester 3

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Milton Keynes Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  First Floor

  Eaglestone Health Centre

  Standing Way

  Milton Keynes MK6 5AZ

  East Midland Pregnancy Advisory

  East Midlands

  Service

  Pregnancy Advisory Service Ltd.

  The Grange

  1 Private Road

  Sherwood

  Nottingham

  157

  Pregnancy Advisory Bureaux

  Name of Proprietor

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Sheffield Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service 1

  160 Charles Street

  Sheffield S1 2NE

  408 Young People's Consultation Centre Ltd.

  408 Young People's Consultation Centre Ltd.

  408 Ecclesall Road

  Sheffield S11 8PJ

  Pregnancy Advisory Service 1A George Street

  Dalreagh Nursing Home Ltd.

  Newcastle-under-Lyme

  Staffordshire

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Swindon Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  Carfax Street Health Clinic

  Carfax Street

  Swindon

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service Leamington Spa Branch

  British Pregnancy Advisory Service1

  Holly Walk Welfare Clinic

  Holly Walk

  Leamington Spa

  Warwickshire

  Sister Rose Pregnancy Advisory Centre (Wolverhampton)

  Sister Rose Ltd.

  Second Floor

  19–21 Queen Street

  Wolverhampton

  Marie Stopes Centre

  Dr. G. Richman

  North London PAB

  Dr. M. Oliver

  65 Shoot up Hill

  Dr. S. Mitchley

  London NW2

  Marie Stopes Centre

  Dr. S. V. Nathan

  Gosburyhill Health Centre

  Orchard Gardens

  Chessington

  Surrey

  KT9 2EU

  Year and age at conception

  Number of conceptions

  Rate per 1,000 girls in age-group

  Outcome of conceptions

  Maternities3

  Total

  Live

  Still

  Legal abortion4

  1970

  Under 111

  2

  0·0

  1

  1

  0

  1

  11

  14

  0·0

  8

  7

  1

  6

  12

  51

  0·1

  24

  22

  2

  27

  13

  312

  0·9

  160

  157

  3

  152

  14

  1,446

  4·5

  842

  823

  19

  604

  15

  5,888

  18·4

  4,223

  4,181

  42

  1,665

  Total under 162

  7,713

  7·9

  5,258

  5,191

  67

  2,455

  16

  16,234

  49·5

  13,250

  13,064

  186

  2,984

  1971

  Under 11

  2

  0·0

  2

  1

  1

  0

  11

  6

  0·0

  2

  2

  0

  4

  12

  41

  0·1

  17

  17

  0

  24

  13

  302

  0·9

  158

  157

  1

  144

  14

  1,763

  5·3

  952

  938

  14

  811

  15

  6,711

  20·5

  4,444

  4,390

  54

  2,267

  Total under 162

  8,825

  8·8

  5,575

  5,505

  70

  3,250

  16

  17,292

  54·1

  13,122

  12,956

  166

  4,170

  158

  Pregnancy Advisory Bureaux

  Name of Proprietor

  Marie Stopes Centre

  Dr. G. Dunckley

  The Surgery

  32 Devon Road

  South Darenth

  Dartford

  Kent

  DA4 9AB

  Options

  Care Incorporated Clinic Ltd.

  Population Control Clinic

  45 Fitzwilliam Street

  Huddersfield

  HD1 5LG

  Pregnancy Advisory Service—Blackpool

  Fraterdrive (PAS) Ltd.

  93A Abingdon Street

  Blackpool

  FY1 1PP

  Pregnancy Advisory Service—Leicester

  Fraterdrive (PAS) Ltd.

  120A Granby Street

  Leicester

  Regents Park Clinic

  Mrs. B. A. Binding

  184 Gloucester Place

  London

  NW1 6DS

  1 Registered Charities.

  Pregnancy Statistics
  Mr. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will list(a) the total number and rate of pregnancies to girls aged 16, 15, 14, 13,12,11 and 10 years for each of the years 1970 to 1988, respectively, (b) the figure broken down into stillbirths, livebirths and abortions and (c) the total figure and rate for pregnancies to all girls aged 15 years and under for each of those years.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information requested is given in the table. All pregnancies of women usually resident in England and Wales which led to a maternity or termination by abortion under the 1967 Act are included (pregnancies which led to spontaneous abortions are not included.) The latest figures which are available relate to conceptions which occurred during 1986.
  159

  Year and age at conception

  Number of conceptions

  Rate per 1,000 girls in age-group

  Outcome of conceptions

  Maternities3

  Total

  Live

  Still

  Legal abortion4

  1972

  Under 111

  1

  0·0

  1

  1

  0

  0

  11

  2

  0·0

  1

  1

  0

  1

  12

  40

  0·1

  23

  22

  1

  17

  13

  349

  1·0

  169

  167

  2

  180

  14

  1,874

  5·4

  950

  934

  16

  924

  15

  7,342

  21·9

  4,535

  4,471

  64

  2,807

  Total under 162

  9,606

  9·3

  5,679

  5,596

  83

  3,929

  16

  17,612

  53–5

  12,607

  12,476

  131

  5,005

  1973

  Under 111

  1

  0·0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  11

  12

  0·0

  4

  4

  0

  8

  12

  38

  0·1

  20

  18

  2

  18

  13

  345

  0·9

  156

  153

  3

  189

  14

  1,987

  5·6

  963

  950

  13

  1,024

  15

  7,409

  21·4

  4,249

  4,197

  52

  3,160

  Total under 162

  9,792

  9·2

  5,392

  5,322

  70

  4,400

  16

  18,034

  53·4

  12,419

  12,282

  137

  5,615

  1 Rate per 1,000 girls aged 10.

  2 Rate per 1,000 girls aged 13–15.

  3 maternities which result in one or more live or still births are counted only once. Such multiple birth maternities are classified as "live" if at least one live birth is included and "still" if all the births are stillbirths.

  4 Legal terminations under 1967 Abortion Act.

  Year and age at conception

  Number of conceptions

  Rate per1,000 girls in age-group

  Outcome of conceptions

  Maternities3

  Total

  Live

  Still

  Legal abortion4

  1974

  Under 111

  0

  0·0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  11

  5

  0·0

  4

  4

  0

  1

  12

  45

  0·1

  24

  24

  0

  21

  13

  343

  0·9

  157

  155

  2

  186

  14

  1,922

  5·3

  878

  862

  16

  1,044

  15

  7,056

  19·8

  3,780

  3,731

  49

  3,276

  Total under 162

  9,371

  8·5

  4,843

  4,776

  67

  4,528

  16

  16,553

  47·6

  10,722

  10,603

  119

  5,831

  1975

  Under 111

  1

  0·0

  1

  1

  0

  0

  11

  6

  0·0

  2

  2

  0

  4

  12

  45

  0·1

  23

  22

  1

  22

  13

  349

  0·9

  133

  132

  1

  216

  14

  1,919

  5·1

  837

  831

  6

  1,082

  15

  6,861

  18·8

  3,398

  3,359

  39

  3,463

  Total under 162

  9,181

  8·1

  4,394

  4,347

  47

  4,787

  16

  15,278

  42·8

  9,447

  9,339

  108

  5,831

  1976

  Under 11 >

  1

  0·0

  1

  0

  1

  0

  11

  8

  0·0

  2

  2

  0

  6

  12

  37

  0·1

  14

  14

  0

  23

  13

  331

  0·8

  136

  134

  2

  195

  14

  1,898

  4·9

  782

  771

  11

  1,116

  15

  6,916

  18·2

  3,363

  3,321

  42

  3,553

  Total under 162

  9,191

  7·9

  4,298

  4,242

  56

  4,893

  16

  14,567

  39·7

  8,761

  8,661

  100

  5,806

  1977

  Under 111

  1

  0·0

  1

  1

  0

  0

  11

  7

  0·0

  1

  1

  0

  6

  12

  37

  0·1

  14

  14

  0

  23

  160 161

  Year and age at conception

  Number of conceptions

  Rate per 1,000 girls in age-group

  Outcome of conceptions

  Maternities3

  Total

  Live

  Still

  Legal abortion4

  13

  331

  0·8

  122

  121

  1

  209

  14

  1,916

  4·9

  792

  775

  17

  1,124

  15

  6,711

  17·2

  3,296

  3,259

  37

  3,415

  Total under 162

  9,003

  7·6

  4,226

  4,171

  55

  4,777

  16

  14,940

  391

  8,895

  8,7882

  107

  6,045

  1 Rate per 1,000 girls aged 10.

  2 Rate per 1,000 girls aged 13–15.

  3 Maternities which result in one or more live or still births are counted only once. Such multiple birth maternities are classified as "live" if at least one live birth is included and "still" if all the births are stillbirths.

  4 Legal terminations under 1967 Abortion Act.

  Year and age at conception

  Number of conceptions

  Rate per 1,000 girls in age-group

  Outcome of conceptions

  Maternities3

  Total

  Live

  Still

  Legal abortion4

  1978

  Under 111

  3

  0·0

  2

  2

  0

  1

  11

  8

  0·0

  1

  1

  0

  7

  12

  43

  0·1

  18

  18

  0

  25

  13

  341

  0·8

  142

  140

  2

  199

  14

  1,822

  4·5

  810

  803

  7

  1·012

  15

  6,886

  17·5

  3,439

  3,410

  29

  3,447

  Total under 162

  9,103

  7·6

  4,412

  4,374

  38

  4·691

  16

  15,770

  40·3

  9,422

  9,343

  79

  6,348

  1979

  Under 111

  7

  0·0

  5

  5

  0

  2

  11

  16

  0·0

  7

  7

  0

  9

  12

  39

  0·1

  16

  15

  1

  23

  13

  319

  0·8

  116

  115

  1

  203

  14

  1,904

  4·7

  760

  756

  4

  1,144

  15

  6,823

  16·8

  3,175

  3,153

  22

  3,648

  Total under 162

  9,108

  7·5

  4,079

  4,051

  28

  5,029

  16

  16,106

  40·6

  9,307

  9,220

  87

  6,799

  1980

  Under 111

  14

  0·0

  11

  0

  11

  3

  11

  5

  0·0

  2

  0

  2

  3

  12

  35

  0·1

  13

  0

  13

  22

  13

  298

  0·8

  99

  0

  99

  199

  14

  1,714

  4·3

  669

  6

  663

  1,045

  15

  6,513

  16·0

  3,140

  3,107

  33

  3,373

  Total under 162

  8,579

  7·2

  3,934

  3,113

  821

  4,645

  16

  15,210

  37·4

  8,600

  8,536

  64

  6,610

  1981

  Under 111

  3

  0·0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  11

  11

  0·0

  3

  3

  0

  8

  12

  65

  0·2

  22

  21

  1

  43

  13

  356

  0·9

  146

  145

  1

  210

  14

  1,817

  4·6

  684

  682

  2

  1,133

  15

  6,309

  15·8

  2,839

  2,811

  28

  3,470

  Total under 162

  8,561

  7·3

  3,694

  3,662

  32

  4,867

  16

  15,410

  37·7

  8,782

  8,713

  69

  6,628

  1 Rate per 1,000 girls aged 10.

  2 Rate per 1,000 girls aged 13–15.

  3 Maternities which result in one or more live or still births are counted only once. Such multiple birth maternities are classified as "live" if at least one live birth is included and "still" if all the births are stillbirths.

  4 Legal terminations under 1967 Abortion Act.

  162 163

  Year and age at conception

  Number of conceptions

  Rate per 1,000 girls in age-group

  Outcome of conceptions

  Maternities3

  Total

  Live

  Still

  Legal abortion4

  1982

  Under 111

  0

  0·0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  11

  4

  0·0

  2

  2

  0

  2

  12

  39

  0·1

  15

  15

  0

  24

  13

  385

  1·0

  121

  120

  1

  264

  14

  1,868

  4·9

  702

  693

  9

  1,166

  15

  6,703

  17·1

  3,035

  3,013

  22

  3,668

  Total under 162

  8,999

  7·8

  3,875

  3,843

  32

  5,124

  16

  15,030

  37·6

  8,331

  8,285

  46

  6,699

  1983

  Under 111

  0

  0·0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  11

  3

  0·0

  3

  3

  0

  0

  12

  29

  0·1

  12

  12

  0

  17

  13

  335

  0·9

  133

  133

  0

  202

  14

  2,034

  5·4

  790

  781

  9

  1,244

  15

  6,968

  18·3

  3,108

  3,085

  23

  3,860

  Total under 162

  9,369

  8·3

  4,046

  4,014

  32

  5,323

  16

  15,229

  38·7

  8,431

  8,370

  61

  6,798

  1984

  Under 111

  1

  0·0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  11

  1

  0·0

  1

  1

  0

  0

  12

  30

  0·1

  15

  15

  0

  15

  13

  346

  0·9

  135

  135

  0

  211

  14

  2,018

  5·5

  794

  790

  4

  1,224

  15

  7,253

  19·1

  3,333

  3,312

  21

  3,920

  Total under 162

  9,649

  8·6

  4,278

  4,253

  25

  5,371

  16

  15,995

  41·9

  8,842

  8,788

  54

  7,153

  1985

  Under 111

  0

  0·0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  11

  1

  0·0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  12

  22

  0·1

  13

  13

  0

  9

  13

  302

  0·9

  126

  126

  0

  176

  14

  2,063

  5·5

  836

  828

  8

  1,227

  15

  7,018

  19·1

  3,194

  3,169

  25

  3,824

  Total under 162

  9,406

  8·6

  4,169

  4,136

  8

  1,413

  16

  16,146

  42·4

  9,107

  9,040

  67

  7,039

  1986

  Under 111

  2

  0·0

  2

  2

  0

  0

  11

  1

  0·0

  1

  1

  0

  0

  12

  24

  0·1

  10

  10

  0

  14

  13

  265

  0·8

  107

  107

  0

  158

  14

  1,980

  5·7

  809

  805

  4

  1,171

  15

  6,922

  18·5

  3,293

  3,280

  13

  3,629

  Total under 162

  9,194

  8·7

  4,222

  4,205

  17

  4,972

  16

  15,425

  419

  8,933

  8,898

  35

  6,492

  1 Rate per 1,000 girls aged 10.

  2 Rate per 1,000 girls aged 13–15.

  3 Maternities which result in one or more live or still births are counted only once. Such multiple birth maternities are classified as "live" if at least one live birth is included and "still" if all the births are stillbirths.

  4 Legal terminations under 1967 Abortion Act.

  Maternal Deaths
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will list the number of maternal deaths each year from 1968 to 1988 from(a) all causes, (b) abortion, illegal, legal and spontaneous and (c) unknown methods of abortion; and what are the percentages for the same years of maternal death due to abortions of all types.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information for England and Wales is set out in the table.
  164

  Year

  A

  B

  C

  D

  B as per cent. of A

  1968

  200

  49

  39

  10

  24·5

  1969

  155

  35

  33

  2

  22·6

  1970

  145

  32

  28

  4

  22·1

  1971

  132

  26

  22

  4

  19·7

  1972

  112

  26

  19

  7

  23·2

  1973

  88

  12

  10

  2

  13·6

  1974

  81

  9

  8

  1

  11·1

  1975

  77

  8

  7

  1

  10·4

  165

  Year

  A

  B

  C

  D

  B as per cent. of A

  1976

  78

  7

  4

  3

  9·0

  1977

  74

  6

  6

  0

  8·1

  1978

  68

  5

  5

  0

  7·3

  1979

  74

  5

  3

  2

  6·8

  1980

  70

  3

  2

  1

  4·3

  1981

  57

  3

  2

  1

  5·3

  1982

  42

  3

  3

  0

  7 1

  1983

  54

  2

  2

  0

  3·7

  1984

  52

  3

  1

  1

  5·8

  1985

  46

  5

  4

  1

  10·9

  1986

  45

  1

  1

  0

  2·2

  1987

  46

  1

  1

  0

  2·2

  1988

  41

  3

  3

  0

  7·3

  A = All maternal deaths 1968–78/ICD* 630–678

  1979–88/ICD 630–676

  B = All abortion deaths 1968–78/ICD 640–644

  1979–88/ICD 634–638

  C = Spontaneous, illegal, legal abortion deaths

  1968–78/ICD 640–643

  1979–88/ICD 634–636

  D = Unspecified abortion deaths 1968–78/ICD 644

  1979–88/ICD 637

  *ICD — International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision.

  Abortion
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will state for each of the past five years, the cost to his Department of replying to parliamentary questions about or related to abortion.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Department does not maintain a record of expenditure on replies to parliamentary questions and any attempt at retrospective estimation would be disproportionately expensive. The cost varies widely according to the nature of the question, the availability of the information requested and, where statistics are involved, the amount of computer time required.

  Self-governing Hospitals
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will define locality as it relates to the provision of core services by self-governing hospitals under the terms of his White Paper "Working for Patients."

  Mr. Mellor
  "Self-Governing Hospitals: an Initial Guide", published yesterday, gives further information about factors to be considered by DHAs in deciding what services should be core services. It explains that a decision on what is acceptable as a definition of local will vary from place to place depending on geography (especially urban versus rural), historic patterns of referral, and social factors such as travelling time and cost.

  "Working for Patients"
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health under the proposals contained in his White Paper "Working for Patients" what role patients will have in influencing the placing of contracts.

  Mr. Mellor
  Providing patients with better health care and a greater choice of service should be the overriding consideration in the placing of contracts. The ability of hospitals which are popular with patients, and in demand, to win further contracts and expand their service will be a166
  major factor in increasing the patient-responsiveness of the NHS. It will be supported by the close involvement with GPs either as budget holders or as users of DHA contracts.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health under the proposals contained in the White Paper "Working for Patients" what role community health councils will have in the placing of contracts.

  Mr. Mellor
  We are still considering the overall role of community health councils in relation to contract funding. They will however continue to be consulted on substantial developments or variations in health care provision.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what element of additional cost required for the administration of the placing of contracts he has estimated is needed to ensure that district health authorities, hospitals and doctors have the knowledge and expertise to negotiate satisfactory contracts under his White Paper proposals.

  Mr. Mellor
  The administrative cost of contract funding cannot be assessed until detailed plans for implementation have been drawn up. Over time any extra costs will be offset by the improved efficiency that contracts will bring. In the meantime the Government have made it clear that the cost of implementing the White Paper proposals will not be met at the expense of patient care. Over £82 million has been made available to cover implementation work in the current financial year.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role community health councils will have in influencing the decisions of new district health authorities and the running of hospital trusts as envisaged in his White Paper "Working for Patients."

  Mr. Mellor
  Community health councils will as now have the opportunity to comment on the overall pattern of services which district health authorities will secure on behalf of their residents, including in future any provided by NHS hospital trusts.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role local people will have in influencing the decisions of the new district health authorities and the running of hospital trusts as envisaged in his White Paper "Working for Patients."

  Mr. Mellor
  The non-executive members of health authorities will normally live, work or have some other connection with the area covered by the health authority. At least two of the non-executive directors of NHS hospital trusts will be drawn from the local community. Community health councils will continue to play an important role in representing the views of the local community on health service matters, while health authorities themselves will be encouraged periodically to test consumer opinion and to act on the findings. Health authority meetings will remain open to the public as now and NHS hospital trusts will be required to hold at least one public meeting a year.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role patients will have in influencing the decisions of the new district health authorities and the running of hospital trusts as envisaged in his White Paper "Working for Patients."
  167
  Mr. Mellor
  Under our proposals the role of health authorities will be enhanced as they switch from the provision of care to the identification of the health needs of their resident population and the purchase of care and services to meet that need. This enhanced role will enable them to focus on the needs of patients. Individual GPs—especially those with practice budgets—will be involved in the direct placement of contracts to meet their patients needs. This brings the provision of care closer to the level of the individual patient, whose agent the GP is. In the future patients will have more say in choosing and changing their GP.

  Hospital Trusts
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any element of quality of care or accessibility of services will be built into a contract between a hospital trust and a district health authority or general practitioner's practice.

  Mr. Mellor
  "Self-Governing Hospitals: an Initial Guide" sets out the minimum contents of contracts and makes it clear that they will specify the measures of quality, relating to both the process and outcome of treatment that will be applied. District health authorities and general practitioners will be expected to use contracts to ensure that patients get the best quality of services available and that where necessary standards are raised. Among measures of accessibility waiting times in particular will be an important aspect or quality.

  NHS Policy Board
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which members of his new policy board for the National Health Service were chosen to represent patients' interests.

  Mr. Mellor
  The policy board is not a representative body; every member will be aiming to promote patients' interests.

  Private Health Care
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received asking him to extend the proposed tax relief on insurance cover for the private health needs of over 65-year-olds to support elderly people living in their own homes purchasing supported lifelines to connect them with back-up facilities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  I am not aware of any such representations, which would be for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to consider.

  Medical Scientists
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in how many relevant hospitals there are vacancies for medical scientists; and how many such vacancies existed 10 years ago.

  Mr. Mellor
  We do not collect this information centrally.

  Blind Persons
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many registered blind persons there are in England.
  168
  Mr. Mellor
  At 31 March 1988 there were 126,828 people registered as blind with local authority social services departments in England. This figure is provisional.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Consumer Rights
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he now has plans to bring forward legislation affecting consumer rights.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he now has plans to bring forward legislation affecting consumer rights.

  Mr. Forth
  We intend to improve the protection given to consumers in a number of ways including the introduction of regulations under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 on price indications at bureaux de change and changes to other legislation affecting consumers' interests.

  Financial Services Act
  Mr. McCrindle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board to discuss the progress in implementation of the Financial Services Act.

  Mr. Maude
  I met the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board on 24 May. The discussion ranged widely over a number of topics concerning the regulation of financial services.

  World Trade
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which industrial countries have lost a larger share of world trade in the last 10 years than the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Forth
  The most recent information available for OECD countries is for the first three quarters of 1988. Since 1978 the Netherlands, France, Greece and Norway recorded larger reductions than the United Kingdom in their shares of world trade.

  Mr. Ted Garrett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the United Kingdom share of world trade 10 years ago; and what it is at present.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  The latest figures of world trade refer to the first three quarters of 1988, when the United Kingdom share of total world visible exports was 5·2 per cent. In 1979 the United Kingdom share was 5·3 per cent.

  Information Technology
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the balance of trade in information technology in 1979 and 1988.

  Mr. Forth
  The United Kingdom had a trade deficit in electronics and information technology manufactured goods of £440 million in 1979. Provisional figures indicate a deficit of £2,460 million last year.

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what further representations he has received on his response to the Select Committee on Trade and Industry's report on information technology.
  169
  Mr. Forth
  I have received only one written representation on the White Paper.

  Mr. Eastham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on progress of implementation of the Government's policy for information technology.

  Mr. Forth
  My Department continues to pursue a wide range of activities within the policy framework for IT set out in the Government's response to the Trade and Industry Select Committee report on IT (Cm 646).

  New initiatives within the last two months have included:
  — the launch of a programme to stimulate greater business awareness of the benefits of open IT systems
  — a new LINK R&D programme in opto-electronic systems supported by £15 million of DTI and SERC funding; and
  — the announcement of the £20 million second call for proposals under the information engineering advanced technology programme.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects Britain to have a trade surplus in information technology.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects Britain to have a trade surplus in information technology.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster gave on 19 April, at column 332 to the hon. Member for Midlothian (Mr. Eadie).

  Communications Infrastructure (Report)
  Mr. Turner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received on the Macdonald report on communications infrastructure.

  Mr. Atkins
  My Department has received a number of representations on the communications steering group report "The Infrastructure for Tomorrow", sometimes referred to as the Macdonald report. The report sets out the conclusions of the group which was established to advise Ministers on ways in which the United Kingdom electronic communications infrastructure may be expected to develop over the next two decades. The report represents the views of the group and not necessarily those of the Government.

  National Engineering Laboratory
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received on his recent proposals for the future of the national engineering laboratory.

  Mr. Newton
  To date, I have not received any representations on the proposals for the laboratory, which I announced on 17 May. However, there will shortly be a further meeting of the departmental Whitley council with the Department of Trade and Industry council of Civil Service unions to discuss the proposals.

  North East Shipbuilders
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met the chairman of British Shipbuilders to discuss the future of North East Shipbuilders.
  170
  Mr. Newton
  I met the chairman of British Shipbuilders on 5 June. A number of matters of current interest were discussed, including the disposal of the assets of North East Shipbuilders Ltd.

  Aerospace Industry (Output)
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what, in the north-west of England, was the value of the output of the aerospace industry in 1979 and the last full year for which information is available.

  Mr. Atkins
  In 1979 the gross value added (at factor cost) by the aerospace equipment manufacturing and repairing industry in the north-west (standard region) was £276 million. The corresponding figure for 1987, the last year for which data is available, was £682 million.

  Inflation
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received on the effects of the level of inflation on industry.

  Mr. Atkins
  A number of representations which I receive refer to inflation. The great majority of these recognise that the control of inflation must remain the prime objective of economic policy.

  Competitiveness
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent representations he has received from industry on matters affecting competitiveness.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent representations he has received from industry on matters affecting competitiveness.

  Mr. Maude
  Most contacts which my Department has with industry and commerce involve matters having a bearing on United Kingdom competitiveness.

  Civil Research and Development
  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have reduced the share of gross domestic product spent on civil research and development between 1983 and 1986; and which countries have increased it.

  Mr. Forth
  The available information relates to gross expenditure on research and development in the fields of science, technology, social science and humanities as a percentage of gross domestic product. On this basis, of the OECD countries for which the information is available in both years only Turkey shows reduction in the percentage.

  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in which OECD countries the proportion of gross domestic product spent by Government on civil research and development has fallen since 1983.

  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in which OECD countries the proportion of gross domestic product spent by Government on civil research and development has fallen since 1983.
  171
  Mr. Forth
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Tyne Bridge (Mr. Clelland) on 15 March at column 265.

  Japanese Overseas Investment
  Mr. Raffan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been Britain's share of total Japanese overseas investment in Europe since 1979.

  Mr. Forth
  Based on information published by the Japanese Ministry of Finance on overseas investment projects notified to them, the United Kingdom received a third by value of Japanese overseas investment projects in Europe over the period 1980 to 1988 inclusive.

  Beer (Supply)
  Mr. Janman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how near he is to forming his conclusions about the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the supply of beer.

  Mr. Ashton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to implement the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the supply of beer.

  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to make a decision relating to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the supply of beer; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he next expects to be able to respond to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the supply of beer.

  Mr. Andrew MacKay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a further statement on the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the brewing industry.

  Mrs. Maureen Hicks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he will make his response to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the supply of beer.

  Mr. Maude
  We are anxious to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion as soon as possible. I made a statement on our preliminary intentions in a written answer on 8 June and my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry developed this in a statement in another place on 14 June.

  CBI
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met the Confederation of British Industry; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Newton
  I last met the Confederation of British Industry on 5 June 1989 at the launch of the CBI's initiative 1992 series of seminars on information technology.

  Trade Balance
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he now expects Britain's trade to be in balance.
  172
  Mr. Geoffrey Robinson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he now expects Britain's trade to be in balance.

  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what forward estimate he has made of the monthly trade deficit over the next nine months.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  Forecasts of Britain's trade have been made up to the end of the first half of 1990. The results are in the Financial Statement and Budget report.

  Base Rates
  Mr. Livsey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the estimated cost to industry of the rise in base rates since April 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  The cost to industrial and commercial companies to date of the changes in bank base rates since April 1988, compared with the cost if bank base rates had remained the same since April 1988, is estimated to be about £1·5 billion. The hon. Member should bear in mind, however, that a one percentage point increase in interest rates, even if sustained for a full year, costs companies far less than a one percentage point increase in pay settlements.

  Export Credits Guarantee Department (Report)
  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to publish his response to the Kemp report on the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  An inter-departmental working group of officials, chaired by ECGD, has been established to provide advice to Ministers on the options examined by Mr. Kemp. This will report to Ministers as soon as possible.

  Direct Investment
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the balance of inward and outward direct investment; and what it was 10 years ago.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the balance of inward and outward direct investment; and what it was 10 years ago.

  Mr. Atkins
  In 1988, net direct investment overseas by United Kingdom residents was £15·1 billion, compared with overseas net direct investment in the United Kingdom of £7·8 billion, giving a net outflow of £7·3 billion. The corresponding figures for 1978 were £3·5 billion and £2·0 billion respectively, giving a net outflow of £1·5 billion.

  Sterling Exchange Rate
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what advice his Department is giving to export industries regarding the exchange rate of sterling.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  Our consistent advice to exporters on exchange rates has been that they should consider protecting themselves against the risk of exchange rate fluctuations and consult experts about the best way of doing this.

  Eden Committee
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he proposes to introduce legislation to implement the recommendations of the Eden committee which were accepted by Her Majesty's Government.

  Mr. Forth
  Those recommendations accepted in the Government's response (Cmnd. 9850) to the report of the Eden committee which did not require primary legislation have already been implemented. It remains my Department's intention to introduce legislation to implement the remaining accepted recommendations when parliamentary time is available.

  EC Consumer Affairs Committee
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the outcome of the European Economic Community Consumer Affairs Council held on 1 June.

  Mr. Forth
  As I announced to the House on 12 June, the Council reached agreement on a number of issues, including amendment to the consumer credit directive on December 1988 and continued support into 1990 for the European home and leisure accident surveillance system.

  The Commission presented a proposal for a general product safety directive which was discussed for the first time by EC Ministers. Council also noted a report by the Commission on consumer education.

  The United Kingdom was unable to support adoption of a draft resolution for the relaunch of consumer policy because of its proposals relating to product quality, which would constrain consumer choice without benefit in terms of additional protection.

  Goods (United Kingdom Manufacture)
  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to encourage people to purchase goods made in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  The greatest encouragement to purchasing from United Kingdom sources is the availability of competitive United Kingdom products. My Department's policies are geared to helping businesses achieve this.

  Natural Environment
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has any plans to require the annual publication by firms of the effects of their business on the natural environment.

  Mr. Newton
  No. We believe the emphasis should be on increasing business awareness of environmental issues and helping firms to improve their environmental standards. This is what the DTI environmental programme launched last month is designed to achieve. Details of the programme are set out in the booklet, "Your Business and the Environment", copies of which have been placed in the Vote Office and Library.

  Motor Manufacturers (Investment)
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will estimate the level of investments in the last financial year by indigenous motor manufacturers.
  174
  Mr. Atkins
  The most recent reliable estimate of investment is from the annual census of production for 1987. In that year it is estimated that net capital expenditure by the United Kingdom motor industry' amounted to £612 million.

  1 Class 35 of the standard industrial classification, revised 1980.

  Trade Deficits
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Organisation for European Economic Co-operation and Development countries are running a smaller trade deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product than the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  According to the most recent OECD figures, of the 14 countries which recorded deficits on their visible trade in 1988, those of the following were smaller, as a proportion of their GDP, than that of the United Kingdom:Austria, Turkey, Switzerland, Iceland, United States of America, France, Italy, Norway, Australia and Belgium.

  Mr. Eadie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with which European Economic Community members Britain's trade is in deficit.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  In the 12 months to April the United Kingdom was in deficit on visible trade with Belgium/Luxembourg, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal.

  Inner-city Task Forces
  Mr. Brandon-Bravo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what further progress has been made in the 16 inner-city task forces.

  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the progress of the inner-city task forces.

  Mr. Forth
  The inner-city task forces have continued to make good progress in meeting their objectives of securing more jobs and training for local people and encouraging local enterprise. Since the task forces began their work in 1986 they have committed about £33 million in support of nearly 1,100 projects. These generate, or safeguard, nearly 4,000 jobs, facilitate over 23,500 training places and provide support for over 2,600 businesses. Over 450 private sector companies have supported task force projects.

  We have always made it clear that task forces would not be permanently located in any one inner-city area. One of their aims is to promote the long-term capability of local organisations so that eventually these bodies can take over from them, thus releasing resources for task forces to be set up in other inner city areas.

  I announced on 9 March, as part of the Government's action for cities anniversary announcements, that the task forces would be withdrawing from Leicester, Wolverhampton and Preston; and that new task forces would be opening in Bradford, Granby/Toxteth in Liverpool and Deptford in Lewisham.

  Mr. Patnick
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has as to the number of firms which have now been assisted as a result of the activities of the inner-city task forces.
  175
  Mr. Forth
  Task forces provide a variety of assistance to existing local firms and start-up businesses; for example, by providing loans through task force development funds and by supporting local enterprise agencies and other organisations offering business advice. Through these and other ways, task forces are estimated to have assisted over 2,600 businesses.

  Single Market
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the help which is being given to companies to enable them to take full advantage of the establishment of the internal market in 1992.

  Mr. Maude
  Our 24-hour "1992 hotline"—01–200 1992—provides business with access to a wide range of information and advice on the single market, including detailed factsheets, booklets on standards, and an action checklist. Practical help and advice is available through our enterprise initiative; the consultancy initiatives and the export initiative are particularly relevant for firms seeking to take specific steps to prepare for the single market.

  The CBI's "Initiative 1992" is a major private sector source of help on the single market; whilst a number of trade associations, Chambers of Commerce and professional bodies are providing their members with guidance on how the single market will affect their activities.

  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps his Department is taking to ensure that British firms are made fully aware of the opportunity to become a member of an European economic interest grouping as a means of preparing for 1992.

  Mr. Maude
  Full details on the form of a European economic interest grouping are given in our main single market booklet "The Facts" and in an article in the current edition of "Single Market News", copies of which are available through our 24-hour "1992 hotline": 01–200 1992. The rules on registering an EEIG in Great Britain are given in the statutory instrument SI 1989/638.

  Mr. Hague
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on progress with regard to arrangements made by his Department to assist British firms to take full advantage of the completion of the internal market in 1992.

  Mr. Maude
  Our "Europe Open for Business" information service is constantly updated and expanded to help business prepare for the single market. Recent additions include: a booklet and video on the decision-making process in Brussels ("Brussels Can You Hear Me?"); new standards booklets ("construction products", "simple pressure vessels", "directives under discussion"); a checklist on progress on single market legislation ("White Paper Checklist"). This material, together with our comprehensive single market information pack, can be obtained free of charge, through our "1992 hotline"—01–200 1992. Two new booklets—an action guide for smaller firms and a guide to public purchasing—will be available later on this summer.

  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent estimates his Department have made of the effects of 1992 on each of Britain's regions.
  176
  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what further estimates his Department has made on the effects of 1992 on each of Britain's regions,.

  Mr. Maude
  I refer the hon. Gentlemen to my reply to the hon. Member for Leicester, South (Mr. Marshall) on 19 April at column 177.

  Consumer Credit
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the level of personal consumer credit.

  Mr. Maude
  At the end of March 1989 the amount of consumer credit outstanding on the broad definition, which includes bank lending, was £43·4 billion. The vast majority of household borrowing is accounted for by mortgages.

  Sunderland Shipyards
  Mr. Clay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last discussed the future of the Sunderland Shipyards with the chairman of British Shipbuilders; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  I met the chairman of British Shipbuilders on 5 June. A number of matters of current interest were discussed, including the disposal of the assets of North East Shipbuilders Ltd.

  Toys (CE Mark)
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has had recently from the toy trade about the length of time to dispose of stocks which do not have CE marks.

  Mr. Forth
  Representations have been received from various bodies about the length of time needed to dispose of stocks which do not carry the CE mark. The toy industry has sought a longer period than 1 February 1991 or that no cut-off date should be imposed. Consumer organisations are of the opinion that the proposed cut-off date in the draft regulations should not be extended. My Department will carefully consider all the representations received before making final decisions.

  Regional Selective Assistance
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the levels of regional selective assistance to applicants in the north-west of England in 1988–89.

  Mr. Atkins
  In the year 1988–89, for the DTI north-west region, offers of regional selective assistance totalled £32·1 million and payments totalled £21·8 million.

  China
  Mr. Gow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will make a statement about trade with the People's Republic of China.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  In the light of the recent events in China the Government have announced the suspension of ministerial and high level military exchanges and a ban on
  177
  arms sales. The ECGD is maintaining cover for the China market, but awaiting clarification of the economic position before taking decisions on respect of new businesses.

  Company Liquidity
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his latest estimate of company liquidity; and when it was last lower.

  Mr. Maude
  The liquidity ratio for all large industrial and commercial companies is estimated by the Department's survey to be 72 per cent. at the end of the first quarter of 1989 on a seasonally adjusted basis. It was lower at the end of the third quarter of 1982.

  However, profitability of non-North sea industrial and commercial companies has risen in each year since 1981 and the sector has been a large net saver.

  Takeovers and Mergers
  Mr. McAvoy
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the expenditure on takeovers and mergers in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what has been the spending on research and development, training and manufacturing investment on a comparable basis.

  Mr. Maude
  Expenditure by industrial and commercial companies on acquisitions and mergers within the United Kingdom during 1988 is estimated to be £22·1 billion. During the same period gross domestic fixed capital formation by industrial and commercial companies is estimated to have been £37·4 billion. No directly comparable figures are available for spending on training or research and development.

  Shops (Closing Down Sales)
  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any plans to introduce legislation to prevent shop owners from misrepresenting their closing down in order to attract customers.

  Mr. Forth
  Part III of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 makes it an offence to give misleading price indications. The code of practice for traders on price indications issued under section 25 of the Act gives guidance on good practice to help traders avoid giving misleading price indications. The code makes it clear that use of the term "sale" normally implies a price comparison and the basis for such a comparison should be made clear to the customer.

  Estate Agents
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress is being made in the regulation of estate agents.

  Mr. Forth
  Over the past 11 months I have carried out an extensive review of estate agency issues. In the course of this review I have had meetings with the major bodies representing estate agents and other interested parties.

  The main objective of the review was to identify ways in which the practices of estate agents could be significantly improved to provide a better service. I have concluded that the best way to achieve this is through a combination of self-regulation and statutory provision. I
  178
  have asked the Director-General of Fair Trading to discuss with the industry the introduction of a code of practice for estate agency to improve consumer protection and enhance standards of service. The code will need to include some form of disputes procedure and a system for monitoring compliance with its provisions. This should create a strong incentive, not least on commercial grounds, for estate agents throughout the industry to comply in order to attract public confidence. The director general has agreed to report to me early next year.

  I have also concluded that we need to act against a number of undesirable practices identified in the review of the working of the Estate Agents Act 1979 recently published by the Director General of Fair Trading. I intend to do this by introducing an order under Section 3 of the Act which would define certain practices as "undesirable". I expect these to include, for instance, tie-in sales where the agent refuses to pass on bids unless the purchaser agrees to arrange finance or insurance with hin, "bidding-up", misleading advertising and unfair or misleading contract terms. If an agent is found to be engaging in "undesirable" practices, the director general will have the power to prohibit that person from doing estate agency work. The exact wording of the order will follow from how the code of practice is set out, and I hope to lay an order soon after the director general makes his report next year.

  I have also asked the director general to review the arguments for extending the Trade Description Act 1968 to misdescriptions of property.

  In the course of my review discussions of the problems and potential solutions have gone wider than estate agency, and have touched on other aspects of the property transfer system. I look forward with interest to announcements by my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor on the subject of competition in conveyancing, and by the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland on the conclusions to their reviews on the position there.

  Copies of my report have been placed in the Library and the Vote Office.

  Interest Rates
  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received on the effects of current interest rates on industry.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received on the effects of current interest rates on industry.

  Mr. Newton
  I have received a number of representations from business about the effects of interest rates on investment. Investment has continued to rise strongly and the DTI's June survey of investment intentions shows that a rise of 13 per cent. of total investment is expected in 1989, with a further increase in 1990.

  Brewing Industry (Report)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received regarding the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the brewing industry.

  Mr. Maude
  I have had meetings with the Brewers Society and with a number of brewers individually. I have
  179
  also met representatives of the National Licensed Victuallers Association, the Campaign for Real Ale, the Consumers Association and others. In addition, the Department has received a number of letters, representing a range of views.

  Footwear Industry
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met representatives of the British footwear industry; and what issues were discussed.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  I attended, and spoke at, the British Footwear Manufacturers Federation's annual luncheon on 14 June. Various issues arose, including the EC Commission's investigation into imports of footwear from Taiwan and South Korea and United Kingdom objectives for the GATT Uruguay round.

  Mergers and Acquisitions
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the percentage increase in mergers and acquisitions since 1979.

  Mr. Maude
  Expenditure on acquisitions and mergers by industrial and commercial companies within the United Kingdom in the 12 months to March 1989 is estimated to be about £191/2billion. In current prices this is about 12 times greater than the 1979 total of about£1¾billion.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the level of inward investment into the United Kingdom in 1988.

  Mr. Atkins
  Inward investment into the United Kingdom in 1988 was £11·4 billion of which £7·8 billion was direct investment and £3·6 billion was portfolio investment.

  Trade Statistics
  Mr. Orme
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if any changes are planned in the collection of trade statistics after 1992.

  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if any changes are planned in the collection of trade statistics after 1992.

  Mr. Maude
  A proposal for an EC Council regulation, which sets out a revised methodology for the collection of trade statistics between member states of the European Community after 1992 to replace the current procedure based on Customs documentation, has been prepared by the EC Commission and will be considered by EC Ministers later this year.

  The Government are seeking to ensure that the collection of these statistics does not impose unnecessary burdens on businesses who are involved in trade between member states and who will be required to provide the relevant data. Recently, this Department has started a consultation exercise seeking the views of trade associations and industry on the possible impact of the proposal.

  Statistics of trade with countries outside the European Community will continue to be collected as at present.

  Regional Initiatives
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he plans to announce any new initiatives to benefit Britain's regions.

  Mr. Atkins
  Major changes in the focus of DTI's policies were made only last year. Regional policy now operates within a framework designed to encourage enterprise and economic growth in all parts of the country but with extra help available for firms in the regions.

  Manufacturing Productivity
  Mr. Wood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the latest figures he has for the productivity of manufacturing industry; and what were the comparable figures one year ago.

  Mr. Atkins
  In the three months to April 1989 manufacturing productivity, as measured by output per person employed, was at a level of 119·3, based on 1985 equal to 100. This is six per cent. more than the level of 112·5 for the first quarter of 1988.

  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the most recent figure for output in manufacturing industry; and what was the figure for the same month in 1973.

  Mr. Atkins
  In April 1989 manufacturing output was at a level of 118·5, based on 1985 equal to 100. This is 81 per cent. more than the level of 108·8 for April 1973. But my hon. Friend will appreciate that monthly data can be erratic. A firmer based comparison would he that in the three months to April 1989 manufacturing output was 9½ per cent. higher than in the same period in 1973. Manufacturing output is now at is highest ever level.

  Postal Monopoly
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last consulted the chairman of the Post Office on the lifting or easing of the postal monopoly.

  Mr. Newton
  We have not consulted the chairman of the Post Office on the lifting or easing of the postal monopoly since 1981. In 1981 the monopoly was suspended for 25 years to permit time-sensitive mail to be delivered by private carriers, provided that they charge a minimum fee of £1 per letter.

  Goods (Labelling)
  Mr. Flannery
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if his Department is intending to make any new proposals for the labelling of goods.

  Mr. Forth
  Additional labelling requirements will come into force over the next year for furniture and furnishings, and toys.

  Manufacturing Output
  Miss Widdecombe
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the latest figures he has for the output of manufacturing industry; and what was the comparable figure one year ago.

  Mr. Atkins
  In the three months to April 1989 manufacturing output was at a level of 118·0, based on 1985 equal to 100. This is 6½per cent. more than the level of 111·0 for the first quarter of 1988.

  British Shipbuilders Ltd.
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met Mr. John Lister, chairman of British Shipbuilders Ltd.; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mr. Newton
  I met the chairman of British Shipbuilders on 5 June. A number of matters of current interest were discussed.

  Japanese Market
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received about improving access to the Japanese market for British exporters.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  The Government continue to attach great importance to Britain's trade with Japan. Representations on market access are received from time to time and, Where appropriate, we take them up vigorously with the Japanese authorities, both directly and through the European Commission. My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State continued to press the Japanese Government on problems of access during his visit to Japan last month.

  Barlow Clowes
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress he is able to report towards achieving a satisfactory outcome for investors in Barlow Clowes in respect of(a) the United Kingdom-based and (b) the Gibraltar-based operation; what fresh initiatives he intends to take to speed up settlements; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maude
  Following judgment given on 16 June in respect of the May court hearings, I understand that it has been determined that Barlow Clowes International investors are entitled to recover from Barlow Clowes Gilt Managers (the United Kingdom operation) BCGM assets representing gilts of £16·2 million to the extent that such assets can still be identified in BCGM's hands. Further judgment gives certain BCI investors, who invested after 29 February 1988, the entitlement to recover the relevant part of their investment (after expenses). I understand that the joint receivers are returning to court on 28 June to determine the basis upon which each individual BCI investor's entitlement to any distribution will be calculated.

  Although the judgments do not affect those BCGM investors whose funds were placed with Lloyds Bank plc, the outstanding issue of quantification of BCGM investors' claims will be dealt with when counsel for all other categories are present. The joint liquidators have informed me that they will return to court as soon as possible to obtain direction on the outstanding issues.

  EC (Discussions)
  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he next expects to discuss trade and industry matters with his counterparts in the other EEC member states.
  182
  Mr. Newton
  I have just returned from a Research Council and a meeting with EC counterparts to discuss the Eureka initiative and I am planning to attend the next Industry Council on 26 September.

  Manufacturing and Service Industries (North-West)
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the health of manufacturing and service industries in the north-west.

  Mr. Atkins
  I am pleased to report that the manufacturing and service sectors in the north-west are both performing impressively.

  At current prices, the north-west standard region's gross domestic product in manufacturing rose by almost 27 per cent. between 1984 and 1987 (from £8,653 million to, provisionally, £10,961 million) with financial and business services sector showing an increase of 48 per cent. over the same period (from £3,549 million to £5,268 million).

  Major new investments programmes by companies such as Pilkington and ICI, the decision by the Sanwa and Fuji Banks to establish northern offices in the region, and the contract-winning performances by British Aerospace and Simon Engineering, are all evidence of the excellent health of the region's manufacturing and service sectors.

  Trade Fairs
  Mr. Arbuthnot
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if any changes are proposed in the terms under which the Department of Trade and Industry provides support for United Kingdom companies participating in overseas trade fairs.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  My right hon. and noble Friend and I are concerned that the Department's support for exporters at trade fairs abroad should be focused more sharply on its main purpose of assisting new exporters to become established in overseas markets. We have therefore decided to raise the overall level of assistance to such exporters but to limit the number of times that a company is supported at trade fairs within any country. The total value of assistance on offer will be unchanged.

  The new arrangements for assistance to firms in groups supported by the Department at overseas trade fairs will be as follows:

  (i) Subject to the exceptions referred to in sub-paragraphs (iv) and (v) below, support will be limited to three participations per country. Firms which have already received assistance in three or more participations in a particular country will no longer be eligible for support in fairs in that country.

  (ii) The level of support for eligible companies will be 50 per cent. of the Department's estimate of the cost of providing stands and certain services at the trade fair in question. This compares with the present level of support which varies between 60 per cent. for the first time participants to 25 per cent. for third time participants.

  (iii) Support in the form of travel grants for events outside western Europe will continue for a maximum of three participations, instead of the present four.

  (iv) Because it is more difficult for firms to enter the Japanese market, the limit of the number of times on which support can be given there will be five. Assistance will be at the level of 50 per cent. of costs on each occasion. Similarly, the limit on the number of times that firms qualify for travel grant will also be five.

  183

  (v) A limited number of fairs are of major international significance and are the principal event for the product sector concerned. Because these fairs are aimed at buyers from all over the world rather than the market of the country in which they are held, firms will be eligible for support in two extra participations in successive events of this sort, in addition to the three participations per country described in sub-paragraph (i) above. The level of support will be the same as in sub-paragraph (ii).

  The new arrangements will come into effect for group participations in overseas trade fairs which commence after 31 March 1990, except where the Department has already made a formal offer of support.

  Telephone Systems
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what information he has on the extent of provision of leased circuits in Wales, including kilostream and megastream, on the number of towns in Wales catered for by these services and in the case of megastream, on the number of local exchanges equipped with pulse code modulation;

  (2) what information he has on the extent to which and the places in which, trunk and local exchanges in Wales have been converted to digital switching and as to which areas are serviced by integrated digital access;

  (3) what information he has on the number and location of packet assemblers and disassemblers in Wales.

  Mr. Atkins
  These are commercial and operational matters for British Telecommunications plc.

EMPLOYMENT

  Small Firms (Report)
  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what consideration he has given to the conclusions of the Public Accounts Committee report on assistance to small firms.

  Mr. Cope
  The Government's response to the Public Accounts Committee's eighth report is set out in the Treasury minute dated 17 May 1989 presented to Parliament by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary (command 697). A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to announce the allocation of funds for training and enterprise councils by area.

  Mr. Cope
  The allocation of funds for an individual TEC will relate to the business plan that the TEC agrees with my Department and will be announced when the TEC is fully approved.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the trends in unemployment in Hendon, South since 1987.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In May 1989 there were 1,343 unemployed claimants in the parliamentary constituency of Hendon, South. This compares with 2,562 in May 1987,184
  a fall of 1,219 or 47·6 per cent. over two years. The comparison is slightly affected by the change of coverage in the count from September 1988 due to the new benefit regulations affecting people aged under 18 years.

  Rehabilitation Service
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how are the processes of assessment and rehabilitation differentiated within the work of the employment rehabilitation service.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The assessment process carried out by the employment rehabilitation service results in individual action plans being agreed with clients. For some clients the agreed action plan can include subsequent attendance on a course of employment rehabilitation which is a longer process and normally modular in form.

  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many clients have passed through the assessment process of the employment rehabilitation service over the last two years; and how many through the rehabilitation process.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In 1987–88 the employment rehabilitation service helped about 16,000 people in total. About 13,400 attended assessment courses and 12,200 attended rehabilitation courses. In 1988–89 the ERS helped about 26,000 people in total. About 25,300 attended assessment courses and 11,800 attended rehabilitation courses. In each year a number of people attended both types of courses.

  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many organisations other than the employment rehabilitation service have the facilities to provide residential employment rehabilitation services to disabled people such as are currently provided by Egham and Preston employment rehabilitation centres.

  Mr. Nicholls
  There are a number of organisations with facilities which potentially could be used for the provision of residential rehabilitation services as currently provided by Egham and Preston employment rehabilitation centres.

  My Department has contracted with a number of residential establishments for the provision of services and is conducting negotiations with others.

  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many vacancies currently exist in the employment rehabilitation service for each of the following grades(a) occupational psychologists, (b) social workers, (c) ERC nurses and (d) physiotherapists; and how many staff in each group are in post.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information sought in the first part of the question is not available in the form required.

  The number of staff in post by grade at 8 June 1989 is:

  Number

  (a) occupational psychologists

  63

  (b) social workers

  28·5

  (c) ERC nurses

  24

  (d) physiotherapists

  5

  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what publications are available which give guidance to training agents and training managers on the
  185
  services provided by the employment rehabilitation service; and how training agents and managers can obtain copies of such guidance.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In addition to references in the training agents' and training managers' handbooks, the services of the employment rehabilitation service have been outlined to training agents and training managers through the Training Agency publication "Employment Training News" and through the publicity leaflets of the employment rehabilitation service.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to publish the report of the ministerial review of employment provision for disabled people.

  Mr. Nicholls
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam) on 8 November 1988 at column 54.

  Student Union Fees
  Mr. Wall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage the Training Commission pays of student union fees of those students on Government training schemes whilst at college.

  Mr. Cope
  The Training Agency (formerly the Training Commission) is not responsible for payment of student union fees for students on Government training schemes whilst at college.

  Visually Handicapped Employees
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many registered blind or other visually handicapped persons are employed in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  This information is not available. My Department provides a wide range of help to visually handicapped people including specialist placing, rehabilitation and training provision, a personal reader scheme, provision of special aids and equipment and sheltered employment.

  We work closely with the Royal National Institute for the Blind in developing these provisions.

  Part-time Education
  Mr. Wall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed people studied part-time in further education in each year from 1979 to 1989.

  Mr. Cope
  Available estimates from labour force surveys show that the number of unemployed people (using the ILO/OECD definition) receiving part-time education in Great Britain was as follows:

  Year

  Thousands

  1984

  74

  1985

  68

  1986

  79

  1987

  81

  11988

  70

  1 Preliminary estimate

  186
  This includes those on a part-time course at university, polytechnic or college, including day release and block release, studying through the Open Tech, Open University or Open College, or studying on another correspondence course. The term "further education" is not specifically used in the LFS question. Data on unemployed persons receiving part-time education were not collected in labour force surveys prior to 1984, on a basis comparable with later years.

  Unique Fish (Employees' Award)
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment why the employees of Unique Fish in Swansea have waited six months and have not yet received their protective award; and what part of the delay has been attributable to his Department transferring the administrative work from Cardiff to Birmingham and then to Manchester.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 19 June 1989]: Following my reply to the hon. Member on 10 April 1989, the insolvency practitioner has submitted a statement of the amount due. This has been approved by my Department's Birmingham office, and I expect payment to be made shortly by the regional finance office in Manchester. Cardiff office was closed prior to this case and was not involved.

  Council for Social Aid (ET Scheme)
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what responsibility he accepts for payment to staff on the Council for Social Aid employment training scheme for work done prior to the liquidation of the training scheme.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Wages owed to CSA Ltd's staff are the responsibility of the company and the employees concerned are its creditors. As such their interests are now a matter for the company's liquidators.

  The Training Agency has provided CSA Ltd. with all the funding due under its contract, including amounts to cover wages costs up to the date the company ceased trading.

  Job Club (Walkden)
  Mr. Lewis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (I) what are the circumstances which led to the decision to close the job club at the Walkden jobcentre;

  (2) if there are any plans to offer alternative job club facilities in the Walkden are a consequent upon the recent closure of the job club at Walkden jobcentre.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answers 16 June 1989]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Burt) on 27 January 1989, at column 810 in which I announced that we would be able to increase numbers helped by job clubs while streamlining the network.

  The job club located in the jobcentre at Walkden closed on 28 April 1989. A second job club in Walkden remained open and had enough spare capacity to take on members from the job club which closed. There is also a job club in nearby Swinton.

  Employment Services (Privatisation)
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what implications his policy of privatising employment services have on future receipts of grants for those services from the European social fund; and if he will make a statement.
  188
  Mr. Cope
  [holding answer 14 June 1989]: Professional and Executive Recruitment has already been privatised, and arrangements for the sale of the Skills Training Agency are well advanced. Such initiatives do not affect support under the European social fund.

  MISSILE REDUCTION NEGOTIATIONS
  MISSILE REDUCTION NEGOTIATIONS
  NATO MISSILE REQUIREMENTS
  NATO MISSILE REQUIREMENTS
  ANTI-MISSILE DEFENCES
  ANTI-MISSILE DEFENCES
  NUCLEAR WEAPONS SYSTEMS: UPDATING
  NUCLEAR WEAPONS SYSTEMS: UPDATING
  NUCLEAR CAPABILITY EXPANSION: POLICY
  NUCLEAR CAPABILITY EXPANSION: POLICY
  TRADE FAIRS: DTI SUPPORT FOR EXPORTS
  TRADE FAIRS: DTI SUPPORT FOR EXPORTS
  ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS: REPORT
  ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS: REPORT
  LESS FAVOURED AREAS: EXTENSION PROPOSAL
  LESS FAVOURED AREAS: EXTENSION PROPOSAL
  HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT: FUNDING
  HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT: FUNDING