Written Answers of 10 November 1989

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Head Teachers
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from head teachers of schools in the Bilborough area of Nottingham; and what reply has been made.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  None.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from the head teacher of Warren Hill school, Nottingham; and what reply has been made.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  None.

  Professional Association of Teachers
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has received any representations about recognition for the Professional Association of Teachers.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The Professioal Association of Teachers has represented to my right hon. Friend that some local education authorities still decline to recognise the association. That is a choice which they can make, but the Government recognise the PAT as one of the six schoolteacher unions with whom they deal. Under delegated budgeting schools governors will acquire more extensive responsibilities for employment matters and will be free to recognise unions not recognised by the local education authority.

  Teacher Training
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will publish the Government's conclusion on future arrangements for the accreditation of courses of initial teacher training.

  Mr. MacGregor
  My Department and the Welsh Office are publishing today a joint circular on the approval of initial teacher training courses. The circular takes account of the many comments which we received in reply to the consultation document "Future Arrangements for the Accreditation of Courses of Initial Teacher Training" which was published in May of this year.

  The circular provides for the reconstitution of the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education from 1 January and for a revised system of local committees and sets out new criteria for course approval together with a commentary of guidance.

  A separate circular will be issued in Northern Ireland, where the same new arrangements and criteria will apply to initial teacher training courses. Copies have been placed in the Library.
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  I have also today reappointed Professor William Taylor, Vice-Chancellor of Hull university, as chairman of CATE until June 1993.

  City Technology Colleges
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in granting leave for notice to be served to discontinue the Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham schools in Deptford, what decision he has taken in principle on whether to fund one city technology college or a pair of city technology colleges to take the place of the two existing schools in 1991.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The proposal put forward by the Haberdashers' Company was for one funding agreement to be made with my right hon. Friend. In granting leave to the governors of the existing schools to discontinue them and to establish a CTC in succession, my right hon. Friend has proceeded on the basis that a single institution would be established but that single sex provision would continue. Further discussions are being held with the company to determine the detailed institutional and administrative arrangements necessary to achieve this.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Eye Tests
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether there has been any change in the number of persons seeking eye tests in Northern Ireland since changes were introduced.

  Mr. Needham
  Reliable information about the effect of the changes introduced from 1 April 1989 on the number of persons seeking eye tests in Northern Ireland is not yet available.

  Environmental Research
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on his Department's role in the radioactivity, research and environment monitoring committee since its inception.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The Northern Ireland interest on the radioactivity research and environmental monitoring committee has been represented since its inception in 1986 by the chief alkali and radiochemical inspector of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland, who has played a full part in the committee's work of reviewing and collating the programmes of research and monitoring undertaken by both Government and industry.

  Saintfields Road, Castlereagh
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what complaints he has received from residents at Saintfields road and Ivanhoe avenue in connection with the manhole cover at 590 Saintfields road, Castlereagh, relating to the distress arising from the noise caused by traffic travelling over this cover; what steps he has taken over this matter in 1989; and if he will consider the re-location of the manhole and cover so that it is in the centre of the traffic lane.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  We received one complaint. We acted to solve the problem. We are pleased to have
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  received a further letter which ends: "I am most grateful to you for having this complaint attended to so quickly and efficiently". I have passed the praise to those who do the work. It would not be feasible to relocate the manhole as this would involve the realignment of the sewer.

  Sheep
  Mr. Mallon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many non maedi-visna tested sheep were accepted to the Department of Agriculture's sheep improvement scheme, in each year since 1980.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer 6 November 1989]: We do not know. I will write to the hon. Member about the testing procedure for accreditation.

  Mr. Mallon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what requirements must be met before sheep will be accepted on to the Department of Agriculture's Northern Ireland sheep improvement scheme in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer 6 November 1989]: The sheep improvement scheme has two main parts: on-farm recording of lambs and performance testing of ram lambs.

  To be registered as a recording flock a veterinary surgeon must have certified that all sheep in the flock are free from disease and physical defects. The flock must contain at least 20 ewes, in the case of a flock containing sheep of the blackface breed, and in the case of any other flock, five ewes.

  Ram lambs accepted for performance testing must be from fully maedi-visna accredited flocks and have been vaccinated for the main clostridial infections and pasturella pneumonia at least four weeks before the commencement of the test. The Department also assesses ram lambs for weight and size for age, quality and soundness to determine suitability for entry to test.

  Schools (Promotional Allowances)
  Mr. McCusker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the six secondary schools in Northern Ireland which have promotional allowance values which are higher than that appropriate to their group; and why this is the position.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 6 November 1989]: The six schools are the following junior high schools:

  Clounagh, Portadown

  Killicomaine, Portadown

  Lurgan Boys

  Lurgan Girls

  St. Mary's Lurgan

  Tandragee

  The reason these schools have a promotion allowance value higher than that appropriate to their group is to ensure that they are at no disadvantage in terms of promotion opportunities when compared with other secondary schools of similar size.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. McCusker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy there have been in Northern Ireland to date.
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  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer 7 November 1989]: Twenty-three.

  Staff Midwives
  Mr. McCusker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff midwives employed in hospitals throughout Northern Ireland have been given an F grade in the recent clinical grading exercise; and what percentage this represents of the total staff midwives employed.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 7 November 1989]: At the date of regrading (1 April 1988) the number of whole-time equivalent staff midwives in post in Northern Ireland was 779 and of that number 11 posts were given an F grade in the new clinical grading structure. This represents 1·4 per cent. of the total number of staff midwife posts.

  In Northern Ireland the health and personal social services are fully integrated and the above figures include those staff midwife posts in a community setting as these cannot be identified separately at this time.

  Beef Exports
  Mr. McCusker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what quantity of beef is exported annually to West Germany from Northern Ireland for human consumption.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer 7 November 1989]: Exports of beef from Northern Ireland to West Germany were:

  Beef Exports (tonnes)

  1989 (Jan-Sept.)

  853

  1988

  660

  1987

  1,104

  1986

  997

  Fixed Penalties, Larne
  Mr Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many fixed penalty fines of £12 were leviéd by Larne traffic wardens during 1989 in respect of parking in the unmarked, unrestricted car park area of Narrow Guage road, Larne, adjacent to the entrance to the Larne shopping complex and Larne Guardian prior to proper restrictive road markings being put down; and how many fixed penalty tickets have been issued in respect of the same area since proper markings to prohibit parking were laid down in 1989; (2) whether he will seek powers to arrange for the £12 fixed penalty fines paid in respect of parking in this formerly non-restricted area, prior to road markings being put down to prohibit parking, to be refunded.

  Mr. Cope
  I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

CIVIL SERVICE

  Leaded Petrol
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if any vehicles belonging to, or used by, the Civil Service run on leaded petrol.
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  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 8 November 1989]: I cannot answer for the Civil Service as a whole, but in my Department all vehicles which can be adapted to use unleaded petrol have now been adapted.

  Environmentally Beneficial Policies
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will give details of any initiatives he has taken in the last year within the Civil Service to adopt environmentally beneficial policies.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 8 November 1989]: It is for each Government Department to decide which environmentally beneficial policies it adopts. In my Department we have initiated the use of unleaded petrol and recycled paper, and adopted a number of energy efficiency measures.

TRANSPORT

  Motorways (Lighting)
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents have occurred in the last year on the M1 motorway in the dark on unlit sections that are within one mile of a lit section.

  Mr. Atkins
  The road accident report form records the light condition at the scene of an accident. The lighting condition of nearby sections of road are not readily available. In 1988, there were 948 accidents on the M1, with 282 occurring during the hours of darkness. For the accidents in darkness, 193 were on lit sections of road, 86 on unlit sections, and three on sections where light conditions were not recorded.

  Emergency Transport Plans
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the main findings of the review of the inland transport organisation conducted by his defence planning and emergencies division.

  Mr. Atkins
  The inland transport organisation is maintained by the Department to provide a control structure for the surface transport industries, should it be necessary, in a time of international crisis or war. The main changes recommended by the review were:

  (a) all levels of the organisation should be activated relatively early in crisis to avoid a change in control arrangements during a war;

  (b) requests for transport which could not be obtained, during a crisis or war, by normal commercial means, should be fed into the organisation at the district or equivalent level;

  (c) the arrangements for the earmarking of road vehicles in peacetime should be improved;

  (d) the initial training in civil defence for members of the organisation should be provided by county (or equivalent) emergency planning officers as part of the training they provide to volunteers generally;

  (e) regional seminars should no longer be linked with those of the regional port and shipping organisation, and should last no more than half a day.

  These recommendations are now being implemented.

  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which option has been chosen from those arising out of the DVIOT division feasibility study into location of road vehicles in an emergency; when he expects 796
  arrangements for the location of vehicles in an emergency to be in operation; how much the implementation of these proposals will cost; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  The preferred option would allow on-line inquiries of the goods operator licensing database within each traffic area office. It is estimated that development of this option would cost £22,600, with an annual support cost of £14,300 thereafter. No decision has been taken about development.

  Air Traffic Controllers
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the number of air traffic controllers(a) recruited in each of the last three years, and (b) who have left the service in the last three years; what are the estimated figures for recruitment and wastage for each of the next three years; and if he will give all these figures for each air traffic control centre in Great Britain.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  This is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority and the management of the national air traffic services. I will draw the hon. Member's question to the attention of the authority's chairman.

  SS Derbyshire
  Mr. Loyden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make available to the bereaved families of the crew of the SS Derbyshire the draft report on the sinking of this vessel.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  In January 1989 copies of the typescript report of court were distributed to the solicitors to the parties to the formal investigation into the loss of MV Derbyshire. Copies of the supplemental report and order as to costs were distributed to the solicitors last month. At the formal investigation two firms of solicitors acted for dependants of those lost in the Derbyshire tragedy.

  Channel Tunnel Rail Link
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the cost to date and the estimated final cost of British Rail's publicity consultation process both to those along the rail link route and those in the vicinity of Waterloo and King's Cross main line stations.

  Mr. Portillo
  I do not have this information. This is a matter for British Rail.

  Roads (Chelmsford)
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a further announcement on the implementation of those proposals in the White Paper, "Roads to Prosperity", which apply to roads in the Chelmsford area; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  My right hon. Friend expects to publish a roads report later this year, setting out in a little more detail the schemes in the expanded road programme.

  We are pressing ahead with the appointment of design agents for our new schemes and studies. We recently announced details of the appointments made so far of

  797
  consultants and agent authorities to prepare 53 new road schemes and seven new studies. Further announcements on the remaining schemes. including the new motorway scheme from M25 to Chelmsford and the A12 Chelmsford bypass widening, will be made over the next few months.

DEFENCE

  Aircraft (Fluid)
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, further to his answer on 6 November,Official Report, column 486, he will make a further statement on the circumstances which led to the discharge of fluid from an aircraft operated by A and AEE Boscombe Down on 25 October.

  Mr. Neubert
  The aircraft was involved in a routine training exercise during which it was intended to release chemical agent training mixture over troops exercising on the Porton battle run. The agent used was polyethylene glycol 300, which is harmless to humans, plants and animals. The purpose of the exercise was to provide the troops with as realistic as possible a simulation of a chemical attack. Because of technical problems with the aircraft's communications equipment, the pilot was unable to complete the release of the liquid as planned and had to jettison the remaining contents in order to bring the aircraft below the safe maximum landing weight. It was this discharge of liquid which probably caused damage to paintwork on a number of cars in the area.

  An investigation is under way into this incident. It will include a review of existing procedures.

  As I have already indicated, the Ministry of Defence will consider claims for compensation from those whose property has been damaged.

ENVIRONMENT

  Local Authority Dwellings
  Mr. Allan Roberts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was(a) the number of dwellings let by local authorities between 1 April 1988 and 31 March 1989, (b) the number of local authority dwellings taken out of management during that period and not available for letting, (c) the number of local authority dwellings vacant and available for letting on 31 March 1989 in (i) Greater London, (ii) metropolitan areas outside London, (iii) non-metropolitan areas in the south-east, (iv) all non-metropolitan areas and (v) England as a whole;

  (2) what was (a) the number of local authority dwellings let to new non-secure tenants, (b) the number of local authority dwellings let to new non-secure tenants who were homeless households between 1 April 1988 and 31 March 1989 in (i) Greater London, (ii) metropolitan areas outside London, (iii) non-metropolitan areas in the south-east, (iv) all non-metropolitan areas and (v) England as a whole;

  (3) what was (a) the total number of households and (b) the number of homeless households housed by local authorities (i) through NMS or LAMS, (ii) through HALO, (iii) through other mobility schemes, between 1 April 1988 and 31 March 1989 in (i) Greater London, (ii)
  798
  metropolitan areas outside London, (iii) non-metropolitan areas in the south-east, (iv) all non-metropolitan areas and (v) England as a whole;

  (4) what was (a) the total number of households and (b) the number of homeless households housed by local authorities through nomination to housing associations between 1 April 1988 and 31 March 1989 in (i) Greater London, (ii) metropolitan areas outside London, (iii) non-metropolitan areas in the south-east, (iv) all non-metropolitan areas and (v) England as a whole;

  (5) what was the number of dwellings let by local authorities to homeless households referred by other authorities under the Housing Act 1985, section 68, between 1 April 1988 and 31 March 1989 in (a) Greater London, (b) metropolitan areas outside London, (c) non-metropolitan areas in the south-east, (d) all non-metropolitan areas and (e) England as a whole.

  Mr. Chope
  The information for April 1989 is not yet available. I will write to the hon. Member when it becomes available.

  House of Commons Terrace (Guano)
  Mr. Frank Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the annual budget for the cost of removal of guano from the Commons Terrace; and what was the actual cost of this operation in the last complete financial year.

  Mr. Chope
  There is no separate annual budget for this task, which is carried out as part of the cleansing contract. The actual cost in 1988–89 for removing guano from the entire Terrace was £4,000.

  Asylum Seekers (Turkey)
  Sir Hugh Rossi
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the outcome of the meeting held at his Department on 9 November with representatives of the Association of London Authorities and certain London boroughs and with hon. Members in response to their requests for financial assistance in respect of the extra expenditure incurred by authorities in 1989–90 as a result of the recent influx of asylum seekers from Turkey.

  Mr. David Hunt
  At the meeting at which my hon. Friends the Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Home Affairs were also present, I announced a scheme of Government grants to help local authorities with substantial unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure incurred this year directly as a result of the influx. Grant will be payable towards eligible expenditure on the basis of claims submitted by local authorities. The scheme will be administered by the Department of the Environment. Proposals for detailed rules will be discussed with the local authority associations.

  I also said that that we would look at the boroughs' case for meeting extra housing needs in the context of this year's and future housing investment programme rounds, and that the Housing Corporation had indicated that it would take account of bids from housing associations for schemes for housing asylum seekers when making allocations to associations.

  The association was also told that the Government were reviewing current arrangements for receiving unplanned arrivals and would consult the local authority associations as appropriate.

  Water Authorities (Criminal Proceedings)
  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how his Department intends to finance expenditure incurred by the residuary water authorities in relation to any criminal proceedings brought against them.

  Mr. Howard
  Substantive provision for this new service will be sought in a winter Supplementary Estimate for class x, vote 9. Pending parliamentary approval of the Estimate, urgent expenditure will be met by repayable advances from the Contingency Fund.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Palace of Westminster (Health and Safety)
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Lord President of the Council on which dates environmental health officers from Westminster City council have carried out health and safety inspections at the Palace of Westminster over the last five years; which areas were inspected; and if he will place copies of each report in the Library.

  Sir Geoffrey Howe
  At the invitation of the authorities of the House, an environmental health officer from Westminster city council carried out inspections in the House on 12 March, 23 April, 5 and 13 June 1986, 29 January 1987 and June 1988. All inspections were of the Refreshment Department kitchens. A further series of such visits is planned for the end of the year. The reports of environmental health officers are internal management documents but are available to the Catering Sub-Committee.

  Library (Public Information Desk)
  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make arrangements for the public information desk in the Library to be manned from 9 am on working days.

  Sir Geoffrey Howe
  I will ask the Library Sub-Committee of the Select Committee on House of Commons (Services) to consider the opening time of the Library's public information office at its next meeting.

  Creche Facilities
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will consider equipping and staffing hospitality rooms A and B for use as a crêche for parliamentary staff and members.

  Sir Geoffrey Howe
  No. Planning for a day nursery is being considered in the context of the new parliamentary buildings.

  Hospitality Rooms
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will list the number of occasions on which the hospitality rooms A and B have been booked by(a) Labour and (b) Conservative Members during the past two years.

  Sir Geoffrey Howe
  During the past two years Dining Rooms A and B have been reserved on 1,399 occasions by 800
  Conservative Members; 167 times by Labour Members; 81 times by Members of other opposition parties; and 57 times by Members of the other place.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will list the numbers of outside groups that have used hospitality rooms A and B in the Commons broken down into(a) commercial organisations, (b) voluntary bodies and charities and (c) other groups during the past two years.

  Sir Geoffrey Howe
  Functions organised in accordance with the banqueting regulations are the responsibility of the sponsoring Member. It is therefore the practice of the Catering Sub-Committe not to divulge the information requested.

PRIME MINISTER

  Advisers
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister what guidance she issues about when advisers(a) should and (b) should not speak in public.

  The Prime Minister
  All civil servants are subject to rules of conduct which are set out in the Civil Service pay and conditions of service code. Similar rules apply to other advisers. General guidance on the application of those rules to the question of speaking in public is given in chapter 6 of the personnel management handbook, copies of which are available in the House Libraries.

  Iraqi Business Men
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Prime Minister whether she is satisfied that no involvement of Iraqi business men in chemical-defence and communication industries in the United Kingdom exists which compromises national interests.

  The Prime Minister
  We use all information and legal powers available to us to control illegal or improper procurement activities in this country. The export of chemical, nuclear and defence and other sensitive goods is subject to strict export licensing regimes. In addition, supplies of British defence equipment to Iraq and Iran continue to be governed by the guidelines introduced in 1985.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Drugs
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison staff have been either suspended or disciplined since 1986 for the alleged or actual possession or importation of an unlawful drug into a prison establishment in England or Wales.

  Mr. Mellor
  Since January 1986 11 members of staff have been prosecuted or subjected to disciplinary proceedings for drug-related offences.

  Civil Service Dispersal
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to relocate his Department's offices to the north-west of England; and if he will make a statement.
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  Mr. Waddington
  There are already several Home Office establishments in the north-west. I am at present considering the possible relocation from the London area of a number of Home Office functions, but decisions have not yet been reached either in principle or on the areas to which relocation might take place.

  Parties
  Mr. Thorne
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is proposed to make it a criminal offence to organise a party for over 500 people for which admission is charged without a licence.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  It is already an offence under the London Government Act 1963, the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 or the Private Places of Entertainment (Licensing) Act 1967 to provide music and dancing without a licence if it is for the public entertainment or at a private entertainment promoted for private gain. We are considering whether penalties under these Acts need to be increased; and whether steps should be taken to confiscate profits where an event is in breach of entertainment licensing law.

  Prisoners (Drugs)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number of inmates who were put on report in prisons in England and Wales during the last 12 months for being in unlawful possession of drugs.

  Mr. Mellor
  Information is not available in the form requested. But some 1,974 charges of possession of a controlled drug were dealt with by governors or boards of visitors in prison service establishments in 1988.

  Category A Prisoners
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of(a) men and (b) women being held as category A prisoners and who are over 65 years of age in prisons in England and Wales.

  Mr. Mellor
  According to information available centrally, which is approximate, two men and no women aged 65 and over were held in security category A in prison service establishments in England and Wales on 30 September 1989.

  Drug Offences
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of United Kingdom citizens now living abroad who are wanted by police in the United Kingdom for suspected drug-related offences; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is not available. No separate record is kept of the number of wanted persons thought to be living abroad who are suspected of drug-related offences. The police work closely with their colleagues abroad to identify wanted persons and to take action were possible.

  Rule 43 Prisoners
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of(a) men and (b) women being held on rule 43 in prisons in England and Wales on 1 November.

  Mr. Mellor
  The latest readily available information is given in the table.

  Prisoners held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales under Prison Rule 43 and Young Offender Institution Rule 46: by type of segregation, age group and sex, 30 June 1989

  Own protection

  Good order or discipline

  Aged under 21

  males

  200

  40

  females

  6

  2

  Adults

  males

  1,970

  189

  females

  33

  6

  Prisoners (Drug Addicts)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of registered drug addicts in prisons in England and Wales on 1 November.

  Mr. Mellor
  There is no system of registration of addicts. The number of addicts in prison service establishments at any one time is not known. During 1988, 1,644 addicts were notified to the chief medical officer at the Home Office by prison medical officers in the United Kingdom. An addict may be notified more than once during a year and counting addicts at their first notification in 1988, 1,311 were first notified by prison medical officers, as shown in table 10a of Home Office Statistical Bulletin Issue 13/89, "Statistics of Drug Addicts Notified to the Home Office, United Kingdom, 1988", a copy of which is in the Library.

  Birmingham Pub Bombing
  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the replies by the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) to the hon. Member for Motherwell, North (Dr. Reid),Official Report, 26 October at columns 1032–33, from which month in 1986 the period covered by the Assistant Chief Constable of Yorkshire's inquiry commences; and whether the inquiry will look at material collected by the Devon and Cornwall police in the course of their investigations into the conviction of those found guilty of the Birmingham pub bombing.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The investigation being carried out by the Assistant Chief Constable from West Yorkshire into the work and practices of the West Midlands serious crime squad will concentrate on the period since 1 January 1986. However, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) indicated in his reply on 26 October, if the inquiry were to give rise to doubt about earlier cases, any convictions which arose from those cases would be examined.

  Wandsworth Prison
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the present work projects being undertaken at Wandsworth prison; and if he will list them and the money that has been allocated for each project.

  Mr. Mellor
  The following major building projects are in hand at Her Majesty's Prison Wandsworth:

  Project

  Latest available estimate of cost £

  General security upgrade

  865,000

  Improve drainage

  1,690,000

  New reception building

  2,282,000

  Improve perimeter security

  220,000

  Slopping Out
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of prisons in England and Wales where there is only a slopping-out toilet system for inmates.

  Mr. Mellor
  There are at present 36 establishments where prisoners have no access to night sanitation and 31 where not all prisoners have such access.

  Civil Defence
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the considerations that led to the decision being taken that the scenarios for the regional civil defence exercises in the United Kingdom should be built around periods of international tension or conventional war.

  Mr. John Patten
  Regional civil defence exercises are designed to test local authority plans. The local authorities involved have agreed that it would be sensible for the first series of such exercises to concentrate on the initial phase of a possible war crisis, covering a period of international tension. In due course, consideration will be given to whether these exercises should be extended to include a period of possible hostilities.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the reasons for the renaming of the Civil Defence college at Easingwold.

  Mr. John Patten
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester) on 5 June at columns 514–15.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by region, all the civil defence exercises planned for the remainder of 1989 and for the whole of 1990.

  Mr. John Patten
  Civil defence exercises are held by a number of organisations, and a comprehensive list is not maintained centrally. In England and Wales, regional civil defence exercises to be held jointly by local authorities and the Home Office are planned for region 3 (East Midlands) and region 4 (Eastern) in November this year, and for region 2 (North East) in 1990.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those items of exercise-related expenditure eligible for civil defence grant from his Department.
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  Mr. John Patten
  All expenditure incurred by local and police authorities in connection with their participation in civil defence exercises is eligible for grant, provided that the conditions of the Civil Defence (Grant) Regulations 1953 (S.I. No. 1953/1777) (as amended) are met.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will update the arrangements his Department has made towards competitive tendering for civil defence in(a) wartime emergencies and (b) peacetime emergencies.

  Mr. John Patten
  Home Office procurement policy is to place contracts with competent suppliers which represent, as far as possible, the best overall value for money after inviting firms to submit tenders in competition.

  Party Conferences (Security)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources were made available for policing and security at the 1989(a) Labour party conference at Brighton, and (b) Conservative party conference at Blackpool; and what were the costs.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I understand from the chief officers of the forces concerned that the additional costs of policing the 1989 party conferences were estimated as follows:

  Conference

  Force

  Additional cost (£)

  Labour

  Sussex

  4,000

  Conservative

  Lancashire

  1,080,000

  The level of resources provided for the policing of party conferences is an operational matter for the chief officer of police in the light of all the circumstances, including an assessment of the threat of terrorist attack and a recognition that there is a serious threat to members of the Government.

  The additional costs of policing will be met by the Sussex and Lancashire police authorities. Under the normal funding arrangements, the Government contribute both directly through police grant—which is at 51 per cent.—and indirectly through block grant.

  The parties themselves also incur costs on specific security measures at their conferences.

  Police (South Yorkshire)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requests he has received for increases in the manpower of the South Yorkshire police in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Applications have been made in the years set out in the following table:

  Year

  Posts applied for

  Posts approved

  1980–81

  278

  120

  1983–84

  154

  —

  1985–86

  9

  —

  1986–87

  213

  9

  1987–88

  52

  50

  1988–89

  50

  20

  1989–90

  50

  27

  1990–91

  50

  2—

  1 Letter from the Chief Constable rather than from the police authority.

  2 Not yet decided.

  Hon. Members (Age Limit)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to review the minimum age limit for persons wishing to become hon. Members.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No.

  Cyclists (Prosecutions)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number of prosecutions of pedal cyclists for riding without proper lights on the cycle in each of the last three years.

  Mr. John Patten
  Information held centrally for 1986 to 1988 is given in the table.

  Persons proceeded against for lighting and reflector offences on pedal cycles1

  England and Wales

  Year

  Total proceeded against

  1986

  2,751

  1987

  1,732

  1988

  1,593

  1Offence under section 74 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 and RVL Regulations 1984.

  Tote
  Mr. Ashton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions his Department has commissioned an independent inquiry or investigation into the privatisation of the Tote; who conducted the inquiry; and what were the conclusions.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The only independent inquiry into the feasibility of privatising the Tote has been conducted by Lloyd's Merchant bank; its conclusions were submitted in confidence to the Government in April and are still under consideration.

  Mr. John Kamara
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet received a report from Merseyside police into allegations by Mr. John Kamara of wrongful conviction; and whether he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  No. Mr. Kamara has submitted further representations about his case which require investigation. Once the inquiries are complete and we have received the report, we will decide whether there are grounds to justify our intervention.

  Overseas Visitors
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many Jamacian citizens were initially refused leave to enter the United Kingdom as not being genuine vistors(a) between January and October 1988, inclusive and (b) between January and October 1989 inclusive;

  (2) how many overseas visitors were initially refused leave to enter and were removed from the United
  806
  Kingdom (a) between January and October 1988, inclusive and (b) between January and October 1989, inclusive; and what were their nationalities.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [holding answer 3 November 1989]: The total numbers of passengers by nationality who were refused leave to enter and removed from the United Kingdom between January and August of 1988 and 1989 are given in the table; figures for September and October 1989 are not yet available. It is not possible from the information available centrally to ascertain how many sought entry as visitors.

  Of the 258 Jamaican citizens removed between January and August 1988 and the 561 removed between January and August 1989, 191 and 484 respectively failed to satisfy the immigration officer that they qualified as genuine visitors under paragraph 22 of the rules. Some of the remainder may also have sought entry as visitors and, if so, would have been refused for other reasons.

  Passengers refused leave to enter and removed from the United Kingdom

  Number

  Nationality

  January to August 1988

  January to August 1989

  Europe

  3,050

  3,652

  Austria

  53

  85

  Belgium

  21

  1

  Bulgaria

  8

  12

  Cyprus

  142

  131

  Czechoslovakia

  11

  12

  Denmark

  3

  7

  Finland

  26

  56

  France

  89

  31

  Germany (Democratic Republic)

  2

  4

  Germany (Federal Republic)

  52

  16

  Greece

  7

  4

  Hungary

  10

  16

  Italy

  41

  9

  Luxembourg

  —

  1

  Malta

  11

  15

  Netherlands

  40

  15

  Norway

  42

  64

  Poland

  56

  96

  Portugal

  434

  117

  Romania

  7

  11

  Spain

  340

  112

  Sweden

  86

  129

  Switzerland

  71

  60

  Turkey

  1,159

  1,930

  USSR

  15

  35

  Yugoslavia

  324

  683

  Americas

  1,960

  2,695

  Argentina

  45

  48

  Barbados

  5

  21

  Brazil

  288

  474

  Canada

  61

  68

  Chile

  62

  61

  Colombia

  376

  418

  Cuba

  —

  1

  Guyana

  16

  28

  Jamaica

  258

  561

  Mexico

  60

  98

  Peru

  40

  71

  Trinidad and Tobago

  19

  49

  United States of America

  712

  766

  Uruguay

  5

  11

  Venezuela

  13

  20

  Africa

  3,968

  5,123

  Algeria

  1,363

  1,768

  Egypt

  14

  23

  Ethiopia

  8

  13

  Ghana

  242

  296

  Kenya

  86

  107

  807

  Number

  Nationality

  January to August 1988

  January to August 1989

  Libya

  18

  16

  Mauritius

  124

  123

  Morocco

  941

  1,327

  Nigeria

  481

  518

  Sierra Leone

  69

  125

  Somalia

  8

  17

  South Africa

  201

  276

  Sudan

  27

  20

  Tanzania

  57

  65

  Tunisia

  130

  132

  Uganda

  116

  146

  Zambia

  32

  71

  Zimbabwe

  51

  80

  Asia

  2,614

  2,501

  Bangladesh

  293

  286

  China

  25

  61

  Hong Kong BDTC

  233

  106

  India

  468

  314

  Indonesia

  7

  12

  Iran

  252

  319

  Iraq

  66

  33

  Israel

  109

  149

  Japan

  133

  151

  Jordan

  20

  16

  Kuwait

  2

  17

  Lebanon

  49

  46

  Malaysia

  332

  445

  Pakistan

  267

  221

  Philippines

  82

  83

  Saudi Arabia

  37

  36

  Singapore

  70

  52

  Sir Lanka

  96

  78

  Syria

  31

  35

  Thailand

  42

  41

  Australasia

  147

  190

  Australia

  91

  99

  New Zealand

  56

  91

  Others

  1,070

  1,282

  British Overseas Citizens

  35

  22

  Other countries not elsewhere specified

  525

  750

  Stateless

  510

  510

  All Nationalities

  12,809

  15,443

  Duty Solicitor Scheme
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by location, for the last 12 months, where the 24-hour duty solicitor scheme has been withdrawn.

  The Attorney-General
  I have been asked to reply.

  In the last 12 months local 24-hour duty solicitor schemes have ceased in the areas covered by the St. Albans and Tunbridge Wells committees (four police stations in all).

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to review payment to solicitors who carry out the 24-hour duty solicitor arrangement.

  The Attorney-General
  I have been asked to eply.

  Payments to solicitors who carry out the 24-hour duty solicitor arrangements are reviewed annually as part of the discussions on legal aid rates between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Society.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Unemployed Persons
  Mr. Loyden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what information he has on the work of the independent agency commissioned to explore the impact of the increased maximum period of disqualification on decisions about leaving or taking work as well as the effects on the circumstances of those who are disqualified;

  (2) if he will report on the results of a survey conducted by his Department in the first three months of the current year into the effects of increasing to 26 weeks the maximum period of disqualification for unemployment benefit.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) on 8 November 1989 at columns 672–73.

  Claimants (Stockton)
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are receiving benefits from his Department in the parliamentary constituency of Stockton, South; and what is the total cost of such benefits.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Family Credit
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the reduction in spending on family credit in 1989–90 if child benefit was increased in line with inflation.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Estimates based on the current caseload are that family credit spending in 1989–90 will be £16 million more than if child benefit had been increased in April 1989 in line with inflation.

  Elderly People
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of elderly persons who are(a) residents of independent sector residential nursing homes and (b) in receipt of benefit and unable to meet the full costs of that accommodation and are being subsidised by relatives to the extent of 0–£10 weekly; £.10–£20 weekly and above £20 weekly, and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Information in the form requested is not available.

  Child Benefit
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would have been the cost of increasing child benefit in line with earnings in each of the last two years.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The cost (net of savings on other benefits) would have been about £260 million in 1988–89 and a further £320 million in 1989–90.

  Offices (Doncaster and Wath-on-Dearne)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people served by the social security offices in(a) Doncaster and (b) Wath-on-Dearne have been refused loans by officers of the social fund since its inception on the grounds that the applicants lacked sufficient income to repay such loans.

  Mr. Nicholas Scott
  From April 1988 to September 1989, on 58 occasions in the Doncaster East local office area, 146 in the Doncaster West local office area and 27 in the Wath-on-Dearne local office area, the social fund officer refused a loan application giving as a reason the applicants' inability to repay. This represents 0·8 per cent., 2 per cent. and 0·6 per cent. of the applications processed for these areas respectively.

  Hardship Allowance
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the figures for(a) applications and (b) the take-up of the special hardship allowance for under 18-year-olds with no YTS.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  In the period 12 September 1988 to 3 November 1989 a total of 17,996 applications were considered for a direction by the Secretary of State under the severe hardship provision. In 11,902 cases (66 per cent.) a direction was given to enable payment of income support to be made.

  London Pay Area
  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many EOs-LO1 s currently work in the London pay area; and how many will be required following the implementation of the operational strategy.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  In October 1989 there were 3,257 EOs-LO1 s employed in the London pay areas.

  It is not possible to give an answer as to how many EOs-LO1s will be required after the implementation of the operational strategy.

  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many higher executive officers in his Department's offices will be surplus to requirements in the London pay area following the changes brought about by the operational strategy.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  It is not possible to give an answer as to how many, if any, HEOs will be surplus to requirements after the implementation of the operational strategy.

  Mr. Sean Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many EOs-LO1 s in the London pay area have fitted for promotion markings.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  EOs-LO1s' fitness for promotion is assessed only if they apply for a promotion exercise. In the most recent competitions for promotion to higher executive officer in the Department's London regions and headquarters, there were 780 applications from EO-LO1s in the London pay area who were assessed by their line managers as being fitted for promotion.

  Crisis at Christmas
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he is planning to give help to the charity Crisis at Christmas towards the cost of its work for homeless people over the Christmas period; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The Government are well aware of the valuable work being done by Crisis at Christmas but they have not approached my right hon. Friend for assistance this year.

  Pensioners
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member for Walsall, North on 6 March,Official Report, column 465, what percentage of single pensioners in 1986 had a total income of less than £50 at today's prices.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  A gross income of £50 at April 1989 prices was equivalent to a gross income of £42·79 at 1986 prices. In 1986 9 per cent. of single pensioners had a gross income below £42·79 per week. Source: Family Expenditure Survey.

  Disabled People
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown of the cost of each of the 10 immediate improvements in benefits for disabled people and their carers, announced in his uprating statement on 25 October,Official Report, columns 841 to 854.

  Mr. Scott
  The costs of each measure in the first full year (1991–92 unless otherwise stated) are set out as follows:

  1. Increase in the adult disability premium: £18 million.

  2. Alignment of disabled child premium with adult rate: £8 million.

  3. Carer's Premium: £15 million.

  4. Abolition of Attendance Allowance six month waiting period for the terminally ill: £26 million.

  5. Attendance Allowance for children under two years old: £5 million.

  6. Extension of Invalid Care Allowance to many carers as a result of 4 and 5 above: £3 million.

  7. Extension of Mobility Allowance to the deaf-blind: £5 million.

  8 and 9. Increases in the Invalid Care Allowance earnings rule and in the incapacity benefits Therapeutic Earnings Limit together with the extension of Invalidity Benefit to those on Employment Rehabilitation Courses: less than £1 million.

  10. Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund (1990–91): £19 million.

  Families With Children
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown of the cost of the extra £70 million he is spending on families with children by each measure announced in his uprating statement on 25 October,Official Report, columns 841 to 854.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The cost of extra measures to help least well-off families with children in the first full year (1991–92) will be as follows:

  Addition of 50p to family premium in Income Support —£34 million.

  811

  Addition of £1 to adult credit in Family Credit—£16 million.

  Addition of £1·10 to lone parent premium in Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit—£2 million.

  Raising of Housing Benefit disregard on earnings to £25for lone parents—£11 million.

  Raising Social Fund Maternity Grant from £85 to £100 —£3 million.

  Two other measures will extend further help to less well off families:

  Raising Disabled Child Premium to level of adult Disability Premium—£8 million.

  That part of the cost of extending Attendance Allowance for children under 2 which will benefit families in Income Support—£1 million.

  Child Benefit
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of(a) families with children and (b) children which would not be brought into income-related benefits if child benefit were increased in line with inflation in 1990–91.

  Mr. Scott
  The effects of not increasing child benefit should not be viewed in isolation. For example, it is important to have regard to the extra help which will be made available to families with children. However, in very broad terms, the decision not to uprate child benefit this year is expected to increase the family credit caseload by up to 5,000 in 1990–91; by a few thousand for income support; and by an even smaller number for housing benefit. It is estimated that these families may include up to 16,000 children overall.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of uprating child benefit in line with inflation in 1990–91.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  To increase the rate of child benefit in line with the increase of 7·6 per cent. in the retail prices index between September 1988 and September 1989 would cost around £250 million net of savings on other benefits.

  Social Fund
  Ms. Harriet Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the budget for the social fund will be in 1990, broken down into community care grants, budgeting loans and crisis loans, in both gross and net terms.

  Mr. Scott
  The information requested is as follows:

  £ million

  Community care grants

  Budgeting and crisis loans

  Gross

  61

  144

  Net

  61

  39

  Disability
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what date he expects section 7 of the Disabled Persons Act 1986 to be implemented.

  Mr. Freeman
  I have been asked to reply.

  We have received proposed guidelines from a disability organisation for the implementation of section 7 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and
  812
  Representation) Act 1986. The Government's position on the implementation of section 7 will be made clear in the White Paper on Community Care which will be published shortly.

  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what date he expects to publish the first report to Parliament on the development of community care services under section 11 of the 1986 Disabled Persons Act.

  Mr. Freeman
  I have been asked to reply.

  The first report will be laid before Parliament before the end of this year.

SCOTLAND

  Domiciliary Care
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet representatives of Scottish local authorities to discuss the new arrangements regarding Department of Social Security payments to local authorities for domiciliary care, to be introduced in April 1991

  Mr. Lang
  I met the social work committee of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities about the Government's proposals for community care on 8 September and agreed that further discussions would be arranged, as appropriate, after publication of the Government's detailed proposals in a White Paper.

  Scottish Enterprise
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make it his policy to include in the plans for Scottish Enterprise a body to ensure that no funds from Scottish Enterprise go to businesses or activities which are likely to increase pollution or to endanger the environment;

  (2) what requirements will be included in the plans for Scottish Enterprise to ensure that no funds from Scottish Enterprise go to businesses or activities which are likely to increase pollution or to endanger the environment.

  Mr. Lang
  We intend that Scottish Enterprise will promote economic development and training in lowland Scotland, and further the improvement of the environment. There is already a range of statutory and other safeguards designed to prevent businesses from causing unacceptable pollution or damage to the environment.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the requirement to provide the ages of those included on the poll tax register; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. and learned Friend has received a number of representations on this issue.

  X-ray Equipment (Roodlands Hospital)
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the age and condition of X-ray equipment at Roodlands hospital,
  813
  Haddington; and what steps are taken to ensure that the equipment complies with required standards for the examination of patients.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Information about the equipment at Roodlands hospital is a matter for Lothian health board.

  Young People
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the numbers of(a) 16-year-olds and (b) 17-year-olds who stayed on at school, non-advanced further education or higher education in the current year; and what percentage these totals represented of the estimated total population in these age groups in Scotland in 1989.

  1986

  1987

  16-year-olds

  17-year-olds

  16-year-olds

  17-year-olds

  Activity at autumn

  number

  per cent.

  number

  per cent.

  number

  per cent.

  number

  per cent.

  Full-time education:

  School

  48,600

  59

  19,200

  23

  48,600

  61

  19,400

  24

  Non-advanced FE (excluding YTS)

  3,600

  4

  5,200

  6

  3,100

  4

  4,500

  5

  Higher education

  —

  —

  3,500

  4

  100

  —

  3,400

  4

  Youth training scheme

  17,100

  21

  13,700

  16

  16,500

  21

  19,700

  24

  Unemployed and claiming benefit

  7,700

  9

  15,400

  18

  7,100

  9

  11,800

  14

  Other (including employment)

  5,300

  6

  26,800

  32

  4,200

  5

  23,300

  28

  Total population

  82,400

  100

  83,800

  100

  79,600

  100

  82,000

  100

  Notes:

  1. School pupils include some 16-year-olds who were too young to leave school the previous session.

  2. Many of the young people on YTS are also participating in part-time non-advanced FE.

  3. Because of rounding the columns may not sum to the totals shown.

  Note—Similar information for earlier years is not readily available.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  House of Fraser Holdings
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the number of the Department of Trade and Industry report into House of Fraser Holdings which was leaked to Lonrho/The Observer; whether this numbered copy is or was in the possession of the fraud squad; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I have been asked to reply.

  Investigations into the leak of the report are continuing and I cannot comment on the matters to which the hon. Member refers.

  Car Imports and Exports
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what tax is levied on cars imported from Japan; and what tax is levied on British cars exported to Japan.

  Mr. Redwood
  Cars imported into the United Kingdom from Japan are subject to an import duty of 10 per cent. Like all other cars they are also subject to a car tax of 10 per cent. and, at point of sale, VAT of 15 per cent. No import duty is levied on cars imported into Japan; however, all new cars are subject to consumption tax of 6 per cent. and acquisition tax of 5 per cent. Each time a car is sold secondhand in Japan, it is subject to consumption tax of 3 per cent.
  814
  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 9 November 1989]: The information for 1989 and in the form requested is not available.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the numbers and age group percentages of(a) 16-year-olds and (b) 17-year-olds (i) continuing in school education, (ii) entering non-advanced further education, (iii) entering higher education, (iv) entering YTS, (v) entering employment, in each of the past five years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 9 November 1989]: The information requested is not available in the form requested since young people may enter the various categories of education and employment more than once in a year. Information on the educational and economic activity of 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland at autumn 1986 and 1987 is given in the table.

  Jaguar plc
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the exact time on the afternoon of Tuesday 31 October at which he informed the board of Jaguar of his decision to relinquish the Government's golden share.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Sir John Egan was informed at 11.45 on the morning of Tuesday 31 October.

  Manufacturing Output
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what is his estimate of the import content of heavy commercial motor vehicles exported from the United Kingdom in 1988 and 1989 to date having regard to their provenance; what was the corresponding figure in 1959, 1972 and 1979; and what effect free trade with the EEC has had on the United Kingdom content and on output and employment in the United Kingdom heavy commercial vehicle industry;

  (2) what is his estimate of the import content of motor cars exported from the United Kingdom in 1988 and in 1989 to date having regard to their provenance; what was the corresponding figure in 1959, 1972 and 1979; and what effect free trade with the EEC hs had on the United Kingdom content and on output and employment in the United Kingdom motor car industry;

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 9 November 1989]: The information is not available.

  Manufacturing Output
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for the years 1963, 1968, 1974, 1979, 1984 and 1989 to date the ratio of imports to output of (a) textiles and clothing and (b) chemicals, and man-made fibres, together with the relevant weights in the index of manufacturing output;

  (2) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for the years 1963, 1968, 1974, 1979, 1984 and 1989to date the ratio of imports to output of (i) metals and (ii) rubber and plastics together with the relevant weights in the index of manufacturing output.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 9 November 1989]: The readily available information is:

  Textiles and clothing1

  Chemicals and man-made fibres2

  Metals3

  Rubber and plastics4

  Imports as percentage of output

  1975

  22·8

  20·2

  30·9

  13·3

  1979

  33·6

  26·9

  28·7

  17·7

  1984

  48·1

  35·5

  41·1

  26·1

  51988–89

  55·9

  38·7

  50·0

  27·7

  Weights in index of manufacturing output6 (Parts per thousand)

  1963

  89·2

  95·1

  64·3

  26·3

  1970

  77·5

  87·8

  63·9

  33·2

  1975

  74·1

  89·3

  56·5

  34·6

  1980

  58·8

  91·9

  34·3

  38·3

  1985

  57·7

  103·6

  37·8

  38·1

  1 For 1963–75 defined as order XIII and order XV plus part MLH 473 less MLH 411, 429/1 and 450 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1968 (SIC 68). For 1979–1989 defined as class 43 plus group 453 and 455 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980 (SIC 80).

  2For 1963–75 defined as order V plus MLH 411 of the SIC 68. For 1979–89 defined as class 25 and 26 of the SIC 80.

  3 For 1963–75 defined as order VI less MLH 313 of the SIC 68. For 1979–89 defined as class 22 of the SIC 80.

  4"For 1963–75 defined as MLH 491,492 and 496 of the SIC 68. For 1979–89 defined as class 48 of the SIC 80.

  5Latest available 12-month period (quarter 2 1988 to quarter 1 1989).

  6For 1963–75 manufacturing is defined as order 111 to order XIX of the SIC 68. For 1980–85 defined as division 2–4 of the SIC 80.

WALES

  Conservation
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on progress on his proposals for changes to the Nature Conservancy Council and the Countryside Commission in Wales; and if he will publish the date by which he hopes such changes will be operational.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Detailed discussions with the statutory agencies concerned on the practical arrangements for establishing the new Countryside Council for Wales are continuing. Subject to parliamentary approval, the changes will take effect from 1 April 1991.

  Health Service
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) to how many medical units in Wales he expects to award self-governing status in April 1991;
  816
  (2) if he will list those medical units in Wales which have expressed an interest in self-governing status.

  Mr. Grist
  Since to date no applications have been received from health units in Wales seeking self-governing status it is not possible to calculate how many will be agreed by April 1991.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has set a date by which medical units in Wales must express interest in applying for self-governing status.

  Mr. Grist
  My right hon. Friend has not set a deadline for the receipt of applications for self-governing status.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he intends to award self-governing status to medical units in Wales other than acute hospitals with over 250 beds.

  Mr. Grist
  Whilst self-governing status is likely to be particularly appropriate to major acute hospitals, all hospitals and health units in Wales are potentially eligible.

  Porthmadog Bypass
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement of his policy with regard to the construction of a bypass for the town of Porthmadog on the A487 trunk road; and whether a projected route exists for such a bypass.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  As indicated in "Roads in Wales ߞProgress and Plans for the 1990s" the case for improving the A487 at Porthmadog is under consideration. That to still the position. No route has been projected for a by-pass.

  "Action on Litter"
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the additional cost on district councils in Wales which would arise from the full implementation of the proposals in the Government's White Paper entitled "Action on Litter", and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  We have made no specific estimate. We do not think that the cost of the proposals set out in the consultation paper need impose a major burden an local authorities since cleaning and other anti-litter measures are already an important part of their day-to-day activities.

  In so far as there might be some additional cost, as with all new duties on local authorities, Ministers will take these into account in their deliberations on the revenue support grant.

  Water Pollution
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the areas in Wales where domestic water supplies are affected by lead contamination.

  Mr. Grist
  All areas in Wales should, by the end of next month, comply with the lead standard in the EC directive relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption (80/778/EEC).
  817
  The new Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989 (S.I. 1989 No. 1147) set a tighter standard for lead in drinking water than the EC directive, reflecting the Government's long-standing policy of reducing exposure to lead in the environment. These regulations provide that where there is a risk that even a single sample might exceed the standard, the water undertaker shall treat the water to remove the risk, if this is practical, or consider replacement of the lead piping. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has accepted an undertaking from Dwr Cymru that all supplies which might potentially breach the new standard will be identified and, where appropriate, remedial measures determined by April 1991. This exercise is in hand.

  NHS Spending
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will arrange for the total per capita spending on the National Health Service in Wales to be increased to the same amount as that of Scotland.

  Mr. Grist
  Both the health care needs of the population and the cost of providing appropriate services depend on many factors, some of which vary significantly between Wales and Scotland. To provide the same standard of health care does not require the same per capita expenditure in each country therefore, planned spending on the National Health Service in Wales in 1989–90 is £1,382·8 million (gross) which includes £10 million to fund the review body pay awards which were announced in February 1989 and £5 million additional provision towards the cost of implementing the NHS review. We are now spending over £37 per week per household on the National Health Service compared with £11 per week per household in 1978–79.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Angola
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will raise within the United Nations the new evidence of the atrocities perpetrated on SWAPO detainees in its prison camps in Angola, and that hundreds of Namibians are being prevented from returning to take part in the current elections under the special arrangements agreed to by the Administrator-General; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maude
  We have on a number of occasions raised with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and with the South West African People's Organisation the question of detainees held in Angola. We will continue to support the efforts of the United Nations to trace those missing.

  If the United Nations special representative certifies the elections to have been free and fair, it is vital that all sides accept that judgment, whatever the result.

  Dr. Sadel Jawed Kadhum
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received as to the activities of Dr. Sadel Jawed Kadhum in relation to Iraqi intelligence matters.
  818
  Mr. Maude
  None.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any member of his Department has ever communicated to persons outside his Department information concerning the relationship between Dr. Sadel Jawed Kadhum and Iraqi intelligence.

  Mr. Maude
  No.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any member of his Department has ever met Dr. Sadel Jawed Kadhum, director of Matrix Churchill, to discuss matters relating to Iraqi intelligence.

  Mr. Maude
  No.

  Kampuchea
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many(a) letters and (b) telephone calls have been received by his Department in the last three months concerning Government policy towards Kampuchea; and how many of these supported the policies of Her Majesty's Government.

  Mr. Maude
  We have received more than 3,600 letters and about 40 telephone calls over the last three months about our policy towards Cambodia. The majority of correspondents were critical of what they understood to be our policy.

  Foreign Affairs Council
  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report a statement on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council on 6 November.

  Mr. Maude
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I represented the United Kingdom at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 6 November.

  There was brief discussion, on the basis of a Presidency progress report, of work on the various aspects of Frontiers policy. Like the Presidency, my right hon. Friend stressed the importance of effective action against the drugs menace.

  In a brief discussion of economic and monetary issues, the Presidency, member states and the Commission indicated that further work should take account of the United Kingdom paper "An Evolutionary Approach to Economic and Monetary Union".

  The Council formally adopted the EC/United States steel voluntary restraint arrangement and discussed various other EC/United States trade issues, including the dispute on hormones in meat.

  As a further part of its programme to assist economic reform in Poland and Hungary, the Council agreed to liberalise as from 1 January 1990 all discriminatory import restrictions applied against Poland and Hungary. The Council also agreed in principle to add both countries to the list of countries benefiting from the EC's generalised scheme of preferences.

  The Commission reported on progress in the GATT Uruguay round. The Council confirmed the importance it attached to a successful outcome to the round and welcomed the acceptance of the EC's offer of Brussels as a venue for the final meeting.
  819
  The Council approved in principle the generalised scheme of preferences for 1990.

  The Council discussed follow-up to the audio-visual conference in Paris in October.

  In the margins of the Council, I attended a biennial meeting of the EC/Egypt Co-operation Council. Separately, and in advance, my right hon. Friend also had a separate meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister.

HEALTH

  Salaries
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the salary of(a) a community health council secretary, (b) a hospital secretary and (c) a family practitioner committee administrator, or their equivalent grades for (i) 1974 and (ii) currently.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Community health council secretaries are paid on grades and payscales negotiated in the administrative and clerical staffs Whitley council. It is for employing authorities to grade individual posts according to their particular range of responsibilities and activity. Information is not held centrally on individual posts, but the majority at 1 April 1974 were graded scale 9 (salary range £2,856 to £3,552 per annum) and from 1 April 1989 grade 6 in a new grading system (£11,962£13,994). Changes in NHS organisation and the introduction of general management mean that the posts of hospital secretary and family practitioner committee administrator have no equivalent in the current structure. I shall write to the hon. Member setting out past information on these posts and the nature of changes affecting them.

  Shropshire Health Authority
  Mr. Conway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he expects the West Midlands regional health authority to allocate funds to the Shropshire health authority on the same basis of calculation applied by his Department to the regional allocation.

  Mr. Freeman
  Ultimately, district health authorities will be funded on broadly the same basis as regional health authorities, although district allocations may need to take account of additional factors which reflect local circumstances. Regional health authorities will be expected to manage a smooth and careful transition to the new arrangements for funding districts, over a period of several years.

  Domiciliary Care (Scotland)
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to meet representatives of Scottish local authorities to discuss the new arrangements regarding Department of Social Security payments to local authorities for domiciliary care, to be introduced in April 1991.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I understand that representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) have already met my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Scottish Office to discuss community care. As part of preparations for implementing the Government's proposals for community care, Department of Health 820
  officials are holding a series of meetings with representatives of the local authority associations to discuss, among other matters, the arrangements for transferring to local authorities the resources which the Government would otherwise have provided to finance care through social security payments to people in residential and nursing homes. Representatives of COSLA have taken part in these discussions.

  Water Fluoridation
  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department expects to confirm an indemnity to Yorkshire water authority in connection with the fluoridation of water supplies; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Yorkshire Water has indicated that because of the interconnected nature of the water supply system, it is prepared to consider requests to add fluoride to the water supply in future only provided that requests are received from all district health authorities within its water region boundaries. Such unanimity has not been achieved. A new indemnity has therefore not been requested by Yorkshire Water.

  HIV
  Mr. Chris Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has as to the interval between a person being infected with HIV and the time when HIV antibodies can be ascertained by testing.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  There is usually an interval of six to 12 weeks from infection with HIV to the development of antibodies detectable by routine screening methods. In some individuals the appearance of antibodies may be delayed, but in 95 per cent. of cases they are detectable within six months.

  Women Doctors
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women doctors are employed by the Trent regional health authority; how many are in(a) full-time and (b) part-time employment; and what are the required hours of work in each category.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  As at 30 September 1988 Trent regional health authority employed 785 (whole-time equivalent) full-time and 160 (wte) part-time permanent paid female medical staff in the hospital and community health service.

  For junior hospital doctors—that is, senior registrars, registrars, senior house officers and house officers—the standard hours are 40 per week. For consultants and other grades the figure is 38·5 hours. Part-time junior hospital staff are contracted for a maximum of 36 hours per week, hospital practitioners for 17·5 hours per week and consultants and others for 31·5 hours. In community medicine full-time clinical staff are contracted for 37 hours per week and part-time staff for a maximum of 30 hours.

  Salmonella
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the incidence of salmonella Manchester.
  821
  Mr. Freeman
  The public health laboratory service, division of enteric pathogens confirmed 33 human isolations of salmonella Manchester between 1 January and 3 November this year. Annual totals of human isolations of salmonella Manchester confirmed by the division of enteric pathogens for the period 1981–88 were 2, 0, 34, 9, 4, 28, 0 and 2 respectively.

  Rapes (HIV Infection)
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women are known to his Department to have tested seropositive for HIV subsequent to their being raped.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not collected centrally by the communicable disease surveillance centre. One case of HIV infection following rape in the United Kingdom has been reported in the British Medical Journal (16 September 1989).

  Social Workers
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average number of social workers per 100,000 head of population in each of the London borough councils.

  Mr. Freeman
  The number of field social work staff as a rate per 100,000 population is set out in the table for each of the London boroughs and for the City of London.

  London borough

  Rates per 100,000 population September 1988

  Camden (1984)

  180·4

  Greenwich

  99·6

  Hackney

  99·1

  Hammersmith

  129·6

  Islington

  145·8

  Kensington

  162·7

  Lambeth

  155·4

  Lewisham

  132·2

  South wark

  127·6

  Tower Hamlets (1987)

  124·1

  Wandsworth

  145·9

  Westminster

  152·2

  City of London

  527·8

  Barking

  48·5

  Barnet

  51·2

  Bexley

  49·2

  Brent

  86·7

  Bromley

  53·4

  Croydon

  47·2

  Ealing

  34·0

  Enfield

  74·5

  Haringey

  75·0

  Harrow

  90·7

  Havering

  45·0

  Hillingdon

  65·4

  Hounslow

  73·2

  Kingston upon Thames (1978)

  63·2

  Merton

  53·7

  Newham

  84·5

  Redbridge

  32·6

  Richmond upon Thames

  42·0

  Sutton

  72·7

  Waltham Forest

  105·0

  The staff numbers are in whole-time equivalent terms and relate to returns for 30 September 1988. Where this return is not available, data from the most recent year's return has been used; the year of the return is shown.

  Rates per 100,000 population are based on the mid-year population estimates for 1988. Where a previous year's
  822
  return has been used, the appropriate year's population figure has also been used. Field social work staff includes field social work practitioners, community workers, trainee social workers, and social work (welfare) assistants.

  Nineteen-eighty-eight data are provisional and subject to amendment.

  Mental Health
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received during the past six months concerning the need to amend section 73 of the Mental Health Act 1983, relating to the discharge of part III patients; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  A number of representations have been received, all originating from the National Union of Townswomen's Guilds, or its local branches.

  The effect of an amendment to the legislation such as is proposed would be to turn the clock back to the situation as it was before the 1983 Act. I am not aware of any widely held view that this would be desirable. This particular aspect of the change in the law, promulgated in 1983, followed the judgment given on 5 November 1981 in X v United Kingdom, in which the European Court of Human Rights held that under article 5(4) of the European convention, a detained patient has a right of periodic access to a judicial body to determine the justification for continued detention. A mental health review tribunal, having an advisory power only, did not constitute a judicial body.

  Abortion
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many projects for women undergoing post-abortion trauma are funded by his Department.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  One; the joint Royal College of General Practitioners and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists study into "Attitudes to Pregnancy", which commenced in 1976.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a requirement for clinics to inform his Department of the fees charged and monies collected for termination of pregnancy.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The Department already approves the general level of fees in the case of registered pregnancy advice bureaux, and nursing homes with more than six beds, or more than 25 per cent. of their total beds, approved for the use of abortion cases. Bureaux and nursing homes are required to issue receipts. Copies of these are examined by officials of the Department on inspection visits.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to require that the unborn child about to undergo abortion should be administered an anaesthetic prior to the operation.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This is entirely a matter for the clinical judgment of the doctor responsible.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to report to the ministries of justice in those countries which have time limits lower than the United Kingdom's the details of abortions which would violate their domestic laws.
  823
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No. Medical treatment of such patients in this country is subject to the usual rules of confidentiality.

  Visually Handicapped People
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made on the guidance to accompany the new BD8 form; and to what extent that guidance will be based on the recommendations of the working group established in 1987.

  Mr. Freeman
  Work is currently in hand on the guidance to accompany the new form. The guidance will be based on the recommendations in the report "Co-ordinating Services for Visually Handicapped People" published earlier this year.

  Pain Relief X-ray, Waltham Forest
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a central Government donation to Dr. Beverly Collett's appeal for a new pain relief X-ray machine in Waltham Forest health district; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The distribution of resources to districts is a matter for regional health authorities. It is up to district health authorities to decide how best to allocate the resources available to them in the light of local health care needs and circumstances.

  Life-saving Equipment
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what bids he has received from Waltham Forest district health authority for provision of essential life-saving equipment at Whipps Cross hospital; what bids have been met; and what consideration he has given to the replacement life of current equipment at that hospital, and its implications for funding.

  Mr. Freeman
  The level of provision of health care services within a particular area is a matter for the health authority concerned, which is best able to judge the priorities for provision of services and equipment in the light of local needs and circumstances.

  Community Care
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if his Department has drawn up any guidelines for the implementation of section 7 of the Disabled Person's (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1989; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if his Department has received any guidelines drawn up by disability organisations for the implementation of section 7 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  I have been asked to reply.

  We have received proposed guidelines from a disability organisation for the implementation of section 7 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986. The Government's position on the implementation of section 7 will be made clear in the White Paper on Community Care which will be published shortly.
  824
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the number of psychiatric patients discharged from hospitals in the Greater London area into community care in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information requested is not readily available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what will be the role of community nurse managers and by whom they will be employed under the Government's proposals for care in the community.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Community nurse managers will continue to have central responsibility for the management of the community nursing services. The Government's proposals for community care will not affect their employment position.

  Haemophiliacs (AIDS)
  Mr. Ron Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received recent representations from the Haemophilia Society regarding compensation to hae-mophilia sufferers who contracted AIDS as a result of contaminated blood supplied to them through the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Representations have been received from the Haemophilia Society about compensation for people with haemophilia and HIV infection-AIDS.

  Some haemophiliacs are now pursuing compensation through the courts and I am advised that this matter is now sub-judice.

  Carl McGoldrick
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the reason for the delay in replying to the letter of 25 August from the hon. Member for Copeland asking for publication of the inquiry report into the death of Carl McGoldrick; when copies of the report will be made available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I have written to the hon. Member.

  Ambulance Dispute
  Mr. Ron Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received recent representations from the trade union movement about the ambulance drivers' dispute; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Representations have been received by the Department from trade unions on the staff side of the ambulance Whitley councils. Representations have also been received from the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel, which claims to have within its membership over 20 per cent. of all ambulance personnel but is not represented on the staff side of the Whitley councils. No recent representations have been received from elsewhere in the trade union movement.

  Foster Parents
  Dame Jill Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue instructions to local authority social services departments that their race-matching policy for
  825
  children needing foster parents shall not be retrospective and that children happily placed with foster parents over a long period shall not be removed solely for racial reasons.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Local authorities have a statutory duty to give first consideration to the need to promote and safeguard the welfare of each child in care. A child's racial origin, cultural background and religion are important factors to be taken into account. But any decision made about a child on the basis of generalised and rigidly applied rules would not accord with the authority's duty to the child. It follows that a child should not be removed from a foster placement which is otherwise satisfactory solely because of the foster parents' race. We are considering what further guidance is needed to make this clear.

  Medical Research
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to review the legislative control of non-National Health Service medical research practices.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 9 November 1989]: The Government have no general proposals for legislation in this area. However, proposals for dealing with embryo research are set out in the White Paper "Human Fertilisation and Embryology: A Framework for Legislation". We intend to bring forward legislation on this as soon as possible.

  Drugs (Development and Prescription)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new safeguards he intends to introduce for the development and the prescribing of drugs that act on the brain's 5HT receptors.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 9 November 1989]: Satisfactory controls already exist under the Medicines Act to ensure that newly developed drugs are examined for safety quality and efficacy by the Committee on Safety of Medicines before a product licence is granted. Doctors exercise clinical judgment in deciding whether to prescribe new drugs and in doing so have regard to information from a wide variety of sources including product data sheets. We have no plans at present to introduce any further safeguards.

ENERGY

  Sellafield
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has received from Lander administrations in the Federal Republic of Germany on health and safety standards at BNF Sellafield in relation to contracts with Federal German Utilities to reprocess spent fuel at Sellafield.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  No such representations have been made.

  Power Stations (Coal)
  Mr. Ashton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list for each year from 1980 to 1988, inclusive, the annual figure for consumption of coal at(a) Cottam, (b)
  826
  High Marnham and (c) West Burton power stations in Nottinghamshire; how many tons of this coal was supplied from Harworth colliery, Bevercoats colliery, Shireoaks-Steetley colliery and Manton colliery in Nottinghamshire; and how much from other United Kingdom collieries or imports.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  Arrangements for the delivery of coal from individual collieries to power stations are a matter for the day-to-day management of the Central Electricity Generating Board and British Coal. I am asking the chairmen to write to the hon. Member.

  Quality Industrial Users Scheme
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations he has carried out on the impact of privatisation of the electricity supply industry on the cost of electricity to large industrial users currently eligible for QUICS.

  Mr. Spicer
  The terms on which electricity is supplied after privatisation are a matter for negotiation between customers and their suppliers, subject to applicable statutory and licence obligations.

  Nuclear Power
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what consultations he has had with the chairmen of the 12 area boards about the impact on electricity prices of withdrawing Magnox and advanced gas-cooled reactors from the sale of the generating companies after vesting day under the Electricity Act;

  (2) what consultations he has had with the chairmen of the 12 area boards about the withdrawal of nuclear power stations from the privatisation of the electricity generators under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989;

  (3) what consultations he has had with the 12 area board chairmen in the electricity supply industry on the signing of contracts for nuclear power with the generating boards and companies.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  My right hon. Friend and I have discussions from time to time with area board chairmen on a wide range of issues.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is his current estimate of the date for starting negotiations on nuclear power contracts between the Central Electricity Generating Board and its successor generating companies and the area boards;

  (2) what is his latest estimate for the completion date of negotiations of nuclear power contracts between the Central Electricity Generating Board or National Power and the area boards;

  (3) what is his latest estimate of the length of time required for negotiating nuclear power contracts between the nuclear generating companies and boards and the area boards.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  Negotiations on nuclear contracts are under way. I hope they will be brought to a conclusion as soon as possible.

  Electricity (Sale of Assets)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is his latest estimate of the net proceeds of the sale of the assets of the electricity supply industry under the terms of the Electricity Act;
  827
  (2) what is his latest estimate of the proceeds from the sale of the electricity supply industry;

  (3) what is his current estimate of the Exchequer proceeds from the sale of the 12 area boards under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989, net of flotation and advertising costs;

  (4) what is his current estimate of the Exchequer proceeds from the sale of the generating companies under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989 net of all flotation and advertising costs.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  The market value of the generating companies and distribution companies will depend on a wide range of factors including the profitability of the companies, their capital structures, their future prospects and the state of the market. It is therefore too early to estimate the likely proceeds for the sale of the companies.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most up-to-date estimate of the total cost of decommissioning and nuclear waste management for the advanced gas-cooled reactors in England and Scotland.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  These are matters for the CEGB and SSEB. I have asked the chairmen to write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what proposals he has for capping the liability of National Power to decommissioning and nuclear waste management costs after vesting day under the terms of the Electricity Act.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  I refer the hon. Member to the statement that my right hon. Friend made on 9 November at column 1175.

  Electricity Privatisation
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his current estimate for the completion of the privatisation of the electricity supply industry under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  Our aim remains to privatise the industry within the lifetime of this Parliament.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is his current estimate of the date for flotation of the electricity generating companies under the terms of the Electricity Act;

  (2) what is his current estimate of the proportion of the total assets of the electricity supply industry of Great Britain that will have been privatised under the terms of the Electricity Act by the end of (a) 1990, (b) 1991 and (c)

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  The Government intend to float the successors to the area boards in the autumn of 1990, and to bring National Power and PowerGen to the market in the first half of 1991.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his current estimate of the date of vesting day under the Electricity Act.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  Our aim is to vest the new structure of the industry at the end of March 1990.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his latest estimate of the level of the non-fossil fuel quota in England and Wales under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989.
  828
  Mr. Michael Spicer
  I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy on 9 November.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most up-to-date estimate of the level of tax losses to be carried forward in the balance sheets of the Central Electricity Generating Board and its successor generating companies under the terms of the Electricity Act.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  The tax position of the CEGB is a matter for the board and the Inland Revenue, and is currently the subject of discussions between the two. The level of tax losses available to the successor companies will be determined in accordance with schedule 11 of the Electricity Act.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most up-to-date estimate on the level of capital write-offs to be made to the balance sheets of the Central Electricity Generating Board and its succcessor generating companies under the terms of the Electricity Act.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  Asset values in the acccounts of the CEGB and its successor companies are a matter for the bodies concerned and their respective auditors.

  Electricity Council
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his current estimate of the date for the abolition of the Electricity Council under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  There will be certain residual and transitional operations which the Electricity Council will not be able to complete before the transfer date. The Electricity Act 1989 therefore provides for the council's continued existence until such operations are completed, when it will be dissolved by order.

  The transitional period between the transfer date and the dissolution of the council is likely to be of several years' duration.

  Electricity Prices
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to announce the average level of change in electricity prices in England and Wales for the first quarter of 1990, relative to the 1 April to 31 December 1989 level.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  This is a matter for the Electricity Council. I shall ask the chairman of the council to write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to announce the terms of the bulk supply tariff agreement for the first quarter of 1990 between the area electricity boards and the Central Electricity Generating Board.

  Mr. Spicer
  This is a matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board. I shall ask the Chairman of the CEGB to write to the hon. Member.

EMPLOYMENT

  Occupational Therapists
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has concluded his inquiry into the future supply of occupational therapists; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 6 November 1989]: I have been asked to reply.

  We will not have the manpower planning advisory groups' report on the future supply of occupational therapists until spring next year. I am aware of the recent publication of the report, "Occupational Therapy, An Emerging Profession In Health Care", by a commission headed by Louis Blom-Cooper QC. This report is one of a number of topics that will be discussed with the College of Occupational Therapists when my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health meets it later this month.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Public Expenditure
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will give(a) the total public expenditure for each year from 1978–79 to 1989–90 showing the cost of each service in real terms and also as a percentage of the total and (b) the percentage growth of each service and of total expenditure in real terms.

  Mr. Lamont
  A breakdown of the public expenditure planning total by function for the years 1978–79 to 1989–90 in real terms (base year 1987–88), from which percentage changes can be derived, was given in table 21.4.7 of chapter 21 of the 1989 public expenditure White Paper (Cm 621). The proportions of total departmental spending devoted to particular functions was given in table 21.4.8 of the same publication.

  The figures in both these tables are based on the definition of the planning total used in the 1988 and earlier public expenditure surveys. As announced in Cm 441, the Government have decided to change the definition of the planning total. The plans to be published in the Autumn Statement will be on the new definition.

  Investment
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the percentage rate of growth of business investment for each year from 1979 to 1989 on the assumption that all firms transferred from the public sector to the private sector in the decade had been in the private sector from before 1979;

  (2) what is the percentage rate of growth of capital investment for each year from 1979 to 1989 on the assumption that all firms transferred from the public sector to the private sector in the decade had been in the private sector from before 1979;

  (3) what is the year by year rate of growth of (a) business investment in the United Kingdom for each year 1979 to 1989, (b) business investment in the United Kingdom for each year 1979 to 1989, excluding all investment by firms transferred from the public sector to the private sector during the decade, (c) capital
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  investment by manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom for each year from 1979 to 1989 and (d) capital investment by manufacturing industry from 1979 to 1989, excluding all firms transferred from the public sector to the private sector during the decade.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 7 November 1989]: For reasons of confidentiality, information of the kind requested relating to the movement of firms between sectors cannot be published. Estimates of total investment in fixed capital of public and private sector investment and of investment by manufacturing industry are given in chapter 13 of the 1989 edition of "United Kingdom National Accounts". Estimates, from 1979, of business investment in total are at current prices. They are given in the table.

  Business investment 1 at current market prices, annual per cent, growth rates

  Per cent.

  1979

  17·6

  1980

  11·6

  1981

  -0·3

  1982

  6·8

  1983

  5·1

  1984

  13·4

  1985

  12·8

  1986

  3·1

  1987

  15·8

  1988

  22·1

  1 Business investment is defined as private sector and public corporations gross domestic fixed capital formation excluding purchases less sales of land and existing buildings and private sector investment in dwellings.

  Agricultural Set-aside Schemes
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the costs to the Exchequer of set-aside schemes, showing income received from the EEC expenditure to farmers and the net expenditure saving to the Exchequer.

  Mr. Maclean
  I have been asked to reply.

  The expected cost to the Exchequer of payments in the current financial year is about £11 million, of which approximately 42 per cent. is reimbursable from the European guidance and guarantee fund. The net expenditure saving to the Exchequer depends on a number of factors: I will be in a better position to assess this once I have the results of an economic evaluation of the first year of the scheme. This evaluation is currently in progress.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Phytophthora Infestans
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research has been carried out in his Department into phytophthora infestans and with what result.

  Mr. Maclean
  Research conducted post-war by the advisory services has demonstrated the relationship between potato blight, caused by the fungus phytophthora infestans, and the economics of yield, and has determined the effects of weather on the proliferation of the disease from primary sources of infection in or near crops. This
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  work has led to the formulation, in collaboration with the Meteorological Office, of weather-based schemes to forecast the initiation of epidemics and the need to begin protective programmes of fungicide sprays to control the disease.

  The most recent research has been concerned with the control of potato blight with fungicides representing groups with different modes of action. Recently the main objective has been to monitor the distribution and incidence of strains of p. infestans resistant to the commonly used systemic fungicides and to evaluate the efficacy of proprietary products against natural epidemics in the field.

  Since 1986, resistance to phenylamide fungicides has been widespread in England and Wales. In 1988 and 1989, about 80 per cent. of potato blight samples contained p. infestans resistant to phenylamides. Consequently, the phenylamide component of fungicides for the control of potato blight has become unreliable. There have been no observations of resistance developing to other fungicide groups. Research has led to recommendations for the use of fungicides which will control the disease in the presence of phenylamide-resistance.

  The effect of the timing of fungicide sprays in relation to irrigation has also been investigated. Applications of the fungicide mancozeb one day before, one day after or five days after irrigation were equally effective in controlling potato blight.

  A survey of British potato crops (1986 and 1987) has shown that strains of p. infestans capable of stimulating sexual reproduction have entered the country. The risks of consequent genetic evolution towards more virulent strains of the pathogen, towards the development of insensitivity of fungicides, and towards the ability of such strains to persist in soil as viable spores are being evaluated.

  The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has also funded work, co-ordinated by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, on the evaluation of new varieties of potatoes. This work includes an assessment of varietal resistance to p. infestans, the results of which are made available in the National Institute of Agricultural Botany farmer's leaflet "Recommended Varieties of Potatoes."

  Straw and Stubble Burning
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any plans to stop straw and stubble burning by farmers on their land in 1990.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 9 November 1989 to my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Mr. Porter),Official Report, column 1158.

  EC (Guarantees)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the relative proportions of expenditure, in percentage terms, by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund on(a) guarantee, and (b) guidance sections for each of the last five years, for (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) the European Community as a whole.

  Mr. Maclean
  The information requested is as follows:
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  Percentage of Guarantee/Guidance Expenditure for United Kingdom and European Community as a whole (1984–88)

  Guarantee

  Guidance

  Total

  1984

  United Kingdom

  94·66

  5·34

  100

  European Community

  96·43

  3·57

  100

  1985

  United Kingdom

  94·18

  5·82

  100

  European Community

  96·48

  3·52

  100

  1986

  United Kingdom

  95·87

  4·19

  100

  European Community

  96·62

  3·38

  100

  1987

  United Kingdom

  95·22

  4·78

  100

  European Community

  96·19

  3·81

  100

  1988

  United Kingdom

  95·93

  4·07

  100

  European Community

  96·04

  3·96

  100

  Source Financial reports on the E.A.G.G.F.

  EC (Financial Support)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what financial support was given to agriculture in each of the member states of the European Economic Community in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Maclean
  Payments to member states for agricultural support under the common agricultural policy from the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund (EAGGF) in each of the last three years were as follows:

  EAGGF payments to member states for budget years 1986–88

  million ecu

  1986

  1987

  1988

  Belgium

  998·20

  842·60

  739·40

  Denmark

  1,087·60

  1,077·80

  1,226·10

  Germany

  4,510·10

  4,125·20

  5,036·10

  Greece

  1,476·50

  1,421·80

  1,452·30

  Spain

  271·45

  626·70

  1,977·70

  France

  5,635·80

  5,908·40

  6,491·10

  Ireland

  1,279·60

  1,047·60

  1,163·00

  Italy

  3,241·30

  4,085·30

  4,549·30

  Luxembourg

  4·40

  6·00

  5·30

  Netherlands

  2,295·70

  2,746·30

  3,837·00

  Portugal

  30·80

  177·10

  257·40

  United Kingdom

  2,073·60

  1,836·50

  2,077·60

  Total EC

  22,910·80

  23,876·40

  28,829·80

  Source: Financial reports on the EAGGF.

  Nuvan 500
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy in regard to the use of the chemical Nuvan 500 in fish farming.

  Mr. Curry
  Aquagard sea lice treatment (formerly Nuvan fish 500 EC) is licensed under the Medicines Act 1968 for the treatment of farmed salmon. The terms of the licence include strict conditions which must be observed by the user and are set out in the product labels. These include the need first to obtain a discharge consent from the local water authority. The licence is subject to review in June 1990.

  Eggs
  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the incidence of release of eggs on to the open market after being found by the port authority to be salmonella contaminated.

  Mr. Curry
  The arrangements for sampling imported eggs for salmonella contamination were explained in my answer to the hon. Member for East Lothian of 1 November, at column 210. Eggs are not detained and therefore the question of them being released (or not) when the test results become available does not arise.

  PCBs
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in which British coastal waters the greatest contamination of PCBs have been discovered.
  834
  Mr. Curry
  As a consequence of world-wide PCB use and release PCBs can be detected in most marine species, using sensitive analytical techniques. Within British coastal waters levels are generally highest in the north-east Irish sea/Liverpool bay area.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence of PCB contamination of British coastal waters has been discovered following the analysis of dead cetaceans.

  Mr. Curry
  Concentrations of PCBs in British coastal waters and cetaceans reflect inputs from world-wide sources. The analyses of dead cetaceans give no grounds for suspicion that PCB concentrations found were caused by a particular local discharge.