Written Answers of 10 December 1990

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Immigration Appeals
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Attorney-General what action he intends to take in order to improve facilities for immigration appeals in Leeds; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  The Lord Chancellor's Department is actively considering increasing the number of hearing rooms available at Coronet house, Leeds for hearing immigration appeals, and a survey will shortly be undertaken with a view to improving the ventilation facilities there. The Lord Chancellor's Department is also keeping under review facilities and staffing levels at all hearing centres in light of the increasing number of appeals.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will define the period of delay which is regarded as acceptable before immigration appeal hearings are heard; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  It is impractical to identify any particular period as more or less acceptable because of the widely differing nature of individual appeals, appellants and their representatives. For example, in appeals from persons abroad, their representatives in the United Kingdom may need considerable time to obtain instructions from the appellants.

  A

  B

  C1

  A+B/C

  Cases received by adjudicators

  Applications received for leave to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal

  Average number of staff in post at the Immigration Appellate Authorities

  1987

  9,735

  1,256

  77

  142·7

  1988

  14,365

  2,211

  79

  209·8

  1989

  18,707

  3,143

  81

  269·8

  19902

  19,653

  2,836

  85

  264·6

  1 Excluding Judicial Personnel.

  2 January to October 1990.

  Birmingham Pub Bombings
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Attorney-General by whom the judges who will hear the appeal of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings will be selected.

  The Attorney-General
  The allocation of judges to the Court of Appeal criminal division is the responsibility of the Lord Chief Justice. The allocation of individual cases to those judges is the responsibility of the registrar of criminal appeals and his staff, subject to and in accordance with any directions given by the court.
  246
  The Lord Chancellor's Department, however, seeks to keep waiting times for hearings to the minimum that the procedural rules, volume of business and available resources permit.

  Mr. Hinchliffe.
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the number of hearing rooms, adjudicators and support staff available in order to process immigration appeals; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  The number of hearing rooms, adjudicators and support staff are being kept under constant review by the Lord Chancellor's Department in light of the rising volume of immigration appeals. In 1989, additional resources were made available to the immigration appellate authorities (IAA) which resulted in a 50 per cent. increase in the number of cases disposed of. The figures requested were as follows on 1 December 1990:

  Adjudicators

  1 Chief Adjudicator

  11 Full-time Adjudicators

  70 Part-Time Adjudicators

  23½ Hearing Rooms1

  Immigration Appeal Tribunal ( IAT)

  1 President

  2 Vice-Presidents

  2 Part-Time Chairmen

  2 Hearing Rooms2

  Support Staff. for Adjudicators and IAT

  85 The IAA has been authorised to increase this figure to 96½, and the additional staff should be in post in early 1991.

  1 Adjudicators are permanently based at Thanet House in London, Harmondsworth, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds but also hear appeals periodically at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.

  2 At Thanet House in London.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will quantify the ratio of immigration appeal personnel to immigration appeal cases on an annual basis for the last three years for which figures are available.

  The Attorney-General
  The information requested is set out in the table.

  The Birmingham Six appeals will be heard by Lord Justice Lloyd, Lord Justice Mustill and Lord Justice Farquharson.

  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Attorney-General if discussions have taken place between the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Lord Chief Justice regarding the management of the case of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings.
  247
  The Attorney-General
  Any discussions which the Director of Public Prosecutions might have with the judiciary in his official capacity would be confidential and would not be disclosed.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Football Matches
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding policing costs for football matches.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  We have received representations from the Football League, ACPO and the local authority associations as well as from right hon. and hon. Members on the terms of a proposed Home Office circular. The draft circular advises police authorities to recover as far as practicable the full cost of providing police officers inside football grounds.

  We are now considering the comments received.

  Fire Brigade Employees
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any conveniently available figures for the number of employees of fire brigades who have left to take up positions in the middle east.

  Mr. John Patten
  The information requested is not held centrally.

  Suicide
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in the light of the apparent suicide of Edwin Robinson in Brixton, he will now publish the report of Judge Tumim on Brixton prison.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  We hope to do so shortly.

  Women Prisoners
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women are in prison for(a) theft and handling stolen goods and (b) fraud and forgery; and if he will provide a breakdown of the categories they fall into.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The latest readily available information is given in the table.

  Female sentenced prisoners1 in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales on 30 June 1990: by offence

  Offence

  Number2

  Theft of motor vehicle

  —

  Taking and driving away

  1

  Other thefts

  161

  Handling stolen goods

  49

  Frauds

  44

  Forgery

  6

  Other known offences

  843

  Offence not recorded

  149

  All offences

  1,253

  1 Including those committed in default of payment of a fine.

  2 Provisional figures.

  Wounding
  Mr. Butcher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders convicted of grievous wounding have committed the same offence after serving a prison sentence for the first conviction on that offence since 1985.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  Information is not available in the form requested. However, it has been estimated that of some 5,800 adult males discharged in 1986 from serving a prison sentence for a conviction of violence against the person, some 2,520 (44 per cent.) were reconvicted of a standard list offence within two years of release; for some 670 the first such conviction was for an offence of violence against the person: that is, approximately 12 per cent. of the 5,800. More information on the reconvictions of persons released from prison service establishments can be found in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales", a copy of which is in the Library.

  Prisoners
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the length of time(a) the longest serving prisoner currently on remand and (b) the longest currently serving convicted prisoner has served.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  According to the records held centrally, which are approximate, the latest readily available information is as follows.

  The longest period a person had been held in custody on 30 September 1990 awaiting or during his trial was just over two years and seven months. The trial was completed on 1 November.

  On 30 September 1990 the longest continuous period spent in prison service custody under sentence by a serving prisoner was just over 38 years and two months. One other serving prisoner who had been recalled following an earlier release on life sentence licence had spent a total of almost 40 years and 10 months in prison service establishments under sentence.

  Domestic Servants
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his review of the arrangements for the admission to the United Kingdom of domestic servants accompanying their employer makes special reference to Kuwait; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The conclusions of the review which were announced in another place by my noble Friend Lord Ferrers on 24 July at columns 1449–50 apply regardless of nationality to arrangements for overseas domestic servants to be admitted to the United Kingdom to continue working for an employer who comes here. Any application to enter or remain in the United Kingdom made as a result of the invasion of Kuwait will be carefully and sympathetically considered.

  Isle of Wight Prisons
  Mr. Janman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the timetable for a scheme to use locally manufactured refuse-derived fuel for a combined heat and power scheme for Isle of Wight prison complexes at Camphill, Albany and Parkhurst; and if he will make it his policy to promote the rapid conclusion of such a scheme.
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  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  I understand that the Isle of Wight council is in negotiation with one of the electricity supply companies to construct a power station on the island capable of consuming the total output of refuse-derived fuels produced on the island.

  The Home Office study into using such fuel for its prisons on the island has therefore been suspended.

  Renewable Energy
  Mr. Janman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's policy on promoting the use of recycled materials and renewable energies where relevant to his Department's activities.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The Department is investigating the use of refuse-derived fuel (RDF). At the present time one prison is utilising RDF as a replacement for coal on a long-term trial and three other prisons are being looked at to see if they are suitable to undertake similar trials.

  Combined Heat and Power
  Mr. Janman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is proposing to take to ensure that the prison service reaps the maximum financial and environmental benefits from combined heat and power schemes and that such schemes are given priority.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The Department is currently appraising combined heat and power schemes but no decisions have yet been taken to install them in any of our establishments.

  Alcohol Misuse
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the projects and centres to which his Department has contributed financially in respect of research into alcohol misuse, with the figure for each such project or centre in the present financial year.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  During the past three years the Home Office has commissioned or carried out the following projects:A survey of drinking in England and Wales, conducted by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys;
  The Newport alcohol abuse and social disorder demonstration project;
  An evaluation of the effects of experimental byelaws to control public drinking in the central parts of various towns and cities, conducted by the Home Office crime prevention unit;
  An assessment of the role of economic models in understanding the links between alcohol and crime, conducted by the university of York centre for health economics; and
  A study of drinking and disorder in non-metropolitan areas, carried out by the Home Office research and planning unit.

  In the current financial year the Home Office has spent £15,000 on research into alcohol misuse.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy towards the use of data for computer matching to create personal computer profiles for commercial and mailing purposes.
  250
  Mrs. Rumbold
  We will carefully consider any recommendation the Data Protection Registrar may make when his consideration of the issue of computer matching is complete.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to increase the funding of the office of the Data Protection Registrar; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  We have agreed a 1991–92 increase of 8·6 per cent. in cash terms on the previous year. Funding will continue to be determined in the light of expenditure bids and overall public spending constraints.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement concerning the retention of data concerning acquittals on police computer records.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The recording of data on police force computers is a matter for individual chief officers. They are guided by the code of practice for police computer systems which has been prepared by the Association of Chief Police Officers. A copy of the code is in the Library. Prosecution information is not retained on the police national computer in the event of an acquittal.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there are any United Kingdom Government or European Community proposals to extend data protection legislation to manual files; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The Government have no present plans to extend data protection legislation to manual files. The draft directive on data protection, issued by the Commission of the European Communities on 13 September, covers structured collections of manual data. Negotiations on the draft are expected to start next year.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions were initiated by the Data Protection Registrar in(a) 1987, (b) 1938, (c) 1989 and (d) 1990 to date; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The figures, collected by reference to the time when cases were brought to court, are as follows:

  Number

  1987

  1

  1988

  4

  1989

  19

  11990

  17

  1 To date.

  Most of the prosecutions were for failure to register. Good practice in the handling of data is enforced primarily through discussions with data users or their representative bodies, supported where necessary by enforcement notices.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has made within the European Community concerning the issuing of a directive on data protection; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  None as yet. The Government are consulting United Kingdom organisations with an interest
  251
  in data protection and will take their views into account in negotiations on the draft directive. We expect these to start next year.

  Charities
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals for the reform of the law affecting charities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The Government's proposals are set out in the White Paper, "Charities: A Framework for the Future", which was presented to Parliament on 16 May 1989.

  Personal Advisers
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many personal advisers Ministers of his Department have; if he will list them by name, showing the date of appointment, salary bands and areas of responsibility; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  One special adviser, Mr. Tony Kerpel, is employed in the Home Office. He was appointed with effect from 3 December 1990. He will provide advice on a wide range of Home Office subjects.

  It is not the practice to disclose the salaries of individual advisers as they are negotiated individually in relation to previous outside earnings and are therefore confidential.

  Durham Prison
  Mr. Trotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what action he is taking following the criticism of the prison authorities made by Mr. Justice Potts in connection with the murder in Durham prison of 19-year-old Darren Brook; and whether such action will seek to establish responsibility for what happened and seek to prevent its recurrence;

  (2) if he will call for a report on the circumstances in which Darren Brook was confined in a cell at Durham prison with a long-term prisoner, having been sentenced to a period of custody in a young offenders' institution; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  A full investigation was carried out into the circumstances of Mr. Brook's tragic death as a matter of urgency by the governor at Durham prison in January of this year. This led to the implementation of revised and improved procedures on the young offender wing. The trial judge, Mr. Justice Potts, has expressed satisfaction at the steps taken at the prison to avoid a similar occurrence and I am similarly satisfied. A fellow young offender has recently been convicted of Mr. Brook's murder.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the analysis of returns from justices' clerks regarding the number of poll tax liability orders made by magistrates courts is now available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The analysis of returns from justices' clerks is not complete but responses are available from 89 per cent. of justices' clerks. These show that by the end of September liability orders had been made against 344,307 people. We will continue to monitor the situation.

  Overseas Electors
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the ministerial and departmental visits made overseas in 1990 in connection with the promotion of the changes in the rights of overseas electors; what, in each case, was the cost to public funds; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Neither Home Office Ministers nor officials made visits overseas as part of the publicity arrangements for the extension of the overseas franchise under the Representation of the People Act 1989.

  Police Complaints Procedure
  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report on the location of exhibits requested by Paul Malone, a constituent of Liverpool, Broadgreen, to allow him to proceed with action against certain police officers and on the reasons why they have not been released to him; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I understand that Mr. Malone has recently obtained summonses against three officers of the Cheshire constabulary. The supply of police documents to the courts is a matter for the chief officer of police.

  Carriers' Liabilities Act
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sums have been paid by each airline consequent upon the Immigration (Carriers' Liabilities) Act 1987 and by way of penalty for carrying non-visa holders from visa countries.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  It is not the practice to disclose information on the record of individual airlines under the Act. The total amount incurred by all carriers (that is, airlines and sea operators) to mid-November 1990 was £22·792 million, of which £8·135 million had been paid; liabilities had been waived in respect of £1·142 million, leaving £13·515 million outstanding.

  Separate information on the payments relating to the carriage of visa nationals without valid visas is not available.

TRANSPORT

  Rear Lights
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to limit the number and intensity of permitted red lights in car rear windows.

  Mr. Chope
  I have no plans to limit the number of red lights that may be fitted at the rear of cars or to introduce additional limits for intensity except that additional stop lamps fitted in rear windows on new cars sold after 1 April 1991 will be limited to half the intensity of standard stop lamps.

  Buses
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effective measures are available to promote the use of buses, as referred to in the White Paper "This Common Inheritance"; and if he will make a statement.
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  Mr. Freeman
  A variety of traffic management measures including with flow and contra-flow bus lanes, priority at traffic signals, exemptions from prohibited turns, bus stop clearways, and other types of waiting and loading restrictions are available to give buses an advantage over other traffic.

  My Department is examining current practice with a view to issuing further guidance for the benefit of local authorities, bus operators, and enforcement agencies.

  Rail Freight
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what level of grant aid or subsidy was provided to rail freight for each year between 1979 and 1989.

  Mr. Freeman
  British Rail's freight business has a commercial remit, and has received no Government grant aid or subsidy in these years apart from its share of level crossings grant under EC regulation 1192/69. Other bodies can receive grants towards the cost of rail freight facilities under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 if a switch from road freight to rail produces worthwhile environmental benefits at a reasonable cost. Since 1979 the Government have awarded 136 section 8 grants totalling £53 million, removing over 25 million tonnes of freight a year from the roads.

  Bypasses
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what guidance is given by his Department to local authorities in assessing the need to construct bypasses;

  (2) what provision he has made in the estimate of spending need for the next financial year of the Cheshire county council for capital expenditure upon road construction; what is the comparable figure in real and cash terms for the current financial year; and what consideration he gave in setting these figures to the need to construct the Wheelock bypass.

  Mr. Chope
  Transport supplementary grant and credit approvals for capital expenditure on local roads are allocated in the light of information presented in the annual transport policies and programme submissions from the 108 local highway authorities in England. The allocations for 1991–92 will be announced shortly.

  Cheshire county council's latest submission shows that the main works on the Wheelock bypass are not due to start until 1993–94 and that the authority plans to spend only £55,000 on its design and other preliminary expenses in 1991–92.

  Motor Cars
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is considering to penalise the promotion of motor car manufacture and sales based on power, speed and acceleration as against efficiency, safety and fuel economy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  I have discussed with repesentatives of the Advertising Standards Authority how to encourage car manufacturers to place less emphasis on speed in their advertising. The Advertising Standards Authority has recently required the withdrawal of several advertise-ments.

  Vehicle Emissions
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is achieved by the use of lead-free petrol when measured against leaded petrol; and if he will quantify this reduction per annum.

  Mr. Chope
  Using unleaded rather than leaded fuel results in a small reduction of fuel efficiency and therefore increased emissions of carbon dioxide. The use of unleaded fuel helps to reduce emissions of lead from vehicles into the air and is essential to the operation of catalytic converters which reduce emissions of other pollutants. The Government will continue to promote the widespread use of unleaded fuel which now accounts for almost 40 per cent. of petrol sales.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what would be the resultant reduction in pollutants emitted by car exhausts if a zero growth in domestic vehicles was achieved against projections of growth in these vehicles over the next decade.

  Mr. Chope
  Total emissions depend on the amount of traffic and the rate of emissions per vehicle. Assuming that three-way catalysts are fitted to new cars from the end of 1992, and taking the mid-point between the Department's high and low traffic demand growth forecasts, emissions of carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons from cars are expected to decline by over half between 1991 and 2000.

  If the average fuel efficiency of cars remains constant over the same period and the same mid-point traffic demand forecast is used, we would expect carbon dioxide emissions from cars to grow by about 30 per cent. However, there is considerable scope for fuel efficiency improvement in this sector and it is not possible at this stage to make any useful estimate of what the actual change in carbon dioxide emissions might be.

  Speed Limits, Essex
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects a decision to be taken on Essex county council's highway committee's application of October 1988 to extend the 30 mph and 40 mph speed limit zones in Danbury; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: A decision in principle will be sent to Essex county council before the end of this month.

  Subject to the completion of the necessary statutory procedures, the Secretary of State could confirm an order early in 1991.

WALES

  Alcohol Misuse
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the projects and centres to which his Department has contributed financially in respect of research into alcohol misuse, with the figure for each such project or centre in the present financial year.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on Wednesday 5 December 1990, c.150.
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  Additionally some funding from the Department for generic activity has been applied to work related to alcohol misuse.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish any circulars and draft guidance issued by his Department in pursuance of the announcement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at his Department on Drinkwise day of finance for projects to tackle alcohol abuse.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The relevant circulars, WHC(90)78 and WHC(90)79, were issued on 5 December 1990. Copies of these are in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what targets he expects to be met as a result of the provision for alcohol abuse, as announced by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at his Department on Drinkwise day.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  Short-term targets will be sent when allocations are made, taking into account what health and local authorities consider can be achieved by their proposed projects. These will contribute towards

  The numbers and percentages of full-time students over 16 years of age

  Further education and tertiary colleges1

  Maintained secondary schools2

  11–18

  Other3

  Number

  Per cent.

  Number

  Per cent.

  Number

  Per cent.

  Total students

  Clwyd

  1,632

  53

  1,040

  34

  420

  14

  3,092

  Dyfed

  1,215

  47

  1,388

  53

  —

  —

  2,603

  Gwent

  1,849

  61

  1,106

  37

  63

  2

  3,018

  Gwynedd

  837

  52

  773

  48

  —

  —

  1,610

  Mid Glamorgan

  1,549

  48

  1,651

  52

  —

  —

  3,200

  Powys

  354

  49

  374

  51

  —

  —

  728

  South Glamorgan

  1,156

  43

  1,278

  48

  233

  9

  2,667

  West Glamorgan

  2,210

  76

  682

  24

  —

  —

  2,892

  Wales

  10,802

  55

  8,292

  42

  716

  4

  19,810

  1 Full time and sandwich students on further education courses at higher and further education and tertiary colleges. Aged 17 and 18 at 31 August 1989.

  2 Aged 17, 18 and a small number of 19 year olds (that is, 60) as at 31 August 1989.

  3 6th form colleges in Clwyd and South Glamorgan and senior comprehensive school (14–18) in Gwent.

  Hospital Treatment
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the chairmen of the health authorities on the computation of appropriate charges for cross-border flows of patients for hospital treatment(a) inside and outside Wales and (b) across health authority boundaries within Wales.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  None. National health service service providers both inside and outside Wales will be expected to price their services on the basis of what it costs to provide them; and charges will accordingly vary as between providers. Information systems are being improved to facilitate more accurate and detailed costing of services in the future.

  Ewe Premium
  Mr. Geraint Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in paying the second instalment of the ewe premium scheme to Welsh sheep producers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The second advance payment has, in fact, been brought forward and has already been issued to
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  achieving the long-term aim set by the Health Promotion Authority for Wales in the health for all strategy. Examples of good practice will be circulated.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Livsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of disabled people employed in his Department; and what is the target quota.

  Mr. David Hunt
  My Department employs 29 people who are registered disabled; they represent 1·3 per cent. of all staff. The target quota is 3 per cent.

  Student Courses
  Mr. Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what numbers and what percentages of full-time students over the age of 16 years in each county in Wales are studying in(a) further education and tertiary colleges and (b) maintained 11 to 18 years schools.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The information for 1989–90 is as follows:

  95 per cent. of the 17,700 claimants. The first and second advances together will have benefited farmers' cash flow by around £25 million.

  National Library of Wales
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral answer of 3 December,Official Report, columns 4–5, if he will place a copy of the staff inspection report into the national library of Wales, Aberystwyth in the Library.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  It is not the Department's practice to place copies of staff inspection reports in the Library of the House.

  South Glamorgan Health Authority
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority regarding the level of baseline budget for the next financial year.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  My right hon. Friend has had no such discussions to date; but he will be meeting the chairmen of all district health authorities in Wales early in the new year to discuss allocations for 1991–92.

  Land Use, Glamorgan
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the areas of unused or underused land in Glamorgan; and in respect of what proportion of that land there are no firm proposals for development.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  This information is not available. However, land registers have been published, and are available for inspection at both the Department's Cardiff office and each district authority's main office, showing unused or underused land held by the public sector in the districts of Cardiff, Lliw Valley, Ogwr, Rhymney Valley, Swansea, Taff Ely, and the Vale of Glamorgan.

  Programme for the Valleys
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any plans for the future of the programme for the valleys; and whether he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I have announced my intentions for the future of the programme for the valleys today. They are set out in the documents "The Valleys: Partnership with the People". I have sent a copy to each right hon. and hon. Member whose constituency falls within the valleys programme area and have also placed copies in the Library of the House.

  Gipsy Sites
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report a list of all authorised gipsy sites in Wales, indicating when they were established, together with the ordnance survey grid reference number for each site.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The information requested is given in the following table.

  Date established

  OS grid reference

  Official local authority sites

  Morfa, Llanelli

  1962

  SS 52000/98400

  Kingsmoor Common, Kilgetty

  1968

  SN 1200/0680

  Cwmcrachan, Nantyglo

  1969

  SO 195/112

  Under the Hills, Haverfordwest

  1974

  SM 94300/14300

  Upper Race, Pontypool

  1975

  SO 276/000

  Withybush, Haverfordwest

  1976

  SM 95800/19600

  Catshole Quarry, Pembroke

  1978

  SM 985/029

  Llandegai, Bangor

  1980

  SH 593/713

  Withybeds, Welshpool

  1981

  SJ 235/070

  Glynmil, Merthyr Tydfil

  1982

  SO 059/049

  Waterloo, Pembroke

  1982

  SM 980/035

  Shirenewton, Cardiff

  1984

  ST 323/179

  Rover Way, Cardiff

  1985

  ST 321/176

  Ruthin Road, Wrexham

  1986

  SJ 310/504

  Pantyblawd Road, Morriston

  1988

  SN 6762/9825

  Briton Ferry

  1989

  SS 7347/9368

  Private sites

  Clwyd

  Milfords, Tyn Y Morfa

  Information not available

  Dee Bank, Bagillt

  Information not available

  Dyfed

  Thorhill Road, Cwmgwili

  Information not available

  Pontrhydybishwell, Lotwen Road, Cwmgwili

  Information not available

  258

  Date established

  OS grid reference

  Gwynedd

  Bethesda

  Information not available

  Mid Glamorgan

  Pandy Road Caravan Park, Bedwas

  Information not available

  Note: This information is provided by the local planning authorities in Wales.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

  Sudanese Refugees
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions he has had with British representatives of organisations working with Sudanese Christian refugees as to possible financial assistance for their work; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Alison
  None, because the Commissioners' funds are not by law available for such purposes. The primary duty of the Commissioners is the support of the full-time parochial ministry of the Church of England, in service and retire-ment, and the bulk of their income is used for that purpose.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Balance of Payments
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what increase in gross domestic product, real disposable incomes and consumer expenditure in each of the years 1985 to 1990 would have been compatible in terms of the Treasury economic model with a continuing balance of payments surplus on current account; and if he will publish in the Official Report a table using the data in the Treasury model to compare the actual with the required outcome in terms of interest rates, employment, unemployment, manufacturing output and house prices.

  Mr. Mellor
  It has not, since 1978, been the practice to run particular simulations on the Treasury model to meet specific outside requests; but the hon. Member will be aware that the current version of the model is available for Members' use through the Library.

  Community Charge
  Mr. Radice
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has concerning the percentage of gross income accounted for by the community charge at different levels of gross income.

  Mr. Mellor
  Community charges vary widely according to the area in which households happen to live; their entitlement to transitional relief; and their entitlement to community charge benefit. Information on the relationship between these net payments and gross income will be available in due course from sample surveys such as the 1990 family expenditure survey.

  The Gulf
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic consequences of a military option in the Gulf.
  259
  Mr. Mellor
  [holding answer 29 November 1990]: The Government's firm objective is to resolve the Gulf crisis by peaceful means on the basis of full implementation of the resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council. To achieve this, it is essential to establish a credible military option, so that Saddam Hussein is left in no doubt that he is facing a military force which could compel him to leave Kuwait. My right hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Major) drew attention in his autumn statement to uncertainties in the economic outlook generated by the Gulf crisis.

  Manufacturing Trade
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the increase in imports of manufactures since 1973 originated in other EEC countries; whether he expects the figure to increase or decrease as a result of (i) the Single European Act and (ii) full membership of the EMS; and what is the latest figure for import penetration for the EEC.

  Index of volume of exports of manufactured goods

  1985 = 100 Seasonally adjusted

  United Kingdom

  Federal Republic of Germany

  France

  United States of America

  Japan

  1970

  62

  46

  45

  60

  27

  1971

  67

  48

  49

  60

  33

  1972

  67

  53

  55

  66

  35

  1973

  76

  61

  61

  81

  37

  1974

  80

  69

  70

  94

  43

  1975

  78

  57

  68

  91

  44

  1976

  85

  64

  74

  95

  55

  1977

  91

  67

  80

  95

  60

  1978

  90

  70

  83

  101

  60

  1979

  90

  74

  92

  109

  59

  1980

  91

  78

  92

  122

  69

  1981

  85

  81

  94

  116

  77

  1982

  87

  84

  92

  100

  74

  1983

  87

  83

  94

  94

  82

  1984

  94

  95

  99

  100

  95

  1985

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  1986

  104

  102

  106

  99

  99

  1987

  112

  105

  111

  112

  99

  1988

  120

  112

  121

  132

  103

  1989

  132

  122

  131

  146

  108

  1990 Q1

  140

  130

  144

  165

  106

  Q2

  145

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  111

  Q3

  142

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Source:

  United Kingdom figures from the CSO Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics.

  All other countries from the United Nations Monthly Bulletin of Statistics.

THE ARTS

  British Library
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what assessment he has made of the effect on scientific research in the United Kingdom of financial decisions imposed on the British library, including the cut in scientific journals.

  Mr. Renton
  It is for the British library board to decide on the allocation of its resources, taking into account the needs of its clients. The library is arranging alternative access where possible to the scientific journals and hopes to reinstate them in 1992. Most of them will continue to be taken by the library's document supply centre. The grant in aid for 1991–92 will be £63·79 million, an increase of 10 per cent. over the current year.
  260
  Mr. Mellor
  A total of 57 per cent. of the increase in the value of imports of manufactures between 1973 and 1989 originated from the EC. The EC's share in the United Kingdom's total trade, both exports and imports, can be expected to rise as a result of the Single European Act and full membership of the EMS. Figures for import penetration in each of the EC countries can be obtained from the latest issue of "International Financial Statistics", published by the International Monetary Fund.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each year since 1970 and for the latest quarter, in index form based on 1985, the volume of exports of manufactures from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the United States of America and Japan.

  Mr. Leigh
  I have been asked to reply.

  The information is in the table.

  Performing Arts (Deficits)
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on the level of deficits in performing arts companies.

  Mr. Renton
  [holding answer 5 December 1990]: I am advised by the funding bodies that in total the accumulated forecast deficits at the end of this financial year for performing arts companies, including theatre companies, in Britain will be approximately £20·8 million. There are wide variations in the financial circumstances of the companies, both national and regional, within this total.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on(a) national and (b) regional theatre companies in deficit.
  261
  Mr. Renton
  [holding answer 5 December 1990]: I understand that in total the accumulated forecast deficits at the end of the current financial year for the two national theatre companies are just over £3 million. The figure for other Arts Council-funded theatre companies is approximately £3·5 million, and the figure for theatre companies funded by the Scottish and Welsh Arts Councils and the regional arts associations is approximately £2·5 million. There are wide variations in the financial circumstances of individual companies, both national and regional, within these estimates.

PRIME MINISTER

  Downing Street (Gates)
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Prime Minister if he has any plans to dismantle the gates at the end of Downing street.

  The Prime Minister
  I have nothing further to add to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 6 December at column 166.

  Fiscal and Environmental Policy
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will now take steps to achieve the integration of fiscal and environmental policy.

  The Prime Minister
  We already seek to ensure that all the environmental implications of policy decisions under discussion are considered before conclusions are reached. My right hon. Friend has nominated the Minister of State, Treasury the Minister responsible for considering the environmental implications of policies.

  Ministerial Committee on the Environment
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Prime Minister how he intends to ensure parliamentary accountability of the new ministerial committee on the environment.

  The Prime Minister
  Cabinet Committees are internal mechanisms for co-ordinating policy within Government. They do not affect ministerial accountability to Parliament.

  Parliamentary Sitting Times
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will establish a review of the hours at which the House sits and the dates of the summer recess.

  The Prime Minister
  I have nothing to add to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Sir R. McCrindle) on 6 December at column 452.

  Nature Conservation
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister which Minister is responsible for answering for the actions of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee; and if he will publish a table showing the resource allocations to England, Scotland and Wales and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee for 1991–92 as compared with the recommendations in the Inbucon report.

  The Prime Minister
  The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is a committee of all three country councils 262
  each of which is answerable to its own territorial Secretary of State for all its functions, including those exercised through the JNCC. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment would normally expect to take the lead in answering any questions about the committee.

  The predecessor of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment announced on 9 November that the grant in aid to the Nature Conservancy Council for England (NCCE) in 1991–92 had been set provisionally at £32·411 million. Announcements about the grant in aid to be provided to the new agencies in Scotland and Wales will be made shortly by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales respectively.

  The Inbucon report was commissioned by the Nature Conservancy Council to assist it in preparing its proposed forward plans. It was made available on request by the council in October. The figures contained in the report are therefore already available for examination.

  Hospitals (Foreign Use)
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Prime Minister how many unused or disused civilian or military hospitals in the United Kingdom are owned or run by foreign Governments or armies; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  Details of civilian hospitals owned or run by foreign Governments are not available.

  United States forces have contingency hospitals at RAF Chessington, RAF Little Rissington, RAF Nocton Hall and RAF Bicester. These are laid out as hospitals, but supplies and staff have to be brought in to activate them at a time of crisis.

ENVIRONMENT

  Village Green, Bromley Cross
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to hold a public inquiry into the ownership of the common land known as the village green at Brick Back, Bromley Cross, Bolton; what representations he has received about this land; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  The ownership of the land at Brick Back, which has been registered as village green, has been referred to a commons commissioner, in accordance with section 8 of the Commons Registration Act 1965. A commissioner will hear evidence on ownership at a hearing to be held on 12 February 1991 at Bolton town hall. To date a number of representations have been received from Bromley Cross residents, four of whom claim to have knowledge of the ownership of the land.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the percentage of persons subject to the community charge who are exempted on the basis of category C9: residential care workers who are employed at a very low salary for each local authority in England.

  Mr. Key
  From the returns received by the Department, the table gives the information requested for those authorities which reported 20 or more persons in the category of exemptions on 1 June 1990. The average proportion for England as a whole is ·004 per cent.
  263

  Number of residential care workers employed at a very low salary who were exempt from the personal community charge on 1 June 1990, as a percentage of the number of persons subject to a personal community charge on 1 June 1990

  Authority

  Per cent.

  Camden

  0·01

  Cotswold

  0·04

  East Dorset

  0·16

  Forest of Dean

  0·08

  Hackney

  0·07

  Hillingdon

  0·02

  Leicester

  0·01

  Liverpool

  0·01

  Northavon

  0·07

  Plymouth

  0·02

  Richmond-on-Thames

  0·04

  Scarborough

  0·12

  Stockton-on-Tees

  0·02

  Wakefield

  0·01

  Wandsworth

  0·02

  Wealden

  0·03

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to protect community charge payers from cuts in local authority services due to community charge limitations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  The action we have taken, and shall not hesitate to take again, is to protect charge payers from authorities' excessive budgets.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will undertake a review of the level of aggregate external finance being made available to local authorities in 1991–92;

  (2) if he will undertake a review of the level of revenue support grant being made available to local authorities in 1991–92;

  (3) when he intends to bring before the House the final reports of the local authority finance settlement for 1991–92;

  (4) if he will undertake a review of the phased withdrawal of the area protection grant from local authorities in 1991–92 and 1992–93; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  Formal consultation on our proposals for the local government finance settlement ended on 28 November. My right hon. Friend is now considering the representations made. He expects to lay the settlement reports before the House soon.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his best estimates of the size of the average poll tax bill in 1991–92.

  Mr. Portillo
  My right hon. Friend has made no estimate of the average level of community charges in 1991–92, which depends upon the decisions of the local authorities. If authorities spent in line with their standard spending assessments, the average community charge should be close to £380.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he expects to conclude his review of the poll tax;

  (2) if he has any plans to undertake a fundamental review of the poll tax transitional relief scheme for its operation in 1991–92;
  264
  (3) if he has any plans to undertake a fundamental review of the operation of the joint and several liability provisions of the poll tax for 1991–92;

  (4) if he will list all those bodies he intends to consult on the future of local government finance.

  Mr. Portillo
  My right hon. Friend announced on 5 December that we shall be conducting a fundamental review of local government finance and structure.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to undertake a review of the existing restrictions on the use of capital receipts by local authorities for 1991–92.

  Mr. Portillo
  We are already consulting on changes which we consider to be necessary for 1991–92. The local authority associations have recently submitted a paper setting out their proposals and this will be considered carefully.

  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people serving in Her Majesty's forces have appealed against their being included on the community charge register; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a review of his proposed poll tax-capping rules for 1991–92; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  As I told the House on 3 December, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I stick firmly by the intended criteria announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr. Patten) on 31 October.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each local authority his proposed basic credit approval for 1991–92.

  Mr. Portillo
  Basic credit approvals for individual local authorities for 1991–92 will be announced in due course. I will arrange for a copy of this information to be placed in the Library of the House of Commons when it is available.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to review his proposed standard spending assessments for local authorities for 1991–92.

  Mr. Portillo
  We are considering the representations made in response to our proposals for 1991–92 as set out in the statement on 31 October. We will announce our decisions shortly.

  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all working papers, implementation documents, departmental circulars and other publications, regulations and notices, in draft or final form, that have been issued in 1990 arising from the implementation of the poll tax.

  Mr. Key
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: My Department has issued the following regulations, practice notes and consultation documents on the community charge and the national non-domestic rating system in 1990.
  265
  Regulations

  The Personal Community Charge (Relief) (England) Regulations 1990/2

  The Standard Community Charge (Multipliers) Order 1990/129

  The Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1990/145

  The Community Charges (Co-owners) Regulations 1990/146

  The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 1990/156

  The Standard Community Charge and Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Domestic Property) Order 1990/162

  The Wimbledon and Putney Commons (Special Levies) Regulations 1990/201

  The Commons Regulations (Therfield) Provisional Order Confirmation Act 1988 (Amendment) Order 1990/233

  The City of London (Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier) Order 1990/340

  The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/366

  The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (City of London) Regulations 1990/369

  The Personal Community Charge (Relief) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/402

  The Personal Community Charge (Exemption for the Severely Mentally Impaired) Order 1990/462

  The Central Rating Lists (Amendment) Regulations 1990/502

  Community Charges (Deductions from Income Support) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/545

  The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1990/582

  The Non-Domestic Rating (Transitional Period) Regulations 1990/608

  The Non-Domestic Rating (Caravan Sites) Regulations 1990/673

  The Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/711

  The Personal Community Charge (Qualifying Courses of Education) Regulations 1990/712

  The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/769

  The Local Government Finance (Repeals, Savings and Consequential Amendments) Order 1990/776

  The General Rate Act 1967 and Related Provisions (Savings and Consequential Provision) Regulations 1990/777

  The Gas and Electricity Industries (Rateable Values) (Amendment) Order 1990/804

  The Community Charges (Notices) (Substitute Charges) (England) Regulations 1990/942

  The Local Government Finance (Miscellaneous Amendments and Repeal) Order 1990/1285

  The Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/1426

  The Central Rating Lists (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/1566

  The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/1822

  The Non-Domestic Rating (Payment of Interest) Regulations 1990/1904

  The Personal Community Charge (Students) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/1986.

  The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 1990/2025.
  266
  The Non-Domestic Rating (Transitional Period) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/2329.

  The Non-Domestic Rating Contributions (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/2472

  Practice Notes

  The Community Charge: Maintaining the Community

  Charge Register—Community Charge Practice No. 24.

  Non-domestic rates: Transitional Arrangements—Non-domestic rates Practice Note No. 3.

  Non-domestic rates: The Boundary between the Community Charge and Non-domestic (Business) rates: Definition of Domestic Property—Non-domestic rates Practice Note No. 4.

  Non-Domestic rates: Alteration of Lists and Appeals—Non-domestic rates Practice Note No. 5.

  Non-domestic rates: Discretionary Rate Relief—A Non-domestic rates Practice Note.

  Consultation Documents

  Non-domestic rating: Bed and Breakfast Accommodation.

  Business rates: Valuation of Property formerly in Enterprise Zones

  The Standard Community Charge and other Matters. Community Charge Bill.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will undertake a review of his estimates of poll tax collection rates for 1990–91 and the likely impact on poll tax bills in 1991–92;

  (2) what are his best estimates of the amount of poll tax income that will prove impossible to collect by the end of the current financial year.

  Mr. Portillo
  When local authorities come to set community charges for 1991–92 they will make proper estimates of the likely level of collection for that year and of how much uncollected in 1990–91 will prove to be uncollectable and should be written off. Such estimates are not for me to make.

  Boundary Review, Humberside
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give(a) the cost, (b) the amount of staff time in hours and (c) the number of meetings of the commission and the attendance at each devoted by the Local Government Boundary Commission to (i) the interim report and (ii) the draft proposal in its further review of the county of Humberside and list the changes occurring in the commission and its staff between the two.

  Mr. Key
  In the period between the publication of its interim report and its draft proposals, two new members were appointed to fill vacancies on the commission, and eight staff out of a total of 35 at all grades were changed. It is not possible to identify the cost of any particular element of the commission's work.

  The other questions concerning the conduct of its work are for the commission.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what meetings or discussions occurred between(a) himself or his predecessors, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) officials of the Local Government Boundary Commission on its review of county Humberside between 7 March and 27 November.

  Mr. Key
  None, though the chairman of the commission meets Ministers from time to time to discuss matters of general interest.
  267
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will refer back to the local authority boundary commission the further review of the county of Humberside, for reconsideration by a commission with changes in composition from that which considered the further review.

  Mr. Key
  No.

  Environment and Development Conference
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans his Department has for consulting with non-governmental development organisations in the preparatory process for the United Nations conference on environment and development to be held in Brazil in 1992;

  (2) what plans his Department has for holding national consultations in preparation for the United Nations conference on environment and development in 1992.

  Mr. Trippier
  My Department has commissioned the International Institute for Environment and Development, on behalf of the United Kingdom committee for UNEP, to hold a series of public meetings to examine the main issues of the 1992 United Nations conference. This will be an important opportunity for the non-governmental community, including development organisations, to contribute to the preparatory process for the conference. In addition, we will welcome submissions from interested individuals or organisations who may wish to put forward their views directly to the Government.

  Peat
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 22 November,Official Report, columns 188–89, to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies), what further consideration Her Majesty's Government are giving to the issues raised by peat extraction and nature conservation.

  Mr. Yeo
  The noble Lord Reay's response to the debate on peatland issues, which took place in another place on 9 May 1990, indicated the issues which should be addressed and how they were to be carried forward. Work on these is progressing both in my Department and elsewhere, but is not yet completed. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to be able to make a statement about the issues raised by peat extraction and nature conservation in due course.

  Nature Conservancy Council
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response he intends to make to the criticisms contained in the Nature Conservancy Council report published on 28 November about the reorganisation of the Nature Conservancy Council.

  Mr. Baldry
  None. These issues were fully dealt with during the debates in both Houses on part VII of the Environmental Protection Act.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he will take to ensure that Britain's ecology continues to be treated as a continuum, following the break-up of the Nature Conservancy Council.
  268
  Mr. Baldry
  Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, ecological issues affecting Great Britain as a whole will fall within the remit of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee of the three new country councils.

  Ecology
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a review of the resources devoted by his Department to developing and maintaining standards of ecological understanding among its officials.

  Mr. Baldry
  My right hon. Friend has access to a wide range of expertise within his Department, including knowledge of ecological matters. Training needs are regularly monitored, and there is no need for a specific review in this area.

  Radioactive Waste
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is Her Majesty's Government's policy with regard to the proposal by Senor Enrico Ferri, MEP, in his report to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens Rights (PE 143.353/fin, 5 November 1990), that provisions for liability for impairment to the environment caused by radioactive waste be included in the EC directive on civil liability caused by waste (COM(89) 282 final-C3–0154/89-SYN 217).

  Mr. Baldry
  The Government are considering their position on the draft directive, and will be consulting widely.

  Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) in how many cases in the last five years sufficient damage has been inflicted upon sites of special scientific interest to render designation meaningless;

  (2) how many sites of special scientific interest have been damaged by statutory organisations during the last five years; and in how many of these cases either official permission was given or official approval was signified.

  Mr. Baldry
  The information is not available in the form requested. Since 1 April 1984 information on the numbers of SSSIs damaged is set out in the Nature Conservancy Council's annual reports, copies of which are in the Library.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of sites of special scientific interest which have been damaged or destroyed during the last three years; and what is his estimate of the area affected by this damage or destruction.

  Mr. Baldry
  The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  Number damaged

  Estimated area (ha)

  1987–88

  166

  27,297

  1988–89

  241

  30,067

  1989–90

  324

  91,677

  This includes damage of all kinds whether significant or not. It includes proposed SSSIs and both those SSSIs notified under the 1981 Act and those notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and not yet renotified.
  269
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of whether the present level of protection is sufficient to safeguard the 900 sites which are assessed to be of key importance in their conservation interest; and what action he is taking to provide the necessary protection.

  Mr. Baldry
  I am satisfied that the SSSI and the national nature reserve systems afford the protection necessary to these sites.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to reduce the damage or destruction of sites of special scientific interest.

  Mr. Baldry
  We are always ready to consider with the NCC and others practicable action to minimise damage to SSSIs. The NCC is encouraged to take all steps necessary to minimise damage, including the entering into of management agreements and in appropriate circumstances by requesting that the Secretary of State make a nature conservation order.

  Environmental Protection Conferences
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has received an invitation to participate in the conference on environmental protection in practice, organised by International Business Communications, to be held in London on 10 to 11 December.

  Mr. Baldry
  Yes. Dr. Martin Bigg, head of the local authority unit of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, will be addressing the conference on the subject of pollution regulation.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has received an invitation to contribute to the conference on liquid effluent control to be held at Loughborough university of technology on 17 to 19 December.

  Mr. Baldry
  Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution (HMIP) was invited by the department of chemical engineering at Loughborough university to contribute to the conference on liquid effluent control on 17 to 19 December 1990. HMIP was unable to accept the invitation on this occasion due to other commitments.

  Domestic Insulation
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much annual central Government expenditure was dedicated to domestic insulation projects for the years 1979 to 1990.

  Mr. Yeo
  Expenditure on central Government domestic energy efficiency programmes is set out in the table.

  £ million

  Homes insulation scheme England

  Community insulation project Great Britain

  1979–80

  16·1

  —

  1980–81

  16·1

  —

  1981–82

  23·7

  —

  1982–83

  29·4

  —

  1983–84

  24·9

  5·5

  270

  Homes insulation scheme England

  Community insulation project Great Britain

  1984–85

  25·2

  8·6

  1985–86

  27·6

  19·4

  1986–87

  25·2

  36·6

  1987–88

  21·3

  45·2

  1988–89

  7·2

  n/a

  11989–90

  7·0

  n/a

  n/a Not available.

  1 Provisional.

  For the corresponding information about the homes insulation scheme in Wales and Scotland I refer the hon. Member to the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland.

  Trees and Hedgerows
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of trees and hedgerows which have been lost to the United Kingdom, on an annual basis, for the years 1979 to 1989.

  Mr. Baldry
  No records of the number of trees lost in the period are available. In the storms of 1987 and 1990 we estimate that some 19 million trees were destroyed— mostly in woodlands. However, despite such losses woodland cover in Great Britain has increased from some 2 million hectares to over 2·3 million hectares in the past 10 years.

  Various estimates of hedgerow loss have been made for past periods but none covers precisely the period to which the hon. Member refers. A survey of landscape change in England and Wales carried out for my Department and the Countryside Commission in 1986 by Hunting Technical Services Ltd. showed annual losses of some 2,600 miles of hedgerow between 1947 and 1969, 2,900 miles between 1969 and 1980, and 4,000 miles between 1980 and 1985. However a postal survey of farmers carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1985 showed annual losses of 500 miles between 1980 and 1985. The two surveys used different methodologies and neither can be regarded as definitive. Work is continuing to improve information both on the rate of removal and on the extent of new planting.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the mileage of hedgerows which have been removed from England and Wales during the last 10 years.

  Mr. Baldry
  Various estimates have been made for past periods but none covers precisely the period to which the hon. Member refers.

  A survey of landscape change in England and Wales carried out for my Department and the Countryside Commission in 1986 by Hunting Technical Services Ltd. showed annual losses of some 2,600 miles of hedgerow between 1947 and 1969, 2,900 miles between 1969 and 1980, and 4,000 miles between 1980 and 1985. However, a postal survey of farmers carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1985 showed annual losses of 500 miles between 1980 and 1985. The two surveys used different methodologies and neither can he regarded as definitive.

  Work is continuing to improve information both on the rate of removal and on the extent of new planting.

  UN Environment Programme
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much financial support was given to the United Nations Environment Programme, on an annual basis, for the years 1979 to 1989.

  Mr. Baldry
  Contributions by Her Majesty's Government to the United Nations Environment Programme's environment fund for the period 1979 to 1989 are as follows:

  £

  1979–80

  600,000

  1980–81

  600,000

  1981–82

  600,000

  1982–83

  600,000

  1983–84

  750,000

  1984–85

  750,000

  1985–86

  750,000

  1986–87

  1,000,000

  1987–88

  1,000,000

  1988–89

  1,250,000

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken to encourage the expansion of the United Nations Environment Programme's role in co-ordinating international environmental action.

  Mr. Baldry
  The United Kingdom is pressing for UNEP and the World Meteorological Organisation to be charged with overseeing negotiations of a framework convention on climate change. We are also playing an active role in UNEP's preparations for a global convention on biological diversity. It is the aim for both conventions to be ready for the 1992 UN conference on environment and development at which we hope that decisions on strengthening UNEP will be taken.

  As evidence of our support for UNEP we intend to increase our 1991 contribution to its voluntary environment fund by one third to £4 million.

  Inland Waterways
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what level of grant and or subsidy was provided to inland waterway freight for each year between 1978 and 1989.

  Mr. Baldry
  The British Waterways Board (BWB) receives annual grant in aid from the Exchequer towards the cost of operating and maintaining all its waterways. The table shows the board's external financing limit (EFL), which covers grant and borrowing, for the years 1978–79 to 1989–90.

  BWB finance 1978–79 to 1989–90

  £ million

  EFL (outturn) (cash)

  EFL (outturn) (1990–91 prices)

  1978·79

  26·0

  65·5

  1979·80

  25·7

  55·5

  1980·81

  30·0

  54·8

  1981·82

  31·6

  52·5

  1982·83

  39·3

  60·9

  1983·84

  40·8

  60·4

  1984·85

  42·8

  60·4

  272

  EFL (outturn) (cash)

  EFL (outturn) (1990–91 prices)

  1985–86

  44·1

  59·1

  1986–87

  44·8

  58·2

  1987–88

  45·0

  55·4

  1988–89

  44·8

  51·4

  1989–90

  46·9

  50·6

  Waterways are nowadays used mainly for recreation and amenity; excluding maritime traffic, they carry only 1·5 per cent. of total inland freight. BWB's share of total inland freight (all modes) is 0·1 per cent. All freight traffic on the board's network is now carried by private sector operators. The Government wish to see maximum use of rivers and canals for freight transport where commercially sensible. But customers should be free to choose the mode of transport best suited to their needs. The Government's role is to ensure that conditions of competition are fair, and subject to proper safety and environmental standards.

  However, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Transport can give grants under section 36 of the Transport Act 1981 towards inland waterway freight facilities which bring significant environmental benefits by keeping lorries off unsuitable roads and where, in the absence of grant, the commercial decision would be to use road transport. Five grants, with a total value of £1·4 million, have been awarded up to 1989.

  International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources; and if he will specify the nongovernmental agencies which are based in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Baldry
  The latest figures published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources show that it has 663 members and that 119 countries are represented in this membership. I am arranging for a copy of the membership lists to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Vacant Public Land
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the relationship between the terms vacant public sector land used in the title of the consultation paper, "Encouraging the Use of Vacant Public Sector Land" and the terms underused or unused land used in the body of the paper.

  Mr. Yeo
  Existing and proposed arrangements for entry on registers and for the power to direct disposal relate to unused and underused land. The term "vacant land" is employed in the paper as a general term covering both.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether the Government are considering any proposals requiring the purchasers of the unused or underused land to bring the land forward for development within a fixed timetable or else to return the land to the local authority; and if he will make a statement;
  273
  (2) if the windfall profits arising from the sale by developers of land currently owned by local authorities will be shared with those authorities if the consultation paper, "Encouraging the Use of Vacant Public Sector Land", becomes Government policy;

  (3) for what reasons he has limited the grounds of appeal referred to in the consultation paper, "Encouraging the Use of Vacant Public Sector Land", so as not to include an appeal on the basis that the land referred to is not unused or underused, or that the method and timing of disposal is imprudent.

  Mr. Yeo
  In the consultation paper we proposed that tenderers for a franchise would be required to state their plans for the development and use of the sites included in the package (paragraph 3.18(b)); that arrangements for clawback would be triggered by certain events listed (annex C paragraph 11); and that the grounds of appeal to which owners making representations would be limited would include certain grounds listed (paragraph 3.16). Responses to the consultation paper have included the points raised by the hon. Member and will be taken into account in our further consideration of these issues.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his reasons for proposing in the consultation paper, "Encouraging the Use of Vacant Public Sector Land", a requirement for local authorities to pay for the discounts which will be given to developers to purchase local authority land assets.

  Mr. Yeo
  The discounts were proposed as an incentive to bring as many as possible of the sites contained in each franchise package into use. Public sector owners dissatisfied with the arrangements could bring into use or dispose of their sites before directions establishing a franchise were issued. All the responses to the consultation paper are currently being analysed and will be taken into account in our further consideration of measures to encourage the use of vacant public land.

  Boundary Commission
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guideliness and regulations exist about conflicts of interest in respect of local authority boundary commissioners' connections with authorities whose boundaries are being considered.

  Mr. Key
  Paragraph 6 of schedule 7 to the Local Government Act 1972 provides that the commission's procedure at, and in connection with, its meetings shall be such as it may from time to time determine.

  My right hon. Friend is confident that the commission ensures that no such conflicts arise.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in how many instances the interim decisions of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England have been substantially different from its draft proposals; and what percentage of total references this constitutes.

  Mr. Key
  Since decisions on the conduct of reviews are by statute for the commission, the Department does not monitor changes in the views expressed by the commission in its work leading up to a final report. It is implicit, however, in the statutory provisions which ensure that the 274
  public has an opportunity to comment on draft proposals, that the commission will take note of these comments, and from time to time change its views.

  Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals have been made to the West Yorkshire valuation and community charge tribunal on the question of(a) rating valuation assessments, (b) community charge registrations and (c) level of payment of community charge.

  Mr. Key
  The information requested is as follows:

  Number

  (a) Non-domestic rating appeals

  3,053

  (b) Community charge appeals

  122

  (c) None. This is not one of the prescribed grounds for making an appeal.

  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many amendments have been made to the practice notes used by the valuation and community charge tribunals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  The Department has issued three letters updating the following community charge practice notes:

  Letter

  Practice note

  18 September 1989

  No. 18—Foreign Diplomats and Visiting Forces

  No. 21—Community Charge Benefit (2)

  26 October 1989

  No.9—Sole or Main Residence

  No. 18—Foreign Diplomats and Visiting Forces

  29 December 1989

  No. 17—United Kingdom Service Personnel

  No. 18—Foreign Diplomats and Visiting Forces

  In addition to these letters three practice notes have been updated and reissued. These are:

  Practice Note No. 10:

  Data Protection and the Community Charge (2)—(updates Practice Note No. 4)

  Practice Note No. 19:

  Exemptions from the Personal Community Charge (2)—(updates Practice Note No. 2)

  Practice Note No. 21:

  Community Charge Benefit (2)—(updates Practice Note No. 5)

  The Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation is currently revising and updating the practice notes with a view to reflecting changes and modifications brought about by practice and decisions made by the valuation and community charge tribunals.

  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received over the variations in the decisions taken by valuation and community charge tribunals on the appeals concerning the community charge; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  I am not aware that any such representations have been received. The 56 tribunals in England are independent. They must decide each case on its merits and are responsible for their own decisions.

  Basildon District Council
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from Basildon district council on his proposed financial settlement for 1991–92; if he will publish those representations and any reply sent by his Department; and if he intends to meet representatives of the council in the near future.

  Mr. Portillo
  I have received representations from Basildon district council on the proposed 1991–92 settlement. It is for the authority to make public its representations if it so chooses. I have no plans at present to meet a delegation from the council.

  Ordnance Survey
  Mr. Bowls
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the Ordnance Survey corporate plan for 1991 to 1994.

  Mr. Baldry
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has today approved the Ordnance Survey corporate plan for 1991–94 and I shall arrange for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Dogs
  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the implications for local authorities of the provisions on dog control in the Environmental Protection Act 1990; and when he proposes to bring the new measures into effect.

  Mr. Baldry
  The measures proposed in the "Action on Dogs" consultation paper published by my Department last year were widely welcomed by local authorities. They have now been incorporated in the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The Act places duties on district councils and London boroughs to collect and detain stray dogs, to return them to their owners or find them a suitable home or have them humanely destroyed if necessary and to enforce the existing requirement to wear a collar and tag in a public place. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has also announced more flexible powers to make byelaws to prevent dog fouling and to control dogs in certain public areas.

  In view of the widespread public concern about straying and fouling we want to encourage local authorities to act on these provisions as soon as possible. Many authorities already employ dog wardens and I would encourage others to follow their example and make greater use of their existing powers. We will be holding discussions with the local authority associations and other interested parties about the timing and additional resource implications of implementing the new duties and powers.

  Waste
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to reply to the report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities on "Paying for Pollution—Civil Liability for Damage Caused by Waste" (HL paper 84–1).

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: The report is to advise the House of Lords on questions of
  276
  policy or principle and the advisability of debate and the Committee Chairman, Lord Nathan, has now tabled a motion for such a debate. We have already told him that we shall be looking at the report in relation to the draft directive and our further development of policies in this field. We would, of course, contribute to any debate.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the EC proposal for a Council regulation on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community [Com(90)415 Final-SYN 305] published on 10 October.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: The Department will submit an explanatory memorandum to Parliament on this proposal in the near future.

  Cost Recovery Charges
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent meetings have been held between Ministers or officials of his Department and representatives of the Engineering Employers Federation concerning cost recovery charges being introduced under the Environmental Protection Act.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: Representatives of the Engineering Employers Federation have recently had meetings with both the Minister of State and with officials of the Department to discuss implementation of integrated pollution control under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, including cost recovery charges.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the oversight that will be conducted by his Department over income earned by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and local authorities from granting of industrial operating licences for cost recovery under the Environmental Protection Act.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: The cost recovery charges to be made under the Environmental Protection Act by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution (HMIP) and by local authorities for air pollution control are set by the Secretary of State for the Environment with the approval of the Treasury. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution's finances are scrutinised through the annual MINIS review of the Department's operation; and Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will publish a report on income from charges at the end of each financial year. Local authorities will be required to make annual returns on income from pollution control charges, and the Department will publish a digest of this information.

  Business in the Environment
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he(a) last met and (b) next expects to meet the chairman of the Business in the Environment group; and what matters were or are expected to be discussed.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: My right hon. Friend, then Secretary of State, last met the chairman of Business in the Environment on 8 November 1990 during the launch of the publication, "Your Business

  277
  and the Environment: An Executive Guide". My hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside has agreed that a further meeting should take place in the new year, at which various business and environment issues will be discussed.

  Fire and Civil Defence (Yorkshire)
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority on his proposed financial settlement for 1991–92; what consideration he has given to those representations; if he will publish details of those representations; and if he will make a statement on the implications of his proposals for the fire service in South Yorkshire.

  Mr. Portillo
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: We have received a number of representations from the South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority on our proposals for the revenue support grant settlement for 1991–92, including those put to my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, when he met a delegation from the authority on 27 November. It is for the authority to make public its representations if it so chooses.

  We are proposing to increase the authority's standard spending assessment by £3·2 million to £25·7 million, which we believe to be an appropriate assessment of the costs of providing the fire service in South Yorkshire. We shall carefully consider all the representations received before taking our decisions on the settlement.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Accountancy Firms
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will propose legislation under which accountancy firms would be prevented from writing up board minutes and then auditing the same.

  Mr. Redwood
  I see no reason to do so. Under existing legislation, a person who is an officer of a company—or a partner or employee of an officer—is prohibited from being appointed an auditor of the company. Moreover, under the Companies Act 1989 the Secretary of State will be able to recognise a supervisory body for auditors only if the body appears to him to have adequate rules and practices designed to ensure that company audit work is conducted properly and with integrity, and that persons are not appointed as company auditors in circumstances in which they have any interest likely to conflict with the proper conduct of the audit.

  Water Pollution
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make it his policy to propose legislation under which all shareholders would be made aware of the amount of waste discharged by companies into the rivers and sea.

  Mr. Redwood
  No. It would be unreasonably burdensome to require companies to provide such information. Companies are best placed to decide, in the light of their individual circumstances, whether this information is likely to be of interest to their shareholders and other users of their reports and accounts.

  Public Accountability
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State For Trade and Industry whether he has taken any steps to increase public accountability of the bodies listed in section 389 of the Companies Act 1985.

  Mr. Redwood
  Part II of the Companies Act 1989, which establishes a new supervisory system for the control and regulation of auditors, sets out clearly the standards which the bodies, seeking recognition as supervisory bodies, must meet.

  Good Will
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department will issue guidance on the accounting treatment for good will.

  Mr. Redwood
  No. The Accounting Standards Board is currently considering the responses to the exposure draft proposing a revised standard on accounting for good will.

  Consumer Credit Act
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals he has for revising the Consumer Credit Act to ensure that(a) advance payments are held in trust and not treated as company assets and (b) contracts end automatically with liquidation.

  Mr. Leigh
  My right hon. Friend has no proposals for such legislation.

  Price Level Accounting
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will recommend a system of price level accounting to major public limited companies.

  Mr. Redwood
  No. The role of current values in financial reporting is one of the subjects that the Accounting Standards Board will address in the course of its consideration of responses to the exposure draft on accounting for fixed assets and revaluations.

  Innovation and Technology Transfer
  Ms. Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department is planning to hold any events in the northern region of England to publicise the EC's SPRINT programme.

  Mr. Leigh
  National publicity material available from DTI regional offices contains SPRINT information and local awareness events are often organised by them. EC and departmental initiatives are publicised at such events; however, no specific SPRINT event has been planned in the north-east.

  A national "SPRINT roadshow" was widely publicised and run at venues reflecting the degree of interest shown; the north of England show took place in Manchester on 5 December 1990.

  I was pleased to note the new SPRINT award concerning RTC—North in Sunderland.

  EC Financial Directives
  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in negotiations on the terms of the investment services directive; and what issues remain to be determined.

  Mr. Redwood
  There have been many meetings of officials under the Italian presidency on this important market-opening measure. Ministers have considered it twice at ECOFIN.

  The main area of political controversy centres on the proposal, originally put forward by France, that certain transactions be confined to "regulated" markets. This was discussed at the meetings of the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers which I attended on 19 November and 3 December. It will be discussed further at ECOFIN on 17 December. The United Kingdom Government are opposed to the principle of such a restriction. Whatever is proposed must not compromise the ability of investors anywhere in the Community to choose how to invest their money.

  Other matters subject to negotiation include:
  whether members of the professions, appointed representatives and sole traders (natural persons) should be included in the scope of the directive;
  the inclusion of conduct of business principles;
  whether banks should have direct access to membership of stock exchanges; and
  whether certain rules governing the conduct of business should be disapplied to inter-professional dealing.

  The Government will continue to press hard in the negotiations to achieve the best possible outcome on the directive as a whole for United Kingdom investment firms, United Kingdom investors and financial markets.

  Building Works
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish tables showing(a) the number of new buildings, (b) the amount spent on new buildings, (c) the amount spent on repairs and maintenance and (d) the amount spent on building renovation by his Department in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 5 December 1990]: The Department periodically gives up buildings and takes on others in response to lease conditions and operational needs. Some buildings are new and some are taken over from previous tenants. The number of new buildings taken on to the estate is not readily available.

  Information is also not readily available to distinguish major project expenditure in new buildings from that on renovation of existing buildings. However, since 1 April 1988 total expenditure by the Department on major projects for both purposes has been:

  £'000s

  1988–89

  17,784

  1989–90

  29,858

  11990–91

  39,800

  1 Estimate.

  Before 1 April 1988 the Department of the Environment Property Services Agency was responsible for major project expenditure in buildings occupied by the Department of the Trade and Industry.

  There has been a progressive transfer of responsibility for repair and maintenance expenditure from the
  280
  Department of the Environment Property Services Agency/Property Holdings to the Department of Trade and Industry with a particularly large transfer occurring in 1990–91 related to the division of the civil estate. The coverage of departmental expenditure is not therefore on a consistent basis over the period. However, expenditure on repairs and maintenance delegated to the Department over the last five years has been as follows:

  £000s

  1986–87

  2,477

  1987–88

  2,857

  1988–89

  4,771

  1989–90

  4,710

  1990–91

  110,713

  1 Estimate.

  Departmental Appointees
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the annual cost of fees and reimbursements to people appointed to(a) public, (b) non-governmental and (c) other bodies by his Department.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 5 December 1990]: Information about the number and levels of remuneration of people appointed to non-departmental public bodies is contained in the annual publication "Public Bodies". A copy of the current issue is held by the House of Commons Library, and "Public Bodies 1990" is expected to be published later this month.

  The other information requested is not kept centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  USSR (Food)
  Mr. Amos
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what food aid has been sent to the Soviet Union by the United Kingdom in the past month; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will make it his policy to distribute the EEC food surpluses as urgent aid to the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) if he will meet the Soviet Union Foreign Minister to discuss what assistance he can give to solve Russia's food shortages; and if he will make a statement;

  (4) if he will make it his policy to launch a food aid package to the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We are concerned about the shortage of many foodstuffs in Soviet shops, and have discussed the problem with the Soviet authorities and with our European partners. There will be further discussion of Soviet economic problems at the European Council in Rome on 13 and 14 December. Where a real need exists and distribution can be assured, the European Community may be able to help with food aid from intervention stocks. Following a good harvest in 1990, the shortages in certain Soviet cities are chiefly the result of distribution difficulties. We would like to help to tackle the underlying problems through technical assistance. Food distribution is a top priority for our know-how fund. A consortium of British
  281
  companies is already conducting a survey of the food distribution system around Kiev which may have implications for other parts of the Soviet Union.

  Antarctica
  Mr. Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the conclusions between the treaty parties that met in Santiago de Chile to discuss exploitation of minerals and environmental protection for Antarctica; and what conclusion was made on a percentage of the land mass to be used as a wildlife park.

  Mr. Garet-Jones
  The meeting, which was called by the United Kingdom and Chile, ended on 7 December. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss comprehensive measures for the protection of the Antarctic environment.

  A communiqué will be issued by the conference secretariat in due course, a copy of which I will place in the Library of the House.

  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will list the countries represented at the conference on Antarctica which support a ban of future mineral mining and those which do not do so.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Of the consultative parties to the Antarctic treaty, Australia, France, Belgium, Italy, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and Peru supported the call for a total ban on mining; the remaining 18 consultative parties (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Germany, India, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, China, Poland, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, USSR, USA, United Kingdom and Uruguay) did not.

  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he now supports a permanent ban on mineral mining in Antarctica.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Our primary objective is to achieve a return to consensus within the Antarctic treaty system. There remain differing views on how best to achieve this, and we remain prepared to discuss the options. We do not believe that a permanent ban on mineral activity will achieve a consensus which is rational and scientifically based.

  Mr. Alois Brunner
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether, since the renewal of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Syria, he has consulted his ministerial counterparts in France, Germany and Austria to ensure that Alois Brunner, who now lives in Syria, is tried for war crimes;

  (2) what representations he intends to make to the Syrian Government to ensure that Alois Brunner is tried for war crimes.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The United Kingdom has no special responsibility in this matter. We have not been approached for assistance by the Governments mentioned by the hon. and learned Gentleman.

  Guatemala
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made concerning killings and disappearances in Guatemala, in particular those listed by Amnesty International.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  We and our EC partners have regularly made clear to the Guatemalan Government our serious concern about human rights abuses. In the past year, British Ministers have raised human rights three times with Guatemalan Ministers, and our ambassador has raised the plight of street children. He and his EC colleagues have also made representations about the shootings at Santiago de Atitlan on 2 December.

  Overseas Electors
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the ministerial and departmental visits made overseas in 1990 in connection with the promotion of the changes in the rights of overseas electors; what, in each case, was the cost to public funds; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  No ministerial or departmental visits were made overseas in connection with the publicity arrangements for the rights of overseas electors under the Representation of the People Act 1989.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Eastern Europe
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much in aid and assistance to eastern Europe has been spent and committed in 1990–91; and what is the nature of each programme on which money is being expended.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of how know-how funding to Poland has been applied hitherto; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  A total of £5,020,848 has been spent under the know-how fund for eastern Europe since the beginning of the 1990–91 financial year. We expect to spend the full £15 million allocated for assistance to eastern Europe by the end of this financial year. As to the nature of the programmes on which money has been spent, I refer to the replies I gave to my hon. Friends the Members for Battersea (Mr. Bowis) on 14 March at column 236, for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Dr. Woodcock) on 13 June at column 213, for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) and for Hazel Grove (Sir T. Arnold) on 2 July at column 417, and to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 17 October at column 813. The additional activities approved since then under the know-how fund are as follows:

  Poland

  Title: Seeds Sector Training.

  Description: 4 week training course by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany.

  Status: Completed November 1990.

  Cost: £55,000.

  283

  Title: Industrial Competitiveness.

  Description: 3 month study by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research.

  Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £27,000.

  Title: Assistance to Employment Sector.

  Description: Provision of advice Health and Safety, Employment Services Training and Small Firms.

  Status: Under way October 1990.

  Cost: £125,000.

  Title: Book Sector Study.

  Description: Study to form the basis of a medium term book development policy in Poland.

  Status: Due to start January 1991.

  Cost: £41,000.

  Hungary

  Title: Development of Employment Services.

  Description: A two stage programme of visits to and from Hungary arranged by the Department of Employment to provide advice on how to develop employment services in Hungary.

  Status: Due to start January 1991.

  Cost: £16,070.

  Title: Banking assistance.

  Description: Visit by librarian of chartered Institute of Bankers to advise on the establishment of a library and specialist information centre at the International training centre for bankers in Budapest.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £4,000.

  Title: Assistance to International Management Centre (IMC).

  Description: To strengthen the IMC's training, research and consultancy programmes via a programme of visits over a three year period by leading British management specialists.

  Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £60,000.

  Title: Accountancy Crash Training.

  Description: A six month programme of assistance to retrain all senior accountants in the principles and operation of the new Hungarian accountancy legislation.

  Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £145,000.

  Title: Assistance to Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE).

  Description: Consultancy advice to help the BSE determine the most appropriate method of operation and regulatory arrangements for their new trading room and with this information to draw up the optimum physical specifications of the trading room.

  Status: Will begin December 1990.

  Cost: £60,000.

  Czechoslovakia

  Title: English Language Training for the State Bank.

  Description: A three month intensive course in general and specialised English for senior staff of the Czechoslovakia State Bank.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £65,000.

  Title: Economics for senior Officials.

  Description: A programme of lectures and seminars to introduce senior Czechoslovak officials to market economics, and in particular the contemporary economic issues affecting government policy.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £9,500.

  Title: Study of Environmental Problems of North Bohemia.

  284

  Description: A programme of visits by environmental scientists aimed at producing a report for the Czechoslovak government to better to understand the environmental problems of North Bohemia and to develop a realistic programme for their solution, including sources of finance.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £12,000.

  Title: Establishment of an Industry and Conservation Association in Bratislava.

  Description: A programme of visits and consultancy advice aimed at improving the handling of environmental problems in the local political economy by developing partnerships between industry, environmental NGO's and local government.

  Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £28,000.

  Title: Secondment to Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

  Description: An official from the Department of Employment will be seconded to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for a 9 month period to co-ordinate and develop the programme of assistance in the labour field currently underway under KHF auspices.

  Status: Will begin in December 1990.

  Cost: £20,000.

  Title: Support for World Bank Structural Adjustment Mission.

  Description: Covering the costs of two United Kingdom experts taking part in a world bank mission looking at the social safety net in Czechoslovakia as a precursor to a major structural adjustment loan.

  Status: Will begin December 1990.

  Cost: £20,000.

  Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland

  Title: Assistance for Environmental NGO's.

  Description: A programme of visits, exchanges and consultancy advice aimed at strengthening the network of environmental NGO's in all three countries.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £125,000 over two years.

  Environment and Development Conference
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part the Overseas Development Administration is playing in the preparatory process for the United Nations conference on environment and development to be held in Brazil in 1992.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We have contributed US$25,000 to the voluntary fund established to finance participation by developing countries in the preparations for the conference. We have offered to help finance the preparation of national reports from Indonesia, Pakistan and Zimbabwe for the conference. Together with the Department of Trade and Industry we will be financing a study on technology transfer to help developing countries address environmental problems, with a focus on global warming. ODA officials played a full part in the first meeting of the preparatory committee for the conference in Nairobi in August, and will continue to do so at future meetings.

  Angola
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the action the Government plan to take in support of the United Nations special relief programme for Angola.
  285
  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Kent (Mr. Rowe) on 6 December at column 204.

  Malawi
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Malawi concerning adherence to the African charter on human and peoples' rights; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We welcome Malawi's ratification of the African charter on human and peoples' rights. But i1 is not for us to monitor any state's implementation of its provisions. It is for the commission provided by the charter to do this.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Malawi concerning the continuing detention without trial of Jack Mapanje; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We are concerned about Jack Mapanje's continued detention in Malawi and make frequent inquiries of the Malawian authorities about his case. Senior Malawian officials have recently told us that all cases of detention without trial are currently undergoing review.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Official Visits
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many visits he has made to the Duchy in the last fortnight.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  I visited the county palatine last month. I assure the hon. Member I shall be making plenty of further visits to it in the future.

  In-patient waiting lists (surgical specialties)

  Total number at 31 March

  percentage change

  At 31 March, percentage of cases on list waiting:

  6–12 months

  12–23 months

  over 24 months

  Leeds Eastern

  1989

  5,165

  +0·1

  18·2

  17·9

  8·0

  1990

  5,169

  16·8

  17·6

  9·0

  Leeds Western

  1989

  4,596

  -8·0

  21·1

  17·1

  9·5

  1990

  4,230

  23·5

  14·1

  9·0

  England

  1989

  595,033

  +1·3

  22·8

  17·1

  12·4

  1990

  602,850

  23·3

  12·3

  10·5

  Since 1979 the number of in-patients treated in all specialties has increased by 25 per cent. in Leeds Eastern, by 41 per cent. in Leeds Western and by nearly 25 per cent. in England as a whole.

  For information for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

HEALTH

  Kidney Transplants
  Mr. Caborn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider taking steps to institute a system of required requests for kidney donation in order to increase the number of kidneys available for transplant.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The Government have initiated an audit of all intensive care units in England to assess potential for organ procurement, including kidneys. The results so far do not suggest that failure to request is a serious problem in England. A much more significant reason for the loss of suitable organs was refusal by relatives. We are carrying out a programme of national publicity to address this problem.

  Head Lice
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the incidence of head louse infection in British schools for each of the last five years.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. Pawsey) on 26 April at columns 293–94.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the percentage of those waiting for non-urgent operations who wait longer than(a) one year, (b) six months and (c) two years in Leeds Eastern health authority and Leeds Western health authority;

  (2) what has been the rise in the number of people waiting for non-urgent operations as a percentage and as a number in (a) Leeds Eastern health authority, (b) Leeds Western health authority and (c) the United Kingdom.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The information is given in the table.

  Romanian Children
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Romanian children adopted or fostered by British people are currently in the care of local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We know of no such children who are currently in the care of local authorities.

  Residential Homes
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received any representations from residential or nursing home owners with respect to the European Commission's social action programme, Council document 8073/90, about the organisation of working time.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We are aware of the independent sector's concern about this directive, and have received comments on behalf of private hospital, nursing home and residential care home proprietors.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will estimate the average number of weekly working hours of the average home-worker including overtime in(a) local authority residential homes, (b) private residential homes and (c) private nursing homes;

  (2) what is his estimate of the number of employees in residential and nursing homes who (a) have a minimum rest period of 11 consecutive hours in every 24 hours, (b) work two consecutive full-time night shifts, (c) work more than eight night hours of every 24 hours, on average, and (d) have regular, free health assessments when working on night shifts.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not available centrally.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has now assessed the implications of the European Commission's social action programme concerning the organisation of working time, Council document 8073/90, for the level of staffing ratio, organisation and running of residential and nursing homes.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  A draft EC directive on the organisation of working time is currently under negotiation in Brussels. The Government are considering the implications of the directive for the United Kingdom.

  Whitley Council
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the total number of staff involved in servicing the General Whitley Council and its committees, the annual cost of running the council, and the number of national health service staff covered by the General Whitley Council; and if he will give similar figures for the review bodies on doctors' and dentists' remuneration and nursing staff, midwives, health visitors and professions allied to medicine.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The General Whitley Council is responsible for negotiating conditions of service for some 937,000 staff in the national health service, including 590,000 whose pay is covered by the review bodies. Servicing the work of the council and its committees involves 9·5 whole-time equivalent staff of the Department at an approximate annual cost of £153,000. The pay of the non-review body staff is negotiated by the various functional Whitley councils and related negotiating bodies.

  Questions about We servicing of the review bodies are a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.

  Food Poisoning
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to control campylobacter infection to prevent infection entering kitchens and food manufacturing premises; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Attention to good food hygiene practice will help to prevent all forms of foodborne infection.

  Guidance for the consumer is given in the leaflet "Food Safety: A Guild from Her Majesty's Government" copies of which are available in the Library. Food manufacturers are responsible for the microbiological safety of their processes. This responsibility is clearly set out in the Food Safety Act 1990.

  Childbirth
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the sample of 173,000 births in England in 1988–89 referred to in his answer of 22 October,Official Report, columns 33–34, which were used to estimate induction rates, instrumental delivery rates and Caesarean section rates were a random sample of births in all regions and districts of England in each month of 1988–89; and how many of these records did not have information recorded about (a) onset of labour or (b) method of delivery.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: The 173,000 records were those submitted by health authorities with method of delivery and method of onset of labour recorded. Due to teething problems with new data collections some health authorities were unable to submit a fully coded record for each delivery. The available data are thus not a random sample, but checks showed that the information given in the answer of 22 October at columns 33–34 was consistent with earlier figures.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  University Research Projects
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice he has received from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals on the Hanham report on the costing of university research projects; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  Universities have responded positively to the Hanham report, improving their cost-recovery procedures in the light of its recommendations. In the light of experience and with the assistance of other parties concerned, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals is further developing the costing principles for research projects.

  Speech Therapy
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to assist local education authorities to meet their redefined duties to provide speech therapy for children who need to learn to communicate by speech, following the 1989 Court of Appeal ruling in R v. Lancashire county council ex parte CM.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  The Department's circular 22/89, which was published on 29 September 1989, reminds local
  289
  education authorities that in the case to which my hon. Friend refers, the Court of Appeal ruled that speech therapy could be considered either educational or non-educational provision. However, the ruling does not diminish health authorities' general responsibilities under the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 to provide speech therapy, and it does not mean that education authorities are under any legal obligation to fund speech therapy.

  Agriculture and Food Research
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the amount of money his Department gave to fund(a) arable crops research, (b) animal health, (c) animal physiology and genetics,

  £s Million

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Arable Crops

  6·0

  7·6

  7·4

  7·2

  7·9

  7·8

  Animal Health

  3·6

  4·0

  8·8

  9·5

  11·1

  10·1

  Animal Physiology and Genetics

  6·3

  6·7

  8·1

  8·8

  9·6

  9·3

  Engineering

  0·8

  0·8

  1·1

  1·3

  1·5

  1·4

  Food

  6·2

  6·5

  7·9

  9·1

  14·8

  10·5

  Grassland and Environmental

  2·2

  3·6

  3·6

  4·4

  3·2

  3·1

  Horticulture

  2·9

  2·7

  3·1

  2·8

  3·2

  3·2

  Plant Science

  6·9

  6·2

  6·8

  7·8

  9·2

  8·7

  Total

  34·9

  38·1

  46·8

  50·9

  60·5

  54·1

  It is not possible, without disproportionate work, to provide strictly comparable figures for the years 1980–81 to 1986–87 because of the major restructuring of AFRC institutes which has taken place and which is still continuing. In those years, the council spent science budget funds as follows:

  million

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  Animals

  11·0

  13·8

  13·9

  14·0

  Arable Crops

  8·7

  9·7

  12·5

  18·4

  Horticulture

  2·1

  3·4

  6·0

  Engineering

  1·1

  1·6

  1·0

  0·6

  Food Science

  2·6

  3·2

  2·0

  3·2

  Total

  25·5

  31·7

  35·4

  36·2

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  Plant Breeding

  3·4

  2·8

  4·8

  Crop Protection

  4·6

  4·5

  5·9

  Soils and Crop Nutrition

  2·6

  2·7

  2·4

  Crop Production

  6·4

  6·4

  7·8

  Animal Breeding

  4·5

  3·0

  4·0

  Animal Disease

  4·9

  4·1

  4·1

  Animal Nutrition

  1·6

  1·6

  2·4

  Animal Production

  0·5

  2·2

  2·9

  Food

  3·3

  5·3

  5·5

  Total

  31·8

  32·6

  39·8

  All figures represent the amounts paid to institutes for both recurrent and capital costs, including payments for major restructuring projects. Grants made to bodies other than AFRC institutes (such as universities) and central funds which have been used to support institute research (central administration, superannuation and so on) are not included.
  290
  (d) engineering research, (e) food research, (f) grassland and environmental research, (g) horticultural research and (h) plant science research at Agricultural and Food Research Council institutes since 1980; and what are his estimates for 1991 and 1992.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  The Department funds the research councils, including the Agricultural and Food Research Council, through grants in aid from the science budget. It is in general for councils to decide how to spend their total budgets.

  The council has provided the following figures for expenditure of funds received from the science budget on the categories of research listed in the question for financial years 1987–88 to 1990–91, and for estimated expenditure in 1991–92 and 1992–93:

  Pupil Costs
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average cost of a place in(a) primary education, (b) secondary education, excluding sixth forms, (c) sixth forms and (d) further education.

  Mr. Eggar
  The latest available information is for financial year 1988–89. Net institutional expenditure per pupil in nursery and primary schools, for which separate figures are not collected centrally, was some £1,100. For secondary schools, for which figures for sixth form and other pupils are not collected separately, it was some £1,690. Net institutional expenditure per student in local education authority maintained establishments of further education, excluding polytechnics, was some £2,860.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science for what reasons grant-maintained schools are excluded from the requirement of section 26(9) of the Education Reform Act relating to duty to comply with a parent's preference as to school and the circumstances in which no prejudice is taken to arise.

  Mr. Eggar
  The provisions made in section 26(9) of the Education Reform Act relate to the Education Act 1980, which does not apply to grant-maintained schools.

  Under section 83(1) of the 1988 Act the governing body of a grant-maintained school is required to fix as the number of pupils it intends to admit in any school year a number which is at least equal to the approved admission number.

  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science under which separate headings grant-maintained schools may apply for special purpose
  291
  grant; in each case, what criteria or formulae are applied in determining the level of such grant; and what is the total sum available for such grant for 1991–92.

  Mr. Eggar
  Schools may apply for four separate types of special purpose grant: SPG (development) or SPG(D); SPG (premises) or SPG(P); SPG (restructuring) or SPG(R); and SPG (VAT) or SPG(V).

  SPG(D) is intended to mirror what the school might have received via educational support grant and local education authority training grants scheme towards the cost of management training, staff development and the implementation of the national curriculum and assessment arrangements. In 1991–92 each school will be entitled to receive up to £42 full-year equivalent per pupil.

  SPG(P) is intended to meet the costs of premises insurance. It is payable up to a limit of —6,000 or 50 per cent. of the school's insurance premium, whichever is the lower figure.

  SPG(R) is available to help with the costs of redundancy payments and other staff restructuring, where it can be demonstrated that the staffing changes are in the interests of the efficient operation of the school.

  SPG(V) compensates for the payment of VAT on supplies and services, which grant-maintained schools, unlike local education authorities, may not claim back. It is available at a rate of 2·5 per cent. of a school's annual maintenance grant, with an appropriate deduction in the case of ex-county schools which on incorporation become eligible to receive rate relief as charities.

  The total amount of special purpose grant available in 1991–92 will depend upon the number of grant-maintained schools in operation. That figure cannot be accurately predicted.

  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what special purpose grant payments have been made, or approved, under each heading to grant-maintained schools so far; and how much this represents per pupil.

  Mr. Eggar
  The only firm information available is for the financial year 1989–90. The total payments were:

  1989–90

  Total payments (£)

  SPG(D)

  183,956

  SPG(P)

  27,736

  SPG(R)

  11,823

  SPG(V)

  231,313

  Total

  454,828

  Taking pupil numbers as at January 1990, these payments in total represent a full-year equivalent payment of £59–35 per pupil.

  School Playing Fields
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to amend rule 909 to reduce the circumstances in which school playing fields may be sold.

  Mr. Fallon
  The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1981, Statutory Instrument No. 909, prescribe minimum standards for playing field provision at maintained schools. The forthcoming review of the school 292
  premises regulations will cover the appropriateness of these standards in the context of current and future educational practice, and of securing better use of school grounds.

  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his estimate of the number and size of school playing fields that have been sold in the past 11 years.

  Mr. Fallon
  The information needed to provide the estimate requested by the hon. Member is not available centrally.

  Physical Education Colleges
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many physical education colleges have closed in the past 11 years;

  (2) if he will make it his policy to take the steps necessary to transfer responsibility for the closure of physical education colleges to his Department.

  Mr. Fallon
  As no freestanding colleges of physical education are still in existence, the question of responsibility for their closure does not arise. Nonington college, Kent, has closed; most of the other physical education colleges have merged with other establishments to become part of polytechnics or colleges of higher education. These institutions now offer PE as a subject specialism within their initial teacher training courses (secondary phase). Anstey college, Birmingham, was absorbed into Birmingham polytechnic in which PE is no longer an option within initial teacher training for the secondary phase.

  London Schools Athletic Championships
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the reasons the London schools athletic championships did not take place this year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  I have received no representations on this issue. However, I understand that the London schools athletic championships were not held this year because the schools involved were unable to make the necessary commitment to this event. As a result, the London Schools Athletic Association has decided to organise next year's championships on an inter-borough basis.

  Sport
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many schoolchildren and young persons participated in sporting activities in 1979 and 1989; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what is the average amount of time devoted to sport and recreation in schools.

  Mr. Eggar
  The information requested is not available centrally. The Government fully recognise the importance of sport in schools. The national curriculum working group on physical education has been asked to take account of the contribution which competitive sport can make to the curriculum as a whole. The group's interim report is due to be submitted by the end of the year.

  Teacher Training
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will provide the latest available estimated cost to train a teacher.

  Mr. Fallon
  In polytechnics and colleges the estimated annual mean level of public funding per student enrolled on education courses in 1989–90 was around £3,500 The same figure was taken by the Universities Funding Council as the maximum at which it would fund each university undergraduate teacher training place in its recent bidding exercise.

  Teacher Appraisal
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state the outcome of the recent consultations on school teacher appraisal.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  [pursuant to his reply, 7 December 1990, c. 213]: I am grateful for the full and considered responses to the consultation which my predecessor launched in September.

  Most respondents wanted appraisal to be a duty on employers—and a duty and an entitlement for teachers. I agree. Appraisal will enhance the professional skills of teachers, and hence the education of their pupils. It should become part of the everyday working life of teachers, as in other occupations. Appraisal will assist teachers to realise their potential and carry out their duties more effectively. It affords parents an assurance of the quality of the teaching which their children will receive.

  Accordingly my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I intend to introduce regulations to require local education authorities and the governors of grant-maintained schools to arrange for the regular appraisal of all teachers whom they employ. We shall need to bring that requirement in gradually because the teacher force in England and Wales is 440,000 strong. But my target is that every teacher now in service should have had his first appraisal by the end of the 1994–95 school year.

  The recommendations of the national steering group on the aims of appraisal and on the broad components of the appraisal process command wide support. The regulations and the circular which will accompany them will build on that foundation. Appraisal will take place on a regular two-year cycle. At its heart will lie an observation by a senior colleague of the teacher's work in the classroom. This will be followed by an interview in which the appraiser will discuss the appraisee's professional development with him, and set targets for future action.

  I envisage that the regulations will enable the chairman of the school governors to see on request the targets set for teachers at the school. Disciplinary procedures will remain separate but may draw on appraisal records. In advising governing bodies on the exercise of their responsibilities for remuneration head teachers will be able to draw on relevant information from appraisal, along with other factors.

  I consider that the national steering group substantially overestimated the cost of introducing appraisal. I shall support expenditure of £10 million on appraisal in 1991–92, and of at least £10 million in 1992–93. Final decisions about 1992–93 and later years will be taken in due time.

  My Department has today invited the Interim Advisory Committee on School Teachers' Pay and Conditions to
  294
  consider an amendment to teachers' conditions of service which would oblige teachers to participate in appraisal with a framework prescribed by the regulations. I shall, as required by section 49 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986, consult again before making the regulations.

DEFENCE

  RAF Flying Accidents
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the nature and circumstances of the flying accident involving a Royal Air Force Jaguar aircraft on 12 September.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  On 12 September 1990, a Jaguar aircraft from RAF Coltishall on a routine training sortie crashed into a sandbank in the Solway firth. Tragically, the pilot was killed.

  A board of inquiry has been convened, and a summary of its findings will be published.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the nature and circumstances of the flying accident involving a Royal Air Force Tornado aircraft on 18 October.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  On 18 October 1990, a RAF Tornado aircraft crashed while approaching to land at Tabuk air force base in Saudi Arabia. The aircrew both ejected, but suffered major injuries.

  A board of inquiry has been convened, and a summary of its findings will be published.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of Stale for Defence on how many occasions since 1985 external stores have been inadvertently released from Royal Air Force aircraft in flight.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Eight, excluding occasions where weapons were released inadvertently within a weapons range danger area.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the nature and circumstances of the flying accident involving a Royal Air Force Jaguar aircraft on 13 November.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  On 13 November 1990, a RAF Jaguar aircraft on a low-level training flight flew into a ridge in the desert in Saudi Arabia, some 100 miles south of Bahrain. Tragically, the pilot was killed.

  A board of inquiry has been convened, a summary of its findings will be published.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the nature and circumstances of the flying accident involving a Royal Air Force Harrier aircraft on 17 October.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  On 17 October 1990, a RAF Harrier aircraft experienced what appeared to be engine problems shortly after take-off from Alborg air force base in Denmark. The pilot ejected and the aircraft crashed into a field. The pilot suffered minor injuries.

  A board of inquiry has been convened, and a summary of its findings will be published.

  Low Flying
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will maintain central records of confirmed infringements of United Kingdom low-flying system regulations by foreign aircrews.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  No.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if foreign aircrew found to have infringed the regulations governing the United Kingdom low-flying system are subject to disciplinary proceedings under the Air Force Act 1955.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  No.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low-flying movements were booked in low-flying area 17 in 1989.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  It is not the general practice to publish such information relating to individual low-flying areas.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those low-flying areas where a limit is imposed on the number of aircraft permitted within the area at any one time; and what was the date of introduction of the limit in each case.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Limits on the number of aircraft allowed at any one time in low-flying areas 7 and 17 were introduced in 1987 and in low-flying area 12 earlier this year.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if Royal Air Force pilots are permitted to fly low level over the United Kingdom while wearing a patch over one eye.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  No.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the special circumstances in which Royal Air Force aircrew may be authorised to fly at heights less than those set out in the United Kingdom military low flying handbook, as provided in section 51(b) of the Air Force Act 1955, and set out in Joint Services Publication 318.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  I have nothing to add to the reply which my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Mr. Neubert) gave to the hon. Member on 19 April 1989 at column 113.

  Gower Peninsula
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now reply to the letter sent to him on 12 October by the hon. Member for Gower regarding the potential hazards associated with leisure flying and low-flying aircraft over the Gower peninsula.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  I have written to the hon. Member.

  Iraq
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will request from the French Minister of Defence a full list of all weapons, aircraft, missiles and munitions supplied by French companies to Iraq prior to 2 August 1990.
  296
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I am satisfied that we are making appropriate inquiries about Iraqi military equipment.

  Sri Lankans (Training)
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Sri Lankan personnel have been on military training courses in the United Kingdom in each of the last four years; what advisory visits have been made in the last four years under the auspices of the directorate of military assistance overseas: and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Specific details on foreign students attending military training courses in the United Kingdom are normally confidential between the Governments concerned. I can, however, confirm that members of the Sri Lankan armed forces have attended a number of courses in the United Kingdom given by the three services. No advisory visits under the auspices of the directorate of military assistance overseas have been made to Sri Lanka in the past four years.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Late Sittings
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he has any plans to reduce the amount of business taken by the House after midnight; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. MacGregor
  In an ideal world the House would not often need to meet after midnight and I will consider any ideas as to how we might achieve this. However, any move towards this ideal while still securing the passage of business will require the co-operation and self-discipline of all hon. Members.

  Shopping Facilities
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what consideration is being given to the provision of shopping facilities for essential goods for the benefit of hon. Members and staff within the Palace of Westminster.

  Mr. MacGregor
  A small general shop run by the Refreshment Department and open to all Members and staff of the House is to be established in phase 1 of the new parliamentary buildings.

  POLIS
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will ensure that all Members' offices have direct access to POLIS.

  Mr. MacGregor
  All right hon. and hon. Members are able to access POLIS through the Library's terminals. The Library will also arrange for any Member to have direct access to the POLIS service in his own office, so long as his computer equipment is compatible. I am now studying the fourth report of the Services Committee of last Session, on computer services for members, which recommended the installation of a new cable to facilitate Members' access to POLIS and other data services.

  Procedural Changes
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he intends any review of the way in which Parliament manages its own affairs.
  297
  Mr. MacGregor
  Significant changes in the management and decision-making structures of the House have been proposed in the report on "House of Commons Services", which was prepared for the House of Commons Commission by a team led by Sir Robin Ibbs, and was published on 28 November as House of Commons paper 38 of this Session. My immediate concern, after consulting the House, will be to ensure the implementation of the main proposals in that report.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will consider taking steps to include a note of the total number of oral questions submitted to any one Department at the foot of the questions listed on the Order Paper.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I have no plans to do so. But if my hon. Friend wishes to pursue the matter he might care to raise it with the Procedure Committee which may shortly begin an inquiry into all aspects of parliamentary questions.

  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Lord President of the Council how many oral questions were tabled for answer by the(a) Secretary of State for Scotland on 21 November, (b) Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 22 November and (c) Secretary of State for Wales on 3 December.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The number is as follows:

  Oral questions tabled

  Number

  The Secretary of State for Scotland

  51

  The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

  31

  The Secretary of State for Wales

  28

ENERGY

  Electricity Industry (Coal Supply)
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next expects to meet the chairman of British Coal to discuss future contracts with the electricity industry.

  Mr. Wakeham
  I meet the chairman of British Coal regularly to discuss all aspects of the coal industry.

  Disconnections
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what discussion he has had with the new power companies as to the policy they will follow before any cut-offs of power will take place for the non-payment of electricity bills.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  In recognition that some consumers may experience genuine difficulties paying their bills, the licences issued to the public electricity suppliers have strengthened the protections against disconnection offered to such consumers. The Director General of Electricity Supply is responsible for overseeing the implementation of these safeguards.

  Aberthaw Power Station
  Mr. John P. Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next expects to meet the chairman of British Coal to discuss the future of Aberthaw power station.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My right hon. Friend meets the chairman of British Coal regularly to discuss all aspects of the coal industry. However, the future of Aberthaw power station is a matter for National Power.

  Renewable Energy
  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what plans he has for the encouragement of wind energy sources.

  Mr. Moynihan
  I intend to make provision reserved for wind energy projects in an order under the non-fossil fuel obligation next year. My Department is pursuing an expanding programme of research, development and demonstration on wind energy in collaboration with industry.

  Energy Efficiency
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress is being made by the new ministerial group on energy efficiency in devising public sector energy-saving initiatives.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The ministerial group on energy efficiency is working to spread energy efficiency practices throughout the public sector by providing encouragement, advice and technical guidance and by good example.

  Electricity Prices
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy by how much domestic electricity prices have increased since April 1987; and if he will consider improvement to the arrangements for the protection of electricity consumers to enable effective monitoring of price changes.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Domestic electricity prices have risen in real terms by less than 1 per cent. a year since April 1987. The Director General of Electricity Supply has statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of electricity consumers on a range of issues including prices.

  Dounreay
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the future of Dounreay.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the former Secretary of State for Energy, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Parkinson), on 21 July 1988.

  Unleaded Petrol
  Mr. David Martin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the percentage of petrol retailing outlets in the United Kingdom selling unleaded petrol; and what are the comparable figures in other members of the European Community.
  299
  Mr. Moynihan
  The United Kingdom Petroleum Industry Association estimates that at the end of September 1990, 98 per cent. of the filling stations in the United Kingdom sold premium unleaded petrol. Comparable figures in the European Community were West Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg 100 per cent., Denmark 85 per cent., Italy 64 per cent., Ireland 50 per cent., France 40 per cent., Spain 19 per cent., Greece 11 per cent. and Portugal 4 per cent.

  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what market share was taken by unleaded petrol in 1989 in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) other European Community countries.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The market share of unleaded petrol increased rapidly in the United Kingdom during 1989—from 4 per cent. in January to 28 per cent. by December, an average of 19 per cent. for that year. The United Kingdom share has subsequently increased to 38 per cent. in October this year.

  The United Kingdom Petroleum Industry Association estimates that in 1989 the market share of unleaded petrol in other European Community countries was as follows: West Germany 59 per cent., Denmark 57 per cent., Netherlands 37 per cent., Luxembourg 21 per cent., Belgium 19 per cent. Eire 7 per cent., France and Italy 2 per cent. and Spain and Portugal 0·5 per cent. Sales of unleaded petrol in Greece were negligible.

  Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what discussions he has had with the chairman of Nuclear Electric regarding the company's policy on reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.

  Mr. Wakeham
  I meet the chairman regularly to discuss a variety of issues.

  United Kingdom Continental Shelf
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many exploration and appraisal wells had been drilled on the United Kingdom continental shelf by the end of November.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The figure to the end of November is not yet available. Up to 25 November, 195 new exploration and appraisal wells had been started in the United Kingdom continental shelf since the beginning of this year, already the highest annual figure since United Kingdom continental shelf activity began in 1964.

  Uranium
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the world's resources of uranium.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My Department does not make an independent assessment of the world's resources of uranium. Regular estimates are, however, published by a number of bodies and I refer my hon. Friend to the 1990 edition of the OECD/IAEA publication "Uranium Resources, Production and Demand". This indicates that known and estimated reserves are expected to be sufficient for about 75 to 175 years.

  Public Buildings (Energy Conservation)
  Mr. Holt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what percentage of schools, clinics and other public buildings is commissioned, designed, built and put into use without an energy use and conservation evaluation being made.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  This information is not held centrally.

  Energy Technology Support Unit
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will increase the funding of the energy technology support unit.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The energy technology support unit provides programme management for my Department's renewable energy R and D programme and part of its energy efficiency programme. Provision for both these programmes next year has been increased with a consequent increase in funding for the energy technology support unit.

  Electricity Privatisation
  Mr. Twinn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the level of pre-registration for the sale of the 12 regional electricity companies.

  Mr. Wakeham
  By midnight on 14 November 1990 approximately 7·3 million applications to register had been received by the electricity share information office.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is his estimate of the percentage of shares in each of the 12 regional electricity companies held by residents of the home region of each company;

  (2) what is his most up-to-date estimate of the numbers of applicants to be shareholders in the 12 regional electricity companies resident in the franchise area served by each company.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The information is not available in the form requested.

  Offshore Installations (Safety)
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what exemptions he plans to propose to European law on offshore safety in respect of British installations after 1992.

  Mr. Moynihan
  None.

  Occupational Health Services
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what arrangements exist for the provision of an occupational health service for employees within his Department, stating(a) how many staff are employed to provide occupational health services, (b) how many of those staff are qualified nurses and (c) how many employees work in his Department in total.

  Mr. Wakeham
  My Department does not itself provide an occupational health service for its employees. Along with all other civil service departments and agencies, my Department has access to the services of the civil service occupational health service which employs some 100 fully
  301
  qualified occupational health professionals, including doctors, nurses and hygiene and safety advisers. It operates via a network of regional offices throughout the United Kingdom.

  The total number of employees in my Department was 1,067 at 1 December 1990.

  Offshore Oil Industry
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress he made in helping to promote the United Kingdom offshore oil industry during his recent visit to south America.
  302
  Mr. Moynihan
  During my visit to south America in October to promote the export interests of the United Kingdom offshore supplies industry I met Government Ministers and senior oil company personnel in both Mexico and Brazil, where I also attended the Rio oil and gas show to lend my support to the British companies exhibiting there and to deliver a paper on offshore safety. I hope that my visit will lead to greater opportunities for British industry to win export orders in these markets.

EMPLOYMENT

  Pentobarbitone
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Health and Safety Executive has examined working practices involving the use of pentobarbitone; and if he will issue guidelines concerning its safe use.

  Mr. Forth
  No studies of working practices specifically involving the use of pentobarbitone have been undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive. Existing statutory provisions, and guidance under those provisions, are comprehensive and there are no plans to issue specific guidelines for this substance.

  Occupational Health Services
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what arrangements exist for the provision of an occupational health service for employees within his Department, stating(a) how many staff are employed to provide occupational health services, (b) how many of those staff are qualified nurses and (c) how many employees work in his Department in total.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Department of Employment is served by the civil service occupational health service which employs some 100 fully qualified occupational health professionals including doctors, nurses and hygiene and safety advisers. It operates via a network of regional offices throughout the United Kingdom.

  VAT registrations, deregistrations and net change: end-;1981 to end-1989

  Registrations

  Deregistrations

  Net change (percentage)

  Amber Valley (local authority district)

  2,900

  2,400

  19·3

  East midlands

  104,900

  83,100

  23·8

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Disability Working Allowance
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how many recipients of the disability working allowance will be working for(a) between 16 and 24 hours and (b) 24 hours or more a week.

  Mr. Scott
  We estimate that once the benefit is established about 50,000 people will receive disability working allowance at any given point. We expect that about a quarter of these will be working fewer than 24 hours a week.

  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people would gain if the disability living allowance were to include(a) a diet component and (b) a heating component for those disabled people who incur extra costs.

  Mr. Scott
  The numbers who might gain from changes to the proposed disability living allowance would depend on the conditions of entitlement. Very substantial numbers of those people who have extra costs associated with either

  Working Hours
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what restrictions on working hours(a) during the day and (b) during the night are contained in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

  Mr. Forth
  The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places a number of general duties on employers, including"the provision and maintenance of plant and safe systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health".

  Working time arrangements in so far as they affect health and safety adversely are subject to this general duty.

  Residential Homes
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 which apply to workers in residential and nursing homes.

  Mr. Forth
  The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 does not distinguish between workers in one type of premise or another. Therefore, all the provisions of the Act which apply to workers generally apply equally to workers in residential and nursing homes.

  New Businesses
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many new businesses have been set up since 1981 in(a) Amber Valley and (b) the east midlands.

  Mr. Forth
  The information requested, based on VAT registration data, is given in the table. Early indications for 1990 from data collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are that in the United Kingdom as a whole there continues to be a substantial net increase.

  diet or heating are already receiving help through the existing disability costs benefits and more will do so with the introduction of the new lower rates of the disability living allowance.

  The proposed mobility and care components will deliver extra resources to people with a wide range of needs in addition to care and mobility.

  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how many(a) single people living with their parents, (b) single people living in their own home, (c) married people without children and (d) married people with children will receive disability working allowance; and if he will estimate the average weekly payment for each group (a) to (d).

  Mr. Scott
  Estimates of the likely case load of disability working allowance can be only tentative. On this basis, we estimate that about half the people who get DWA will be single and half will have a partner. Around half the single claimants will be living in the household of their parents or in the household of another person. About a third of recipients will have children and most of these will have partners. We estimate that the average payment will be a
  305
  little under £35 a week, but it is not possible to estimate average payments for different catetories of recipients with confidence.

  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the increase in expenditure in gross and net terms if the capital limit for the disability working allowance of £8,000 was(a) removed altogether, (b) raised to £24,000 and (c) raised to £16,000; and how many people would become entitled to disability working allowance as a result.

  Mr. Scott
  Given the small numbers involved and the uncertainty about the characteristics of this group, it is not possible to estimate with confidence either the gross or net cost of raising or removing the upper limit.

  Purchasing
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were his Department's(a) best and (b) worst purchases made in the current month as measured against the Government's supply index.

  Mr. Jack
  I regret that this information is not available. The Department is a subscriber to the Government supply index (GSI), and we are considering how we might develop our use of this system to give us improved information. The GSI has proved useful in promoting value-for-money awareness in the Department, but to date, limited directly attributable savings have been achieved.

  Pensions
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of uprating the basic state pension by £13 for a single person and £20 for a couple.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The cost of uprating the retirement pension in this way would be approximately £6 billion. There would also be an additional loss to the national insurance fund of £1 billion as a result of the consequential rise in contribution thresholds and limits. Such an increase implies a rise in the national insurance contributions paid by an employee on average earnings of approximately £2·78 per week and £5·34 for his employer.

  Sir Ian Gilmour
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, further to his reply to the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham,Official Report, 21 November, column 131, if he will now tabulate figures for basic retirement pension applications and awards in 1989 and in 1979, showing how many applications were received in each year; and how many were (a) turned down and (b) awarded at less than the full rate of basic retirement pension, due to (i) insufficient contributions, (ii) receipt of another benefit, (iii) deferral and (iv) other reasons.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The information requested is in the table. Figures are not available on the number of instances where there was no entitlement to retirement pension, where the claimant chose to defer his award or where the award was later reduced because of an overlapping benefit.

  A

  B

  C

  D

  Date (6 months to)

  Total claims

  Total awards

  Number at less than full rate

  November 1979

  371,938

  347,000

  39,520

  March 1989

  317,011

  244,940

  50,340

  306
  Note: Instances where the payment of retirement pension was reduced because of an overlapping benefit are included as full awards in column C.

  Industrial Disablement Benefit
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what date hard metal disease was prescribed for industrial disablement benefit purposes; if he will list the medical conditions which are treated as pneumoconiosis for industrial disablement benefit purposes, and in relation to each disease when it was first so treated; and in relation to the lung conditions which are treated as pneumoconiosis for industrial disablement benefit purposes, what publicity has been issued by the Department of Social Security to inform potential claimants about their potential eligibility.

  Mr. Scott
  Fibrosis of the lung caused by dust from hard metal is covered by the definition of pneumoconiosis which, for the purposes of industrial injuries disablement benefit, includes fibrosis of the lungs due to silica dust, asbestos dust or other dust. This definition was first included in the coal mining industry (pneumoconiosis) compensation scheme under the Workmen's Compensation Act 1943. Information is available in a number of departmental leaflets; leaflet N13 in particular refers to lung diseases caused by some dusts and fibres.

  Disability
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether his Department has any plans to embark on on-going research work to determine the actual and potential costs of disability.

  Mr. Scott
  The OPCS surveys, and the family expenditure survey (FES) follow-up survey published earlier this year, have provided us with an unprecedented amount of information about both the actual and the potential costs of disability. We have no intention of commissioning further research at this stage, although we will keep the position under review.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many children would receive each of the two mobility components of the disability living allowance if the lower age limit of five years was(a) removed altogether or (b) reduced to two years; and what the total expenditure would be in each case.

  Mr. Scott
  The number of potential beneficiaries from a reduction in the lower age limit for the mobility component cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty. Our estimates, based on analyses of the OPCS disability surveys, are that the abolition of the age limit would bring perhaps an additional 15,000 children on to the higher level of the mobility component and an additional 10,000 on to the lower level. The total cost would be about £35 million a year. A reduction in the age limit to two years would be likely to bring on slightly lower numbers of children, with a cost of about £30 million a year.

  Medical Reports (Benefits)
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security under what statutory authority people can be refused sight of medical reports on their person when such reports are obtained by his Department in respect of applications for discretionary benefits.
  307
  Miss Widdecombe
  There is no statutory authority. Medical reports are given in confidence and whether they can be released or not is governed by principles of common law.

  Coal Workers
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) shotsmen and (b) shotfirers who formerly worked in the coal industry have been tested for the effects of nitrogen oxide; of those tested, how many have received compensation; and if he will supply figures for each coalfield area in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Scott
  The information requested is not available, but on 1 April 1989, some 20 people were estimated to be receiving industrial injuries disablement benefit because of poisoning by oxides of nitrogen.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether any persons suffering from Dupuytren's contracture as a direct result of employment in the coal industry are entitled to claim compensation.

  Mr. Scott
  I believe that this question relates to the condition of Dupuytren's contracture in which bands of increased fibrous tissue in the palm of the hand may result in a progressive curling over of one or more fingers. There is no firm evidence that this condition arises from any form of employment. It is not therefore recognised under the industrial injuries scheme as a prescribed disease.

  Social Security Appeal Tribunals
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what explanation he offers to persons willing to serve on social security appeal tribunals but whom he decides not to reappoint; what right of appeal against such refusal to reappoint exists; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what opportunities to attend training courses have been offered in each year since 1979 to members of the Leeds social security appeal tribunal; how many members have attended (a) all training courses and (b) no training courses in each of the last five years; and what importance he places on attendance at training courses when deciding reappointments to the tribunal;

  (3) how many persons he has appointed in each year since 1979 to the Leeds social security appeal tribunal; what is the normal term of office; in how many cases since 1979 he has reappointed persons for further terms; and in how many cases since 1979 he has declined to reappoint a person who is willing to continue service;

  (4) what reports he has received in the past five years about complaints made by members of the Leeds social security appeal tribunal concerning the conduct of hearings.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The responsibility for the appointment of members of social security appeal tribunals lies with the president of social security appeal tribunals and medical appeal tribunals, His Honour Judge Derek Holden, who is appointed by the Lord Chancellor. He has, however, provided me with the following information.

  Tribunal members normally hold office for three years at a time, but the president may, at any time, terminate the appointment of any member. There is no right of appeal against the decision not to reappoint a person to a panel of members.
  308
  Since the president's office was created in 1984, training courses have been available to members of Leeds social security tribunal in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. Further courses are being arranged for 1991. Training records are kept for individual members but are not collated. Availability for training courses is regarded as an important factor when considering reappointments.

  The number of persons appointed as members of the panel for Leeds social security appeal tribunal since 1979 is as follows:

  Number

  1979

  5

  1980

  1

  1981

  1

  1982

  2

  1983

  6

  1984

  1

  1985

  1

  1986

  7

  1987

  7

  1988

  2

  1989

  —

  1990

  —

  The number of members reappointed to the panel for Leeds social security appeal tribunal is available only from 1986:

  Number

  1986

  8

  1987

  1

  1988

  —

  1989

  2

  1990

  9

  The number of members not reappointed to the panel for Leeds social security appeal tribunal is available only from 1989:

  Number

  1989

  —

  1990

  5

  During the past five years no complaints from members have been received by the president concerning the conduct of hearings of Leeds social security tribunals.

  Sexual Equality
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to ensure that men and women are treated equally in all social security matters.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The Government are committed to the principle of equal treatment for men and women. Certain social security issues are exempted under European law from the general rule of equal treatment.

  Child Support
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the additional cost in 1991–92 of a lop increase in allowances for dependent children under income support, family credit, housing benefit and community charge benefit.

  Miss Widdecombe
  It is estimated that the net overall cost of increasing all child premiums by 10p for all four income-related benefits would be about £17 million.

  Community Charge
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to undertake a fundamental review of the operation of the poll tax rebate scheme in 1991–92.

  Miss Widdecombe
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is conducting a fundamental review of the community charge. Any associated changes in social security arrangements will be considered at the appropriate time.

  Earnings
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) men and (b) women earn above the national insurance upper earnings limit, divided into those on basic rate and the top rate of tax in 1991–92.

  Mr. Jack
  It is estimated that in 1991–92 the numbers of employees with earnings above the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions will be as follows:

  Men million

  Women million

  Basic rate income tax

  1·7

  0·3

  Higher rate income tax

  l·0

  0·1

  Total

  2·7

  0·4

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) men and (b) women earn below the national insurance threshold; and how many are between the upper and lower earnings limits in 1991–92.

  Mr. Jack
  It is estimated that in 1991–92 about 3 million employees, a quarter of whom will be men, will have earnings below the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions. It is also estimated that in that year about 16·5 million employees, split equally between men and women, will have earnings that are between the upper and lower earnings limits.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much revenue would be raised by putting national insurance contributions on savings above(a) £3,000 and (b) £5,000 (i) including pensioners and (ii) excluding pensioners.

  Mr. Jack
  National insurance contributions are levied only on earned income not on capital.

SCOTLAND

  Administrative Costs
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the administrative costs of his Department rose by more or less than the retail prices index in the last financial year.

  Mr. Lang
  Gross running cost expenditure on Scottish Office administration was 8·3 per cent. higher in 1989–90 than in the previous year. During the same period the retail prices index increased by 7·8 per cent.

  Purchasing
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what were his Department's(a) best and (b) worst purchases made in the current month as measured against the Government's supply index;

  (2) what were the 10 worst purchases made by his Department in the month of October as measured against the Government's supply index.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish Office is not a member of the Government supply index.

  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the purchasing policy of his Department.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish Office complies with the Government's policy that purchasers should base all procurement of goods and services on value for money, including quality (or fitness for purpose) and delivery against price. In accordance with that policy, goods and services are acquired by competition unless there are convincing reasons to the contrary. Under EC rules, and the GATT Government procurement agreement (GPA) where appropriate, the Scottish Office is obliged to award relevant contracts in accordance with prescribed procedures aimed at avoiding discrimination on grounds of nationality. To help to ensure effective compliance with these policies, and in line with guidance from HM Treasury's Central Unit on Purchasing, the Scottish Office has established a central purchasing and supply unit.

  Woodland Grant Scheme
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will review the level of grants paid by the Forestry Commission under the woodland grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the scheme's operation.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  My right hon. Friend expects to make an announcement on this matter shortly.

  Nature Conservancy Council (Scotland)
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to announce the membership of the council of the Nature Conservancy Council (Scotland).

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. Friend will announce the membership soon.

  A1
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the timing of the upgrading of the Al road from Musselburgh to Dunbar to dual carriageway standard in the light of his recent announcement on his Department's expenditure plans.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  There has been no change in our plans to develop and implement a suitable programme of road improvements for the A1 including the dualling of the route first to Haddington and then on to Dunbar. The necessary preparatory work for this upgrading will continue as planned.

  Consultation
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his practice to add hon. Members to the list of consultees to whom Scottish Office consultative documents are issued.

  Mr. Lang
  My Department takes account of the subject matter and purpose of each consultative document in deciding to whom it should be sent. Right hon. and hon. Members are included where they are likely to have an interest. In appropriate circumstances consultative documents are placed in the Library and the attention of the House is drawn to this. Moreover, media publicity is often given to consultative exercises thus enabling anyone with an interest to obtain copies of documents and submit views.

  Firearms (Amendment) Act
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to amend section 19 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 to include measures that are partially or wholly funded by private means; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  There are no plans to amend section 19 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988.

  Public Sector Tenants (Property Purchases)
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan) on 22 November,Official Report, column 205, he will name the three authorities which have submitted proposals to operate financial incentive schemes to encourage tenants to buy homes in the private sector and which are currently under consideration.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: Skye and Lochalsh district council, North East Fife district council and Gordon district council have submitted such proposals.

  Scottish Refugee Council
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will respond positively to the grant application by the Scottish Refugee Council to the Scottish Office social work services group; and when he expects to respond.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: The Scottish Office and the Home Office jointly made available to the Scottish Refugee Council a three-year grant of £25,000 per annum commencing in 1989–90. The council has applied to the Scottish Office for increased grant in 1991–92. This application is currently being considered along with other competing applications, and a decision is expected by early February 1991.

  Mr. Brent Hodgson
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement on the progress of the investigation by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland into the case of Mr. Brent Hodgson, a former adult student at the West of Scotland college, Auchincruive, Ayr.
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  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 7 December 1990]: I will write to the hon. Member.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Shellfish
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements are being made or have already been made to protect the environment or the local ecology before the introduction of alien species of shellfish is permitted.

  Mr. Curry
  It is an offence under section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release or allow to escape into the wild any animal of a kind which is not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state; or which is included in part I of schedule 9 to that Act. Introductions into the wild may be authorised by a licence granted under section 16 and after consultation with the Nature Conservancy Council. These licences may be general or specific and subject to certain conditions. At present general licences permit releases of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and Portuguese oysters (Crassostrea angulata). The release of any other species of alien shellfish would require a specific licence. Moreover, all deposits of molluscan shellfish, whether native or non-native, are subject to licensing under the Molluscan Shellfish (Control of Deposit) Order 1974, as varied.

  The suitability of alien shellfish for cultivation in our waters is carefully investigated by fisheries department scientists, who take account of the scope for natural recruitment and potential ecological impact. Steps are also taken to ensure that any imported broodstock are free of alien shellfish parasites or diseases. There is no evidence of natural recruitment or ecological harm having arisen from the cultivation of Pacific or Portuguese oysters.

  Institute of Food Research
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of the research work carried out at the Institute of Food Research at Norwich which is due to be terminated in 1991.

  Mr. Gummer
  The following projects, identified as being near-market, are due to terminate in 1991:Utilisation of proteins as functional ingredients in processed food products.
  Optimum conditions for maintaining quality in bulked storage of vegetables.

  The Ministry's total expenditure on food R and D is rising from £20·3 million in 1990–91 to £21·4 million in 1991–92.

  Farm Employment
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many(a) farmers and (b) farm workers were employed in England on a county-by-county basis in June.

  Mr. Gummer
  The numbers of farmers and farm workers on main agricultural and horticultural holdings are collected each year under the June agricultural and horticultural census. Results at county level are published from each census in the "Farmers and Workers" section of the "Published Statistical Material" (PSM) statement. The latest statement is for 1989 and a copy is being placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
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  Information from the 1990 June agricultural and horticultural census is currently being processed and will become available next year.

  Surplus Produce
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement explaining the total sum in the 1991 EEC budget which relates to the storage and sale of surplus produce, including the disposal thereof.

  Mr. Curry
  The total sum in the 1991 draft EC budget relating to the storage, sale and disposal of agricultural produce is 17,900 million ecu (£12,500 million). Of this sum 9,800 million ecu (£6,800 million) relates to export

  Date

  Destination

  Commodity

  Quantity (Tonnes)

  Price (pence/lb)

  June

  Algeria

  Wheat

  160,800

  3·0

  June

  Morocco

  Wheat

  122,000

  3· 0

  July

  Algeria

  Wheat

  60,000

  3·0

  June

  Eastern Europe1

  Rice

  500

  8·1

  July

  Eastern Europe1

  Rice

  14,750

  7·5

  October

  Eastern Europe2

  Rice

  3,900

  6·1

  November

  Eastern Europe2

  Rice

  6,440

  6·1–6·5

  November

  USSR

  Wheat

  1,500,000

  2·0

  November

  USSR

  Barley

  500,000

  2·0

  September

  Brazil3

  Beef-Boneless

  30,000

  25·3

  September

  Brazil3

  Beef-Bone in

  50,000

  17·5

  1 Includes East Germany.

  2 Excludes East Germany.

  3 Sale agreed by EC but not taken up by Brazil.

  Dairy Farms
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many dairy farms there are in England on a county-by-county basis for the latest available date.

  Mr. Gummer
  The number of holdings with dairy cows in each English county in June 1989 was as follows:

  County

  Number of holdings

  Avon

  575

  Bedfordshire

  59

  Berkshire

  106

  Buckinghamshire

  241

  Cambridgeshire

  62

  Cheshire

  1,680

  Cleveland

  84

  Cornwall (inc. Isles of Scilly)

  1,916

  Cumbria

  2,430

  Derbyshire

  1,180

  Devon

  3,137

  Dorset

  1,040

  Durham

  351

  Essex

  158

  Gloucestershire

  654

  Hampshire

  401

  Hereford and Worcester

  781

  Hertfordshire

  108

  Humberside

  218

  Isle of Wight

  115

  Kent

  249

  Lancashire

  1,753

  Leicestershire

  585

  Lincolnshire

  246

  Greater London

  24

  Greater Manchester

  277

  Merseyside

  35

  Norfolk

  313

  314
  refunds, 4,900 million ecu (£3,400 million) to storage, 600 million ecu (£400 million) to withdrawals and 2,600 million ecu (£1,800 million) to internal disposal subsidies.

  Agricultural Products and Wine
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing the special sales of agricultural products and wine agreed by the EEC in the most recent six-month period for which figures are available; and if he will indicate the sale prices of these items in terms of pence per pound.

  Mr. Curry
  Special sales of agricultural produce and wine that have taken place or been agreed by the EC in the last six months are shown in the table:

  County

  Number of holdings

  Northamptonshire

  207

  Northumberland

  205

  Nottinghamshire

  219

  Oxfordshire

  298

  Shropshire

  1,367

  Somerset

  1,771

  Staffordshire

  1,626

  Suffolk

  207

  Surrey

  177

  Sussex East

  291

  Sussex West

  262

  Tyne and Wear

  34

  Warwickshire

  369

  West Midlands

  61

  Wiltshire

  902

  Yorkshire North

  1,968

  Yorkshire South

  233

  Yorkshire West

  517

  Wine
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Southend, East on 20 November,Official Report, column 85, if the rates of export refund for wine fall to be adjusted in respect of the special sales to Poland and other east European nations; and if he will further indicate the prices at which the wine is purchased from EEC sources before the export refund is applied.

  Mr. Curry
  There are no special arrangements covering the sale of wine, or of EC stocks of wine alcohol, to Poland or other east European nations.

  Representative market prices for table wines are published each week in the C series of the Official Journal

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  of the European Communities. The first during the year in question were published in C.113 of 4 May 1989 (P.4); and the last in C.104 of 26 April 1990 (P.7).

  I apologise for an error in my earlier answer. Conversion rates to be applied are:

  up to 31 August 1989 one ecu/per cent. vol./hectolitre = £0·0675071/litre

  up to 10 January 1990 one ecu/per cent. vol./hectolitre = £0·0701383/litre

  up to 11 January 1990 one ecu/per cent. vol./hectolitre = £0·0704335/litre.

  The conversion rates assume table wine at 10 per cent. alcohol by volume.

  Agricultural Development Advisory Service
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people are currently employed in the farm and countryside service of the Agricultural Development Advisory Service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  On 3 December 1990 there were 1,637 staff employed in the farm and countryside service of the Agricultural Development Advisory Service.

  Borrowing
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the total liabilities of United Kingdom agriculture including borrowings by agricultural landlords and farmers, but excluding borrowing for private purposes, for 1989 and 1990; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  Information on the total liabilities of United Kingdom agriculture relates to December in each year. No figures are available for 1990. A forecast for 1989

  MAFF spend on R and D with AFRC institutes—Table 1

  £ million

  April-March years

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  (a) Arable crops

  5·4

  3·8

  4·3

  4·4

  4·5

  (b) Animal health

  5·1

  5·1

  5·0

  6·2

  5·3

  (c) Animal physiology and genetics

  2·3

  2·1

  2·2

  3·2

  3·0

  (d) Engineering research

  3·4

  3·4

  3·4

  3·4

  3·1

  (e) Food research

  6·3

  6·6

  6·3

  5·9

  4·7

  (f) Grassland and environmental research

  7·2

  7·4

  6·4

  6·0

  5·2

  (g) Horticultural research

  7·2

  7·4

  6·4

  6·0

  5·2

  (h) Plant science research

  0·1

  0·3

  0·5

  0·4

  0·4

  Total

  36·6

  36·3

  36·0

  36·6

  126·2

  1 Excludes research which will be commissioned directly by MAFF with Horticultural Research International from 1991–92 onwards.

  Table 2

  £s million

  April-March years

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  (a) Animals

  10·7

  13·8

  15·3

  15·2

  (b) Arable Crops

  7·1

  10·9

  11·8

  20·1

  (c) Horticulture

  5·8

  7·5

  8·4

  (d) Engineering

  2·4

  2·8

  4·0

  4·4

  (e) Food Science

  2·6

  3·7

  5·0

  5·8

  Total

  28·6

  38·7

  44·5

  45·5

  316
  is published in table 3.1 of the 1990 edition of "Farm Income in the United Kingdom" and will be updated in "Agriculture in the United Kingdom", 1990 edition, to be published in January 1991. A forecast for 1990 will be given in "Farm Income in the United Kingdom", 1991 edition, to be published in April 1990. The level in real terms of total liabilities of United Kingdom agriculture has remained broadly stable since 1983.

  Research and Development
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the amount of money his Ministry gave to fund(a) arable crops research, (b) animal health, (c) animal physiology and genetics, (d) engineering research, (e) food research, (f) grassland and environmental research, (g) horticultural research and (h) plant science research at Agriculture and Food Research Council institutes since 1980; and what are his estimates for 1991 and 1992.

  Mr. Gummer
  My Department has a significant programme of R and D to provide the necessary scientific base for its policy decisions. In 1990–91 this Department will be spending £121 million on R and D, of which some £45 million (37 per cent.) is at the AFRC institutes.

  Information in the detailed format requested is available only from 1987–88 onwards and this is provided in table 1. Comparative data for earlier years can be produced only at disproportionate cost. Tables 2 and 3 give details of that information readily available for the earlier years.

  The data exclude central administration and superannuation costs provided by MAFF which are used to support AFRC institutes.

  Table 3

  £ million

  April—March years

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  (a) Plant Breeding

  5·0

  5·1

  4·4

  (b) Crop Protection

  7·3

  7·1

  6·0

  (c) Soils and Crop Nutrition

  3·7

  3·4

  2·6

  (d) Crop Production

  6·6

  6·7

  5·8

  (e) Animal Breeding

  1·7

  1·8

  1·6

  (f) Animal Disease

  7·1

  5·9

  5·2

  (g) Animal Nutrition

  1·6

  2·0

  1·8

  (h) Animal Production

  7·1

  7·3

  5·6

  (i) Food

  6·0

  6·6

  6·7

  (j) Statistics and Computing

  0·8

  0·7

  0·8

  TOTAL

  46·9

  46·6

  40·5

  Research Projects
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of research projects which have been identified as near-market for which his Ministry will withdraw funding; how many of these projects have since found funding from industry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  As I have stated on a previous occasion, a comprehensive list is not available and can be produced only at disproportionate cost. The two lists provide details of projects in the fisheries and food sectors which have been identified as near-market research for which funding by my Department has been, or is being, phased out in line with Government policy. Information is not available on how many of these projects have attracted funding from industry.

  List 1

  Projects for Termination in 1990

  1. Effects of Frozen Storage on quality and processing meat.

  2. Carcase characteristics that determine value.

  3. Effects of poultry breeding, husbandry, handling and processing on carcase composition and quality.

  4. Flavour of cheese, fats, oils and confectionery.

  5. Identify off flavours and taints resulting from processing, packaging and storage of cheese, fats, oils, confectionery and beverages.

  6. Factors controlling meat restructuring processes.

  7. Protein solubilisation and adhesion in reformed meats.

  8. Adhesions and cohesion in meat products.

  9. Effects of breeding, husbandry and poultry plant operations on the further processing quality of turkey meat.

  10. Crystallisation behaviour of triglyceride mixtures in bulk phase and emulsion systems.

  11. Temperature and mass change in meat cooking.

  12. Electrical stimulation, hot boning and accelerated ageing.

  13. Electrical stimulation, hot boning and processing properties of beef, pork and poultry.

  14. Industrial development and technology transfer.

  15. Optimum conditions for maintaining quality in packaged fruit and vegetables.

  16. Use of microbial enzymes for the upgrading of sugar beet.

  17. Carcase composition and meat quality in cattle.

  18. Carcase composition and meat quality in sheep.

  19. Techniques for assessment of carcase composition.

  20. Effects of pre-slaughter handling practices on value of carcase and fresh meat.

  21. Microbial spoilage of packaged fish and shellfish.

  22. Innovation of fish and shellfish products and relevant process technology.

  23. Shellfish processing.

  24. Textural modification of recovered flesh.

  25. Improved chilling and handling of sea fish and farmed fish.

  26. Innovation and characterisation of added value products from industrial and waste fish resources and development of relevant new pilot plant processes or existing processes.

  27. Improvements in the efficiency of processing fish-smoking.

  28. Investigation of chemical/physical methods of reducing the rate of deterioration of bulk stored fish at sea.

  29. Assessment of the requirements for the introduction of freezing-at-sea on small fishing vessels.

  30. Study of cultured fish in relation to general quality aspects and to their suitability for processing.

  31. The efficient use of recovered fish flesh for human consumption.

  32. Applications of electronics and physical sensors in fish processing.

  33. Plant design-Development of monitoring and control systems.

  34. Refrigeration-the design and development of a
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  multipass freezer.

  35. Plant design—Energy utilisation in fish processing.

  36. Plant design—A study of fundamental principles in the design and development of new smoking processes.

  37. Processing machinery—Development of a machine to produce uncoated formed fillets.

  38. Processing machinery—Separation of meat from shellfish.

  List 2

  Projects for termination in 1991

  1. Utilisation of proteins as functional ingredients in processed food products.

  2. Chemical composition and processing conditions on functional properties of food emulsions.

  3. Composition factors and processing conditions of fat in food emulsions.

  4. Heat and mass transfer in meat refrigeration.

  5. Robotics in meat handling and processing.

  6. Meat process engineering.

  7. Quality control robotic vision and meat grading by video image analysis and fibre.

  8. Production of savoury flavour-enhancing peptides by enzymes.

  9. Improve yield and quality of cheese and other fermented dairy products using cultures and enzymes derived from biotechnology programmes at IFR.

  10. Packaging techniques for improved storage and display.

  11. Optimum conditions for maintaining quality in bulked storage of vegetables.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what he is charging Dr. Harash Narang of the public health laboratory for the supply of cattle heads for BSE testing; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) how many cattle brains he is supplying to Dr. Harash Narang at the public health laboratory in Newcastle for BSE tests; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  We are supplying Dr. Harash Narang with 10 cattle brains at £50 each. This cost reflects the expenditure incurred by my Department in ensuring the supply of both positive and negative BSE material.

  Bankruptcies
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has for the number of bankruptcies in the agricultural sector in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  Figures for bankruptcies in England and Wales for the agricultural and horticultural sectors over the last five years are as follows:

  Number of bankruptcies

  Percentage of total bankruptcies

  1985

  136

  2·1

  1986

  130

  1·9

  1987

  172

  2·4

  1988

  162

  2·1

  1989

  142

  1·7

  Note: These and related figures were set out in the 9 November issue of "Business Briefing" published by the Association of Brii.ish Chambers of Commerce. The balance sheet for British agriculture remains strong with the value of assets being six times liabilities.