Written Answers of 13 February 1990

THE ARTS

  Libraries (Beetles)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what recommendations he has made to historic libraries on protecting their collections of books against the Australian spider beetle and the biscuit beetle; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]: The national preservation office, funded by the British Library, maintains a free inquiry and advice service to libraries in the United Kingdom on all aspects of preservation and security, including the protection of books against beetle.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Privatised Industries
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning the possible renationalisation of privatised industries; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lilley
  None.

  Profit-related Pay
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many profit-related pay schemes are linked to the profitability of the firm as a whole rather than to a smaller unit; and how many people are affected.

  Mr. Lilley
  I regret that the information is not readily available.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost to the Exchequer in each year of the profit-related pay scheme.

  Mr. Lilley
  The information is as follows.

  Year

  Estimated cost of income tax relief £ million

  1987–88

  negligible

  1988–89

  10

  1989–90

  15

  Costs are expected to increase in future.

  Payroll Taxes
  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of different levels of payroll tax on the costs of industry.
  122
  Mr. Lilley
  A payroll tax levied as a percentage of total payroll would raise an estimated £1¼ billion for each 0·5 per cent. of the tax rate.

  Personal Equity Plans
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for each year that PEPs have been in operation what is(a) the number of people with PEPs, (b) the average holding per person in a PEP and the distribution of holdings and (c) the distribution of PEP holdings by region.

  Mr. Lilley
  Information is not available in the form requested. The number of plans taken out since the introduction of personal equity plans is estimated as follows:—

  Year

  Total

  1987

  270,000

  1988

  120,000

  1989

  300,000

  Total

  690,000

  The average value of the investment in each plan is as follows.

  Year

  £

  1987

  1,650

  1988

  1,800

  An estimate for 1989 is not available yet and there is no information available on the distribution of the level of investments or the regional distribution of investors.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has on whether the existence of PEPs has increased(a) personal shareholdings and (b) savings.

  Mr. Lilley
  Personal equity plans offer a simple and cheap way of owning shares and have been very successful in shares and encouraging the spread of share ownership.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the distribution of personal equity plan holdings by income in each year of the scheme's existence.

  Mr. Lilley
  I regret that the information is not available.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the proportion of(a) non-United Kingdom shares and (b) shares in privatised companies held on average in each PEP and their distribution.

  Mr. Lilley
  I regret that the information is not available. Non-United Kingdom shares may not be held directly in a PEP.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of PEP savings he estimates are diverted from other forms of savings, and what information he has as to what these other savings are.

  Mr. Lilley
  I regret that the information requested is not available.

  Tax
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the amount and share of pre-tax income accruing to (a) the top 1 per cent., (b) the top 5 per cent., (c) the top 10 per cent., (d) the top 25 per cent., (e) the bottom 70 per cent., (f) the bottom 5 per cent. and (g) all taxpayers in each year from 1978–79 to 1989–90 and the amount and share of tax liability for each of these groups.

  Mr. Lilley
  Estimates are given in the tables for 1978–79 and 1983–84 to 1989–90. Information for other years could

  Group of taxpayers1

  Top 1 per cent.

  Top 5 per cent.

  Top 10 per cent.

  Top 25 per cent.

  Bottom 70 per cent.

  All taxpayers

  Year

  Amount £ billion

  Share per cent.

  Amount £ billion

  Share per cent.

  Amount £ billion

  Share per cent.

  Amount £ billion

  Share per cent.

  Amount £ billion

  Share per cent.

  Amount £ billion

  Gross Incomes before tax

  1978–79

  5·1

  5

  15·0

  15

  24·3

  24

  45·9

  45

  51·0

  50

  102·8

  1983–84

  9·7

  6

  28·3

  16

  45·0

  26

  81·7

  47

  82·0

  47

  173·7

  1984–85

  10·9

  6

  31·4

  17

  49·6

  26

  89·3

  47

  88·8

  47

  188·8

  1985–86

  12·9

  6

  35·7

  17

  55·9

  26

  100·5

  47

  100·0

  47

  212·6

  1986–87

  15·1

  7

  40·8

  17

  63·2

  27

  112·5

  48

  107·3

  46

  232·9

  1987–88

  16·4

  6

  45·3

  18

  70·1

  28

  124·2

  49

  116·2

  46

  255·1

  1988–892

  19·3

  7

  52·3

  18

  80·5

  28

  141·3

  49

  129·2

  45

  287·0

  1989–902

  22·0

  7

  59·3

  18

  91·2

  28

  159·5

  50

  144·5

  45

  322·1

  Income tax liabilities

  1978–79

  2·3

  11

  4·9

  24

  7·0

  34

  11·5

  57

  7·7

  38

  20·2

  1983–84

  2·8

  11

  8·5

  26

  12·2

  36

  19·5

  58

  12·5

  38

  33·4

  1984–85

  4·2

  12

  9·3

  26

  13·3

  38

  21·1

  60

  12·4

  35

  35·4

  1985–86

  5·0

  13

  10·6

  27

  14·8

  38

  23·2

  60

  13·6

  35

  38·8

  1986–87

  6·2

  14

  12·7

  29

  17·3

  40

  26·5

  61

  14·5

  34

  43·3

  1987–88

  6·6

  15

  13·7

  30

  18·5

  41

  28·0

  62

  14·9

  33

  45·4

  1988–892

  6·1

  13

  13·9

  29

  19·0

  41

  29·1

  62

  15·1

  32

  46·7

  1989–902

  7·1

  13

  16·0

  30

  22·0

  42

  33·3

  63

  16·9

  32

  53·1

  1 Married couples and single people.

  2 Provisional.

  Revenues
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenues have been received by Government for each year from 1979–80 to the present and in aggregate in real terms from(a) North sea oil, (b) privatisation proceeds and (c) other sales of land or property of central or local government.

  Mr. Lilley
  Such information as is readily available is included on the CSO database (identified by the database codes) and published in the 1990 public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 1021) as follows:

  (a) total north sea taxes—database, code ABLG

  (b) privatisation proceeds—Table 21.5.13 of Cm. 1021

  (c) sales of land and buildings—Table 21.2.17 of Cm. 1021 implied GDP (at market price) deflator—database code DJDT

  Tax Avoidance
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will adopt the Keith committee proposal to require taxpayers to disclose tax avoidance transactions.

  Mr. Lilley
  The recommendation of the Keith committee that the taxpayer should be obliged to tell the inspector where he has taken the benefit of any doubt whether any item ought to be declared, or any relief or deduction allowed, was rejected, following extensive public consultations, because it was found that it would be both burdensome and impracticable.
  124
  be provided only at disproportionate cost. All estimates of income are based on information reported to tax offices and collected through the annual surveys of personal incomes. For years before 1985–86, estimates exclude employees' contributions to occupational pension schemes and some investment income on which tax is deducted at source. Estimates are based on the surveys of personal incomes for years up to 1987–88 and projections of the 1987–88 survey for subsequent years; the latter are therefore provisional. I regret that information on the bottom 5 per cent. of taxpayers is not available.

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he intends to take measures to prevent fringe banks from funding tax avoidance schemes.

  Mr. Lilley
  No. Banks must be free to decide whether to fund any legitimate activity.

  Bankruptcy
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he intends to take to protect the interests of the Inland Revenue in personal bankruptcy cases involving moneys held by Isle of Man or Channel Islands based trusts.

  Mr. Lilley
  The Inland Revenue will continue to use all measures available to it under the insolvency legislation.

  Workplace Nurseries
  Mrs. Maureen Hicks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received seeking assistance through the tax system to employers setting up nurseries.

  Mr. Lilley
  Employers can already obtain tax relief for most of the costs of setting up and running workplace nurseries. As to the provision of any further assistance, I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget statement.

  Child Care
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he received about the taxation of the use of child care facilities.

  Mr. Lilley
  I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget statement.

  Corporation Tax
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of bank provision against less-developed country debt will be accepted for the financial year 1989–90 as appropriate to offset against corporation tax liability.

  Mr. Lilley
  Banks are entitled to a tax deduction for the proportion of doubtful debt which is estimated to be irrecoverable. The amount will be negotiated between the Inland Revenue and the banks when the banks submit their accounts for the year.

  Electric Vehicles
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has recieved, and from whom, seeking encouragement through the use of the tax system for the development or use of electrically powered road vehicles.

  Mr. Lilley
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has received few representations concerning tax concessions for the development or use of electrically powered road vehicles.

  Day Vee
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Inland Revenue has sought the return of any former directors of Day Vee to the United Kingdom to help with its investigations into the company's tax liabilities.

  Mr. Lilley
  Such information is confidential.

  Interest Rates
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from small businesses regarding the effects of interest rates.

  Mr. Ryder
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have received a number of such representations.

  Investment
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will arrange to meet his West German counterpart to discuss investment policy.

  Mr. Ryder
  My right hon. Friend regularly meets the West German Finance Minister at the European Community's Economic and Finance Council. In our countries business investment has been buoyant in the last two years: in the United Kingdom it grew by over 30 per cent. in the two years to 1988, owing to the success of the Government's policies in fostering confidence in the future of the United Kingdom economy.

  Taxation Revenue
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in rank order the total revenue raised from the 21 different forms of taxation.

  Mr. Lilley
  The information can be found in tables 3.13, 3.14 and 3.15 in "Financial Statistics", published by the Central Statistical Office.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in order of amount collected by the Treasury each of the different and separate forms of taxation in the United Kingdom for 1988–89.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The information can be found in tables 3.13, 3.14 and 3.15 in "Financial Statistics", published by the Central Statistical Office.

  Inland Revenue Office, Cumbernauld
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons employed at the Inland Revenue office in Cumbernauld are registered as disabled; and what percentage this represents of the total work force.

  Mr. Lilley
  The Inland Revenue employs 26 registered disabled staff in its office at Cumbernauld; this represents 2·47 per cent. of the total staff at 9 February 1990.

  Paymaster General's Office
  Mr. Soames
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to move the Paymaster General's office from Crawley.

  Mr. Ryder
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: No.

  Mortgage Tax Relief
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the additional annual cost or yield to the Exchequer in tax relief on mortgage interest payments of every 1 per cent. rise or reduction in mortgage interest rates.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]: An increase or reduction of one percentage point in the level of mortgage interest rates would increase or reduce the annual cost of mortgage interest relief on the current stock of mortgages by about £550 million.

  Tax Receipts
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures showing total receipts, from capital transfer tax and inheritance tax for each year from 1980 expressed(a) in cash terms at 1990 prices and (b) as a percentage of total Inland Revenue receipts.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]: The receipts of capital transfer tax and inheritance tax for each financial year since 1980–81 are:

  Year

  Receipts at forecast 1990–91 Prices £ million

  Percentage of total Inland Revenue Receipts

  1980–81

  760

  1·3

  1981–82

  781

  1·2

  1982–83

  758

  1·1

  127

  Year

  Receipts at forecast 1990–91 Prices £ million

  Percentage of total Inland Revenue Receipts

  1983–84

  869

  1·3

  1984–85

  909

  1·3

  1985–86

  1,156

  1·6

  1986–87

  1,263

  1·7

  1987–88

  1,299

  1·7

  1988–89

  1,203

  1·6

  11989–90

  1,200

  1·5

  1 Converted using the GDP market price deflator and Autumn Statement forecast.

  Beverage Containers
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue would be raised if value added tax was levied at(a) 20 per cent. (b) 25 per cent. and (c) 30 per cent. on non-returnable beverage containers.

  Mr. Ryder
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: No measurable extra revenue would accrue because beverage containers are normally taxed at the same rate as their contents when the goods are supplied.

  Company Cars
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost of not taxing company cars at their full value.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The benefit of the private use of a company car is taxed by reference to fixed scale charges, but the value of private use to any particular employee depends on a wide range of factors. Information about these is not available, so it is not possible to provide an estimate of the aggregate extent to which the private use of company cars is undertaxed.

  Inflation
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the impact on inflation of raising £1 billion from(a) tobacco products, (b) beer, (c) wine and spirits, (d) petrol (e) value added tax and (f) vehicle excise duty.

  Mr. Ryder
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The estimated impact on the retail prices index of raising £1 billion from each of the specific taxes and duties is shown in the table.

  Source

  Effect on retail price index (per cent.)

  Tobacco

  0·64

  Beer

  0·48

  Wines and spirits

  0·91

  Petrol

  0·29

  VAT

  0·32

  VED

  0·24

  These estimates are subject to a considerable margin of error given the large duty changes implied.

  Petrol Duties
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the impact on the retail price index of increasing excise duties on petrol by twice what is needed for indexation, and raising excise on the other areas by as much as is necessary to achieve the same overall revenue for the Exchequer as would be achieved by full indexation only of all items.

  Mr. Ryder
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: 0·47 per cent.

  Income Tax
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual reduction in income tax for a married man earning(a) £160,000 per year and (b) £260,000 per year as a result of the changes brought in by the 1988 Budget.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: A married man earning £160,000 in 1989–90 and claiming no reliefs of allowances other than the married man's allowance has income tax liability of £25,045 less than if the allowances and thresholds in 1987–88 had been indexed to 1989–90 and the tax rates had remained unchanged at 1987–88 levels. A married man earning £260,000 would have a corresponding reduction of £45,045.

  Pension Schemes
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the general conditions of approval of occupational and personal pension schemes by the Inland Revenue are such as to permit the provision of payments out of such a scheme of an amount related to a person's accrued or prospective retirement pension under the scheme, such payments to be made throughout any period in which that person is entitled to the payment of an invalidity pension from the national insurance fund and to cease at the end of that period.

  Mr. Major
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The main purpose of occupational and personal pension schemes is to provide an income in retirement. The tax approval conditions for such schemes allow benefits to be paid before retirement age if a person is incapable of continuing in employment. There is no requirement on schemes to provide a pension before retirement age. Decisions on whether an incapacity pension is payable are matters for the scheme trustees and their criteria might differ from entitlements to invalidity pensions. Incapacity pensions are normally payable for life.

  HMSO
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the quality of service performance indicators that have been introduced into HMSO since its establishment as an agency.

  Mr. Ryder
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Smith) on 15 January 1990 at column 98.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Taxis
  Mr. Peter Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the circumstances under which police records are made available to the authorities concerned with the licensing of hackney-carriage and private hire drivers.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Information from police records is not generally made available for these purposes. In London records are available for the purpose of licensing hackney-carriage drivers, since the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the licensing authority.

  Boundary Commission (Wales)
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total expenditure of the parliamentary boundary commission for Wales during the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of expenditure was allocated to(a) administration in general, (b) hosting of meetings and conferences, (c) allowances for attending meetings and (d) general allowances given to nominees on the committee.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The parliamentary boundary commissions for England and Wales share a common secretariat and premises. Although work now in hand will enable costs to be identified for each commission separately, at present it is possible to give only the total combined expenditure of the two commissions, which for 1988–89 was £252,160. Members of the parliamentary boundary commissions receive no remuneration or attendance alowance, but are recompensed for any reasonably actual expenses incurred.

  Summer Time
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received from Scotland concerning any proposed change to British summer time.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  A total of 5,475 representations, including signatures on petitions, were received from Scotland.

  Shotgun Certificates
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Gwent as to whether any disciplinary action has been taken against any officer in regard to the renewal of the shotgun certificate of Mr. G. W. Phillips.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I understand from the chief constable that no such disciplinary action has been taken.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Gwent as to whether a receipt was issued for the shotgun, the property of Mr. G. W. Phillips, when it was taken into the possession of the Gwent constabulary.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No. The local administration of the firearms licensing system is a matter for the chief officer of police concerned.
  130
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Gwent as to what training has been given to police officers on the procedures for dealing with applications, renewals and variation of firearms and for shotgun certificates under(a) the Firearms Act 1968 and (b) the Firearms Act 1988.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No. Training in the local administration of firearm licensing procedures is a matter for the chief officer of police concerned.

  Security Service
  Mr. Allason
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Horne Department whether the security service tribunal is declining to accept complaints against the security service which relate to matters that took place prior to any given date.

  Mr. John Patten
  The tribunal is subject to paragraph 9 of schedule 1 to the Security Service Act 1989.

  Personal Data
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will set out the procedure within his Department for authorising transfers of personal data to other Government Departments; and at what level such decisions are authorised;

  (2) on what grounds decisions are taken to transfer personal data held by his Department to other Government Departments;

  (3) on what statutory basis transfers of personal data take place from his Department to other Government Departments; and how many such transfers take place each year;

  (4) what internal guidelines covering the transfer of personal data to other Government Departments are available to staff in his Department; and whether he will place a copy of any such guidelines in the Library;

  (5) what kind of personal data held by his Department, whether on computer or manually, are transferred to other Government Departments;

  (6) what plans exist in his Department for the transfer of personal data via the Government data network; and what new procedures have been adopted within the Department to prevent unauthorised transfers of such data;

  (7) what records are kept of transfers of personal data from his Department to other Government Departments; and whether the Data Protection Registrar has access to the relevant records;

  (8) whether records will be kept of all personal data transferred to other Government Departments via the Government data network;

  (9) whether the rules governing the transfer of personal data from his Department to other Government Departments are the same for data held manually as for data held on computer.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Where information comprising personal data is computerised, disclosures are made only as permitted by the appropriate registration under the Data Protection Act 1984 or by one of the statutory exemptions embodied within the Act. The general guidance issued to staff is that dealing with the application of the Data Protection Act 1984, a copy of which has been
  131
  placed in the Library. This is the position whether or not there is any connection to the Government data network; and there are no plans at present to maintain records of, or issue central guidance dealing with, the transfer of personal data over the Government data network.

  As regards non-computerised personal data, depending on the nature of the information held appropriate local procedures determine to whom the information may be disclosed, and who may authorise the disclosure. The Home Office holds many millions of records containing personal data, both manual and computerised, on a wide range of subjects: in consequence, the remaining detailed information sought in these questions is not readily available and could not be obtained save at disproportionate cost.

  Drugs
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his proposed international drugs conference in London.

  Mr. Mellor
  The world ministerial summit to reduce the demand for drugs and to combat the cocaine threat is being organised by Her Majesty's Government in association with the United Nations and will take place in London from 9 to 11 April 1990.

  It is to be opened by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, who will be joined for the opening session by the President of Colombia and the Secretary General of the United Nations. Expert speakers from around the world will address the working sessions. It is hoped that the summit will strengthen our knowledge of ways to tackle the drug problem and will lead to an even greater commitment internationally to reduce the demand for all drugs and to combat the production and traffic in cocaine.

  Management Consultants
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the contracts his Department has given to outside management consultants in policy areas concerning his Department since January 1985 and the date of completion and cost of each contract.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [pursuant to the reply, 31 January 1990, c. 203]: A contract awarded to Deloitte, Haskins and Sells to investigate the "Practicality of Private Sector Involvement in the Remand System", completed in February 1989 at a cost of £207,865 (exclusive of VAT), should have been included in my right hon. and learned Friend's answer of 31 January 1990.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Women Staff
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of Overseas Development Administration staff are women in(a) all positions within the ODA, (b) ODA staff based in the United Kingdom, (c) ODA staff based overseas, (d) ODA staff at or above the level of grade seven, and (e) ODA staff at or above the level of grade five.

  Mrs. Chalker
  On 2 January 1990 the numbers of women employed in the ODA were:132

  Total

  Women

  per cent.

  All grades

  1,525

  662

  43·3

  Staff in United Kingdom

  1,475

  653

  44·3

  Staff overseas

  50

  9

  18·0

  Staff at or above grade 7

  259

  26

  10·0

  Staff at or above grade 5

  50

  5

  10·0

  These figures exclude casual staff and staff on special leave without pay.

  Education Conference
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who will be representing Her Majesty's Government at the world conference on education for all in Thailand on 5 to 9 March.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Her Majesty's Government will be represented by the Overseas Development Administration's chief education adviser and by the Under-Secretary for international relations at the Department of Education and Science.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Antrim Technology Park
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the cost to the Exchequer of developing the Antrim technology park in the period up to 31 March 1989; and how many jobs have been created by the expenditure to date.

  Mr. Needham
  The cost of developing the park and constructing the buildings has been £4,405,672. Present employment in companies located at the park is 234.

  Police Services
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police services, other than the Royal Ulster Constabulary, operate within Northern Ireland; what is the location of work for each of these services; how many personnel are employed as policemen and policewomen in each of these services; and what is the employing authority for each of these police services.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  There are three police services operating within the transport sector in Northern Ireland. They are:

  a. Northern Ireland Airports Constabulary; 76 policemen and 7 policewomen; Northern Ireland Airports Ltd.

  b. Belfast Harbour Police; 35 policemen, Belfast Harbour Commissioners.

  c. Lame Harbour Constabulary; 16 policemen; Larne Harbour Limited.

  Fire Service
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for the last three years for which information is available all those occasions when the fire service has had to attend Royal Ulster Constabulary police stations or other facilities, stating whether the incident was due to terrorist action, fire, arson or other cause; and if he will make a statement.
  133
  Mr. Cope
  During the years 1987, 1988 and 1989 the brigade attended the following incidents to RUC stations and other police facilities in the Province.

  Dale and Location

  Reason

  6 April 1987—RUC Station, Lisburn Road, Belfast

  Explosion

  8 September 1988—RUC Station, Main Street, Coagh

  Explosion

  11 April 1989—RUC Station, Enniskillen

  Accidental fire

  12 April 1989—RUC Station, Charlotte Street, Warrenpoint

  Explosion

  8 June 1989—RUC Station, Newtownabbey

  Explosion

  1 October 1989—RUC Station, Randalstown

  Explosion

  10 January 1990—RUC Station, Seapark

  Accidental fire

  It is believed that the explosions as listed above were as a result of terrorist attack.

  Homelessness
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people the Housing Executive has accepted as homeless since 1 April 1989 to 31 December 1989; and how many people who claimed homelessness in that specified period were refused under the regulations as laid down in the Housing (NI) Order 1988.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  The Northern Ireland Housing Executive says that the information is not available in the form requested. Between 1 April 1989 and 31 December 1989, a total of 3,822 applicants were accepted as being either homeless or threatened with homelessness and 763 applicants were considered not to be homeless or threatened with homelessness under the provisions of the Housing (NI) Order 1988. A further 183 applications are still under consideration.

  Youth Training
  Mr. McCrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received from the Northern Ireland Association of Community

  Books and equipment (separate figures for books and equipment not available)

  Primary schools

  Secondary schools

  Special schools

  Year

  Cash £

  Real terms £

  Index

  Cash £

  Real terms £

  Index

  Cash £

  Real terms £

  Index

  1978–79

  10·40

  22·81

  100

  22·88

  50·17

  100

  24·32

  53·33

  100

  1979–80

  12·05

  22·67

  99

  25·24

  47·49

  94

  26·65

  50·14

  94

  1980–81

  12·34

  19·58

  86

  25·73

  40·82

  81

  30·96

  49·12

  92

  1981–82

  14·37

  20·77

  91

  29·22

  42·23

  84

  38·34

  55·42

  104

  1982–83

  14·63

  19·74

  86

  30·62

  41·33

  82

  38·11

  51·44

  96

  1983–84

  15·08

  19·46

  85

  31·74

  40·95

  81

  41·83

  53·97

  101

  1984–85

  16·37

  20·13

  88

  34·26

  42·13

  84

  46·38

  57·04

  107

  1985–86

  17·14

  19·96

  87

  36·40

  42·41

  84

  46·13

  53·74

  101

  1986–87

  18·30

  20·67

  90

  42·14

  47·59

  95

  67·77

  76·54

  129

  1987–88

  19·94

  21·40

  94

  47·92

  51·42

  103

  84·78

  90·97

  171

  1988–89

  20·00

  20·00

  88

  46·55

  46·55

  93

  87·34

  87·34

  164

  134
  Workshops about the proposed funding arrangements for the youth training programme which will come into effect on 1 April 1990.

  Mr. Needham
  I met representatives of the Northern Ireland Association of Community Workshops on 29 January 1990. In response to their representations I have made a number of modifications to the funding arrangements for the youth training programme to meet their concerns. I understand that the association has reacted positively to these changes.

  Fire Authority
  Rev. William McCrea
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether(a) the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland and (b) Mr. Kerr were legally represented at the hearing held by the Fair Employment Agency in the case of Kerr v. Northern Ireland Fire Authority.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  These are issues for the fire authority and Mr. Kerr. The fire authority was not legally represented at the hearing held by the Fair Employment Agency. Mr. Kerr was accompanied by his solicitor at the hearing.

  Rev. William McCrea
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Fire Authority sought the advice of counsel(a) prior to the decision of the Fair Employment Agency on 6 December and (b) thereafter in the case of Kerr v. Northern Ireland Fire Authority.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  This is a matter for the fire authority whose chairman has informed me that the authority did not seek the advice of counsel either prior to the decision of the Fair Employment Agency on 6 December or thereafter. The fire authority took advice from its solicitor in relation to the FEA report and findings.

  School Expenditure
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will update to the latest available date the answer given to the hon. Member for Barking (Ms. Richardson), 12 May 1989,Official Report, columns 553–54, on expenditure on books and equipment.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information is as follows:

  Donaghadee Carpets
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed at the firm of Donaghadee Carpets; how many redundancies there have been at this firm in the last four weeks; whether the firm is receiving the support of the IDB.; and if he will make a statement on future employment prospects with this company.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 5 February 1990]: CV Carpets Ltd. employs 460 at Donaghadee. The management and trade union representatives are in discussion about manning levels and working practices, but no redundancies have been made or announced in the last four weeks. The company is in receipt of selective financial assistance from the IDB for a capital investment programme which should provide an increase in employment over the next 18 months; the extent of that support is, as usual, dependent on achievement of the forecast employment levels.

  Fair Employment
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in relation to the fair employment draft guide to effective practice; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]: Following consultation with a wide range of interested parties, the guide was published in its final form by the Department of Economic Development on 31 December 1989. It provides advice and guidance to employers and others on their responsibilities and obligations under the fair employment legislation and has become the first code of practice under section 8 of the Fair Employment (NI) Act 1989. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

PRIME MINISTER

  European Parliament
  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Prime Minister when she next intends to visit the European Parliament.

  The Prime Minister
  In the normal course of events, I would expect to visit the European Parliament during the British presidency of the Community in the second half of 1992.

  Rugby League
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Prime Minister when she next intends to make an official visit to a rugby league ground.

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

  Summer Time
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations she has received on summer time.

  The Prime Minister
  The Home Office published a Green Paper entitled "Summer Time—A Consultation Document" (Cm 722) on 27 June 1989 inviting representations on three options for future summer time arrangement. I have received several representations. Over 30,000 have been received at the Home Office.

  Homelessness
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Prime Minister what further plans she has to meet homeless people in London.

  The Prime Minister
  I have no such plans at present. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is taking forward, with urgency, action following our review of the homelessness legislation. This includes the allocation of additional resources to relieve homelessness pressures in London. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and the Minister for Housing and Planning have had a number of meetings with homeless people in London and with voluntary agencies who work with the homeless.

  Aberdeen
  Mr. Doran
  To ask the Prime Minister when she next intends to visit Aberdeen.

  The Prime Minister
  I hope to visit Aberdeen during the course of this year.

  TUC
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to meet representatives of the Trades Union Congress; and what matters she intends to discuss.

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

  Poland
  Mr. Latham
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will pay an official visit to Poland.

  The Prime Minister
  I have no plans to visit Poland at present. I had a friendly and useful meeting with the Polish Prime Minister here yesterday.

  European Monetary System
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the question of sterling and its relationship to the exchange rate mechanism of the EMS; and if she will make a statement.

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

  1992
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the extent and purpose of the inquiries being initiated by the European Economic Community into the prospects for 1992.

  The Prime Minister
  I have no plans to do so, but will not hesitate to discuss the studies, if that is likely to be useful. The 1992 prospects are for both opportunities and challenges to British business, and the outcome will depend on the way in which individual firms and industries respond to those opportunities and challenges.

  Social Charter
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will invite the next meeting of the European Council to agree that the Commission should not present measures to
  137
  implement the provisions of the social charter until the charter has been agreed by all member states; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The European Commission has the right to make proposals on any matters that fall within the competence of the Community as set out in the treaty of Rome. As I made clear in my statement following the last meeting of the European Council in Strasbourg in December—Official Report, 12 December 1989, column 858—we do not endorse the text of the social charter and, judging from their comments, I believe that many of my colleagues in Europe will have considerable difficulties with the Commission's specific proposals when they come forward.

  Private Office
  Mr. Grocott
  To ask the Prime Minister what was the cost of her private office in each of the last five years.

  The Prime Minister
  The cost of the Prime Minister's office over the last five years is as follows:

  Year

  Total cost £

  1985–86

  4,405,852

  1986–87

  4,962,950

  1987–88

  5,418,455

  1988–89

  6,553,712

  1989–90

  17,924,979

  1 Estimate.

  Salaries and wages, notional pension liability and administrative costs and the grant-in-aid to the Chequers Trust are included. My salary as a Cabinet Minister is not included, nor are my pay and allowances as a Member of this House.

  Since 1985 there have been two developments which have affected the way in which costs are assessed. These are inclusion of costs for office services from 1986–87; and inclusion of the cost of redecoration of certain state rooms and of major security works in 1988–89 and 1989–90. When the effects of these developments are excluded (as far as it is possible to do so) and the results expressed in constant price terms at 1988–89 prices, the cost has increased by 6 per cent. between 1985–86 and 1989–90.

  Mr. Grocott
  To ask the Prime Minister what was the total number of people employed in her private office in each of the last five years.

  The Prime Minister
  The total number of people in my office in each of the last five years is as follows:

  Year

  Number

  1985–86

  66

  1986–87

  66

  1987–88

  67

  1988–89

  67

  1989–90

  68

  Security Services (Disinformation)
  Mr. Haynes
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will institute a wide-ranging inquiry into the dissemination of disinformation relating to public figures by the security services in the last 30 years.
  138
  The Prime Minister
  I have nothing to add to the statement I made on 6 May 1987.

  South Africa
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Prime Minister if she has issued a formal invitation to Mr. Nelson Mandela to visit her in Britain.

  The Prime Minister
  As we explained in our statement of 2 February I plan to do so now that he is free.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Prime Minister if she intends to make an official visit to South Africa this year.

  The Prime Minister
  I plan to visit South Africa in due course.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on her meeting with the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Monday 6 February.

  The Prime Minister
  We had a full discussion on the situation in South Africa. We share the objective of an end to apartheid through peaceful negotiations.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Prime Minister when was the last time she spoke to President de Klerk of South Africa.

  The Prime Minister
  We are in regular contact with the South African Government.

  Mr. Caborn
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list all representations additional to that made by the Minister for Sport to the chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board on 2 August 1989 made by(a) herself, (b) any of her Ministers and (c) Government officials to dissuade the members of the rebel cricket tour of South Africa frorn undertaking the tour.

  The Prime Minister
  The Government's position on the cricket tour to South Africa is set out in my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport's letter of 2 August to the chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board. At my hon. Friend's request, his letter was copied to the players concerned.

  Engagements
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 13 February.

  Mr. Bellingham
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 13 February.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 13 February.

  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 13 February.

  The Prime Minister
  This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I shall preside at a dinner in honour of the Prime Minister of Poland.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Civil and Political Rights
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will take steps to incorporate the international covenant on civil and political rights into domestic law.
  139
  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I have been asked to reply. No.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Mr. Lorrain Osman
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, pursuant to his reply of 6 February, he will list the cases or proceedings which cause him to treat matters relating to Mr. Lorrain Osman as being sub judice.

  Mr. Maude
  Mr. Osman's fourth application for a writ of habeas corpus, launched on 2 February.

  Western European Union
  Mr. Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy on the WEU Assembly recommendation that the WEU Council work out the prior conditions necessary in the conceptual field for SNF negotiations to be resumed without delay after the implementation of the first CFE agreement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The comprehensive concept adopted by NATO Heads of State and Government at their summit in May set out the "prior conditions" for SNF negotiations, namely that once the implementation of an agreement on conventional arms is under way"the United States in consultation with the Allies concerned, is prepared to enter into negotiations to achieve a partial reduction of American and Soviet land-based nuclear missiles of shorter range to equal and verifiable levels."

  Mr. Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy on the Western European Union Assembly's recommendation that the Western European Union Council call for(a) a complete review of the COCOM lists in the light of a fundamental reassessment of the current state of Soviet technology, with a view to encouraging maximum opportunities for trade, (b) negotiations with proscribed countries for the introduction of verification procedures to accompany all future sales of western strategic technology in return for the further liberalisation of the COCOM list and (c) the establishment, within the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe framework, of a committee of experts to make recommendations for the sharing of high technology between East and West.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  On his first point I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 15 December at column 839 to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas).

  On his second point I refer my hon. Friend to the comments made by my hon. Friend during the Adjournment debate on 21 December at column 632. There have already been contacts at official level between COCOM partners and Poland and Hungary. The results of these will inform the review of COCOM and its procedures now under way.

  Finally, COCOM provides a forum for national experts to discuss the level of technology to be shared with or transferred to the proscribed destinations. Against the background of an existing military threat, this issue will receive increasing scrutiny in the meetings now under way
  140
  to discuss technology transfer and developments in eastern Europe. The participating states in the CSCE process do not include all the members of COCOM and we would not see the establishment of a separate committee, with the same mandate, as providing any practical benefit.

  EC (Security and Defence)
  Mr. Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken in the framework of the European Community to enable the European Commission to study security and defence questions.

  Mr. Maude
  The political and economic aspects of security are the subject of co-ordination among the member states in European Political Co-operation (EPC). The Commission is fully associated with EPC. The military aspects of security are not the subject of co-ordination in any Community framework.

  Baron Max Khatchaturian
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the post in India will come to a decision on the application by Baron Max Khatchaturian and his family for recognition of their British citizenship and concerning which he has received correspondence from the hon. Member for Caernarfon; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  In accordance with the guidelines on the handling of representations by Members of Parliament in immigration cases, issued to Members on 14 December 1988, I have referred the question to the correspondence unit of the migration and visa department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The hon. Member will receive a reply from the unit as soon as possible.

  Education Conference
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will protest at the participation of a member of the Khmer Rouge as the representative of Cambodia at the world conference on education for all in Thailand on 5 to 9 March; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The world conference on education for all is being organised and sponsored by four specialised agencies of the United Nations (UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank). We understand that, as Cambodia's representatives at the UN, the National Government of Cambodia (formerly the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea) will have been invited to attend. This is normal practice for such UN-sponsored conferences.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Multi-racial Comprehensives
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consideration he has given to the issues raised in "School Effect: A Study of Multi-racial Comprehensives" produced by the Policy Studies Institute and the University of Lancaster, a copy of which has been sent to him; and if he will make a statement.
  141
  Mr. Alan Howarth
  This study is based on research which followed the progress of 3,000 pupils in 20 urban comprehensives, starting in 1981. The research found striking differences between the schools surveyed in what they did and how they did it. The level of achievement of pupils of similar abilities, regardless of their ethnic or social background, varied markedly according to the school they attended.

  This study reinforces the Government's determination to press ahead with the implementation of the national curriculum and with the arrangements for assessment and testing so that every child can have the best possible start in life. The study also suggested some profitable further lines of inquiry and my right hon. Friend is considering how best to pursue these.

  Electric Vehicles
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research projects are receiving funding from his Department that are designed to contribute to the development of electrically powered road vehicles.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Science and Engineering Research Council, which is funded by the Department, has supported a number of research programmes in universities which are of relevance to the development of electrically powered vehicles. A collaborative programme between Durham university and Lucas plc, completed in 1987, developed a prototype hybrid electric/diesel vehicle. Two research programmes at Loughborough university, completed in 1989, and ongoing programmes at the university of Newcastle and London university's Imperial college are concerned with aspects of new battery systems.

  PE Teachers
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the number of physical education teachers for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  Information is available only in respect of 1984 and 1988. In 1984 the number of full-time teachers in maintained secondary schools in England who were teaching physical education was 37,900, including 15,600 for whom physical education was their main teaching subject. The equivalent figures for 1988 were 30,300 and 13,300. Over the same period the number of pupils in maintained secondary schools in England fell by about 16 per cent. (from 3·65 million to 3·07 million).

  Expenditure per pupil—England

  Primary

  Secondary

  Cash

  1Real terms

  Index 1978–79 = 100

  Index year on year increase

  Cash

  1Real terms

  Index 1978–79 = 100

  Index year on year increase

  £

  £

  £

  £

  Books and equipment

  1978–79

  12·85

  26·34

  100

  100

  24·40

  50·04

  100

  100

  1979–80

  14·33

  25·16

  96

  96

  26·61

  46·71

  93

  93

  1980–81

  16·05

  23·81

  90

  95

  29·26

  43·40

  87

  93

  1981–82

  18·16

  24·54

  93

  103

  32·18

  43·48

  87

  100

  1982–83

  20·90

  26·34

  100

  107

  36·53

  46·04

  92

  106

  1983–84

  22·79

  27·44

  104

  104

  39·21

  47·21

  94

  103

  1984–85

  23·54

  27·01

  103

  98

  42·53

  48·78

  97

  103

  1985–86

  24·91

  27·11

  103

  100

  44·83

  48·80

  98

  100

  1986–87

  28·04

  29·53

  112

  109

  57·15

  60·18

  120

  123

  School Hours
  Sir David Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the average numbers of hours per year spent in school by schoolchildren in(a) England and Wales and (b) other European Community countries.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Recent school staffing surveys in England indicate that pupils in primary schools spend on average some 860 hours in lessons (excluding registration, assemblies and break time) a year. The comparable figure for secondary pupils is some 900 hours. Figures for Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. European comparisons are not readily available.

  Sir David Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the numbers of hours of classroom teaching per year spent by teachers in(a) England and Wales and (b) other European Community countries.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  On the basis of information from recent school staffing surveys, we estimate that primary teachers spend on average some 790 hours a year in classroom teaching. The comparable figure for secondary teachers is some 680 hours. These figures exclude time spent in registration, assemblies and supervision. Figures for Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. European comparisons are not readily available.

  Schools (Expenditure)
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will update to the latest date available the answer given to the hon. Member for Barking (Ms. Richardson), 4 May 1989,Official Report, column 173–74, on expenditure on books and equipment.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  The information previously supplied has been updated to take account of latest data on actual local authority spending in 1987–88 as recorded in returns to the Department of the Environment: pupil numbers as recorded in returns to the Department of Education and Science; and price movements as recorded by the GDP deflator. Comparable data on spending in 1988–89 are not yet available. The table has been expanded to show two indices. The first shows the change in real-terms spending for each year compared with the base year 1978–79; the second, also shown in the previous table, shows the change in real-terms spending for each year compared with the previous year.
  143

  Primary

  Secondary

  Cash

  1Real terms

  Index 1978–79 = 100

  Index year on year increase

  Cash

  1Real terms

  Index 1978–79 = 100

  Index year on year increase

  £

  £

  £

  £

  1987–882

  30·64

  30·64

  116

  104

  62·19

  62·19

  124

  103

  Books

  1978–79

  4·25

  8·71

  100

  100

  7·16

  14·69

  100

  100

  1979–80

  4·69

  8·23

  94

  94

  7·82

  13·73

  93

  93

  1980–81

  5·32

  7·90

  91

  96

  8·08

  11·99

  82

  87

  1981–82

  591

  7·99

  92

  101

  8·60

  11·62

  79

  97

  1982–83

  7·00

  8·82

  101

  110

  9·89

  12·46

  85

  107

  1983–84

  7·14

  8·60

  99

  98

  10·09

  12·15

  83

  98

  1984–85

  7·29

  8·36

  96

  97

  10·15

  11·64

  79

  96

  1985–86

  7·49

  8·15

  94

  97

  10·66

  11·61

  79

  100

  1986–87

  8·25

  8·69

  100

  107

  13·13

  13·83

  94

  119

  1987–882

  9·01

  9·01

  103

  104

  14·82

  14·82

  101

  107

  Equipment

  1978–79

  8·60

  17·64

  100

  100

  17·24

  35·35

  100

  100

  1979–80

  9·65

  16·94

  96

  96

  18·79

  32·98

  93

  93

  1980–81

  10·73

  15·91

  90

  94

  21·17

  31·41

  89

  95

  1981–82

  12·25

  16·55

  94

  104

  23·58

  31·86

  90

  101

  1982–83

  13·91

  17·52

  99

  106

  26·65

  33·58

  95

  105

  1983–84

  15·65

  18·85

  107

  108

  29·12

  35·06

  99

  104

  1984–85

  16·26

  18·65

  106

  99

  32·38

  37·14

  105

  106

  1985–86

  17·42

  18·96

  107

  102

  34·17

  37·19

  105

  100

  1986–87

  19·79

  20·84

  118

  110

  44·02

  46·36

  131

  125

  1987–882

  21·63

  21·63

  123

  104

  47·37

  47·37

  134

  102

  1The cash figures for earlier years have been repriced to 1987–88 prices using the Gross Domestic Product (Market Prices) Deflator.

  2The figures for 1987–88 include spending in nursry schools. This reflects a change in the classification of the local authority spending returns to the DOE whereby spending on nursery provision was incorporated into the primary sector, rather than being shown separately.

  Expenditure per pupil—England

  Special

  Cash

  1Real Terms

  Index 1978–79 = 100

  Index Year on Year Increase

  £

  £

  Books and Equipment

  1978–79

  37·16

  76·19

  100

  100

  1979–80

  41·78

  73·35

  96

  96

  1980–81

  46·73

  69·32

  91

  95

  1981–82

  51·09

  69·03

  91

  100

  1982–83

  61·00

  76·87

  101

  111

  1983–84

  68·24

  82·16

  108

  107

  1984–85

  70·45

  80·81

  106

  98

  1985–86

  88·84

  96·71

  127

  120

  1986–87

  87·58

  92·22

  121

  95

  1987–882

  98·95

  98·95

  130

  107

  Books

  1978–79

  5·93

  12·16

  100

  100

  1979–80

  6·73

  11·82

  97

  97

  1980–81

  6·90

  10·24

  84

  87

  1981–82

  7·09

  9·58

  79

  94

  1982–83

  8·65

  10·90

  90

  114

  1983–84

  8·68

  10·45

  86

  96

  1984–85

  9·12

  10·46

  86

  100

  1985–86

  11·46

  12·47

  103

  119

  1986–87

  10·65

  11·21

  92

  90

  1987–882

  12·35

  12·35

  102

  110

  Equipment

  1978–79

  31·23

  64·03

  100

  100

  1979–80

  35·05

  61·53

  96

  96

  1980–81

  39·83

  59·09

  92

  96

  1981–82

  44·00

  59·45

  93

  101

  1982–83

  52·35

  65·97

  103

  111

  1983–84

  59·56

  71·71

  112

  109

  1984–85

  61·33

  70·35

  110

  98

  1985–86

  77·38

  84·23

  132

  120

  1986–87

  76·94

  81·02

  127

  96

  1987–882

  86·60

  86·60

  135

  107

  144
  1The cash figures for earlier years have been repriced to 1987–88 prices using the Gross Domestic Product (Market Prices) Deflator.

  2 The figures for 1987–88 include spending in nursery schools. This reflects a change in the classification of the local authority spending returns to the DOE whereby spending on nursery provision was incorporated into the primary sector, rather than being shown separately.

  Teachers' Pay
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a breakdown of the overall increase in school unit costs shown in table 11.10 of Cm 1011 between 1979–80 and 1988–89 showing how much of that overall increase is due to increases in the level of school teachers' pay above the rate of inflation.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Changes in overall spending on schoolteachers' pay reflect both changes in teacher numbers and successive pay settlements. As a broad estimate, the 42 per cent. increase in unit costs shown in table 11.10 of Cm 1011 may be analysed as follows:

  Percentage

  Total increase in real terms spending per pupil: Of which

  42

  Increase due to improvements in pupil:teacher ratio:

  13

  Increase due to improvements in teachers' pay above the GDP deflator:

  16

  Other increases, including improved provision for non-teaching costs such as equipment:

  13

  Mr. Win Griffith
  s: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the overall increase in real terms between 1979–80 and 1988–89 of (a) national average earnings, (b) average non-manual earnings outside the public sector and (c) school teachers' pay.
  145
  Mrs. Rumbold
  Between April 1979 and April 1989 national average earnings rose by 28 per cent. in real terms, and teachers' average salaries by 30 per cent. in real terms. Over the same period the real terms increase in average non-manual earnings outside the public sector was 43 per cent. for men and 48 per cent. for women. A combined figure is not available.

  Pupils (Exclusion)
  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will establish a national system for the collection of information about the exclusion of pupils from schools.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  My right hon. Friend is introducing a national system for reporting to him all permanent exclusions from maintained primary, secondary and special schools and from grant-maintained schools during the two-year period from the beginning of the summer term 1990. Heads, governors and local education authorities, as appropriate, will be asked to provide the Secretary of State with information on the background to such cases and on the decisions reached about the pupils concerned, who will not be named in these reports. In the light of this information, my right hon. Friend will decide on the future of the existing statutory provisions on exclusion.

  Governing Bodies
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will identify by name and by size of governing body in each case only those colleges and polytechnics in the PCFC sector for which he has agreed revised instruments of government under the Education Reform Act 1988 where the size of the governing body is in excess of 21 persons; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  [pursuant to his reply, 29 January 1990, c. 29–30]: Information given in the previous answer was not

  Band of Gross Income

  Families receiving Child Benefit

  Number of Children

  Child Benefit Expenditure

  (000s)

  Per cent.

  (000s)

  Per cent.

  (£ million)

  Per cent.

  Under £5,000

  430

  6·3

  490

  4·1

  180

  4·1

  £ 5–10,000

  1,740

  25·7

  3,340

  27·8

  1,260

  27·8

  £10–15,000

  1,520

  22·4

  2,620

  21·9

  990

  21·9

  £15–20,000

  1,380

  20·4

  2,520

  21·0

  950

  21·0

  £20–25,000

  740

  10·9

  1,340

  11·2

  510

  11·2

  £25–50,000

  870

  12·8

  1,500

  12·5

  560

  12·5

  Above £50,000

  100

  1·5

  190

  1·6

  70

  1·6

  Total

  6,760

  100

  12,000

  100

  4,530

  100

  Notes:

  1. Estimates are based on the 1985 and 1986 Family Expenditure Surveys, supplemented by the Survey of Personal Incomes, and updated to 1989–90 levels of earnings and benefit rates.

  2. Income is measured on a gross basis, and is the family's total income from all sources including benefits.

  3. No detailed breakdown is possible for an income band above £50,000 because of small sample sizes.

  4. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000.

  5. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

  Preventable Loss
  Mr. Norris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the extent of preventable loss arising from theft or misappropriation in his Department.
  146
  completely up to date. Additional nominee members were appointed to the governing bodies of a further seven institutions subsequent to the appointment of the other members of their boards. The following institutions, therefore, should also have been listed as having governing bodies in excess of 21 persons:—

  Institutions

  Number

  Bath College of Higher Education

  22

  Bolton Institute of Higher Education

  22

  Bristol Polytechnic

  22

  Kent Institute of Art and Design

  22

  Kingston Polytechnic

  22

  Portsmouth Polytechnic

  25

  Worcester College of Higher Education

  25

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Child Benefit
  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state, on the same basis as his reply to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Bennett), 7 June 1988,Official Report columns 521–22, the total amount of child benefit, together with the number of families and children in respect of which it is paid, and the percentage which each figure represents for the income bands (a) under £5,000, (b) £5,000–10,000, (c) £10,000–15,000, (d) £15,000–20,000, (e) £20,000–25,000, (f) £25,000–50,000, (g) £50,000–100,000 and (h) £100,000 and over.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Information about the incomes of families receiving child benefit is not routinely collected. The following estimates of the distribution of gross incomes of recipient families in 1989–90 are therefore made on the basis of sample survey data which are subject to normal sampling and response variation.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The latest information about losses of items from the Department's offices relate to the 1988–89 financial year when the value of these losses came to £106,744.

  Benefits Leaflet
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make leaflet FB2 generally available in post offices.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Social Security leaflet FB2 "Which benefit?" is displayed in all main post offices (about 1,900 offices). Copies are also sent to around 19,000 sub-post offices, but there is no obligation for sub-postmasters/mistresses to either display them or to make copies available.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish for each parliamentary constituency in Lancashire details of the number of people presently receiving housing benefit and income support together with housing benefit; and what are the costs involved.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  I regret that information is not collected on a constituency basis. The table shows the available information by local authority area. Blackpool includes the constituencies of Blackpool, North and Blackpool, South, and Lancaster City covers the constituencies of Lancaster, and Morecambe and Lunesdale.

  Local authorities

  Housing benefit only Numbers

  Housing benefit income support Numbers

  Local authority estimated cost £ million

  Blackburn

  5,200

  8,905

  11·8

  Blackpool

  7,359

  10,954

  16·3

  Burnley

  3,084

  5,048

  7·3

  Chorley

  2,694

  3,841

  5·3

  Fylde

  2,369

  2,643

  3·7

  Hyndburn

  3,068

  3,962

  6·1

  Lancaster City

  4,577

  7,121

  14·6

  Pendle

  2,615

  4,266

  5·5

  Preston

  4,946

  7,661

  13·0

  Ribble Valley

  1,194

  1,007

  1·4

  Rossendale

  2,506

  3,116

  5·3

  South Ribble

  2,765

  3,073

  4·3

  West Lancashire

  5,126

  6,904

  10·9

  Wyre

  5,717

  4,774

  4·9

  Note: Expenditure information is not available by recipient group.

  Source: Local authority caseload returns and expenditure estimates.

  DSS Offices
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will open new Department of Social Security offices close to current Department of Trade and Industry regional offices in Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  There are no plans to open new DSS offices near the regional offices of the Department of Trade and Industry in Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester.

  Invalid Care Allowance
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many carers will benefit from the increase of the invalid care allowance earnings limit from £12 to £20.
  148
  Mr. Scott
  I regret this information is not available. It is likely that a small number of carers earning between £12 and £20 per week will be able to qualify for invalid care allowance for the first time. Data are not collected on the numbers of existing recipients currently earning less than £12 who stand to gain by increasing their earnings to the new limit.

  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what will be the cost of the increase in the invalid care allowance earnings limit from £12 to £20.

  Mr. Scott
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 13 December 1989 at columns 663–64.

  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to publicise the increase in the earnings limit for the invalid care allowance.

  Mr. Scott
  We shall be publishing a revised version of the invalid care allowance leaflet in April, and we are considering what additional publicity we might provide to bring the increased earnings limit to the attention of those who might benefit.

  Carer's Premium
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what data the Government have used to estimate that 30,000 carers will benefit from the introduction of a carer's premium.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The estimate was derived from information on recipients of invalid care allowance in the income support annual statistical inquiry.

  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what plans there are to publicise the introduction of a carer's premium;

  (2) what plans he has to ensure that people who have not previously claimed invalid care allowance because of the overlapping benefit rules will now do so in order to benefit from the introduction of a carer's premium.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  People in receipt of invalid care allowance who get income support, housing benefit or community charge benefit will be awarded the new carer's premium automatically. For other people, we will be publishing revised versions of leaflets. We will also revise the guide to non-contributory benefits for disabled people, which is intended for advisers and members of the public who have a particular interest in disabled people. We are giving careful consideration to the question of additional publicity.

  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether the carer's premium will be awarded in addition to any other premium; and whether(a) people who start caring after reaching pension age and (b) pensioners who were carers before reaching pension age but did not claim invalid care allowance, will be able to receive the carer's premium.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The carer's premium will be awarded in addition to any other premium for which the claimant qualifies. The premium cannot be paid to people who start caring after reaching pension age, or who did not claim invalid care allowance before reaching that age.
  149
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of people who would receive the carer's premium with(a) income support and (b) housing benefit/community charge benefit if the premium was awarded to all claimants caring for someone receiving attendance allowance for at least 35 hours a week and not earning more than £20 a week, regardless of whether they were in receipt of invalid care allowance.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  I regret that the information needed to make such an estimate is not available.

  Invalidity Benefit
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what he estimates will be the cost of the additional pensions payable with invalidity benefit at 1989–90 prices in each of the tax years 1990–91, 2000–01, 2010–11, and 2020–21(a) if clause 4 of the Social Security Bill is enacted (b) if the present position with regards to the computation of additional pension for the purposes of invalidity pension remains unchanged and (c) if the Bill is amended to provide for guaranteed minimum pensions in respect of tax years after 1990–91 to be deducted from the additional pension payable with invalidity pension but no other change is made with regard to the computation of additional pension for purposes of invalidity pension; and, in each case, what proportion of the cost he estimates will relate to persons then aged 60 years and over.

  Mr. Scott
  Projections of expenditure on additional pension with invalidity benefit at 1989–90 prices under current legislation and under the clause 4 proposals are as follows. These estimates are subject to considerable margins of uncertainty, particularly in the longer term.

  Year

  Current Legislation £ million

  Clause 4 Proposals £ million

  1990–91

  565

  565

  2000–01

  1,850

  1,375

  2010–11

  2,225

  1,200

  2020–21

  2,500

  975

  The figures illustrating the effect of the proposals in "The Way Ahead" show the gross effect on expenditure. The net effect of the proposals on social security spending will be less because of offsetting changes in invalidity allowance and income-related benefits.

  I regret that information to answer (c) or to apportion the costs between persons under and over age 60 is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Community Charge
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, further to the reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker),Official Report, 5 February, column 524, by what percentage those portions of the income support, introduced in April 1989 to cover the 20 per cent. of the average community charge, will be increased in the April 1990 uprating; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Income-related benefit levels will generally be uprated by 5·2 per cent. from April.
  150
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list in the Official Report all departmental circulars issued by his Department in connection with the community charge giving in each case the date of issue and an outline of the contents; and if he will indicate whether or not copies of such have been placed in the Library.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The information requested is as follows:

  HB(88)15 November 1988

  COMMUNITY CHARGE REBATE: SCOTLAND

  Describes arrangements for introduction of the Community Charge Rebate scheme in Scotland.

  HB(89)2 20 January 1989

  COMMUNITY CHARGE REBATES

  Guidance and information on the Community Charge Rebate scheme in Scotland.

  HB(89)8 17 March 1989

  COMMUNITY CHARGE REBATES AND DEDUCTIONS FROM INCOME SUPPORT

  Explains the provision of various Regulations and outlines the timetable for consultation on the Community Charge Benefit Regulations for Great Britain.

  HB/CCB(89)11 24 May 1989

  COMMUNITY CHARGE BENEFITS (GENERAL) REGULATIONS 1989

  COMMUNITY CHARGE BENEFITS (TRANSITIONAL) ORDER 1989

  Gives details of the draft Regulations and draft Order.

  HB/CCB(89)16 6 September 1989

  COMMUNITY CHARGE BENEFITS (GENERAL) REGULATIONS 1989

  COMMUNITY CHARGE BENEFITS (TRANSITIONAL) ORDER 1989

  Gives details of the Regulations and Order, arrangements for the introduction of Community Charge Benefit.

  HB/CCB(89)17 13 September 1989

  COMMUNITY CHARGE ARREARS—DEDUCTIONS FROM INCOME SUPPORT

  Explains the arrangements for the recovery of community charge arrears from Income Support payments for Scotland.

  HB/CCB(89)18 22 September 1989

  COMMUNITY CHARGE BENEFITS—LIAISON ARRANGEMENTS

  Sets out the liaison arrangements for the introduction of the Community Charge Benefit Scheme in England and Wales.

  HB/CCB(89)20 1 November 1989

  HOUSING BENEFITS AND COMMUNITY CHARGE BENEFITS: 1990 UPRATING

  Advises local authorities of the proposed new rates of social security benefits from April 1990.

  HB/CCB(89)22 13 December 1989

  HOUSING BENEFIT AND COMMUNITY CHARGE BENEFIT GUIDANCE MANUAL

  Informs authorities of the Department of Social Security's intention to publish a combined Guidance Manual covering both Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit.

  HB/CCB(89)23 19 December 1989

  HOUSING BENEFIT AND COMMUNITY CHARGE BENEFIT

  Gives advice on various aspects of Housing Benefit and amends some details given in HB/CCB(89)20.

  HB/CCB(89)24 15 December 1989

  COMMUNITY CHARGE BENEFITS—MONITORING LOCAL AUTHORITY PREPARATIONS

  Asks authorities in England and Wales to complete a questionnaire showing how far advanced authorities are with their preparations for the introduction of the Community Charge Benefit scheme.

  HB/CCB(89J25 14 December 1989

  AMENDMENTS TO THE HOUSING BENEFIT (GENERAL) REGULATIONS 1987 AND THE HOUSING BENEFIT (COMMUNITY CHARGE REBATES) SCOTLAND REGULATIONS 1988: FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR HAEMOPHILIACS INFECTED WITH HIV

  Advises of the Department's intention to introduce amending Regulations to the above provisions to allow a full disregard of any payments from the Macfarlane Special

  151
  Payments Trust to HIV infected haemophiliacs and their families.

  Copies of all circulars have been placed in the Library.

  Occupational Pensions
  Mr. Loyden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people lost entitlement to unemployment benefit when the age limit at which occupational pensions affect entitlement was lowered in January 1989; how many had benefit reduced; how many subsequently sought a review and had money refunded; and whether he will make it his policy that all those who lost benefits will receive the correct entitlement via an extra-statutory payment if Mrs. D. Morris's case is upheld by the social security commissioner.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  It is estimated that, in a full year, 45,000 people will lose entitlement to unemployment benefit as a result of the age limit change. Of these, 14,000 would lose some, and 31,000 all, benefit. Following the local appeal tribunal decision in the case of Mrs. Doreen Morris, 1,552 people had, as at 31 December 1989, requested a review of their benefit disallowance. Further action will be considered once the decision of the social security commissioners is known.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Package Travel
  Mr. Butterfill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the proposed European Community draft directive on package travel.

  Mr. Forth
  EC Ministers reached a common position on a proposal for an EC directive on package travel at the 21–22 December Internal Market Council, subject to finalisation of the recitals and amendments to the text. The common position is expected to be formally agreed by the Council in the near future. Thereafter, it will be subject to the EC co-operation procedure, whereby the European Parliament may give its opinion on the proposal before the Commission can put the draft directive to the Council for consideration of its final adoption.

  Post Office Vehicles
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many bicycles the Post Office operates; and how many bicycles are maintained in house and how many by private contractors;

  (2) how many vehicles the Post Office operates; how many are operated on long lease hire and maintenance contracts; and if he will list those postal districts where Post Office vehicles are maintained by a private contractor.

  Mr. Forth
  These are operational matters for the Post Office. I will ask the chairman to write to the hon. Member.

  Estate Agents
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any proposals for extending the Sale of Goods Act to estate agents; what representations he has received on this matter; and if he will make a statement.
  152
  Mr. Forth
  My right hon. Friend has no proposals to extend the provisions of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 to sales of land and has not received any representations on this matter.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on requiring estate agents to disclose personal interests in properties or sales and stopping them favouring bids which use mortgages or other services in which the estate agent has a personal interest; what proposals he has for legislation or regulations on these matters; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers, and the National Consumer Council, have copied to me their responses to the Director General of Fair Trading's consultation document on estate agency which includes proposals on disclosure of personal interests and on tie-in sales. The director general will be reporting the conclusions of this consultation shortly. I will study the director general's report most carefully, and consider what action may be necessary to give effect to any recommendations he may make.

  Amateur Radio
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations he has received in support of and against the recommendations of the Dylis Gane report of 1984 on the self-policing of amateur radio bands; and if he will list the relevant organisations that are opposed to these recommendations.

  Mr. Forth
  The Gane report of 1984 was an internal Department of Trade and Industry efficiency scrutiny document dealing with the work of the radio investigation service. The report contained proposals for reordering the priorities of the radio investigation service. The thrust of the section dealing with radio amateurs was that amateurs should take on greater responsibility for resolving interference problems. That policy has been implemented and the Department has received representations both for and against this policy from organisations and individuals: it would not be practicable to list them.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the amateur radio observation network operated by the Radio Society of Great Britain is currently operational; and if he will list any occasions on which it has not been operational.

  Mr. Forth
  This is a matter for the Radio Society of Great Britain.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the amateur broadcasting licence fee is allocated to the radio investigation service; and what is the annual cost of that service.

  Mr. Forth
  The radio investigation service budget for 1988–89 was £6,284,000. Over 60 per cent. of the radio amateur licence fee represents the direct costs of licensing and enforcement. In addition all licensees benefit from the work of the radio investigation service in seeking to prevent interference and abuse of radio across the spectrum.
  153
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the radio investigation service is taking to prevent abuse on amateur radio repeaters.

  Mr. Forth
  The radio investigation service is currently holding discussions with the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), which is the licensee for amateur repeater stations, about the minority of radio amateurs who act irresponsibly when using this service.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is giving any consideration to the shutting down of the amateur radio repeater network until the problem of abuse has been resolved.

  Mr. Forth
  No. The majority of amateur radio repeaters are used by responsible licensees.

  Gross Domestic Product
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which parts of the United Kingdom had, for the purposes of the EC's structural funds' provisions, per capita gross domestic product of less than 50 per cent. of the Community average in the latest available year.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  None.

  Gas Supplies (Contract Customers)
  Mr. Beaumont-Dark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether British Gas has offered undertakings about contracting for new gas fields following the recommendations of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report on the supply of gas to contract customers.

  Mr. Ridley
  Yes. I have now accepted undertakings given by British Gas following discussions with the Director General of Fair Trading in the light of the Government's decision announced on 27 April 1989 about contracting for new gas fields. The undertakings are as follows:

  1. British Gas plc ("British Gas") hereby undertakes to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry that it will in good faith give constructive support to the efforts of gas producers towards the achievement of the target that 10 per cent. of the gas coming forward from new gas fields and contracted to be sold after 31 May 1989 should be supplied to the industrial and commercial market in the United Kingdom by suppliers other than British Gas by:

  (i) not purchasing more than 90 per cent. of the gas on offer to it in the period 1 June 1989 to 31 May 1991;

  (ii) not requiring, in contracts for the purchase of gas entered into after 1 June 1989 under which British Gas does not buy the whole of the recoverable reserves of a field, the inclusion of terms which would unreasonably constrain the ability of the gas producers to dispose of the gas not sold to British Gas into the industrial and commercial market in the United Kingdom;

  154

  (iii) expeditiously co-operating in setting up and conducting negotiations for the securing of rights to have gas conveyed in its pipelines under Section 19 of the Gas Act 1986 (common carriage). In particular British Gas will, within four weeks of any application to it for such rights containing sufficient information for the purpose, provide to the applicant a full response thereto setting out the terms and conditions (including price) offered by it for the exercise of such rights or, as the case may be, an explanation of the reasons why such application cannot in full or in part be complied with. In the case of exceptionally complicated applications to which it is not possible to provide a full response within four weeks, British Gas will provide whatever information it can within that time and undertakes to provide a full response without unnecessary delay;

  (iv) not otherwise doing anything calculated to obstruct the achievement of the target.

  2. For the purpose of this Undertaking, in assessing the achievement of the 10% target level there shall be taken into account both gas coming from the United Kingdom Continental Shelf and gas imported from foreign sources.

  3. British Gas will provide to the Director General of Fair Trading any information to which it has access which the Director General may require to assist the Government in ascertaining whether the target level has been achieved or the undertaking in paragraph 1 fulfilled.

  The Government are very pleased that British Gas has given these undertakings which are a declaration of good faith by British Gas that it will co-operate in establishing competitive suppliers of gas. I would like to emphasise again the importance which the Government attach to the development of competition in the supply of gas to business users and their determination to encourage the emergence of such competition. This should give greater confidence to gas producers and independent gas suppliers selling gas directly to the market in competition with British Gas. I hope that they will take advantage of this new opportunity. If they have any concerns about the development of competition in the market they should make representations to the Director General of Fair Trading who will be able to look into the matter.

  Flame-retardant Covers
  Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals he has to compensate retailers and small business men who have to destroy stock which does not have flame-retardant covers from 1 March.

  Mr. Forth
  [holding answer 12 February 1990.]: I have no plans to do so. It would be very difficult to justify the payment of public money to retailers and small businesses for complying with a safety requirement of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations, which was announced almost two years ago, after a full consultation.

ENERGY

  Petrol Prices
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the average equivalent pump price per litre and per gallon of(a) diesel, (b) leaded petrol and (c) unleaded petrol for each month since January 1989 (i) excluding Government taxes and duties, (ii) excluding Government taxes and duties and retailers' margin and (iii) including all Government taxes and duties, in the

  Price in Pence/Litre

  January

  February

  March

  April

  May

  June

  July

  August

  September

  October

  PUMP PRICE OF DIESEL

  Excluding government taxes and duties

  Belgium

  12·10

  11·54

  11·86

  12·84

  12·37

  13·07

  12·81

  12·98

  14·33

  15·13

  Denmark

  14·78

  14·46

  13·69

  15·16

  14·49

  15·06

  14·66

  15·09

  14·50

  16·86

  West Germany

  10·77

  11·16

  11·26

  13·04

  11·81

  10·99

  11·28

  12·18

  13·40

  13·57

  Greece

  10·04

  8·97

  9·23

  10·47

  10·47

  10·78

  10·00

  10·10

  11·28

  12·93

  Spain

  12·52

  12·66

  12·52

  13·73

  13·48

  13·72

  13·04

  13·26

  13·91

  14·73

  France

  11·23

  11·21

  11·65

  12·63

  12·42

  12·34

  11·37

  11·40

  11·76

  n/a

  Ireland

  14·57

  15·72

  15·71

  15·85

  16·08

  16·69

  16·62

  17·54

  18·15

  19·60

  Italy

  11·71

  11·74

  11·89

  13·23

  13·34

  12·84

  12·20

  12·40

  12·78

  14·11

  Luxembourg

  11·46

  11·46

  11·65

  12·17

  12·17

  12·60

  12·56

  12·66

  12·61

  13·92

  Netherlands

  12·53

  12·08

  12·27

  13·08

  12·00

  12·75

  12·31

  13·76

  13·97

  15·50

  Portugal

  11·74

  12·75

  13·31

  13·62

  13·66

  16·23

  16·54

  16·30

  14·63

  16·04

  United Kingdom

  12·42

  13·17

  13·22

  14·08

  14·06

  13·95

  13·90

  13·75

  14·02

  15·17

  Including government taxes and duties

  Belgium

  26·18

  25·49

  26·07

  27·40

  26·81

  28·10

  27·73

  29·99

  31·61

  33·25

  Denmark

  35·68

  35·20

  34·47

  36·51

  35·66

  37·07

  36·48

  37·15

  36·34

  40·13

  West Germany

  27·77

  28·25

  28·60

  30·81

  29·36

  29·05

  29·27

  30·43

  31·73

  32·77

  Greece

  13·84

  13·76

  13·86

  13·85

  13·85

  14·26

  14·07

  14·22

  14·11

  14·38

  Spain

  26·94

  27·14

  27·47

  27·80

  27·71

  27·91

  30·49

  30·82

  30·73

  31·61

  France

  30·08

  30·09

  30·95

  32·29

  32·05

  32·57

  31·31

  31·55

  31·93

  n/a

  Ireland

  41·04

  42·45

  42·81

  43·19

  43·50

  45·15

  44·96

  46·24

  46·88

  49·85

  Italy

  31·45

  31·53

  32·43

  33·32

  33·58

  35·08

  34·79

  35·36

  35·74

  40·17

  Luxembourg

  19·88

  19·89

  20·21

  20·86

  20·85

  21·60

  21·53

  21·70

  21·61

  23·42

  Netherlands

  24·03

  23·51

  23·88

  24·92

  23·65

  24·92

  24·30

  26·10

  26·32

  28·62

  Portugal

  27·68

  27·68

  27·95

  28·13

  28·11

  28·99

  28·69

  32·83

  32·66

  33·53

  United Kingdom

  34·17

  35·03

  35·09

  36·08

  36·05

  35·93

  35·86

  35·70

  36·00

  37·33

  PUMP PRICE OF PREMIUM GASOLINE

  Excluding government taxes and duties

  Belgium

  12·41

  13·11

  13·22

  16·72

  17·68

  16·09

  14·56

  13·92

  15·62

  16·10

  Denmark

  12·61

  13·37

  13·93

  16·58

  17·79

  17·54

  15·92

  15·01

  14·82

  16·57

  West Germany

  11·11

  12·08

  12·32

  16·49

  16·30

  15·26

  14·01

  13·65

  14·96

  14·94

  Greece

  9·85

  10·38

  11·05

  13·99

  13·99

  14·40

  13·07

  13·21

  12·78

  13·38

  Spain

  12·26

  12·87

  13·31

  14·66

  14·64

  14·75

  15·39

  14·20

  14·76

  15·41

  France

  10·24

  10·34

  10·90

  13·75

  14·96

  14·77

  13·00

  12·08

  12·05

  n/a

  Ireland

  14·36

  14·11

  14·49

  14·61

  16·45

  17·07

  17·00

  16·81

  17·14

  18·40

  Italy

  12·34

  12·37

  13·03

  15·73

  16·46

  17·37

  15·79

  14·82

  14·77

  15·73

  Luxembourg

  12·85

  12·85

  14·02

  15·74

  16·94

  17·54

  17·07

  16·37

  16·31

  16·48

  Netherlands

  12·86

  13·55

  14·53

  17·96

  17·49

  17·56

  15·50

  15·85

  16·02

  16·81

  Portugal

  13·68

  14·32

  14·28

  15·62

  15·37

  18·24

  18·79

  18·94

  17·44

  19·38

  United Kingdom

  11·86

  12·86

  13·34

  15·33

  16·80

  16·69

  15·64

  14·27

  15·03

  15·11

  Including government taxes and duties

  Belgium

  37·44

  38·32

  38·82

  43·41

  44·60

  43·42

  41·44

  42·38

  44·41

  46·15

  Denmark

  52·06

  52·83

  54·01

  57·76

  59·22

  59·54

  57·36

  56·48

  56·09

  60·03

  West Germany

  35·36

  36·47

  37·11

  42·09

  41·85

  41·59

  39·99

  39·76

  40·98

  42·38

  Greece

  28·42

  28·25

  28·47

  28·44

  28·44

  29·28

  28·90

  29·20

  28·98

  29·52

  Spain

  36·25

  36·52

  36·96

  37·40

  37·29

  37·55

  40·83

  41·26

  41·14

  42·32

  France

  44·63

  44·89

  46·19

  49·95

  51·38

  52·36

  50·06

  49·35

  49·22

  n/a

  Ireland

  48·10

  48·65

  49·63

  50·06

  52·40

  54·38

  54·16

  54·09

  54·34

  57·49

  Italy

  56·80

  56·95

  57·66

  58·25

  58·71

  61·32

  60·82

  61·81

  61·61

  66·17

  Luxembourg

  30·70

  30·71

  32·28

  34·36

  35·71

  36·98

  36·41

  35·75

  35·61

  36·60

  Netherlands

  42·58

  43·44

  44·95

  49·28

  48·74

  50·71

  48·03

  48·67

  48·77

  51·18

  Portugal

  44·51

  44·51

  44·94

  45·23

  45·21

  46·61

  46·13

  50·81

  50·55

  51·90

  United Kingdom

  37·14

  38·30

  38·85

  41·14

  42·83

  42·70

  41·49

  39·92

  40·79

  40·89

  156
  manner of his answer to the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mr. Hunter), of 27 July 1989, Official Report, columns 807–08.

  Mr. Peter Morrison
  The Department of Energy does not have data on retailers' margins. Figures from the Commission of the European Communities on the pump price of diesel and on premium grade leaded petrol are given for each month of 1989 available at present. Comparable figures for unleaded are not available.

  The figures are as follows:
  157

  Pump Price in Pence/Gallon

  January

  February

  March

  April

  May

  June

  July

  August

  September

  October

  PUMP PRICE OF DIESEL

  Excluding government taxes and duties

  Belgium

  55·01

  52·47

  53·93

  58·37

  56·24

  59·44

  58·24

  59·02

  65·13

  68·79

  Denmark

  67·20

  65·72

  62·22

  68·90

  65·87

  68·47

  66·64

  68·61

  65·90

  76·67

  West Germany

  48·98

  50·71

  51·20

  59·28

  53·67

  49·97

  51·30

  55·38

  60·91

  61·70

  Greece

  45·64

  40·79

  41·98

  47·61

  47·62

  49·02

  45·45

  45·93

  51·27

  58·78

  Spain

  56·90

  57·57

  56·93

  62·43

  61·30

  62·39

  59·26

  60·27

  63·25

  66·96

  France

  51·03

  50·96

  52·97

  57·40

  56·47

  56·09

  51·71

  51·85

  53·46

  n/a

  Ireland

  66·25

  71·46

  71·44

  72·06

  73·09

  75·86

  75·54

  79·73

  82·50

  89·09

  Italy

  53·26

  53·39

  54·07

  60·15

  60·63

  58·37

  55·46

  56·36

  58·08

  64·15

  Luxembourg

  52·10

  52·11

  52·97

  55·32

  55·31

  57·29

  57·12

  57·55

  57·33

  63·30

  Netherlands

  56·97

  54·92

  55·79

  59·48

  54·58

  57·96

  55·96

  62·56

  63·49

  70·48

  Portugal

  53·36

  57·96

  60·49

  61·93

  62·12

  73·77

  75·19

  74·09

  66·49

  72·94

  United Kingdom

  56·46

  59·82

  59·87

  63·87

  63·91

  63·41

  63·18

  62·50

  63·73

  68·96

  Including government taxes and duties

  Belgium

  119·02

  115·86

  118·52

  124·55

  121·88

  127·72

  126·06

  136·32

  143·71

  151·16

  Denmark

  162·21

  160·00

  156·69

  165·99

  162·11

  168·52

  165·86

  168·87

  165·18

  182·45

  West Germany

  126·23

  128·40

  130·02

  140·04

  133·46

  132·07

  133·05

  138·36

  144·23

  148·97

  Greece

  62·92

  62·55

  63·03

  62·96

  62·97

  64·83

  63·98

  64·66

  64·15

  65·35

  Spain

  122·49

  123·39

  124·89

  126·38

  125·99

  126·89

  138·61

  140·10

  139·69

  143·69

  France

  136·77

  136·80

  140·70

  146·80

  145·69

  148·06

  142·36

  143·41

  145·14

  n/a

  Ireland

  186·57

  192·97

  194·63

  196·32

  197·76

  205·25

  204·41

  210·21

  213·12

  226·63

  Italy

  142·97

  143·34

  147·44

  151·48

  152·68

  159·47

  158·16

  160·75

  162·49

  182·61

  Luxembourg

  90·38

  90·40

  91·89

  94·81

  94·80

  98·19

  97·90

  98·64

  98·25

  106·49

  Netherlands

  109·25

  106·88

  108·57

  113·27

  107·50

  113·28

  110·48

  118·67

  119·64

  130·09

  Portugal

  125·83

  125·82

  127·06

  127·88

  127·80

  131·77

  130·41

  149·24

  148·48

  152·44

  United Kingdom

  155·34

  159·18

  159·23

  164·00

  163·91

  163·33

  163·04

  162·28

  163·64

  169·70

  PUMP PRICE OF PREMIUM GASOLINE

  Excluding government taxes and duties

  Belgium

  56·41

  59·61

  60·11

  76·01

  80·37

  73·13

  66·20

  63·27

  71·03

  73·18

  Denmark

  57·32

  60·79

  63·35

  75·36

  80·87

  79·76

  72·38

  68·25

  67·37

  75·32

  West Germany

  50·51

  54·89

  56·01

  74·97

  74·08

  69·39

  63·68

  62·06

  68·01

  67·91

  Greece

  44·77

  47·21

  50·24

  63·60

  63·61

  65·49

  59·41

  60·04

  58·09

  60·83

  Spain

  55·75

  58·52

  60·49

  66·62

  66·57

  67·06

  69·98

  64·56

  67·10

  70·07

  France

  46·54

  46·99

  49·54

  62·51

  67·99

  67·15

  59·10

  54·92

  54·77

  n/a

  Ireland

  65·27

  64·15

  65·85

  66·42

  74·77

  77·60

  77·28

  76·41

  77·93

  83·64

  Italy

  56·09

  56·23

  59·23

  71·53

  74·84

  78·97

  71·76

  67·37

  67·15

  71·49

  Luxembourg

  58·41

  58·43

  63·72

  71·55

  77·00

  79·76

  77·61

  74·44

  74·15

  74·91

  Netherlands

  58·45

  61·58

  66·07

  81·63

  79·52

  79·82

  70·47

  72·04

  72·81

  76·40

  Portugal

  62·20

  65·08

  64·91

  71·00

  69·89

  82·92

  85·41

  86·09

  79·29

  88·09

  United Kingdom

  53·92

  58·45

  60·64

  69·68

  76·36

  75·87

  71·09

  64·86

  68·32

  68·69

  Including government taxes and duties

  Belgium

  170·19

  174·22

  176·49

  197·33

  202·78

  197·38

  188·40

  192·66

  201·88

  209·80

  Denmark

  236·66

  240·18

  245·56

  262·57

  269·20

  270·70

  260·76

  256·74

  255·01

  272·88

  West Germany

  160·75

  165·77

  168·71

  191·34

  190·25

  189·05

  181·80

  180·75

  186·30

  192·64

  Greece

  129·21

  128·44

  129·42

  129·29

  129·31

  133·13

  131·37

  132·77

  131·73

  134·20

  Spain

  164·81

  166·02

  168·04

  170·04

  169·52

  170·72

  185·60

  187·59

  187·04

  192·40

  France

  202·90

  20·406

  209·99

  22·708

  233·57

  23·803

  227·57

  224·35

  223·75

  n/a

  Ireland

  218·65

  22·117

  225·60

  227·56

  238·21

  247·23

  246·21

  245·89

  247·06

  261·36

  Italy

  258·23

  258·88

  262·11

  264·81

  266·90

  278·77

  276·47

  281·00

  280·09

  300·83

  Luxembourg

  139·56

  139·59

  146·76

  156·20

  162·33

  168·13

  165·51

  162·51

  161·88

  166·39

  Netherlands

  193·59

  197·47

  204·35

  22·402

  221·59

  230·51

  218·34

  221·27

  221·70

  232·65

  Portugal

  202·35

  202·33

  204·32

  205·64

  205·53

  211·91

  209·71

  230·97

  229·79

  235·92

  United Kingdom

  168·84

  174·12

  176·60

  187·03

  194·71

  194·10

  188·63

  181·48

  185·42

  185·88

HEALTH

  Expenditure
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give for England for each year since 1974–75 (i) total National Health Service expenditure, (ii) current expenditure on the hospital and community health services, (iii) capital expenditure on the hospital and community health services, (iv) expenditure on the family practitioner services, (v) expenditure on centrally funded National Health Service services, and (vi) expenditure on personal social services, giving each in(a) cash terms, (b) adjusted using the relevant pay and prices index and (c)
  158
  adjusted using the gross domestic product deflator; and if he will place in the Library details of the methods used to make these adjustments.

  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health. if he will give for each year since 1959(a) the total amount spent on health and (b) the capital expenditure, giving the figures at constant prices.

  Mr. Freeman
  Information, which is readily available only from 1974–75, has been placed in the Library.

  Hospital Patients (Mortality)
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital patients have died as a result of catching infection whilst in hospital for treatment for other conditions during each of the last five years.

  Mr. Freeman
  The exact information requested is not available. The number of deaths with the underlying cause of post-operative infection, England and Wales, 1984–88, is shown in the table.

  Deaths from post operative infection,1 England and Wales, 1984–88

  Year

  Deaths

  1984

  13

  1985

  12

  1986

  15

  1987

  11

  21988

  15

  1International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, code 998.5.

  2 Provisional data.

  Mentally Ill Patients
  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the effect on services for mentally ill patients of the Government's proposals in the National Health Service and Community Care Bill.

  Mr. Freeman
  We have received several representations and are considering them all carefully.

  Statutory Child Care
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many current cases there are of statutory child care; how many are not supervised by local authority social workers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Particulars of the number of children in the care of local authorities under the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, the Child Care Act 1980, and other legislation are published in the document "Children in Care in England and Wales", copies of which are available in the Library. Particulars of the numbers of children on child protection registers—some of whom are also in the care of local authorities—are contained in the "Survey of Children and Young Persons on Child Protection Registers", copies of which are also available in the Library. Information is not collected centrally about the numbers of child care cases not supervised by local authority social workers.

  Sight Tests
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish figures indicating the change in the number of sight tests since 1 April 1989, nationally and regionally.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Data on the number of National Health Service eye tests carried out between April and September 1989 will be available in the spring. We do not collect statistics on the numbers of private sight tests carried out since April 1989. An independent sample survey has been commissioned relating to the first quarter of 1990. The results of that survey should be available in the early summer.

  British Medical Association
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the British Medical Association; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State last met representatives of the British Medical Association formally on 18 October 1989, when he had a friendly and constructive discussion about the implementation of the proposals in the White Paper "Working for Patients". The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lords) and I met representatives of the British Medical Association on 7 February to discuss the question of junior doctors' hours of work.

  GPs' Contracts
  Mr. Flannery
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to monitor the impact of the new general practitioners' contracts.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to monitor the impact of the new general practitioners' contracts.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We will monitor the GPs' new contract through family practitioner committees by collecting information about the services provided, by analysing claims for payment made by GPs and through research studies.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were inpatient and outpatient waiting lists(a) in 1979 and (b) currently; and what is his estimate for 1990–91.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The inpatient waiting list for England fell from 752,422 at 31 March 1979 to 704,724 at 31 March 1989, the latest date for which firm figures are available. Provisional figures for September 1989 suggest there has been a further reduction, particularly in the number of patients waiting over a year. We do not make forward estimates of the size of the waiting list, since this is subject to unpredictable factors such as variations in demand. No information is held centrally on numbers awaiting outpatient appointments.

  Patient Involvement
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to increase the involvement of patients in the running of the National Health Service.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to increase the involvement of patients in the running of the National Health Service.

  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to increase the involvement of patients in the running of the National Health Service.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave the hon. Members for Glasgow, Pollock (Mr. Dunnachie), for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle), for Renfrew, West and Inverclyde (Mr. Graham), and for Wigan (Mr. Stott) on 23 January at column 662.

  Regional Health Authorities
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to meet the chairmen of the regional health authorities; and what matters he hopes to discuss.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  My right hon. and learned Friend's next meeting with chairmen of regional health authorities is on 21 March 1990 when the items for discussion will include the implementation of the NHS reforms and other matters of topical interest.

  Acute Hospitals
  Sir Eldon Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds of 31 January,Official Report, column 235, if he will list in the Official Report the names and locations of the acute hospitals in England with fewer than 600 beds in total, indicating which regional health authority is responsible for each.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The information requested has been placed in the Library.

  Consultants
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants now work in the Rugby health authority area; and how many did so in 1979.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The information requested is not held centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to ask the West Midlands regional health authority which holds the contracts for consultants working in Rugby

  General Practitioners
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the proposed pay increases for general practitioners.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The Department has received one letter on the GPs' pay increase.

  Ambulance Dispute
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an up-to-date statement about the ambulance dispute.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 18 January 1990 at column 402.

  Osteoporosis
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of resources his Department is committing to making women aware of the preventive effects of hormone replacement therapy with respect to osteoporosis.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The Department provided in 1989–90 funding totalling £63,000 to three voluntary organisations which inform women about hormone replacement therapy (HRT)—Women's Health Concern, the National Osteoporosis Society, and the Amarant Trust. The Health Education Authority has also produced a booklet on the menopause, which includes information 162
  on HRT and osteoporosis. The Department is also providing funding for research and recently gave funds to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists towards holding a study group of experts on HRT and osteoporosis. The Department and health authorities allocate funds for the provision of courses and other educational activities for general practitioners, including courses on HRT and osteoporosis.

  Pharmaceutical Investment
  Mr. Michael Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the report, "Pharmaceutical Investment in the United Kingdom: the impact of the proposals in the White Paper, Working for Patients", submitted to his Department by the Economist Advisory Group.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The report, which was commissioned on behalf of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of the USA, acknowledges the attractions over the years of the United Kingdom as a place for investment, highlighting research activities in view of this country's strengths in pure science and pharmaceutical innovation. While some concern was reported about future manufacturing investment, there is no reason why these attractions should disappear.

  Information Technology
  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on working paper No. 11 on information and information technology in the National Health Service.

  Mr. Freeman
  One response to the document has been received to date, about the needs of regional and supra-regional services, which will be taken into account as part of the consultation, the closing date for which is 30 March 1990.

  Community Pharmacies
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to publish Alan Glanz's report on the role of community pharmacies in AIDS prevention and drug misuse; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The report was published on 8 February 1990 and copies have been placed in the Library.

  The report indicates that the involvement of community pharmacies in preventive health education activities for drug misusers could be an effective way of making contact with those who are at high risk of HIV infection.

  We welcome this news and acknowledge the good will displayed by many pharmacists who are prepared to supply injecting equipment to drug misusers, give out information materials and offer advice. Where the report has identified problems hindering the involvement of pharmacists, we are considering ways of making progress.

  Almost £15 million has been allocated to health authorities in 1989–90 for the expansion and development of drug services in the light of HIV. We would expect that money from this allocation could be used for both the provision of individual sharps containers for drug users to place their used equipment in, and also the provision and servicing of larger sharps containers sited in pharmacies.
  163
  Pharmacists' training needs are currently being considered by the Department in conjunction with the relevant professional bodies, and we have encouraged liaison between pharmacists and local drugs services through the drug advisory committees established in every health district.

  HIV
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe of 8 February, what steps have been taken to obtain evidence on the disadvantage after the infection has been discovered in respect of employment prospects and ability to obtain life insurance and mortgages, suffered by people who became infected with HIV via blood transfusions; and what comparisons have been undertaken between the situations of such people in the post-infection phase and that of haemophiliacs in the post-infection stage.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We do not believe that any useful purpose would be served by such a survey of the financial circumstances after infection of any particular group with HIV. Our ex-gratia payments to haemophiliacs recognise their wholly exceptional circumstances whereby they were doubly disadvantaged by their pre-existing haemophilia as well as the HIV infection. We have no plans to extend these special arrangements to other groups.

  The full facilities of the National Health Service and a range of social security benefits are available to all those infected with HIV who suffer illness, unemployment or loss of earnings.

  Country

  1970

  1975

  1980

  1985

  Latest estimate

  United Kingdom

  2·45

  1·81

  1·89

  1·80

  1·84 (1988)

  France

  2·48

  1·93

  1·95

  1·82

  1·82 (1987)

  West Germany

  2·02

  1·45

  1·44

  1·28

  1·35 (1986)

  Italy

  2·43

  2·21

  1·69

  1·41

  1·41 (1985)

  European Economic Community

  —

  —

  —

  —

  11·61 (1987)

  1 Estimate.

  Source: Eurostat, Population and Social Conditions, 1989.

  "Caring for People"
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the percentage set out in chart 6 of "Caring for People" (Cm. 849) as the estimated cumulative rate of transfer will be affected if the costs of the continuing commitment to residents with preserved rights are higher than has been estimated.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 1 February 1990]: I have been asked to reply.

  The transfer of resources from the Department of Social Security to local authorities will be determined in the 1990 public expenditure survey. Any subsequent changes in the amounts required by DSS in respect of residents with preserved rights will be a matter for future surveys and will not therefore affect the transfer.

  NHS Pay Increases
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what will be the total cost to health authorities of the increases in pay for hospital doctors from April; and how much of that sum will be provided by additional central Government funding;

  (2) what will be the total cost to health authorities of the increases in pay for nurses from April; and how much of that sum will be provided by additional central Government funding.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The total cost in 1990–91 of pay increases for National Health Service review body staff groups is £884 million in the United Kingdom. The cost of the increases for nurses and midwives is £523 million, and for hospital doctors and dentists it is £146 million. Of the total United Kingdom cost, £635 million is already within existing National Health Service provision, and an additional £205 million will be provided from the reserve. This additional funding is not specifically apportioned between the different National Health Service review body groups.

  Families
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average family size in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the European Economic Community as a whole in 1970 and each five years thereafter, including data for 1989 or the latest available date.

  Mr. Freeman
  The table gives total period fertility rates—which are the only available reasonably comparable measures of average family sizes for the areas concerned. The total period fertility rate is the average number of children which would be born per woman if women experienced the age-specific fertility rates, as recorded at a particular point in time, throughout their entire childbearing lifespan.

TRANSPORT

  Ports
  Mr. Viggers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on labour efficiency in the ports.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The abolition of the dock labour scheme has created the conditions for more efficient working in the ports. The effects of this reform have still to finish working through the ports industry.

  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what have been the effects of the abolition of the national dock labour scheme.
  165
  Mr. McLoughlin
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave on 5 December to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Mr. Janman) at column 183.

  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reports he has received of the progress of the docks in Hull since the end of the national dock labour scheme.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  None; but I would not expect any. However, according to press reports new flexible working arrangements have led to the reopening of the container terminal under new management, with a weekly service to Scandinavia, and to the establishment of new bulk trades at the port.

  Taxis
  Mr. Peter Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many hackney carriage and private hire drivers were granted licences in(a) 1985 and (b) 1989;

  (2) what is the total number of licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers in England and Wales.

  Mr. Portillo
  The licensing of hackney carriage and private hire drivers belongs to district councils. Statistics are not collected by central Government.

  Mr. Peter Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many hackney carriage and private hire driving licences were revoked in the last year for which records are available; and what were the most common reasons.

  Mr. Portillo
  District councils have powers to revoke licences for a variety of reasons. They have not been asked to supply central Government with statistics on revocations.

  Mr. Peter Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received regarding the protection of passengers in hackney carriage and private hire vehicles from drivers who have prison convictions for offences of a sexual or violent nature.

  Mr. Portillo
  Since October 1989 I have received five representations on the threat to passengers in hackney carriages and private hire vehicles from drivers who may have had criminal convictions.

  Mr. Peter Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider making statutory provision for a declaration of previous offences of a sexual or violent nature by all applicants for hackney carriage or private hire licences.

  Mr. Portillo
  I have no plans to make such a provision. Local licensing authorities already have powers under legislation which enable them to require the submission of information by applicants as a means of assessing their suitability.

  Bradford-Leeds Railway (Electrification)
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive proposals from the West Yorkshire passenger transport authority concerning the electrification of the Bradford to Leeds railway and associated works; when he expects to reach a decision on such proposals; and if he will make a statement.
  166
  Mr. Portillo
  The West Yorkshire passenger transport executive has recently approached the Department of Transport about this project, which will be considered on its merits. More details will be needed before any decision can be taken.

  Company Cars
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport(a) how many people presently have cars registered in a company's name; (b) what is their income distribution; (c) how many are women and how many are men; (d) what is the regional distribution and (e) if he will give comparable figures for the information in (a) for each year since 1973–74.

  Mr. Atkins
  The latest figures available show that in 1988, approximately 2,391,000 cars were registered in a company name. These include cars held in pools, rather than being assigned to particular users. According to the 1985–86 national travel survey, about 11 per cent. of household cars were provided by companies. For 84 per cent. of these, the main driver was a man.

  The distribution of these vehicles according to region and to the income of the main driver are given in the following tables.

  Regions (1985–86)

  Per cent.

  Great Britain

  100

  North

  4

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  8

  East Midlands

  7

  East Anglia

  4

  South East

  39

  South West

  7

  West Midlands

  9

  North West

  11

  Wales

  3

  Scotland

  9

  Income (1985–86)

  £ per annum

  Per cent.

  Less than 5,000

  14·4

  5,000–9,999

  26·3

  10,000–14,999

  30·5

  15,000–19,999

  15·2

  20,000–24,999

  6·3

  25,000 and over

  7·3

  The number of cars registered in a company name for 1983 to 1987 are given in the following table. Figures are not available for years prior to 1983.

  Year

  thousand

  1983

  1,840

  1984

  1,917

  1985

  1,981

  1986

  2,038

  1987

  2,170

  Motor Taxation
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total revenue raised from motor taxation in 1988–89; and what is his estimated revenue for 1989–90.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Department's estimates of revenue from motoring taxation are as follows:
  167

  £ billion

  Revenue

  Tax

  1988–89

  1989–90

  Vehicle excise duty

  2·8

  2·9

  Fuel duty

  8·5

  8·6

  Total

  11·3

  11·5

  A40 (Lighting)
  Sir George Young
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the standard of lighting on the A40 Westway and of the A40 in the London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham and Ealing.

  Mr. Atkins
  A consultant's report on lighting standards on the A40 in the London borough of Ealing was received in February 1989. Remedial works are already in progress or planned on those parts of this section of the A40 where lighting was found not to conform with British standard BS5489. Although the A40 Westway was not included in this assessment, there is no reason to doubt that it conforms to the British standard.

  Unleaded Fuels
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of(a) new cars use unleaded fuel, (b) car owners have converted their cars to unleaded fuel and what proportion this is of cars that can be converted and (c) new cars have a catalytic converter, (d) new cars made in the United Kingdom have catalytic converters, (e) car owners have had a catalytic converter fitted; and what were the figures in 1988.

  Mr. Atkins
  Industry sources indicate that virtually all new cars can run on unleaded petrol without adjustment. Estimates are that about 20 per cent. of cars on the road were able to use unleaded petrol without adjustment at the end of 1989, against 10 per cent. at the end of 1988. An additional 50 per cent. could use unleaded with adjustment at the end of 1989, against 35 per cent. at the end of 1988. The current uptake of unleaded represent about 28 per cent. of the fuel market, and if the same proportion of the vehicle fleet uses unleaded fuel, and about 20 per cent. of that fleet can use unleaded without adjustment, up to 8 per cent. of the vehicle fleet may have been adjusted.

  There were 186 new car models and two light van models on the market fitted with three-way catalysts, out of a total of about 1,000 models listed in the Department's "New Car Fuel Consumption" figures for October 1989. Of these, 24 models were known to be of British manufacture. We know of one model offered with a catalyst in 1988. There is no information available on the market share occupied by these models, but I understand that the industry proposes to collate these data for the future.

  Tighter emission standards will take effect in 1992. The number of catalyst equipped cars on the market can be expected to increase rapidly during the next two years.

  Information on the retrofitment of catalysts by individual motorists is not available.

  St. Mary's Airport
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what decision has been taken on the request by the council of the Isles of Scilly for Government financial help towards the cost of repairing and extending the runway at St. Mary's airport.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  My Department wrote to the council on 5 February describing the financial basis on which it envisages the runway works at St. Mary's airport being carried out later this year. I am sending a copy of the letter to my hon. Friend.

  M2-A2
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which year's budget contained the relevant expenditure, in relation to the relevant authorities, in respect of the following works on the M2/A2:(a) London boundary to M2 provision of lighting and provision of hard shoulders, (b) Brenley to Harbledown provision of lighting and provision of central reserve safety fencing, (c) Harbledown to Bridge provision of central reserve safety fencing, (d) Shepherdswell provision of lighting and (e) Jubilee Way to Dover alterations to road markings and removal of lay-bys.

  Mr. Atkins
  Expenditure was contained in the following years:—

  A2

  (a) London boundary to M2

  Hardshoulders:

  1985–86 to 1989–90 inclusive.

  Lighting:

  Not yet allocated

  (b) Brenley to Harbledown

  Lighting:

  Not yet allocated.

  Central reserve safety fence:

  Not yet allocated.

  (c) Harbledown to Bridge

  Central reserve safety fence:

  Not yet allocated.

  (d) Shepherdswell

  Lighting:

  1989–90.

  (e) Jubilee Way to Dover

  Alterations to road markings:

  1989–90

  Removal of lay-bys:

  1989–90.

  Electric Vehicles
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research or other assistance his Department is funding for the development of electrically powered road vehicles.

  Mr. Atkins
  Electric vehicles have for some years been exempt from vehicle excise duty. A considerable amount of research related to electric vehicles has been carried out by the transport and road research laboratory. The Department of Transport and the Department of Trade and Industry have also funded research into higher energy density batteries and the Department of Industry has funded the development of electric vehicles. Although no further research is foreseen, officials keep in touch with developments in electric vehicles both in the United Kingdom and abroad.

  Station Car Parks
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the capacity of station car parks in London in each of the last 10 years; and what is his current policy on the contribution station car parks can make to transport in London.
  169
  Mr. Portillo
  The provision of station car parks has an important role to play in encouraging commuters to leave their cars outside central London and to travel in by rail. The rail operators are in the best position to judge where increases in capacity will lead to increased rail demand. Network SouthEast has a substantial programme of investment in improving and expanding its car parks. I regret that I cannot supply the data requested.

  A66 Improvements
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to respond to the feasibility study on road improvements to the A66 near Longnewton in Cleveland carried out by Cleveland county council; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  A decision on the feasibility study will be announced shortly.

  Pedestrians and Cyclists (Accidents)
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many(a) pedestrians and (b) cyclists were killed and injured in each of the last five years due to drivers causing accidents while in excess of the blood alcohol limit; and what research his Department has done on the impact random breathalysing would have on these figures.

  Mr. Atkins
  The numbers of(a) pedestrians and (b) pedal cyclists who were reported by the police as killed or injured as a result of collision with a motor vehicle whose driver was established to have a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit or failed to provide a specimen are:

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  Pedestrians

  killed

  116

  110

  83

  70

  61

  all severities

  1,117

  1,186

  1,092

  949

  919

  Pedal cyclists

  killed

  20

  19

  17

  14

  6

  all severities

  771

  217

  160

  144

  136

  These figures confirm the significant success of our campaign against drinking and driving, to which increased enforcement activity by the police has made a major contribution. The impact of any extension of police powers would depend on the extent to which they were used and on the level of associated publicity. The extensive powers currently available to the police were set out in the recent statement by my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General (Official Report, 5 December, column 131). The Government fully support the full use by the police of these powers.

  Personal Travelling Time
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what values for personal travelling time are given in departmental assessment methods for(a) bus passengers, (b) pedestrians, (c) motorists and (d) cyclists.

  Mr. Atkins
  The values of personal travelling time are given in the latest version of the "Highways Economic Note No. 2" issued in May 1989, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

  Goods (Road and Rail)
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the tonnage of goods transported by road and rail in each year since 1985.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information requested is published in table 1.13 of "Transport Statistics Great Britain 1978–1988", a copy of which is in the Library.

WALES

  Carmarthen Southern Bypass
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales with regard to the changes now being carried out to the roundabout at the junction of the Carmarthen southern bypass with the trunk road A40, why is the work necessary and what it is designed to achieve, how much it will cost, and who is responsible financially.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  The improvement scheme at this roundabout scored very highly using the Welsh Office's computerised ranking programme for schemes costing less than £1 million. This programme takes into account a number of factors, including the incidence of accidents. The improvement scheme is being carried out at a cost of £500,000 to the Welsh Office.

  Bed and Breakfast
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest figures for the number of people living in bed and breakfast accommodation.

  Mr. Ian Grist
  On 30 September 1989 there were 164 homeless families in Wales placed in bed and breakfast accommodation. Information on the number of individuals is not available centrally.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many nominees for the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to(a) each community health council in Wales, (b) each district health authority in Wales, (c) the All-Wales Advisory Panel on the Development of Services for People with Mental Handicaps, (d) each family practitioner committee in Wales, (e) the Health Policy Board and (f) the Health Promotion Board declared a political affiliation in their curricula vitae; and of those declaring a political affiliation, how many showed allegiance to (a) Conservative, (b) Labour, (c) Liberal Democrats, (d) the Social Democratic party, (e) the Green party and (f) Plaid Cymru;

  (2) how many nominees for the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to (a) the Administration of Radioactive Substances, Advisory Committee, (b) the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances, (c) the Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales, (d) the Agricultural Valuation Committee (Wales), (e) the Agricultural Wages Committee, (f) the Ancient Monuments Board for Wales, (g) the Audit Commission and (h) the British Wool Marketing Board declared a political affiliation in their curricula vitae; and of those declaring a political affiliation, how many showed

  171
  allegiance to (a) Conservatives, (b) Labour, (c) Liberal Democrats, (d) Social Democratic party, (e) Green party and (f) Plaid Cymru;

  (3) how many nominees for the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to (a) the Farm Animal Welfare Council, (b) the Forestry Commission Reference Committee Panel for Wales, (c) the Historic Buildings Council for Wales, (d) Housing for Wales, (e) the Land Authorities for Wales, (f) the Library and Information Services Council (Wales), (g) the Local Government Boundary Commission and (h) the National Parks Committee, declared a political affiliation in their curricula vitae; and of those declaring a political affiliation, how many showed allegiance to (a) Conservatives, (b) Labour, (c) Liberal Democrats, (d) Social Democratic party, (e) Green party and (f) Plaid Cymru;

  (4) how many nominees for the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to (a) the National Radiological Protection Board, (b) the North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee, (c) the Place Names Advisory Committee, (d) the Rent Assessment Panel, (e) the Saundersfoot Harbour Commission, (f) the Sports Council for Wales and (g) the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee, declared a political affiliation in their curricula vitae; and of those declaring a political affiliation, how many showed allegiance to (a) Conservatives, (b) Labour, (c) Liberal Democrats, (d) Social Democratic party, (e) Green party and (f) Plaid Cymru;

  (5) how many nominees for the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to (a) the Cardiff Bay development corporation, (b) the Committee for the Welsh Scheme for the Development of Health and Social Research, (c) the Committee on Opportunities for Volunteering, (d) the Council for National Academic Awards, (e) the courts and councils of (i) the National Library and (ii) the National Museum of Wales, (f) the Curriculum Council for Wales and (g) the Development Board for Rural Wales declared a political affiliation in their curricula vitae; and of those declaring a political affiliation, how many showed allegiance to (a) Conservatives, (b) Labour, (c) Liberal Democrats, (d) Social Democratic party, (e) Green party and (f) Plaid Cymru.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  I do not require candidates for public appointment to indicate their political affiliation, as this is not a qualification for appointment.

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to(a) the National Radiological Protection Board, (b) the North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee, (c) the Place Names Advisory Committee, (d) the Rent Assessment Panel, (e) the Saundersfoot Harbour Commission, (f) the Sports Council for Wales and (g) the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee are held by women.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The information is shown in the following table:172

  Women in public appointments

  Number of appointments held by women

  (a) National Radiological Protection Board

  2

  (b) North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee

  None

  (c) Place Names Advisory Committee

  None

  (d) Rent Assessment Panel

  7

  (e) Saundersfoot Harbour Commission

  None

  (f) Sports Council for Wales

  4

  (g) South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee

  1

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the current appointments made by him either solely or jointly with another Minister to(a) each community health council in Wales, (b) each district health authority in Wales, (c) the All-Wales Advisory Panel on the Development of Services for People with Mental Handicaps, (d) each family practitioner committee in Wales, (e) the Health Policy Board and (f) the Health Promotion Board are held by women.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  I have taken the hon. Gentleman's question to refer at(f) to the Welsh Health Promotion Authority. The information is shown in the following table:

  Number of appointments held by women

  (a) Community Health Councils in Wales:

  Clwyd South

  1

  Clwyd North

  3

  Carmarthen/Dinefwr

  3

  Llanelli/Dinefwr

  1

  Ceredigion

  2

  Pembrokeshire

  3

  South Gwent

  2

  North Gwent

  3

  Arfon/Dwyfor

  1

  Aberconwy

  2

  Ynys Mon

  1

  Meirionnydd

  1

  Rhymney Valley

  2

  East Glamorgan

  3

  Merthyr/Cynon Valley

  2

  Ogwr

  2

  Brecon/Radnor

  2

  Montgomery

  1

  Cardiff

  3

  Vale of Glamorgan

  2

  Neath/Port Talbot

  3

  Swansea/Lliw Valley

  2

  (b) District Health Authorities:

  Clwyd

  4

  East Dyfed

  4

  Gwent

  3

  Gwynedd

  3

  Mid Glamorgan

  2

  Pembrokeshire

  2

  Powys

  4

  South Glamorgan

  4

  West Glamorgan

  4

  (c) All Wales Advisory Panel on the Development of Services for people with Mental Handicaps

  1

  (d) Family Practitioner Committee:

  Clwyd

  7

  Dyfed

  8

  Gwent

  8

  Gwynedd

  5

  173

  Number of appointments held by women

  Mid Glamorgan

  5

  Powys

  12

  West Glamorgan

  8

  South Glamorgan

  7

  (e) Health Policy Board

  1

  (f) Welsh Health Promotion Authority

  7

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to(a) the Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee, (b) the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances, (c) the Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales, (d) the Agricultural Valuation Committee (Wales), (e) the Agricultural Wages Committee, (f) the Ancient Monuments Board for Wales, (g) the Audit Commission and (h) the British Wool Marketing Board are held by women.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The information is shown in the following table:

  Women in public appointments

  Number of appointments held by women

  (a)Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee

  2

  (b)Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances

  None

  (c)Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales

  3

  (d)Agricultural Valuation Committee for Wales

  None

  (e)Agricultural Wages Committee:

  Dyfed

  1

  Glamorgans

  1

  Powys

  1

  (f)Ancient Monuments Board for Wales

  1

  (g)Audit Commission

  1

  (h)British Wool Marketing Board

  1

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to(a) the Farm Animal Welfare Council, (b) the Forestry Commission Reference Committee Panel for Wales, (c) the Historic Buildings Council for Wales, (d) Housing for Wales, (e) the Land Authority for Wales, (f) the Library and Information Services Council (Wales), (g) the Local Government Boundary Commission and (h) the National Parks Committee are held by women.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The information is shown in the following table:

  Number of Appointments held by women

  Number

  (a) Farm Animal Welfare Council

  5

  (b) Forestry Commission Reference Committee Panel for Wales

  None

  (c) Historic Buildings Council for Wales

  (d) Housing For Wales

  (e) Land Authority for Wales

  None

  (f) Library and Information Services Council (Wales)

  2

  (g) Local Government Boundary Commission

  1

  (h) National Parks Committee:

  Brecon Beacons

  1

  Pembrokeshire Coast

  1

  Snowdonia

  1

  174
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to(a) the Cardiff Bay development corporation, (b) the Committee for the Welsh Scheme for the Development of Health and Social Research, (c) the Committee on Opportunities for Volunteering, (d) the Council for National Academic Awards, (e) the courts and councils of (i) the National Library and (ii) the National Museum of Wales, (f) the Curriculum Council of Wales and (g) the Development Board for Rural Wales are held by women.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The information is shown in the following table:

  Number of appointments held by women

  (a) Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

  2

  (b) Committee for the Welsh Scheme for the Development of Health and Social Research

  None

  (c) Committee on Opportunities for Volunteering

  2

  (d) Council for National Academic Awards

  None

  (e) Courts and Councils of

  Court

  Council

  (i) The National Library

  3

  1

  (ii) The National Museum of Wales

  1

  —

  (f) Curriculum Council for Wales

  3

  (g) Development Board for Rural Wales

  1

  YTS
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list, by county, the number of YTS trainees in Wales and the number of YTS vacancies.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Figures for YTS trainees are not available on a county basis. The Training Agency in Wales provides statistics on an area office basis only which refer to the area in which training takes place rather than where the trainee lives.

  At the end of January 1990, the numbers in training in Wales were 23,330 comprising South and Mid Glamorgan 7,337; Gwent 3,813; West Glamorgan and Dyfed 5,826; and Gwynedd, Clwyd and Powys 6,354.

  At the end of January 1990 the number of unfilled places in Wales was 5,795 broken down as follows: South and Mid Glamorgan 1,889; Gwent 1,127; West Glamorgan and Dyfed 789; and Gwynedd, Clwyd and Powys 1,990.

  Industrial Employment
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many persons in Wales were engaged in industrial employment, as described in article 9 of EC regulation No. 2052/88 of 24 June 1988, in each year from 1979 inclusive to the latest available year.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The information requested is shown in the following table:
  175

  At June each year

  No. of employees in Industrial Employment1('000s)

  1979

  439

  1980

  411

  1981

  355

  1982

  333

  1983

  315

  1984

  310

  1985

  305

  1986

  293

  1987

  296

  1988

  309

  1989

  313

  1 Employees in employment in Wales in Divisions 1 to 5 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980; ie. Energy and Water supply, manufacturing and construction.

  The decline in employment in the coal and steel industries has resulted in a reduction of 60,000 in the numbers employed. I am pleased to say that increases in the service industries and the self-employed have more than compensated for this.

  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales into which NUTS level III territorial unit for the purposes of article 9 of EC regulation 2052/88 the area covered by the Llanelli borough council has been put.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  Llanelli borough council area comprises part of the Dyfed county council NUTS level III unit. For the purpose of article 9 of the EC regulation 2052/88, however, the Llanelli area is eligible for European Community assistance under objective 2 of that regulation because it is adjacent to West Glamorgan, a NUTS level III unit within the industrial south Wales objective 2 area, and because it satisfies all the Commission's criteria for objective 2 support.

  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether the area covered by the Llanelli borough council is eligible for assistance under objective 2 of article 9 of the EC regulation 2052/88.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  Yes.

  Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Board
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the current appointments made either jointly or solely by him to the Welsh National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting are held by women.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The board comprises 35 members; 24 are appointed by the Secretary of State following election by the profession and 11 are directly appointed by him. Twenty-four are women.

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total expenditure of the Welsh National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting during the last year where figures are available; and what proportion of expenditure was allocated to(a) administration, (b) hosting of meetings and conferences, (c) allowances for attending meetings and (d) general allowances given to committee nominees.

  Mr. Grist
  Total expenditure for 1987–88 (the latest figures available) was £5,812,206 with allocations of:176

  (a) £622,717 for administration;

  (b) £2,500 for hosting of meetings and conferences; and

  (c) £33,901 subsistence allowances for attending meetings.

  There were no general allowances given to committee nominees.

  Agricultural Advisory Panel
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the attendance record at meetings(a) since their appointment and (b) during 1989 of the current members of the Agriculture Advisory Panel for Wales appointed solely or jointly by him or his predecessor.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  All appointments to the Agriculture Advisory Panel for Wales are made solely by me. The full panel meets two or three times a year and the information requested is set out in the following table.

  Attendance record percentage since appointment

  In 1989

  Mr. R. E. M. Rees

  95

  100

  Mr. J. A. Parry

  95

  100

  Mr. D. F. R. George

  92

  100

  Mr. C. J. Beynon

  84

  100

  Professor M. Haines

  100

  100

  Mr. T. H. Jones

  90

  100

  Mr. D. L. Carey-Evans

  100

  100

  Mr. D. R. Williams

  100

  100

  Mr. R. C. Pratt

  75

  100

  Mr. E. H. Perkins

  100

  100

  Mrs. T. Adams

  100

  100

  Mrs. P. Keen

  100

  100

  Mrs. A. M. Rees

  100

  100

  Industrial Decline
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he next proposes to meet the EEC Regional Commissioner to discuss aid for areas affected by industrial decline; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  My officials regularly visit the regional policy directorate in Brussels and I am in close touch with developments. I will make contact with the Commissioner whenever I believe it to be necessary.

  South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the current appointments made solely or jointly by him to the South Wales sea fisheries committee are held by women.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  One.

  Education Spending
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing the latest figure for expenditure per pupil on(a) books and (b) equipment and comparable figures for each year since 1978–79 in (i) primary schools, (ii) secondary schools and (iii) special schools in cash and real terms using an index of 100 for 1978–79.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Local authority expenditure per pupil on text books, library books, educational equipment, stationery and materials in primary, secondary and special
  177
  education since 1978–79 is shown in the following table. Reliable information on text books and equipment is not separately available.

  Table 1

  Expenditure (£/pupil) on books and equipment at outturn prices

  Primary

  Secondary

  Special1

  1978–79

  11·9

  20·9

  35·1

  1979–80

  12·7

  22·8

  42·2

  1980–81

  14·6

  25·2

  40·9

  1981–82

  16·2

  28·4

  59·5

  1982–83

  18·5

  33·5

  54·7

  1983–84

  19·8

  37·4

  57·9

  1984–85

  17·9

  39·9

  67·1

  1985–86

  20·0

  41·3

  93·7

  1986–87

  22·5

  57·4

  80·7

  1987–88

  23·9

  58·2

  102·6

  1 Figures relate to the education of pupils at maintained special schools and other special education provided otherwise than at school. Expenditure on special education in primary and secondary schools is included in the primary and secondary school unit costs.

  Table 2

  Index of expenditure (£/pupil) on books and equipment (1978–79=100)1

  Primary

  Secondary

  Special2

  1978–79

  100

  100

  100

  1979–80

  91·4

  93·4

  103·1

  1980–81

  88·9

  87·1

  84·2

  1981–82

  89·7

  89·5

  111·7

  1982–83

  95·9

  98·6

  96·0

  1983–84

  97·9

  105·2

  97·1

  1984–85

  84·4

  107·0

  107·1

  1985–86

  89·3

  104·9

  141·8

  1986–87

  97·1

  141·2

  118·2

  1987–88

  98·4

  136·3

  143·1

  1 Primary includes nursery schools.

  2 Figures relate to the education of pupils at maintained special schools and other special education provided otherwise than at school. Expenditure on special education in primary and secondary schools is included in the primary and secondary school unit costs.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the value of development funding awarded to training and enterprise councils(a) in total and (b) by TEC.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  The total value of development contracts at present is £311,620, broken down as follows: West Wales TEC £110,000; Mid Glamorgan TEC £103,500 and the North East Wales TEC £98,120.

  The levels of development funding for the other TECs whose bids have been approved, North West Wales, South Glamorgan and Gwent, are still being negotiated.

  Waste Disposal Sites
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hydrogeological surveys have been brought to the notice of the Welsh Office via the National Rivers Authority and the Welsh Water Authority in conjunction with planning applications to use quarries and other locations as landfill waste disposal sites.

  Mr. Grist
  The Welsh Office has no record of a hydrogeological survey brought to its attention via the National Rivers Authority and the Welsh Water Authority in conjunction with a planning application for a landfill waste disposal site.

  Singleton Casualty Unit
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received for an extension of X-ray facilities at the Singleton casualty unit; and how many in opposition.

  Mr. Grist
  Since 1 June 1988, 102 individual representations and petitions have been received by the Department seeking expanded use of the minor casualty unit services at Singleton hospital, Swansea, the majority of which have explicitly sought improved access to X-ray facilities.

  The district health authority has indicated to the Department that it would neither support nor encourage the development of radiology services for the minor casualty unit.

  Mortgages
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will publish a table showing the average income of first time house buyers and average prices of houses in Wales in 1989–90;

  (2) what is the average new mortgage in 1989–90 in Wales:

  (3) what is the average outstanding mortgage in 1989–90 in Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]: The available information for Wales relating to building society borrowers only for the first six months of the financial year 1989–80 is given in the following table:

  First time purchases

  April—September 1989 all Purchases

  Average recorded income of borrowers1

  Average house price

  Average new mortgage

  Average house price

  £

  £

  £

  £

  13,291

  33,209

  30,026

  45,615

  1 Different building societies have different conventions for recording the income of borrowers.

ENVIRONMENT

  Foreign Taps
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to prohibit the importing of foreign taps which do not conform to British Standard 5412 with respect to the diameter of the taps' internal construction.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to prohibit the importing of foreign taps. Taps have to comply with the byelaw requirements of the United Kingdom water undertakers. Such things as the performance of taps and their value for money are largely matters for consumers to judge.

  Lead Pollution
  Dr. Woodcock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the Department of the Environment pollution report No. 28.
  179
  Mr. Trippier
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on Thursday 8 February to the hon. Member for Dewsbury (Mrs. Taylor) (Official Report, Vol 166, col. 757).

  Landfill Sites
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to establish a central register of landfill sites receiving low-level radioactive wastes.

  Mr. Trippier
  Any waste disposal site licensed by a waste disposal authority under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (COPA) may receive low-level radioactive waste where this is authorised by HMIP under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960. Low-level radioactive waste authorised for disposal to local landfill sites with ordinary refuse is subject to certain conditions including activity limits. Disposals under these conditions present no hazard either to the refuse collector or at the disposal site and the destination of the waste is not recorded. It is therefore impracticable to establish a central register containing the information requested. Waste disposal authorities do, however, maintain registers of all disposal sites licensed under COPA in their areas.

  Nirex
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Trippier
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not yet met representatives of UK Nirex Ltd.

  Eco-labelling Scheme
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many companies to date have indicated their support and have offered assistance with the Government's product eco-labelling scheme.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State explained in his reply of 9 January to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Mr. King)(Official Report, Vol 164, cols 589–91), we received over 80 responses to the discussion paper which we issued last August proposing the establishment of an EC-wide scheme of eco-labelling. Just over 30 of these responses were from individual companies, and they were overwhelmingly in support of our proposals. We shall, of course, want to work closely with interested groups in moving towards setting up a scheme.

  Rivers
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the specific measurements of the substances that are to be present in or absent from river water in order to meet(a) the minimum clean water qualification standards of the National Rivers Authority and (b) the qualification standards set by the European Economic Community.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The requirements of the general river classification system currently in use throughout England and Wales are set out in the report of the 1985 180
  river quality survey, a copy of which is in the Library. There is no EC legislation setting general quality standards for rivers, although there are directives relating to specific dangerous substances (76/464/EEC et seq, reproduced in Department of the Environment circular 7/89 (Welsh Office 16/89)), to the quality of designated fresh water needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life (78/659/EEC), and to the quality of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water (75/440/EEC).

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what system of classifying the quality of river water has been prescribed by his Department.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The general classification system for rivers currently in use throughout England and Wales is being reviewed and will not be formally prescribed until that review has been completed. In the meantime specific classifications have been established, by regulations made under section 104 of the Water Act 1989, for surface waters according to their suitability for abstraction by water undertakers for supply (after treatment) as drinking water (SI 1989 No. 1148) and for a range of specific dangerous substances (SI 1989 No. 2286).

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the results of the survey of rivers being conducted by the National Rivers Authority will be available.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I understand that the NRA expects to be able to publish results from its 1990 survey of river quality in England and Wales during the autumn of 1991.

  Radiochemical Inspectors
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many radiochemical inspectors' posts(a) filled and (b) unfilled were provided for each year in respect of each organisation; what is the maximum period considered necessary between site visits by these organisations; and what statutory duties exist on these organisations to monitor, record and make public radioactivity emitted off-site from any site subject to inspection;

  (2) how many radiochemical inspectors were in post for each year from 1986–87 to 1989–90, respectively for (a) the radiochemical inspectorate prior to April 1987, (b) Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, (c) Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution (Scotland), (d) Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution (Northern Ireland), and (e) the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

  (3) how many sites were visited by radiochemical inspectors in each year from 1986–87 to 1989–90; and what is the average period between site visits;

  (4) what statutory duties exist on users of radioactive materials as defined in the Radioactive Substances Act to (a) monitor, (b) record and (c) make public in each case amounts of radioactive emitted off site from any site to which radiochemical inspectors have powers of entry or inspection.

  Mr. Trippier
  Organisations subject to control under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 (RSA60) must comply with strict conditions and activity limits imposed by HMIP in certificates of registration and authorisation
  181
  issued under the Act. The issue of certificates follows careful assessment of the possible environmental impact where appropriate.

  Conditions imposed vary with the circumstances, but in the case of radioactive waste disposals, these commonly require monitoring to take place. In all cases proper and detailed records must be maintained. All premises controlled under the Act are subject to scrutiny by HMIP inspectors under powers contained in section 12 of RSA60, to ensure compliance with the terms of certificates issued.

  Although there is no requirement in the Act to make information public, details of monitoring of radioactive discharges from the nuclear industry are published annually both by the industry itself and by this Department.

  The information available on the number and frequency of site inspections and on staff in the radiochemical inspectorate and HMIP, for the period 1986–87 to 1988–89 is contained in the Department's management information system returns (MINIS 8–10), available in the Library of the House. The MINIS 11 report covering 1989–90 will be placed in the Library in due course.

  Matters relating to Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are the responsibilities of their respective Secretaries of State.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sites in the United Kingdom are subject to powers of entry or inspection by radiochemical inspectors.

  Mr. Trippier
  In England there are some 9,600 premises subject to regulation by HMIP under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 (RSA60). The administration of RSA60 in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the respective Secretaries of State for those countries.

  Leakage
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will outline his responsibilities in respect of protecting water sources and in respect of controlling leakage from the distribution system.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The National Rivers Authority is primarily responsible for protecting water sources. The water undertakers are responsible for controlling leakage from the distribution system. But the Director General of Water Services will monitor their leakage control programmes to ensure that an appropriate balance is struck between capital and operational costs in the interests of local consumers.

  Recycled Paper
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider introductionary measures that would encourage an increase in the proportion of recycled paper used in newsprint.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I am writing today to newspaper publishers to urge them to increase the proportion of recycled paper that they use. Copies of the letter have been placed in the Library.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. Conway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what he is doing to ensure that those waste disposal authorities identified in the answer to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Sir H. Rossi)Official Report, 11 January, columns 684–85, submit waste disposal plans as they are required to do under section 1 of the Control of Pollution Act.

  Mr. Trippier
  I have today written to leaders of the 15 authorities concerned asking them to submit their plans by 30 November. My officials will be discussing with the authorities concerned the steps needed for completing the plans by this date. Officials are also writing to other authorities asking them to provide confirmation of their latest plans.

  At the same time, we are proposing an amendment to the Environmental Protection Bill to allow my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to set deadlines for the preparation of waste disposal plans and to prescribe the factors to be taken into account in preparing such plans.

  We attach considerable importance to having a comprehensive framework of such plans across the country. Under the Bill's provisions, we see these plans as providing a vital framework for informing investment decisions by public and private sector waste disposal interests as well as publicising required standards and enforcement policies by the new waste regulation authorities. We shall be reviewing the content and scope of these plans for the future and will be issuing, in due course, revised guidance to local authorities on how existing plans should be updated.

  Housing Revenue Account
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will propose revisions to the housing revenue account subsidy determination of 21 December in response to requests by local authorities.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  My Department is today sending to local housing authorities proposed amendments to the housing revenue account subsidy rules for 1990–91. These are designed to deal with questions put to us since the main rules were published on 21 December. They should reassure councils that rents next year can be kept within Government guidelines.

  The new policy is designed to begin moving authorities towards a sensible patten of rents in which the rents of council housing broadly reflect the geographical variations in the value of property. The old system was a nonsense because we had to assume that rents would move by the same amount in every part of the country. None the less, we are not suggesting that council rents should reach market levels (except where these are low) and we will make sure that rents can stay within the reach of ordinary working people.

  I know that many authorities have been doubtful about whether they can keep rent increases within our guidelines. I believe we have now removed the main outstanding problems, and that some of their worries have been unnecessary. I would urge councils to look closely at several aspects of the system that convey very considerable flexibility or help. Let me give a few examples.

  Some authorities have been worried that they could no longer fund repairs and improvements from capital

  183
  receipts from the sale of council property. But genuine capitalised repairs are not precluded by section 40 of the 1989 Act.

  Today's draft rules confirm our intention that subsidy will be paid on works that have been financed through deferred purchase or leasing schemes.

  Councils can carry forward balances up to £150 a dwelling or £5 million. Authorities can also look for economies and efficiency savings.

  We have also, today, confirmed a rule change that was prompted by the action of Wakefield council, on 9 January. Wakefield reduced its rent for the last seven weeks of this year from £17·82 to £1·70 a week, solely to gain an extra £5 million in 1990–91 from a recalculation of subsidy. We believe this was wrong and, after formal consultations with the council, have revised the rules so that the January change in rents will not alter its subsidy entitlement next year.

  As a result of today's revised rules, I believe authorities should be able to hold rent increases broadly in line with guidelines. Some may be above, some below. The final decision rests with councils themselves, which must decide on the levels of income and expenditure they want to budget for.

  Council Houses
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses for rent have been built each year since 1970; and how many are planned to be built in each of the next five years.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  [holding answer 8 February 1990]: Numbers of house-building completions for rent by local authorities and new towns are as follows:

  Year

  Number

  1970

  127,700

  1971

  110,900

  1972

  89,400

  1973

  75,700

  1974

  95,600

  1975

  113,800

  1976

  116,200

  1977

  114,000

  1978

  92,100

  1979

  73,300

  1980

  73,500

  1981

  54,200

  1982

  30,800

  1983

  28,700

  1984

  28,400

  1985

  22,700

  1986

  18,900

  1987

  15,700

  1988

  15,300

  11989

  12,600

  1 Provisional.

  The Government do not expect local authorities to add significantly to their stock of houses for rent. Our policy is that housing associations should become the major providers of new subsidised rented housing and public expenditure plans reflect this.

  Toxic Waste
  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what evidence his Department has of pollution risk to water supplies or other health hazards 184
  from toxic waste deposited at Stanton road, Sandiacre, Pewit tip, Manners avenue, Ilkeston, and Long Eaton refuse tip, all in Derbyshire; what monitoring by pollution control authorities has been undertaken; and what information or advice has been given to Erewash local authority.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]: In 1972–73, a desk study commissioned by my Department suggested that the sites presented the following potential risk to groundwater:

  (a) Stanton road, Sandiacre—no recorded information;

  (b) Pewit tip, Manners avenue, Ilkeston—some (risk) to minor (aquifer);

  (c) Long Eaton refuse tip, Meadows lane—serious (risk) to minor (aquifer).

  This information was passed to the local authority and water authority to assist them in their regulatory function.

  My Department has no evidence that the sites are presenting a risk to water supplies or public health.

  Irish Sea (Pollution)
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ask for the radioactive and chemical pollution of the Irish sea to be placed on the agenda of the forthcoming North sea Environment Ministers conference; what other issues will be discussed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Trippier
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: Given the geographical scope of the North sea conference, it would not be appropriate for matters concerning pollution in the Irish sea to be included at the third North sea conference in March.

  The main purpose of the third North sea conference is to look at progress on the implementation of important measures agreed at the second conference in London in 1987. The conference will also review all the major activities which have an impact on the marine environment, including discharges of dangerous substances via rivers and the atmosphere, nutrients, dumping, shipping and offshore installations.

  The measures agreed at the North sea conferences are applied to all our seas, including the Irish sea.

  Ancient Monuments
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish a table detailing the cost of the annual applications by archaeologists to(a) his Department and (b) English Heritage for rescue archaeological work to record and excavate sites of national importance in each of the past 10 years.

  Mr. Trippier
  [holding answer 12 February 1990] The total annual figure for applications approved for funding for rescue archaeological work is as follows:

  Funding

  £ million

  (a) Department of the Environment

  1981–82

  6·700

  Department of the Environment

  1982–83

  7·900

  Department of the Environment

  1983–84

  17·000

  (b) English Heritage

  1984–85

  7·100

  English Heritage

  1985–86

  8·745

  English Heritage

  1986–87

  11·501

  English Heritage

  1987–88

  12·230

  English Heritage

  1988–89

  13·759

  English Heritage

  1989–90

  7·107

  1Estimate.

  185
  Comparable figures are available only from 1981–82.

  From 1989–90 English Heritage has adopted a rolling programme for funding rescue archaeological work and no longer accepts speculative applications. The total of the applications approved is therefore expected to correspond to the funds available.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish a table showing the amount of funding given by(a) English Heritage and (b) his Department to rescue archaeologist projects in each of the past 10 years.

  Mr. Trippier
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The figures are as follows:

  Spending £ million

  Department of the Environment Funding

  1981–82

  4·000

  Department of the Environment Funding

  1982–83

  4·877

  Department of the Environment Funding

  1983–84

  5·100

  English Heritage Funding

  1984–85

  5·538

  English Heritage Funding

  1985–86

  5·680

  English Heritage Funding

  1986–87

  7·437

  English Heritage Funding

  1987–88

  7·422

  English Heritage Funding

  1988–89

  6·877

  English Heritage Funding

  1989–90

  17·107

  1 Budgeted

  Comparable figures are available only from 1981–82.

  Figures from 1986–87 onwards include provision for the Greater London archaeology service, taken on by English Heritage following the abolition of the Greater London council.

  Domestic Water Services
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment with what schemes, other than metering, the Government are offering help to the Director General of Water Services, so as to ensure that the changes in charging for domestic water services provide the best value for money; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: It is for each water company to decide on what basis to charge for its services once rateable values can no longer be used, and to apply to the Director General of Water Services for an interim adjustment of its price limit (k) to cover the additional cost of introducing and operating its choice of system. The costs of metering on a wide scale are currently more uncertain than those associated with other methods of charging. The Government are therefore providing financial support to a

  First time purchasers

  All borrowers

  Average recorded income1

  Average house price

  Average mortgage advance

  Average house price

  £

  £

  £

  £

  (a)England

  15,921

  43,399

  39,130

  59,428

  (b)Northern

  12,145

  25,604

  26,869

  39,146

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  13,025

  30,589

  28,952

  43,095

  East Midlands

  14,075

  37,707

  34,062

  50,656

  East Anglia

  17,210

  50,340

  44,367

  65,980

  Greater London

  23,528

  67,558

  60,383

  84,826

  South East (ex GLC)

  19,445

  60,270

  52,021

  82,743

  South West

  15,426

  49,355

  42,220

  68,867

  West Midlands

  13,763

  34,661

  32,696

  50,898

  North West

  12,852

  28,666

  29,675

  43,256

  186
  series of metering trials to ensure that the results are available in sufficient time to influence each company's choice of charging method and to enable the director general to have regard to the results when considering applications for interim adjustments. The director general may, however, commission research into other methods of charging if he considers it appropriate.

  Hooding (Windsor and Maidenhead)
  Sir Alan Glyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the Government will extend the Bellwin scheme or some other relief to cover the cost of the recent flood damage to Windsor and Maidenhead; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The Government have not yet decided whether to extend the scope of the Bellwin scheme to cover flood damage at Windsor and Maidenhead. We are monitoring the situation to assess whether an extension would be justified under the criteria for the scheme.

  Council House Sales, Norwich
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much lower or higher on average the determinations of the district valuer are on council house sales in Norwich than the prices quoted by Norwich city council; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  In the year ending 31 December 1989, the district valuer made 101 determinations of value under section 128 of the Housing Act 1985 on the application of tenants of Norwich city council. The value determined was lower than the council's opinion of value in 76 cases by an average of £3,334 or 6·52 per cent., higher in one case and the same in 24 cases.

  Mortgages
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will publish a table showing the average income of first-time housebuyers and average prices of houses in(a) England and (b) each region in 1989–90;

  (2) what is the average new mortgage in 1989–90 in (a) England and (b) each region.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]: The available information, which relates to building society borrowers only, is for the first six months of the financial year 1989–90:
  187
  1 There is considerable variation in the income details recorded by different societies.

DEFENCE

  Classified Documents
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where the Colin Wallace file was finally found; on what date; and what other documents were located with it.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I have nothing to add to the information given in the letter dated 2 February 1990, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence sent to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone). A copy was placed in the Library.

  General Dynamics
  Mr. Warren
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the details of the memorandum of understanding with the General Dynamics Company of the United States of America concerning offset agreements for the purchase of goods and services; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  No. The details of the MOU are commercially confidential.

  Aircraft Disturbance
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any controlled experiments have been undertaken to assess the response of seabirds to aircraft disturbance which have involved either the active participation or co-operation of his Department including service personnel; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I am not aware of any Ministry of Defence involvement in experiments of this kind, which would be the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

  SA 80 Rifles
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has taken steps to have armour-piercing ammunition for the SA 80 rifles used by the Army in Northern Ireland procured and issued in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is not our usual practice to discuss detailed operational capabilities.

SCOTLAND

  Enterprise Councils
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the procedures to be used to monitor expenditure by local enterprise councils and training and enterprise councils.

  Mr. Lang
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Dumbarton (Mr. McFall) on local 188
  enterprise companies. Training and enterprise councils are a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.

  Employment, Glasgow
  Mr. Michael J. Martin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to improve employment in the north-east of Glasgow.

  Mr. Lang
  The full range of training and employment services is available to help people in north-east Glasgow to acquire appropriate skills and find work. The training and enterprise development provision available to the people of Glasgow will be further enhanced by the establishment of a local enterprise company for Glasgow which will have responsibility for delivering and combining the training programmes of the Training Agency and the economic development and environmental activities of the Scottish Development Agency at local level in a way which best meets the needs of Glasgow's economy and labour market.

  Investment
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the instances of inward investment since the formation of Locate in Scotland which have subsequently been closed down.

  Mr. Lang
  I shall write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many inward investment projects from outside the United Kingdom were established(a) between 1964 and 1970, (b) between 1970 and 1974, (c) between 1974 and 1979 and (d) between 1979 and 1987 and how many of them survive today.

  Mr. Lang
  The information requested is not available for the period prior to the inception of Locate in Scotland in 1981. In the six years to 31 March 1987, LIS recorded 309 projects planned by companies. It is not possible to say how many survived to date, since not all the projects were in receipt of financial assistance and therefore subject to monitoring by the Department.

  Water Charges
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the(a) metered water charge and (b) non-domestic water rate in each water authority area for 1989–90 and 1990–91.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The metered water charges and non-domestic water rates for 1989–90 and 1990–91 are set out in the table. The figures for 1990–91 are unconfirmed at this stage.
  189

  1989–90

  1990–91 (unconfirmed)

  Regional/Islands Council

  Metered Water Charge Pence Per Cubic Metre

  Non-domestic Water Rate Pence

  Metered Water Charge Pence Per Cubic Metre

  Non-domestic1 Water Rate Pence

  Borders

  28·00

  6·0

  43·50

  4·5

  Central

  21·00

  3·5

  21·00

  2·7

  Dumfries and Galloway

  28·20

  7·0

  33·90

  6·0

  Fife

  26·00

  8·0

  28·00

  6·5

  Grampian

  43·00

  7·0

  45·80

  6·2

  Highland

  35·50

  9·4

  37·50

  8·9

  Lothian

  28·70

  4·9

  30·60

  2·7

  Strathclyde

  27·84

  4·4

  30·19

  3·3

  Tayside

  32·00

  5·3

  34·00

  4·1

  Orkney

  33·00

  10·0

  38·50

  8·7

  Shetland

  22·04

  2·9

  58·70

  10·1

  Western Isles

  36·00

  16·8

  47·00

  17·7

  1 A revaluation of non-domestic property takes effect on 1 April 1990.

  Water Authorities (Debt)
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the level of indebtedness of each water authority in Scotland at the most recent date for which figures are available.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The most recent figures available are given in the table.

  Capital debt outstanding at 31 March 1989: Water Account

  Region/Islands areas

  £000's

  Borders

  9,138

  Central

  21,602

  Dumfries and Galloway

  12,734

  Fife

  32,017

  Grampian

  63,004

  Highland

  16,942

  Lothian

  88,809

  Strathclyde

  129,494

  Tayside

  27,781

  Orkney

  3,233

  Shetland

  232

  Western Isles

  3,048

  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the expenditure to be incurred by each water authority in Scotland in servicing capital debt in 1989–90 and 1990–91 and the proportion which that amount is of their total expenditure in relation to water supply.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The available information is set out in the table. Figures for 1990–91, and on total expenditure in relation to water supply, are not yet available centrally.

  Estimated loans charges 1989–90: Water Account

  Region/Islands areas

  £000's

  Borders

  1,557

  Central

  3,435

  Dumfries and Galloway

  2,075

  Fife

  4,468

  Grampian

  9,812

  Highland

  2,867

  Lothian

  11,463

  Strathclyde

  20,831

  Tayside

  5,385

  Orkney

  278

  Shetland

  280

  Western Isles

  619

  Water Supply
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total expenditure incurred by each region and islands area in respect of their functions in relation to water supply.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The latest available figures for total expenditure, both current and capital, incurred by the regional and islands councils are for the year 1988–89 and are as follows:

  Total Current Expenditure Outturn £000s

  Total Capital Expenditure Outturn £000s

  Borders

  3,606

  965

  Central

  11,549

  2,347

  Dumfries and Galloway

  5,365

  1,614

  Fife

  9,862

  3,066

  Grampian

  18,484

  8,767

  Highland

  7,199

  3,307

  Lothian

  22,374

  7,722

  Strathclyde

  68,050

  17,399

  Tayside

  13,353

  3,949

  Orkney

  1,412

  1,029

  Shetland

  2,040

  545

  Western Isles

  1,263

  352

  Education Spending
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the latest figure for expenditure per pupil on(a) books and (b) equipment and comparable figures for each year since 1978–79 in (i) primary schools, (ii) secondary schools and (iii) special schools in cash and real terms using an index of 100 for 1978–79.

  Mr. Lang
  The information available is given in the following tables which have been compiled from local authority financial returns. Expenditure on equipment was not separately identified in these returns until 1982–83. There have been some variations from year to year in the recording of expenditure under these two headings. In particular some of the figures for expenditure on library books may include some expenditure on items of equipment.
  191

  Table 1: Expenditure per pupil on text and library books and on educational tools, equipment and materials at outturn prices.

  £

  Books

  Education tools, equipment and materials

  Year

  Primary

  Secondary

  Special

  Primary

  Secondary

  Special

  1978–79

  4·54

  8·31

  7·27

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1979–80

  5·49

  9·61

  11·25

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1980–81

  5·84

  9·29

  12·20

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1981–82

  6·54

  9·77

  12·17

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1982–83

  7·03

  10·03

  13·65

  8·18

  27·33

  48·46

  1983–84

  8·99

  13·35

  22·64

  7·28

  25·36

  42·11

  1984–85

  9·55

  13·83

  21·41

  8·91

  30·09

  57·77

  1985–86

  8·91

  13·47

  21·37

  8·33

  30·26

  53·42

  1986–87

  10·93

  16·67

  22·22

  8·92

  33·85

  61·98

  1987–88

  9·25

  12·93

  17·42

  11·71

  44·42

  77·58

  1988–89

  11·23

  17·85

  27·60

  13·23

  48·07

  80·86

  Table 2: Expenditure per pupil on text library books and on educational tools, equipment and materials adjusted to 1988–89 prices using the GDP deflator.

  £

  Books

  Education tools, equipment and materials

  Year

  Primary

  Secondary

  Special

  Primary

  Secondary

  Special

  1978–79

  9·98

  18·27

  15·99

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1979–80

  10·34

  18·10

  21·18

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1980–81

  9·29

  14·78

  19·41

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1981–82

  9·48

  14·16

  17·64

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1982–83

  9·50

  13·56

  18·44

  11·06

  36·94

  65·50

  1983–84

  11·61

  17·24

  29·24

  9·40

  32·75

  54·38

  1984–85

  11·75

  17·01

  26·34

  10·96

  37·02

  71·07

  1985–86

  10·40

  15·73

  24·95

  9·73

  35·33

  62·37

  1986–87

  12·34

  18·83

  24·10

  10·07

  38·23

  70·00

  1987–88

  9·92

  13·87

  18·68

  12·56

  47·64

  83·21

  1988–89

  11·23

  17·85

  27·60

  13·23

  48·07

  80·86

  Table 3: Expenditure per pupil on text and library books at outturn prices expressed as an index with 1978–79=100

  Year

  Primary

  Secondary

  Special

  1978–79

  100·0

  100·0

  100·0

  1979–80

  120·9

  115·6

  154·7

  1980–81

  128·6

  111·8

  167·8

  1981–82

  144·1

  117·6

  167·4

  1982–83

  154·8

  120·7

  187·6

  1983–84

  198·0

  160·6

  311·4

  1984–85

  210·4

  166·4

  294·5

  1985–86

  196·3

  162·1

  293·9

  1986–87

  240·7

  200·6

  305·6

  1987–88

  203·7

  155·6

  239·6

  1988–89

  247·4

  214·8

  379·6

  Table 4: Expenditure per pupil on text and library books adjusted to 1988–89 prices using the GDP deflator, expressed as an index with 1978–79=100

  Year

  Primary

  Secondary

  Special

  1978–79

  100·0

  100·0

  100·0

  1979–80

  103·6

  99·1

  132·5

  1980–81

  93·1

  80·9

  121·4

  1981–82

  95·0

  77·5

  110·3

  1982–83

  95·2

  74·2

  115·3

  1983–84

  116·3

  94·4

  182·9

  1984–85

  117·7

  93·1

  164·7

  1985–86

  104·2

  86·1

  156·0

  1986–87

  123·6

  103·1

  157·0

  1987–88

  99·4

  75·9

  116·8

  1988–89

  112·5

  97·7

  172·6

  Note: Tables 3 and 4 do not include expenditure by authorities on educational tools, equipment and materials from 1982–83 as shown in tables 1 and 2.

  Human Retrovirus
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what information he has as to the ownership and disposal of all material produced under the agreement between Cogent Ltd. and the CSA of the Health Service to carry out research work into the production of monoclonal antibodies against human retrovirus at Edinburgh university; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what was the total value of funding contributed by (a) the CSA of the Health Service and (b) Cogent Ltd. in pursuance of the contract between them to carry out research into the production of monoclonal antibodies against human retrovirus at Edinburgh university; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) why the contract between the Common Services Agency of the Health Service and Cogent Ltd. to produce monoclonal antibodies against human retrovirus at Edinburgh university was terminated; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The contract was suspended in June 1989 by Cogent Ltd. following attempts by UnivEd Technologies (the commercial arm of the university of Edinburgh) to negotiate with Cogent financial and intellectual property rights in the project to which Cogent were unable to agree. Discussions continue between the Common Services Agency and Cogent Ltd. with a view to arranging formal termination of the contract in such a way as to safeguard the interests of both parties.

  The agreement between the Common Services Agency and Cogent Ltd. relates to the development of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus which might prove of potential value in the treatment of patients. A number of

  193
  antibodies were produced prior to suspension of the project although none was deemed suitable for development for patient therapy. The ownership and disposal of material produced under the agreement will require to be dealt with in terminating the agreement. The CSA has contributed £67,000 and Cogent Ltd. £175,000 to the project.

  Horticulture Diversification
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications have been received by the Highlands and Islands Development Board under its horticulture diversification scheme; and how many have been approved.

  Mr. Lang
  Horticulture diversification is part of the Highlands and Islands Development Board's land diversification programme. Records of applications received and approved are not available.

  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what expenditure has been incurred by the Highlands and Islands Development Board in publishing promotional material on its horticulture diversification scheme and mailing it to potential applicants.

  Mr. Lang
  In 1989–90, expenditure of £38,000 has been incurred on the information leaflets "Patterns for Change" which promote land diversification.

  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provision exists within the current budget of the Highlands and Islands Development Board for a horticulture diversification scheme; and whether any provision is being made for next year's budget.

  Mr. Lang
  The total budget for the Highlands and Islands Development Board's land diversification programme, including publication of promotional material, for 1989–90 is £107,000. The budget for 1990–91 is £90,000.

  Cumbernauld—Kilsyth Road
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans for the construction of a new road between Cumbernauld and Kilsyth; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. and learned Friend has no such plans. The present road between Cumbernauld and Kilsyth is the responsibility of 194
  Strathclyde regional council but the minor local realignments to it which will be required because of the proposed M80 Stepps-Haggs trunk motorway cutting across it will be financed in due course from the trunk road programme.

  New Hospital, Cumbernauld
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received any proposals from Lanarkshire health board for the construction of a new hospital at Cumbernauld; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Lanarkshire health board has recently submitted an option appraisal on the provision of geriatric and psycho-geriatric services. The options which include the development of a new 120-bed unit at Cumbernauld are being considered by my officials.

  New Towns
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent advice he has given to new town development corporations on privatisation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  The White Paper "The Scottish New Towns: The Way Ahead" published on 11 July last year, stated the Government's view that a number of the new town development corporations' functions were suitable for privatisation. The Government consider that the privatisation of these functions is not only likely to ensure the continuity of service necessary to enable the development corporations to complete their remaining tasks, but offers the best prospect of safeguarding employment and opening up wider job opportunities for corporation employees.

  Since the publication of the White Paper my officials have had extensive discussions with senior management of the five development corporations on the different options for the privatisation of the development corporations' services and functions, the appropriate methods of privatisation and other associated issues.

  My right hon. and learned Friend met the chairmen and chief executives of the Scottish new towns on 1 December to discuss privatisation among other issues affecting the new towns. I am encouraged by the progress being made by the corporations in identifying privatisation options and in assisting their employees to explore these possibilities.

  Cumbernauld Development Corporation
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, when he last met Mr. David Mitchell, chairman of Cumbernauld development corporation; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mr. Lang
  My right hon. and learned Friend last met the chairman of Cumbernauld development corporation together with the chairmen of the other development corporations on Friday 1 December 1989, when he discussed a wide range of matters concerning the new towns.

  Storm Damage
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much of the £600,000 in European Community storm aid to the United Kingdom announced in February will be made available to his Department.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Decisions on the allocation of EC storm aid to the United Kingdom have not yet been made. Arrangements to identify those affected are under way and any awards will be distributed as soon as possible.

  Quarrying
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received regarding the expansion of quarrying in the Highlands and Islands; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: Representations regarding the expansion of quarrying in the Highlands and Islands have not been received.

  It is recognised that there are particular mineral resources which, owing to the nature of the geology of Scotland, are more likely to occur in the Highlands and Islands. The extraction of such minerals can, with the appropriate environmental safeguards, bring social and economic benefits especially to remoter areas.

  Any proposal for the development of quarrying would require planning permission and would, in the first instance, be the responsibility of the relevant planning authority.

  Teachers
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements are made to enable persons who have qualified as teachers outside Scotland to upgrade their teaching qualification to meet the requirements of the Scottish Education Department.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: Any person who proposes to teach in an education authority school in Scotland must be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland. Where an applicant's qualifications do not meet the requirements for registration, the council is normally able to recommend a course of study at a college or university to bring those qualifications up to its required standards.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Green Pound
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has received regarding the level of the green pound.

  Mr. Gummer
  I receive frequent representations about the level of the green pound from farmers and their representatives.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence is available to him that the causative agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy(a) is found in offal, other than brain tissue and (b) is not found in bovine tissue, other than offal.

  Mr. Maclean
  BSE was probably caused by the scrapie agent being transmitted to cattle through animal protein feed. Infectivity studies using various sheep tissues showed that the agent is most likely to be present in brain, spinal cord, spleen, tonsil, thymus and intestine, but not detectable in other tissues. These offals from bovines have therefore been banned from any use in human food as a precautionary measure, even though affected animals are slaughtered and destroyed. Infectivity experiments are being undertaken to confirm that the agent which causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy acts in the same way in terms of its presence or otherwise in relation to cattle offals and tissues.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions more than 50 per cent. compensation has been paid in respect of bovine spongiform encephalopathy confirmed cattle identified at abattoirs.

  Mr. Gummer
  The compulsory slaughter of animals suspected of suffering from bovine spongiform encephalopathy was introduced on 8 August 1988. Under the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Compensation Order 1988, compensation is paid to the owner of an animal in which infection is confirmed at the rate of one half of its market value, up to 62½ per cent. of the average market price.

  I propose to introduce from tomorrow new arrangements for the assessment of compensation for the slaughter of animals in which infection is confirmed. Compensation will be at 100 per cent. of the market value of the animal or the average market price, whichever is the less. There will be no change in the basis of compensation for animals in which the disease is not confirmed.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further action he intends to take in the light of the discovery that bovine spongiform encephalopathy can be transmitted to mice through feeding stuffs.

  Mr. Maclean
  The mice to which bovine spongiform encephalopathy was transmitted were fed large quantities (at least half their own body weight) of brain and cerebrospinal fluid from advanced clinical cases of BSE cattle. This was a laboratory experiment and the method of infection used was completely unnatural. The results
  197
  were not unexpected and provide further evidence that BSE is similar to scrapie, a disease for which there is no evidence whatsoever of its being a risk to human health. Further action in the light of these results is not therefore appropriate.

  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to ensure that bovine spongiform encephalopathy-infected tissues are prevented from entering the food chain of any other animals either in this country or abroad.

  Mr. Maclean
  All cattle suspected of having BSE are compulsorily slaughtered and their carcases destroyed. In addition the offals which might harbour the agent in cattle with sub-clinical infection are banned from human consumption. Protein material, including these offals, derived from ruminant animals, cannot be fed to ruminants in this country. However, there is no scientific reason why the offals should not be incorporated into feedstuffs for non-ruminant animals. It is up to countries importing protein material from the United Kingdom to determine the conditions under which such imports may take place in the full knowledge they have about the disease and its likely cause.

  Milk Marketing Board
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations has he received about the future of the Milk Marketing Board.

  Mr. Gummer
  A number of individuals and organisations have made their views known including those representing the Milk Marketing Board and the Dairy Trade Federation. The issue is an important one, and it is right that there should be an open exchange of views.

  Food Additives

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many substances of no nutritional value were permitted as food additives(a) in 1984 and (b) in 1989.

  Mr. Maclean
  There are approximately 320 additives permitted by regulation for use in food and these include additives of some nutritional value. This number has not altered substantially between 1984 and 1989. In addition, there are about 3,000 flavourings available to the food industry that are not specifically controlled by regulations. They are however subject to the general provisions of the Food Act and are used in very small amounts.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the enforcement of section 4(2) of the Food Act 1984 in respect of colouring additives with no nutritional value.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 29 January at column 75. The criteria that the Food Advisory Committee uses in assessing food additives was published in "Food Facts—Additives No. 7", a copy of which is being sent to the hon. Member.

  Research and Development (Food)
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what amount was spent on(a) research and (b) development on (i) food safety, (ii) food quality and (iii) food processing for each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  The table sets out figures showing the expenditure by Government on food R and D over the past 10 years. Data on expenditure on food quality, safety and processing are not readily available before 1984–85. Figures for research and development separately are not available.

  The Government are firmly committed to funding research on food safety and hygiene issues of concern to consumers, producers and industry.

  Government spending on food R & D (at current prices)

  of which primary AIM:

  Total food R&D expenditure

  Safety

  Quality

  Processing

  £ million

  £ million

  1980–81

  9·7

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1981–82

  13·6

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1982–83

  16·2

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1983–84

  17·8

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1984–85

  20·4

  14·6

  16·0

  19·0

  1985–86

  23·5

  5·2

  7·1

  11·2

  1986–87

  24·6

  5·1

  7·3

  12·2

  1987–88

  26·4

  29·7

  —

  316·7

  1988–89

  28·8

  210·9

  —

  317·9

  1989–904

  31·5

  21l·5

  —

  320·0

  Notes: n/a Figures not readily available.

  1 £0·8 million is not attributable to subject area.

  2 Change of definition in 1987–88; aimed primarily at food safety and applied nutrition.

  3 Change of definition in 1987–88: aimed primarily at food quality and technology.

  4 Provisional.

  Pesticide Residues
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what checks are carried out to check for pesticide residues, and in particular DDT residues, on imports of fruit and vegetables from Spain.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Government undertake a continuous monitoring programme of fruit and vegetables and other major food commodity groups from all sources, including Spain, to ensure that residue levels of DDT and other pesticides do not exceed statutory levels contained in the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Food) Regulations 1988. The results are published; the latest report covering the period 1985 to 1989 was published by HMSO in 1989 (Food Surveillance Paper No. 25).

  Waste Disposal
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will name those materials categorised as inert or of natural origin currently dumped by the United Kingdom in the North sea under existing licences and those categorised under other headings.

  Mr. Gummer
  Materials licensed for dumping by the United Kingdom which are categorised by the Oslo commission as being inert and of natural origin are colliery stone and clean sand. Other material dumped includes
  199
  port and navigation dredgings, which other North sea countries also dump at sea. In addition the United Kingdom licenses the dumping at sea of sewage sludge, liquid industrial waste and flyash. The disposal at sea of liquid industrial waste and flyash is being terminated as soon as environmentally acceptable land-based means of disposal can be introduced.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the specific waste materials mentioned in the United Kingdom's current applications for further industrial waste disposal licences relating to the practice of waste disposal in the seas around the United Kingdom, including the North sea.

  Mr. Gummer
  The United Kingdom has submitted information to the Oslo commission in accordance with the internationally agreed procedures in respect of the following wastes:

  1. Wash waters from synthesis of Intal—a treatment for asthma and allergies.

  2. Aqueous residues from preparation of paracetamol.

  3. Salt solution from manufacture of O-tolyl-byguanide, exported for use in paint and soap manufacture.

  4. Wash waters from synthesis of antibiotic and anti-ulcer medicines.

  The crucial importance of some of these products will be obvious.

  Since the date information was forwarded to the Oslo commission on the first waste an alternative means of disposal has been implemented. I have therefore rejected an application for renewal of the licence for the sea dumping of this material.

  Alternative means of disposal are also being put in place for the third and fourth of these wastes and dumping at sea will cease later this year.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the Government's timetable for ending the current practice of the bulk dumping of various waste materials, including sewage sludge, in the North sea and in other maritime locations around the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Gummer
  The dumping of flyash and liquid industrial wastes is being terminated as soon as environmentally acceptable land-based means of disposal are available. Considerable progress has already been made in reducing the number of sea dumping licences and alternative disposal methods are currently being developed and implemented for the few remaining licensed materials.

  Nearly 70 per cent. of our sewage sludge production is already disposed of on land. Licences for the sea dumping of the remainder are issued in accordance with international agreements and are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis to ensure that sea dumping will cause no harm in the marine environment and to confirm that no practicable land-based means of disposal are currently available.

  There is no international requirement to phase out the sea dumping of dredged materials, which are dumped by all North sea states, and inert materials of natural origin.

  Eggs
  Mr. Alexander
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will undertake a review of the overall effectiveness of recent legislation affecting the egg producing industry.
  200
  Mr. Gummer
  [pursuant to his reply, 11 January 1990, c. 747]: As indicated to the House of Commons Agriculture Committee during its recent further inquiry on salmonella in eggs, I have been reviewing the compensation paid when flocks infected with salmonella are compulsorily slaughtered. I am now introducing new scales of values for calculating compensation which reflect increases in commercial prices since the scales were first drawn up. The scales will also be kept under regular review in future. If a producer disagrees with the Ministry's valuation he will continue to have the right to take the matter to arbitration.

  I am also amending the orders on the registration and testing of poultry flocks for salmonella, to remove the provisions that require the registers to be open to public inspection. I am taking this step as I accept that the ready availability of the registers could jeopardise the security of poultry premises.

  In our programme of measures to control salmonella, protection of public health continues to be our first priority, but, as these changes indicate, we are also alive to concerns expressed by the industry about certain aspects of our controls. I am also continuing to press hard for measures on salmonella to be introduced throughout the Community.

EMPLOYMENT

  Unofficial Disputes
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of strikes result from unofficial action.

  Mr. Howard
  Approximately half all stoppages and one third of all days lost in 1988 were in unofficial disputes.

  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many working days were lost last year as a result of unofficial industrial action.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Separate statistics on unofficial strikes ceased to be published as a regular series in 1981. However, information from a special exercise for 1988 was included in the Government's Green Paper "Unofficial Action and the Law", a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library. This showed that approximately 1·3 million days were lost to unofficial disputes in 1988.

  Work Permits
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received in response to his consultation paper on the work permit scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  Over 70 responses to the consultation exercise have been received. My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to announce the outome of the review in the near future.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any information about the growth of the small business sector in 1989.

  Mr. Eggar
  Early indications are that there was a net increase of some 80,000 businesses registered for VAT in 1989. This compares with an increase of 64,000 in 1988.
  201
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his latest estimate of the number of jobs created annually by small firms.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The latest research commissioned by my Department estimates that between 1985 and 1987, firms employing between five and 19 people created 290,000 additional jobs, compared with just 20,000 in larger firms.

  Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the representations made to him by the National Union of Civil and Public Servants and the Civil and Public Servants Association regarding the staffing of local enterprise councils and TECs.

  Mr. Eggar
  No.

  Youth Training
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what percentage of young people aged 16 to 20 years receive training in Germany, Japan, the United States of America, Sweden and the United Kingdom for the most recent date for which information is available.

  Mr. Howard
  The figures available are for the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds in education or training in 1986. They are as follows:

  Country

  Percentage

  West Germany

  90

  Japan

  79

  United States of America

  80

  Sweden

  78

  United Kingdom

  64

  The figure for the United Kingdom rose to 69 per cent. in 1988. I agree that more needs to be done in the field of youth training. That is why we are setting up training and enterprise councils to ensure that more young people get training of the kind they need.

  ACAS
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the chair of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. and learned Friend has not yet had the opportunity to meet the chairman of ACAS.

  Local Offices
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to merge jobcentres with unemployment benefit offices.

  Mr. Eggar
  The employment service is working progressively to bring jobcentres and benefit offices together under one roof to provide a new and improved one-stop service.

  Over the next few years, the employment service will be working to establish a national network of some 1,100 to 1,200 employment service offices.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many full-time jobs have been(a) lost and (b) created in the inner city of Liverpool in the last six months.

  Mr. Nicholls
  This information is not available. The Department's statistics for local areas monitor only net changes in employment between census of employment dates, and the most recent figures are for September 1987.

  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the current rate of employment in the United Kingdom and list those countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development whose rate of unemployment is higher.

  Mr. Howard
  In December 1989, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was 5·8 per cent. On the OECD international definition the unemployment rate was higher in Ireland, Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Denmark and Canada.

  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the change in long-term unemployment since April 1986.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In October 1989, the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom who had been unemployed for 12 months or more was down 743,194 or 54·8 per cent. compared with April 1986. The comparison is affected by the change of the count from September 1988 due to new benefit regulations affecting those young people aged under 18 years.

  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the change in numbers of unemployed in the Norwich travel-to-work area since 1987.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In December 1989 the number of unemployed claimants in the Norwich travel-to-work areas was 5,918, a fall of 6,484 or 52·3 per cent. since the June 1987 election. The comparison is affected by the change in the coverage of the count from September 1988 due to the new benefit regulations affecting those aged under 18, and are not seasonally adjusted.

  Mr. Fry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) men and (b) women over the age of 55 years were unemployed at the latest count (i) for less than six months, (ii) for between six months and 12 months, (iii) for between 12 months and two years and (iv) over two years.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The requested information is contained in the following table.

  Unemployed claimants over 55 years old in the United Kingdom October 1989 (unadjusted)

  Duration of unemployment

  Male

  Female

  Less than 6 months

  41,795

  9,489

  6 to 12 months

  22,173

  5,298

  1 to 2 years

  19,965

  6,377

  Over 2 years

  69,167

  23,027

  Mr. Latham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on job losses in the east midlands in recent months.
  203
  Mr. Nicholls
  There are no figures for job losses and job gains, but latest estimates show that the civilian work force in employment has risen by 34,000 over the year to September 1989. Estimates for the last year are as follows:

  Civilian work force in employment in east midlands region unadjusted for seasonal variation

  Thousands

  September 1988

  1,777

  December 1988

  1,778

  March 1989

  1,782

  June 1989

  1,793

  September 1989

  1,810

  Change September 1988 to September 1989

  34

  per cent.

  Percentage change September 1988 to September 1989

  1·9

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many individuals are working in two jobs and are thus counted twice in the employment totals.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Evidence on the number of people with two jobs can be derived from the labour force survey (LFS), which estimated that 567,000, 2·6 per cent., employees in Great Britain had a second job as an employee in spring 1988.

  However, the exact number of persons with two or more jobs included in the published employees in employment estimates is not known, since the estimates are based on figures collected from employers, who will not generally know if an employee is filling the post as a second job.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest available unemployment rate for under-18s in the Holloway travel-to-work area.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information is not available in the form requested.

  Mr. Duffy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement regarding the current level of unemployment in the city of Sheffield.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In December 1989 there were 23,347 unemployed claimants in the local authority area of Sheffield, a fall of 47·7 per cent. since unemployment in Sheffield began on a downward trend in July 1986.

  Mr. Franks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment by how much unemployment has fallen in Cumbria since June 1987; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Between June 1987 and December 1989 the number of unemployed claimants in the local authority area of Cumbria fell by 8,192 or 42·3 per cent. The comparison is affected by the change in the coverage of the count from September 1988 due to the new benefit regulations affecting those aged under 18.

  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the growth in jobs in Warwickshire since 1987.

  Mr. Nicholls
  It is not possible to give an estimate. The Department's statistics for the county monitor only net changes in employment between census of employment dates, and the most recent figures are for September 1987.
  204
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest unemployment figure for the constituency of Liverpool, Riverside.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In December 1989, the number of unemployed claimants in the parliamentary constituency of Liverpool, Riverside was 7,425.

  Mr. Brandon-Bravo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the change in unemployment in the last year.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In the 12 months to December 1989 the level of unemployment, seasonally adjusted, in the United Kingdom fell by 402,500 or 20 per cent.

  Mr. Churchill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the fall in unemployment in the north-west from its peak to date.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In December 1989 the level of seasonally adjusted unemployment in the north-west region was 237,700, a fall of 189,700 or 44·4 per cent. since its peak in June 1986.

  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the number and percentage of young people aged 16 to 20 years entering employment without training in Germany, Japan, the United States of America, Sweden and the United Kingdom for the most recent date for which information is available.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information is not available in the form requested.

  Employment Training
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement regarding the availability of places on employment training schemes for people recently made redundant.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In certain circumstances redundant workers can have immediate access to employment training without satisfying the normal six months unemployed condition. The main examples are people wishing to train in locally identified skill shortage occupations; those wishing to train in business start-up or enterprise training; people who require training in English as a second language; and people with disabilities.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if will give(a) the total numbers of lone parents on employment training receiving financial assistance towards child care costs and (b) the total expenditure involved between September 1988 and December 1989 for each standard region, Wales, Scotland and Great Britain.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The estimated proportions of trainees receiving child care allowances at the end of December 1989, the latest date for which information is available, are given in table 1. As a guide, the in-training figure for 15 December 1989 has been provided for each region.

  The total expenditure on child care payments between September 1988 and December 1989 is shown in table 2.

  The information requested is not collected by standard region; the figures quoted are for Training Agency regions and Scotland and Wales.
  205

  Table 1

  Employment training trainees in receipt ofchildcare allowances

  Region

  Per cent.1

  Number2

  South East

  5

  14,600

  London

  4

  21,400

  South West

  3

  12,200

  West Midlands

  4

  23,100

  East Midlands and Eastern

  3

  16,900

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  2

  25,500

  North West

  3

  29,200

  Northern

  2

  24,600

  Wales

  1

  16,500

  Scotland

  3

  26,200

  Great Britain

  3

  3211,000

  1Proportion receiving child care allowances end December 1989.

  2 Numbers in training 15 December 1989.

  3The Great Britain Total includes a small number of trainees at large Contractors Unit and Residential Training Centres who are not reflected in the individual regional figures.

  Table 2

  Child care expenditure by region

  £ million

  Region

  Total expenditure September 1988 to end December 1989

  South East

  0·742

  London

  2·358

  South West

  0·518

  West Midlands

  0·895

  East Midlands and Eastern

  0·821

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  0·672

  North West

  1·375

  Northern

  0·665

  Wales

  0·351

  Scotland

  1·048

  Great Britain

  11·770

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of training managers for employment training in(a) the private sector employer, (b) local authorities, (c) voluntary organisations and (d) private training organisations in December 1989 for Great Britain.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The total number of training managers participating in employment training at the latest available date is as follows:

  Number

  (a) Private sector employers

  201

  (b) Local authorities

  195

  (c) Voluntary organisations

  366

  (d) Private training organisations

  507

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total amount of employment training allowance paid in each of the months April 1989 to December 1989 for Great Britain.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The following table shows the total amount of recorded expenditure in employment training (ET) trainee allowances (excluding travel, childcare and other allowances) in the months April 1989 to December for Great Britain.
  206

  1989

  £ Millions

  April

  1Nil

  May

  45·639

  June

  21·663

  July

  73·259

  August

  45·730

  September

  49·332

  October

  42·169

  November

  46·540

  December

  47·094

  1 Other than for the final month of a financial year, expenditure on ET trainee allowances is normally recorded in the month following the period of training concerned.

  2 There was a delay in recording expenditure on trainee allowances in June 1989.

  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the employment training initiatives sponsored by his Department in Essex.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Employment training in Essex continues to play an important part in helping the unemployed obtain the skills and experience they need to get jobs and some 2,200 people are currently taking advantage of it.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his Department's follow-up survey of employment training by region; and how many people who have proceeded through the scheme now have full-time employment.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The first results from the exercise to follow up all employment training leavers indicates that 58 per cent. of all those trainees completing their planned training enter employment, self-employment or full-time training or further education. Information at a regional level is not yet available.

  Mr. Eastham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the procedure currently being deployed by his Department to monitor expenditure on employment training.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My Department monitors closely the level of expenditure on employment training through its financial management and accounting system. It also operates a system of financial appraisal and monitoring for all organisations contracted to deliver employment training, to ensure that public money is properly protected and spent for the purposes intended.

  Dr. Reid
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many trainees entered permanent employment immediately after leaving employment training in the period January to December 1989.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information is not available.

  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was(a) the target for employment training places and (b) the number of filled places in the period from January to December 1989.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Targets for the number of employment training places are for internal management purposes only. The number of filled places on employment training increased from 111,000 to over 210,000 in the period January to December 1989.

  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average length of time trainees spend on employment training.
  207
  Mr. Nicholls
  Trainees spend an average of about six months on employment training.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many training and enterprise councils he anticipates giving approval to so that they will become fully operational on 2 April.

  Mr. Eggar
  A number of training and enterprise councils (TECs) will shortly be submitting their corporate and business plans for approval. The national training task force will consider these plans and will be making its recommendation to me.

  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number of training and enterprise council groups awarded development funding.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have been very encouraged by the excellent response from employers throughout the country since we issued the invitation to form training and enterprise councils. Applications for development funding from 55 groups of senior employers from around the country have been approved. The table lists the areas which have received development funding.

  List of TECs awarded development funding

  South East

  Essex

  Hampshire

  Heart of England (Oxfordshire)

  Hertfordshire

  Isle of Wight

  Kent

  Milton Keynes

  Thames Valley

  London

  AZTEC (Kingston/Merton)

  South West

  Avon

  Devon/Cornwall

  Dorset

  Gloucestershire

  Somerset

  West Midlands

  Birmingham

  Coventry/Warwickshire

  Dudley

  Sandwell

  Staffordshire

  Walsall

  Wolverhampton

  East Midlands and Eastern

  Central and South Cambridgeshire

  Greater Peterborough

  Norfolk/Waveney

  Northamptonshire

  North Nottinghamshire

  Suffolk

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  Barnsley/Doncaster

  Calderdale/Kirklees

  Leeds

  North Yorkshire

  Rotherham

  Sheffield

  Wakefield

  North West

  Bolton/Bury

  208

  Cumbria

  East Lancashire

  Manchester

  Oldham

  Rochdale

  South and East Cheshire

  St. Helens

  Stockport/High Peak

  Wigan

  Northern

  County Durham

  Northumberland

  Teeside

  Tyneside

  Wearside

  Wales

  Gwent

  Mid Glamorgan

  North East Wales

  North West Wales

  South Glamorgan

  West Wales

  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what will be the typical budget of a training and enterprise council.

  Mr. Eggar
  The budget for each training and enterprise council (TEC) will be negotiated locally and will vary according to the size of its area. Budgets will range from around £5 million to around £35 million per annum.

  Mr. Hanley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will report on the progress of the training and enterprise council network.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have been very encouraged by the excellent response from employers throughout the country since we issued the invitation to form training and enterprise councils.

  We expect to have a complete network of training and enterprise councils throughout England and Wales by the end of the year.

  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many training and enterprise councils have now been awarded development funding.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have been very encouraged by the excellent response from employers throughout the country since we issued the invitation to form training and enterprise councils. Applications for development funding from 55 groups of senior employers from around the country have been approved.

  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what arrangements he is making to ensure that the training and enterprise councils are able to recognise a need in respect of the disabled which spreads beyond the immediate territory within which they will be operating.

  Mr. Eggar
  Training and enterprise councils (TECs) will set out their training proposals in their business plan. My Department will want to be satisfied that these proposals meet the training needs of all individuals in their local community, including people with disabilities, and encompass access to training outside the TEC's immediate locality where appropriate.

  Dr. Twinn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects the first training and enterprise council to be operational.
  209
  Mr. Eggar
  I expect the first training and enterprise councils to be operational in the spring.

  Mr. Moss
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total sum of money for which training and enterprise councils will have executive responsibility.

  Mr. Eggar
  As TECs become operational they will assume responsibility for the vast majority of expenditure which is currently managed by the Training Agency. This amounts to around £2·5 billion in 1990–91.

  Small Firms Service
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many requests for advice and information have now been received by his Department's small firms service.

  Mr. Eggar
  In 1989 the small firms service in England handled 314,625 inquiries and provided 50,013 counselling sessions.

  Training
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the numbers of employees receiving training in Britain.

  Mr. Nicholls
  A recent survey of employers estimated that 8·6 million employees received training through their employers in 1986–87. The survey excluded the armed forces, agriculture, and firms with fewer than 10 employees.

  More recent figures from the labour force survey show that in the spring of 1988 2·8 million employees received job-related training in the four weeks prior to the survey.

  Mr. Lofthouse
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number and percentage of employees receiving training in the four-week period prior to the labour force survey in 1988.

  Mr. Nicholls
  A total of 2,773,000 employees of working age received job-related training in Great Britain in the four-week period prior to the labour force survey in 1988. This is 13·3 per cent. of all employees of working age.

  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on training provisions available to the unemployed.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The Government make training available for young people aged between 16 and 18 who are not in full-time education or employment through YTS. Employment Training (ET) is available primarily for adults aged over 18 and under 60 who have been continuously unemployed for at least 26 weeks. It is also open to certain special groups who do not need to satisfy the 26 weeks' unemployment criterion.

  Currently there are 386,000 YTS trainees and 207,000 ET trainees.

  Mr. McAvoy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on employer-based training as a percentage of gross domestic product in Germany, Japan, the United States of America, and Sweden and the United Kingdom for the most recent date for which information is available.
  210
  Mr. Nicholls
  It is estimated that employers in Great Britain spent £18 billion in 1986–87 on training their work force. This is equivalent to 4·6 per cent. of gross domestic product.

  Comparable figures are not available for the other countries listed.

  Training Agents
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total number of training agents who have(a) had their contracts terminated and (b) gone into receivership between January and December 1989.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Between January and December 1989, three training agents had their contracts terminated by the Employment Department Training Agency and none has gone into receivership.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to improve employment services for disabled people.

  Mr. Eggar
  This Department's general employment services are designed to help meet the needs of as many people with disabilities as possible. They are supplemented as necessary by a range of provision specifically for people with disabilities including sheltered employment for those with severe disabilities. These services are the subject of a review, the results of which will be made available as soon as possible.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria are used when issuing quota exemption permits under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

  Mr. Eggar
  Disablement resettlement officers are instructed to consider the availability of suitable registered disabled people, and the degree of commitment shown by employers towards meeting their obligations under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to ensure that firms not meeting their quota obligations without permits meet their obligations under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

  Mr. Eggar
  This Department will continue to pursue a policy of education and persuasion designed to improve the policies and practices of employers in relation to the employment of people with disabilities. This includes advising them of their obligations under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, and using the Department's wide range of services for the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities to help them meet those obligations.

  Wages
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what monitoring his Department undertakes of wage levels for jobs being advertised at jobcentres.

  Mr. Eggar
  Jobcentres have a responsibility to check that employers notifying vacancies are complying with any relevant wages council orders. They also advise employers on locally prevailing rates of pay.
  211
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of male and female manual workers earned less than £150 a week in earnings during(a) 1987, (b) 1988 and (c)

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information for full-time adult employees in Great Britain is published in table 1 of part A of the new earnings survey reports for each of the years, and in table 124 of part E of the same reports for full-time employees of all ages. Copies of the reports are in the Library.

  Japanese Enterprises
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been created in Japanese industrial and commercial enterprises which have chosen to locate their main European research and development centres in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Eggar
  Our figures on jobs created by Japanese concerns in the United Kingdom do not differentiate between manufacturing jobs and those in research and development. However, it is estimated that to date 36,000 jobs have been created by the 117 Japanese companies which have chosen to locate here.

  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the number of employees working in the United Kingdom who are citizens of the empire of Japan; and how many United Kingdom citizens are employed in companies resident in the United Kingdom owned by commercial interests resident in the empire of Japan.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Data on the number of employees in the United Kingdom whose nationality is Japanese are not available.

  The Department of Trade and Industry's Invest in Britain Bureau advises that there are 117 Japanese manufacturing companies known to be either currently operating in the United Kingdom or having announced a formal intention to operate. In total, it is estimated that these firms have created or will create some 36,000 jobs.

  Social Charter
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had with trade unions in the United Kingdom as to their views on the EEC social charter and employment opportunities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have received no representations from the trade unions on the social charter.

  Fairground Inspection
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on progress on harmonisation of inspection rules for fairground equipment throughout the European Community.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The European Commission is currently preparing a proposal for a directive concerning trade in fairground equipment. The work is at an early stage but it seems likely that the proposal will cover the design, manufacture and initial testing of fairground equipment. It may also cover the installation and erection of 212
  fairground equipment as well as the systems of examination and testing which should be used. European Commission staff have indicated that a proposal for such a directive will be submitted to the Council of Ministers within about 12 months.

  In anticipation of this directive, CEN (the European standards making organisation) has established a technical committee to prepare harmonised European standards for fairground equipment. These technical standards would support the directive by showing how its requirements could be met.

  Farms
  Mr. Livsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many visits to farms have been made by inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive in the last year; and how many inspectors exist for this task.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In the financial year ended 31 March 1989, 37,274 visits to farm premises (including horticulture and agricultural contractors) were made by Health and Safety Executive inspectors; on 1 January 1990, 149 inspectors were employed in the agricultural inspectorate field force for this purpose.

  Trade Unions (Transfer of Membership)
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is planning to permit greater choice for trade unionists in transferring membership between unions.

  Mr. Nicholls
  None. This is entirely a matter for trade unions and their members.

  Skills Shortages
  Mr. Ian Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the problems of skills shortages among firms in the south-east.

  Mr. Nicholls
  It is for firms in the south-east, as elsewhere, to anticipate their future needs for skills and to deal with any existing shortfalls. In this they will wish to take full account of the challenges set by demographic trends, new technologies and international competition; and draw on the underused talents of unemployed people, women, ethnic minorities, older workers and people with disabilities.

  The Government for their part have introduced a number of measures to help employers including the establishment of training and enterprise councils and launch of business growth training. We are also assisting young people and the unemployed to gain new skills through youth training (YT) and employment training (ET).

  Job Creation
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met local authority representatives to discuss job creation.

  Mr. Eggar
  Neither my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State nor I have held meetings with local authority representatives to discuss job creation.

  Training and Vocational Education Initiative
  Mr. Madel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he is taking to ensure that TVEI equipment in schools is kept modern and in good working order; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  TVEI is a development programme helping young people gain the skills required in the work force. Education authorities are given a fixed sum to deliver the TVEI programme, only a small proportion of which is normally spent on equipment.

  TVEI was not designed to be a continuing source of funds. As TVEI becomes embedded into the learning experience, education authorities are expected to fund any further developments from within their existing resources.

  European Commissioner for Employment
  Mr. Norris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the European Commissioner for Employment; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Howard
  I met Mrs. Papandreou on 22 January 1990 when we discussed a range of employment issues.

  Self-employment
  Mr. Hague
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently self-employed; and what was the figure in June 1979.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The number of people in self-employment in the United Kingdom in September 1989, the latest figure available, is 3,141,000. The estimate for June 1979 was 1,906,000. This shows an increase of 1,235,000.

  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many self-employed people there are in Greater London; and how many there were in 1979.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Estimates for Greater London are not available for 1979. The available estimates of self-employed are as follows:

  Self-employed in Greater London Unajusted for seasonal variation

  Date

  Thousands

  September 1981

  274

  September 1989

  415

  Change September 1981-September 1989

  141

  Percentage change September 1981-September 1989

  51·2 percent.

  Job Clubs
  Mr. David Martin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have received assistance through job clubs.

  Mr. Eggar
  Since the job club programme started in November 1984, over 365,000 people have received assistance. Of these over 200,000 have gone directly into jobs and over 52,000 have taken up some other options such as training, self-employment or further education.

  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if job clubs are to become one of the conditions in the actively seeking work regulations implementing the Social Security Act 1989.
  214
  Mr. Eggar
  For claimants to be regarded as seeking work actively, they must take reasonable steps to seek work in each week for which they claim. Active membership of a job club is a way of satisfying the new conditions and a good way of finding a job. Latest figures show that 69 per cent. of job club leavers go into a job, self-employment, further education or training. Membership is voluntary and the new legislation does not mean that claimants are required to join job clubs.

  Mr. Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will review the range of facilities available to users of job clubs in the more remote areas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  Members of job clubs in the more remote areas have available the full range of facilities available at other job clubs. These include payment of fares to attend job club. Additionally, an open learning package is provided to help members who cannot attend as often as is usual. The adequacy of facilities is kept under review.

  The employment service seeks to provide access to job clubs for long-term unemployed people living in rural areas wherever possible. A further extension of the service occurred on 12 February 1990 with the opening of Portree job club on the Isle of Skye.

  Creches
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the provision of workplace creches by employers throughout Britain.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Comprehensive information on the extent of provision of workplace creches by employers throughout Britain is not available. Figures in the "IMS Manpower Commentary No. 43, Retaining women employees" indicate that the percentage of organisations currently providing such facilities is small, only about 3 per cent. However, indications are that the provision of workplace creches by employers is growing.

  Workplace creches can be successful but are only one possible way of helping parents with child care and are not necessarily the most appropriate in all cases. Other possibilities include help with child care costs in the local home area and rearrangement of working hours and holidays to fit in with school hours and terms.

  Blacklisting
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to make blacklisting unlawful.

  Mr. Nicholls
  No.

  Employment Service
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will report on the progress of the plan to launch the employment service as an executive agency.

  Mr. Nicholls
  As my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir N. Fowler) announced on 1 December 1989,Official Report col 461, the employment service will be launched as an executive agency on 2 April. The framework document and annual performance agreement will be published and made available to hon. Members then.

  Tourism
  Mr. Summerson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many self-employed people are currently employed in the tourism industry.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The latest available estimate from the labour force survey indicates that there were 204,000 self-employed workers in tourism-related industries in spring 1988, 4,000 more than in spring 1987.

  Mr. Butterfill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the total international tourism revenue figures for the United Kingdom for each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The table gives the earnings from overseas visitors to the United Kingdom for each of the last 10 complete years plus the current year to date, at current prices.

  Year

  Earnings (£ millions)

  1979

  2,797

  1980

  2,961

  1981

  2,970

  1982

  3,188

  1983

  4,003

  1984

  4,614

  1985

  5,442

  1986

  5,553

  1987

  6,260

  1988

  6,193

  11989

  6,285

  1To November.

  Mr. Conway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what the United Kingdom currently earns from international tourism; and what information he has on which countries earn more from international tourism than the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Nicholls
  It is estimated that overseas residents spent £6·2 billion in the United Kingdom in 1988. In 1987 the United Kingdom was ranked 5th in terms of international tourism receipts after the United States of America, Spain, Italy and France.

  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the change in the number of jobs in the tourism industry in the 10 years to 1989.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Between September 1979 and September 1989, the estimated number of employees in employment in tourism-related industries in Great Britain rose by 216,000 to 1,374,000. In addition, it is estimated from the labour force survey that there were 204,000 self-employed workers in tourism-related industries in spring 1988, 41,000 more than in spring 1981.

  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total value of expenditure in the United Kingdom by overseas visitors in 1989.

  Mr. Nicholls
  It is provisionally estimated that overseas residents spent £6,285 million in the United Kingdom during the first 11 months of 1989, the latest period for which results are available. This is 9 per cent. higher than in the equivalent period of 1988.

  Inner Cities
  Mr. Loyden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to create employment opportunities for the inner city jobless men, women and youth.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department will continue to place high priority on the encouragement of enterprise and new and existing businesses in the inner city, and on helping inner city residents improve their skills and qualifications for work. The Department operates a wide range of national but flexible programmes and services directly relevant to these aims, as well as special measures for inner city areas such as schools-industry compacts and the pilot job interview guarantee scheme.

  The fact that unemployment in the 57 urban programme areas in England has fallen by over a third since March 1988 demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach, which is pursued in partnership and close collaboration with other Departments and agencies working to improve inner city conditions and economic prospects.

  Economic League
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the organisers of the Economic League; and what matters were discussed.

  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met any member of the board of the Economic League; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. and learned Friend has not met the organisers of the Economic League.

  Closed Shop
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees are currently employed in workplaces with a closed shop.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The Green Paper "Removing Barriers to Employment", which was published in March last year, estimated that around 2·6 million people are employed in jobs which are covered by all forms of the closed shop. This estimate was derived from a specially commissioned survey carried out between 22 February and 6 March 1989, a summary of which has been placed in the Library.

  Health and Safety
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current number of directives under consideration which require subordinate legislation on employment matters involving health and safety; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Four directives recently adopted under article 118A (Health and Safety of Workers), and a further four draft such directives currently before the Council of Ministers are expected to require implementing legislation. The intention is to implement mainly by regulations under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and in line with the regulatory philosophy of the Act. For those directives still in draft the present assessment is of course subject to final decisions on content. Implementation proposals will be published by the Health and Safety Commission for consultation in due course.
  217
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mr. Nicholls
  My right hon. and learned Friend met the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission on 31 January when a range of matters relating to the responsibilities of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive were discussed.

  Jobcentres
  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of employees in jobcentres in Britain in 1979 and 1989.

  Mr. Eggar
  The gross numbers of staff employed in jobcentres as at 1 April 1979 and 31 December 1989 were 11,397 and 7,598 respectively.

  No direct comparison can be drawn between the numbers of staff employed in jobcentres in Britain in 1979 and 1989, since a number of functions which would have been reflected in the 1979 figures are no longer carried out in jobcentres.

  The 1989 figure does not include 4,781 counselling staff who work in unemployment benefit offices and other employment service premises.

  YTS
  Mr. Holt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will examine the YTS run by Cleveland county council; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Currently, Cleveland county council provides about 1,300 YTS places for a wide range of young people. Two thirds of those leaving the scheme either gain employment or go on to further training.

  Preventable Loss
  Mr. Norris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will list the number of professionally qualified loss prevention staff employed by his Department and the qualifications held by such staff, excluding qualifications obtained during police or military service.

  Mr. Eggar
  All staff employed by the Employment Department Group have a responsibility to safeguard cash and assets from misappropriation and theft. There are 34 auditors and 15 accountants who are specialised in their fields.

  Labour Costs
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what labour costs were as a percentage per unit of output in manufacturing, by region, in the United Kingdom in 1987, 1988 and 1989.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Regional data on manufacturing output are not available.

  London Borough of Newham
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the reasons for the decline in unemployment in London being slowest in the London borough of Newham.

  Mr. Nicholls
  In the period December 1987 to December 1989 unemployment in Newham fell by 28·3 per cent. The two London labour market studies commissioned by my Department have included Newham. In addition to the normal range of training and employment measures available in Newham as elsewhere there are a number of special projects in Newham to help local people into employment.

  RABBIT CONTROL, TIDWORTH
  RABBIT CONTROL, TIDWORTH
  STUDENTS IN SCOTLAND: STATISTICS
  STUDENTS IN SCOTLAND: STATISTICS
  BSE: SLAUGHTER COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS
  BSE: SLAUGHTER COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS
  SALMONELLA: SLAUGHTER COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS
  SALMONELLA: SLAUGHTER COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS