Written Answers of 15 February 1990

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  South Bank Polytechnic
  Mr. Viggers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, in view of current industrial action by polytechnic lecturers, he will take steps to ensure that students at the polytechnic of the South Bank are able to sit their final examinations during the current academic year and that such examinations will be marked in order to enable successful candidates to obtain degree qualifications.

  Mr. Jackson
  This is a matter for the authorities of the polytechnic. Proposals for an interim settlement of the dispute are currently subject to a ballot.

  Special Educational Needs
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how calculations are made of special educational support grant in budgeting for special educational needs; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what allowances are made to local education authorities for special educational needs; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what allowances have been made available to local education authorities for special educational needs in the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  My right hon. Friend determines each year the distribution of education support grants (ESGs)

  England and Wales

  Lancashire

  Number

  As a percentage of full-time teachers in post

  Number

  As a percentage of full-time teachers in post

  Nursery and primary schools

  3,297

  1·8

  105

  2·1

  Of which, main age group of deployment: nursery

  197

  2·2

  7

  —

  infant

  1,122

  2·2

  34

  —

  junior

  1,159

  1·5

  37

  —

  more than one age group

  819

  —

  27

  —

  Secondary schools

  2,529

  1·2

  88

  1·6

  Of which: head and deputy head teacher posts

  264

  1·6

  12

  —

  main scale posts, by subject: mathematics

  263

  1·1

  8

  —

  sciences

  310

  1·1

  7

  —

  languages

  261

  1·7

  9

  —

  English

  253

  1·1

  15

  —

  history, geography or social studies

  180

  0·8

  6

  —

  CDT, craft or art

  180

  0·9

  9

  —

  music

  103

  2·1

  2

  —

  physical education

  165

  1·2

  5

  —

  remedial

  90

  1·6

  6

  —

  other subjects

  460

  1·5

  9

  —

  Total nursery, primary and secondary schools

  5,826

  1·5

  193

  1·8

  318
  (ESGs) and local education authority training grants (LEATGs) in the light of current needs and priorities, including those relating to special educational needs (SEN). Over the past five years, allocations have been made under the ESGs and LEATGs programmes (and he latter's predecessor, the in-service teacher training grant scheme) for a variety of activities to promote SEN provision and training in both the schools and further education sectors. The allocations of supported expensditure totalled:

  Year

  Total expenditure supported under SEN-related ESG and LEA TGs activities (£ million)

  1985–86

  4·3

  1986–87

  3·8

  1987–88

  6·3

  1988–89

  10·8

  1989–90

  8·6

  These specific grants are additional to the general rate support grant (RSG) allocations which each local authority received in the years in question. The distribution of RSG between authorities takes account of additional education needs, including SEN. But it is for each authority to determine the deployment of its RSG allocation, and the pattern of spending between different aspects of its services, including SEN provision.

  Teaching Vacancies
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the latest information he has on teaching post vacancies broken down by school type and subject area for(a) England and Wales, and (b) Lancashire.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  The numbers of vacancies in January 1989 for full-time permanent teachers in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in England and Wales and in Lancashire are shown in the table.

  Independent Schools
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list all the schools which receive pupils paid for in whole, or in part, under the assisted places scheme; and what was the number of assisted place pupils at each school in 1988–89.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  The information requested is as follows:

  Number of Assisted Place Pupils in 1988–89 (Subject to final adjustment)

  Name of school

  Number

  Abbey School, Reading

  72

  Abingdon School

  89

  Aldenham School, Elstree

  29

  Alice Ottley School, Worcester

  72

  Alleyns School, Dulwich

  199

  Arnold School, Blackpool

  78

  Ashford School, Kent

  38

  Bancrofts School, Woodford

  80

  Bath High School

  93

  Batley Grammar School

  256

  Bedales School, Petersfield

  8

  Bedford High School

  89

  Bedford Modern School

  155

  Bedford School

  88

  Dame Alice Harpur School

  52

  Belvedere School, Liverpool

  159

  Berkhamstead School

  30

  Berkhamstead School for Girls

  28

  Birkenhead High School

  259

  Birkenhead School

  251

  Bishop's Stortford College

  36

  Blackheath High School

  105

  Bolton School (Boys)

  249

  Bolton School (Girls)

  246

  Bradfield College, Reading

  0

  Bradford Girls' Grammar

  59

  Bradford Grammar School

  209

  Brentwood School

  95

  Brighton and Hove High School

  153

  Brighton College

  98

  Bristol Cathedral School

  138

  Bristol Grammar School

  270

  Bromley High School

  108

  Bruton School for Girls

  117

  Bury Grammar School (Boys)

  188

  Bury Grammar School (Girls)

  246

  Canford School, Wimborne

  29

  Carmel College, Wallingford

  86

  Casterton School, Cumbria

  42

  Caterham School

  114

  Central Newcastle High School

  109

  Charterhouse, Nr Godalming

  9

  Cheadle Hulme School

  135

  Chigwell School

  70

  Churchers College, Petersfield

  115

  City of London School

  133

  City of London School for Girls

  104

  Clifton College, Bristol

  69

  Clifton High School, Bristol

  48

  Colfes School, London SE12

  186

  Colston's School, Bristol

  86

  Colston's Girls' School

  154

  Coventry School, Bablake

  181

  Cranleigh School

  38

  Croydon High School

  116

  Culford School, Bury St Edmunds

  47

  Dame Allans Boys' School, Newcastle upon Tyne

  133

  Dame Allans Girls' School

  125

  Dauntseys School, Devizes

  55

  Denstone College, Uttoxeter

  123

  Dulwich College

  277

  Edgehill College, Bideford

  133

  Eltham College, London SE9

  92

  Emanuael School, London SW11

  295

  320

  Name of school

  Number

  Epsom College

  28

  Exeter School

  167

  Farnborough Hill School

  188

  Felsted School, Dunmow

  49

  Forest School, London El7

  142

  Friends School, Saffron Walden

  66

  Godolphin and Latymer School, London W6

  174

  Greshams School, Norfolk

  9

  Haberdashers Askes School, Elstree

  218

  Haberdashers Askes Schools for Girls, Elstree

  128

  Hampton School

  191

  Harrogate College

  19

  Hereford Cathedral School

  227

  Highgate School

  37

  Hulme Grammar, boys, Oldham

  218

  Hulme Grammar, Girls, Oldham

  191

  Hymers College, Hull

  158

  Ipswich high School

  133

  Ipswich School

  76

  James Aliens Girls' School, Dulwich

  165

  John Lyon School, Harrow

  90

  Kent College, Canterbury

  83

  King Edwards School at Bath

  114

  King Edwards School, Birmingham

  226

  King Edward IV High School, Birmingham

  171

  King Edward VII School, Lytham

  214

  King Edward VI School, Norwich

  110

  King Edward VI School, Southampton

  228

  King Edwards School, Witley

  75

  King Henry VIII School

  76

  Kings College School, Wimbledon

  88

  Kings High School for Girls, Warwick

  170

  Kings School, Chester

  88

  Kings School, Macclesfield

  168

  Kings School, Rochester

  53

  Kings School, Worcester

  165

  Kingston Grammar School

  114

  Kingswood School, Bath

  38

  Kirkham Grammar School

  77

  Lady Eleanor Holies School, Hampton

  65

  La Sagesse Convent School, Newcastle upon Tyne

  144

  Latymer Upper School, London W6

  316

  Leeds Girls' High School

  123

  Leeds Grammar School

  194

  Leys School, Cambridge

  29

  Liverpool College

  167

  Lord Wandsworth College, Basingstoke

  82

  Loreto Convent Grammar School, Altrincham

  72

  Loughborough Grammar

  125

  Loughborough High School

  91

  Magdalen College School, Oxford

  124

  Malvern College

  56

  Manchester Grammar School

  237

  Manchester High School

  178

  Maynard School, Exeter

  160

  Merchant Taylors, Liverpool

  188

  Merchant Taylors Girls', Liverpool

  167

  Merchant Taylors, Northwood

  78

  Mill Hill School

  63

  Monkton Combe School, Bath

  40

  Mount St. Mary's College, Near Sheffield

  54

  Newcastle Under Lyme School, Staffordshire

  464

  Northampton High School

  167

  North London Collegiate School, Edgware

  77

  Norwich High School

  172

  Nottingham Girls' High School

  189

  Nottingham High School

  115

  Notting Hill and Ealing High

  110

  Old Palace School, Croydon

  208

  Oxford High School

  95

  Perse School for Boys, Cambridge

  59

  Perse School for Girls

  73

  Plymouth College

  183

  Pocklington School, Nr. York

  128

  Portsmouth Grammar School

  172

  Portsmouth High School

  149

  Putney High School

  100

  Queen Elizabeth Grammar, Blackburn

  243

  321

  Name of school

  Number

  Queen Elizabeth Grammer, Wakefield

  160

  Queen Elizabeth Hospital School, Bristol

  170

  Queen Mary School, Lytham

  234

  Queens College, Taunton

  62

  Queens College, London Wl

  63

  Queens School, Chester

  72

  Ratcliffe College, Leicestershire

  57

  Redland High School, Bristol

  76

  Red Maids School, Bristol

  157

  Reigate Grammar School

  101

  Repton School, Nr. Derby

  45

  Rossall School, Fleetwood

  45

  Royal Grammar School, Guildford

  112

  Royal Grammar School, Newcastle

  290

  Royal Grammar School, Worcester

  221

  St. Albans School

  123

  St. Albans High School for Girls

  57

  St. Ambrose College, Altrincham

  93

  St. Anselms College, Birkenhead

  179

  St. Bede's College, Manchester

  222

  St. Bees School, Cumbria

  79

  St. Benedict's School, Ealing

  75

  St. Catherine's School Bramley

  44

  St. Dunstan's College, Catford

  153

  St. Edmund's College, Ware

  64

  St. Edward's College, Liverpool

  393

  St. George's College, Weybridge

  25

  St. Helen's School, Northwood

  30

  St. John's College, Southsea

  179

  St. John's School, Leatherhead

  12

  St. Joseph's College, Ipswich

  71

  St. Joseph's Convent, Reading

  103

  St. Mary's College, Crosby

  244

  St. Mary's Convent, Cambridge

  102

  St. Mary's Hall, Brighton

  49

  St. Maurs Convent, Weybridge

  61

  St. Paul's School, Barnes

  81

  St. Paul's Girls' School, Hammersmith

  59

  St. Peter's School, York

  135

  St. Swithun's School, Winchester

  0

  Salesian College, Farnborough

  81

  School of St. Helen and St. Katherine, Abingdon

  100

  Sedbergh School, Cumbria

  75

  Sheffield High School

  95

  Shrewsbury High School

  76

  Sir William Perkins School, Chertsey

  90

  South Hampstead High School

  56

  Stamford School

  71

  Stamford High School

  74

  Stockport Grammar School

  260

  Stonyhurst College, Nr. Blackburn

  26

  Stowe School, Nr. Buckingham

  5

  Streatham Hill and Clapham High

  162

  Sutton High School

  69

  Sutton Valence School, Nr. Maidstone

  58

  Sydenham High School

  111

  Talbot Heath School, Bournemouth

  134

  Taunton School

  50

  Tonbridge School

  3

  Trent College, Derbyshire

  126

  Trinity School of John Whitgift, Croydon

  146

  Truro School

  155

  Truro High School

  57

  University College School, London NW3

  68

  Upton Hall Convent School

  169

  Ursuline High School, Ilford

  129

  Wakefield High School

  144

  Walthamstow Hall, Sevenoaks

  74

  Warwick School

  145

  Wellingborough School

  59

  Wellington College, Berkshire

  38

  Wellington School, Somerset

  193

  Wells Cathedral School

  74

  West Buckland School, Barnstaple

  64

  Westminster School

  30

  Whitgift School, Croydon

  106

  William Hulme Grammar School, Manchester

  220

  Wimbledon High School

  65

  322

  Name of school

  Number

  Winchester College

  22

  Wisbech Grammar School

  266

  Withington Girls' School, Manchester

  81

  Wolverhampton Grammar School

  263

  Woodbridge School, Suffolk

  115

  Woodhouse Grove School, Bradford

  113

  Wycliffe College, Stonehouse

  40

  In addition, the following schools joined the assisted places scheme in September 1989. Each one has a quota of five assisted place pupils per year at their normal age of entry.

  Ack worth School

  Ardingly College

  Bloxham School

  Bootham School

  Bromsgrove School

  Blue Coat School

  Burgess Hill School for Girls

  Cheltenham Ladies' College

  Christ's Hospital School

  City of London Freemans School

  Crohan Hurst School

  Douai School

  Dover College

  Downe House School

  Durham School

  Edgbaston Church of England College for Girls

  Ellerslie School

  Felixstowe College

  Francis Holland School

  Giggleswick School

  Godolphin School

  Guildford High School for Girls

  Haileybury and Imperial Service College

  Headington School

  Hurstpierpoint College

  Kimbolton School

  Kings School, Bruton

  Laxton School

  Leicester Grammar School

  Leighton Park School

  Marist Convent Senior School

  Mount School

  Mount Carmel School

  Newcastle-upon-Tyne Church High School

  Oakham School

  Pangbourne College

  Polam Hall School

  Prior Park College

  Reed's School

  Rendcomb College

  St. Felix School, Southwold

  St. Lawrence College, Ramsgate

  St. Margarets School, Bushey

  St. Margarets School, Exeter

  Scarborough College

  Solihull School

  Surbiton High School

  Tormead School

  Ursuline Convent School

  Westholme School

  Worksop College

  Yarm School

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the local education authorities which pay for places for pupils residing in their areas to attend independent schools, excluding special schools; and what are the numbers of pupils each supported in whole or in part during 1988–89.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  On the basis of returns made to the Department by local education authorities in January 1989 the number of pupils being funded by local education
  323
  authorities to attend independent schools, excluding pupils either at special schools or receiving special educational treatment, were as follows:

  Independent School Pupils January 1989

  Number of Pupils

  201 City

  0

  202 Camden

  7

  203 Greenwich

  4

  204 Hackney

  4

  205 Hammersmith and Fulham

  3

  206 Islington

  6

  207 Kensington and Chelsea

  5

  208 Lambeth

  5

  209 Lewisham

  11

  210 Southwark

  1

  211 Tower Hamlets

  3

  212 Wandsworth

  12

  213 Westminster

  7

  301 Barking

  0

  302 Barnet

  0

  303 Bexley

  0

  304 Brent

  0

  305 Bromley

  0

  306 Croydon

  31

  307 Ealing

  0

  308 Enfield

  5

  309 Haringey

  0

  310 Harrow

  0

  311 Havering

  4

  312 Hillingdon

  4

  313 Hounslow

  3

  314 Kingston-upon-Thames

  0

  315 Merton

  0

  316 Newham

  7

  317 Redbridge

  65

  318 Richmond-upon-Thames

  1

  319 Sutton

  0

  320 Waltham Forest

  0

  330 Birmingham

  7

  331 Coventry

  0

  332 Dudley

  0

  333 Sandwell

  3

  334 Solihull

  0

  335 Walsall

  5

  336 Wolverhampton

  0

  340 Knowsley

  2

  341 Liverpool

  0

  342 St. Helens

  7

  343 Sefton

  0

  344 Wirral

  613

  350 Bolton

  8

  351 Bury

  1

  352 Manchester

  0

  353 Oldham

  1

  354 Rochdale

  5

  355 Salford

  5

  356 Stockport

  0

  357 Tameside

  4

  358 Trafford

  1,491

  359 Wigan

  3

  370 Barnsley

  0

  371 Doncaster

  0

  372 Rotherham

  0

  373 Sheffield

  0

  380 Bradford

  0

  381 Calderdale

  87

  382 Kirklees

  0

  383 Leeds

  3

  384 Wakefield

  0

  390 Gateshead

  2

  391 Newcastle-upon-Tyne

  0

  392 North Tyneside

  0

  393 South Tyneside

  13

  394 Sunderland

  0

  420 Isles of Scilly

  0

  901 Avon

  12

  324

  Number of Pupils

  902 Bedfordshire

  0

  903 Berkshire

  0

  904 Buckinghamshire

  6

  905 Cambridgeshire

  23

  906 Cheshire

  916

  907 Cleveland

  8

  908 Cornwall

  0

  909 Cumbria

  3

  910 Derbyshire

  0

  911 Devon

  1

  912 Dorset

  3

  913 Durham

  4

  914 East Sussex

  32

  915 Essex

  6

  916 Gloucestershire

  33

  917 Hampshire

  9

  918 Hereford and Worcester

  139

  919 Hertfordshire

  10

  920 Humberside

  3

  921 Isle of Wight

  4

  922 Kent

  8

  923 Lancashire

  47

  924 Leicestershire

  17

  925 Lincolnshire

  610

  926 Norfolk

  5

  927 North Yorkshire

  12

  928 Northamptonshire

  16

  929 Northumberland

  0

  930 Nottinghamshire

  12

  931 Oxfordshire

  1

  932 Shropshire

  8

  933 Somerset

  14

  934 Staffordshire

  0

  935 Suffolk

  0

  936 Surrey

  35

  937 Warwickshire

  0

  938 West Sussex

  21

  939 Wiltshire

  93

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Western European Union
  Mr. Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will approach the Western European Union Council to urge it to take immediate steps to halt the arms race in the middle east and draw up a list of products and technologies which member countries would undertake not to supply to any country in the near or middle east.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We remain concerned about the proliferation of armaments in the middle east but do not believe the Western European Union would be an appropriate forum to take the action proposed.

  Mr. Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support in the WEU Council the proposal that the French Prime Minister's 7 September 1989 proposal be taken up and a WEU programme prepared for purposeful verification and disarmament co-operation.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The United Kingdom fully supports the WEU's work on European collaboration on verification. The subject is due to be discussed at the forthcoming WEU Ministeral.

  Mr. Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the Western European Union Assembly recommendation that the Western European Union Council
  325
  instructs a working group to conduct, in consultaton with the European Commission, a detailed study of the problems that will arise for the security of member states when the single European market is created and report to the Assembly on its conclusions.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The main impact on the security of EC member states of the Single European Act will arise from the removal of frontier controls and will relate to problems of crime, drugs and terrorism. These are already being discussed within the EC and in other fora such as the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe.

  Mr. Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action has been taken on the WEU Assembly recommendation urging the WEU Council to request the Chinese Government to accede to the international covenant on civil and political rights and the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The WEU Council has yet to discuss the Assembly's recommendation in detail.

  Prevention of Military Risks
  Mr. Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy on the conditions and framework in which a European centre for preventing military risks might be set up, as proposed by the Belgian Government.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Discussions are in train at the talks in Vienna on confidence and security building measures (CSBMs) about the possible establishment of dedicated communications links among all 35 participants to deal with security-related issues; and the conventional forces in Europe (CFE) talks are likely to result in the creation of some kind of joint consultative commission among the 23 members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. It remains to be seen whether any further body would be useful.

  Ivory
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Gordon of 2 February,Official Report, column 404, what steps he has taken to establish that any ivory obtained directly or through intermediaries did not originate from illegally poached elephants.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 2 February,Official Report, column 405

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what grounds the United Kingdom has given approval to Hong Kong to reopen its markets in the ivory trade.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Hong Kong banned imports of ivory in June 1989 and this is unaffected by the reservation that we have entered on behalf of Hong Kong. Also, in disposing of its stocks of ivory, Hong Kong will export only to countries which are not parties to CITES or which are parties to CITES and have entered appropriate reservations.
  326
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the computerisation of the current ivory stocks in Hong Kong is now complete; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  So far, data covering two thirds of the commercial stocks of ivory have been entered into the computer system.

  Romania
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any information on the privatisations planned by the Romanian Government.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The Romanian authorities have not so far made any specific proposals.

  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans Her Majesty's Government have to assist the Romanian Government to achieve the privatisation of some of their industries.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The Romanians have not so far asked for such help. We shall certainly consider carefully and sympathetically any such request that we receive.

  Overseas Visits
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries differing categories of employees in his Department are prohibited from visiting without obtaining prior permission; and for what reason.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  It has been long-standing practice to give advice to all staff on the problems they may face in travelling to certain countries, and to require them to give notice of such visits, particularly if they have access to classified information. On security grounds we do not publish the list of countries concerned, but it is kept regularly under review.

  European Community
  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the need for institutional progress within the European Community beyond the single market programme, as a result of(a) the impetus within the Community itself and (b) the developments occurring in the neighbouring countries of eastern Europe.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 7 February to my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell),Official Report, column 693.

  Nicaragua
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to resume normal trading links with Nicaragua after the elections in the current month.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Our trading relations with Nicaragua are already normal.

  Uganda
  Miss Hoey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Ugandan Government on the reported violations of human rights which continue to occur in the Teso region of Uganda.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We have already raised these reports with the Ugandan Government, who are committed to upholding human rights standards.

  German Unification
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on implications for the United Kingdom of German unification; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The unification of Germany will have important consequences for the United Kingdom, for our partners in the EC and NATO, and for others. There will be discussions on all these questions in the appropriate fora, including, as has just been agreed in Ottawa, a meeting between the four powers and the two Germanies.

  South Africa
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement setting out the EEC agreed sanctions against South African trade; and if Her Majesty's Government have any entitlement to cancel any of these measures unilaterally.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The following measures adoped by EC partners relate to trade with South Africa:

  —A rigorously controlled embargo on exports of arms and para-military equipment to South Africa.

  —A rigorously controlled embargo on imports of arms and para-military equipment from South Africa.

  —The cessation of oil exports to South Africa.

  —The cessation of exports of sensitive equipment destined for the police and armed forces of South Africa.

  —The prohibition of all new collaboration in the nuclear sector.

  —A ban on imports of certain South African gold coins.

  —A ban on certain new investment in South Africa.

  —A ban on the import of iron and steel.

  Certain of these measures were enacted by the European Communities under the Community treaties, whereas others amongst them were adoped by the member states outside the Community treaties as such. As my hon. Friend will be aware, we are in consultation with our European partners on the question whether the various measures continue to make good sense in the light of the most recent developments in South Africa which, it will be clear, respond directly to the actions for which the Twelve have called since 1986.

  If we fail to reach agreement, the Government must reserve the right to act on their own if necessary.

ENERGY

  Nuclear Energy
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the future relationship between Nuclear Electric and Nirex.
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  Mr. Baldry
  Upon vesting, the CEGB's 42·5 per cent. shareholding in UK Nirex Ltd. will be transferred to Nuclear Electric.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has concerning the proportion of the unit cost of nuclear electricity that is allocated to waste management and decommissioning in France and the United Kingdom, respectively.

  Mr. Baldry
  Direct comparisons between France and the United Kingdom cannot be made because nuclear power is generated in each country by different reactor types which have different waste management and decommissioning requirements.

  Nuclear Power Stations
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to establish a special Government fund to cover the decommissioning costs of nuclear power stations, to be filled by annual payments from the operators of nuclear power stations.

  Mr. Baldry
  No. Financial provision for decommissioning costs is a management matter for the operators of nuclear power stations.

  Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to require all electricity bills to specify that amount which is directly attributable to the non-fossil fuel obligation.

  Mr. Baldry
  No.

  Nuclear Waste Disposal
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what financial arrangements are being made for the disposal costs of the low-level and intermediate-level wastes produced at Sellafield due to the reprocessing of nuclear fuel rods.

  Mr. Baldry
  Under the terms of contracts which BNFL has for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel the costs of disposing of the vast majority of low and intermediate level wastes arising fall to BNFL's customers. BNFL makes provision in its accounts for those costs which do not fall to customers.

  BNFL (Contracts)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if, pursuant to his reply of 2 February to the hon. Member for Newport, West,Official Report, column 385, he will set out details of (a) the disaggregated contracts making up the £80 million fuel services, (b) the disaggregated details of the contracts making up the 80 per cent. of additional capacity for overseas customer use of THORP and (c) the details of each export contract requiring the approval of the Secretary of State under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.

  Mr. Baldry
  The export contracts awarded to British Nuclear Fuels plc within the past two years were for:
  329

  £ million

  Uranium processing services

  12

  Uranium enrichment services

  46

  Consultancy services, design and engineering work; technology

  9

  Spent fuel transport services

  13

  80

  Orders for additional reprocessing in THORP have been secured from the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

  Approvals under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 are given at the time of shipment rather than when contracts are awarded. The details are commercially confidential.

  Nuclear Services Group
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dotson),(Official Report, 5 February, columns 454–56), he will set out the date on which the contract was issued to Nuclear Services Group to advise the Secretary of State on decommissioning costs in regard to electricity industry privatisation; when the report, or reports were received by him from Nuclear Services Group; what was the total costs of the consultancy contract; and if he will place a copy of the report in the Library.

  Mr. Baldry
  The contract was awarded on 10 April 1989 and the report was received on 16 May 1989. The report considers BNFL's estimates of its decommissioning costs. The cost and content of the report are commercially confidential.

  Electricity Prices
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will carry out consultations to establish the degree of disadvantage which higher electricity prices create for significant exporting industries.

  Mr. Baldry
  Privatisation will create a market in which large users can seek competing bids for supply. To give them time to do so, the Government have asked the electricity industry to offer customers taking more than 1 MW a real price freeze for one year. It would be premature to conclude that such users will face higher prices thereafter.

  Wind Power
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consideration he has given to the application submitted by AEA Technology to undertake a wind power feasibility study in the north of Scotland.

  Mr. Peter Morrison
  As part of its review of renewable energy technologies, my Department carries out regional resource studies. One of these will be a study to examine the potential wind energy resource in Caithness and Sutherland and this will form part of a wider review of the wind energy resource for the United Kingdom as a whole.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of Slate for Energy whether any changes will be made to his Department's cash limits or running costs limits for 1989–90.

  Mr. Wakeham
  [pursuant to his reply, 26 January 1990, Official Report, col. 904]: The cash limit for class VI, vote 6 relating to expenditure on the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in England and Wales has been reduced by £14,000,000 from £30,000,000 to £16,000,000. This change reflects reductions in expenditure on the expenses of privatising the electricity supply industry in 1989–90 resulting from the delay in the vesting which I announced in September last year, and the consequent delay in the flotation of the area boards and the generating companies.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Libel Law
  Mr. John Garrett
  To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has to implement the 1977 Faulks committee report's recommendations that the defence of innocent dissemination in libel law, now available to booksellers, be extended to the printer.

  The Attorney-General
  My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor intends to issue a consultation paper inviting views on proposals to deal with the problems of those who use advanced technology and innocently disseminate defamatory materials. This is one of a number of proposals relating to defamation which will be announced today.

  Incitement to Murder
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the criteria used by the prosecution authorities in deciding whether action should be taken over incitement to murder; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  The criteria set out in the code for crown prosecutors, issued under section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, are applied in all prosecutions considered by the crown prosecution service. The criteria require that there is sufficient evidence to afford a realistic prospect of a conviction, and the public interest requires a prosecution in the circumstances.

  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Attorney-General what representations have been received by the prosecution authorities in the last year regarding incitement to murder calls against Mr. Rushdie.

  The Attorney-General
  In March 1989 the Director of Public Prosecutions instructed all chief crown prosecutors to refer to him all correspondence relating to any possible offence of incitement to murder Mr. Rushdie. Over the last year the crown prosecution service has received or had referred to it letters from a total of 39 correspondents in respect of alleged death threats against Mr. Salman Rushdie.

  Additionally, three police reports have been received concerning instances of alleged threats.

  Liverpool County Court
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Attorney-General what action is being taken in response to complaints lodged with the circuit administrator at Manchester against the conduct of the chief clerk at Liverpool county court; what action is under consideration; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  Complaints against the conduct of employees of the Lord Chancellor's Department always receive careful consideration from senior officers. Each complaint has been considered and the conduct of the chief clerk of Liverpool county court has been reviewed; no further action is considered necessary.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the total number of complaints lodged with the circuit administrator at Manchester against the conduct of the current chief clerk at Liverpool county court; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  Since 1 February 1989, some 82 complaints by the firm of E. Rex Makin & Co. have been lodged with the circuit administrator specifically referring to the conduct of the chief clerk of Liverpool county court.

  Defamation
  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the Attorney-General whether the Government have completed their review of defamation.

  The Attorney-General
  The Government have examined current issues and complaints relating to the law of defamation and have found that there are justified criticisms principally concerning the way in which the law of defamation operates in practice. The Government now propose the following series of reforming measures.

  The powers of the Court of Appeal to review the awards of civil juries, particularly in defamation cases, are not adequate. Even if the Court of Appeal considers that a jury award is excessive or inadequate it can only substitute its own award if both parties agree. Otherwise it is limited to ordering a new trial, which involves further delay and expense to the parties. It is therefore proposed to empower the Court of Appeal itself, in cases where it can now order a retrial, to substitute for the sum awarded by the jury such sum as appears to the Court of Appeal to be proper. This will be done by enlarging the existing statutory powers of the Rule Committee.

  The present rules and practice for pleadings in defamation cases have been criticised as being unnecessarily complex, and adding to the difficulty and cost of preparing and conducting litigation. The Lord Chancellor is to invite the Supreme Court Procedure Committee to examine the rules and practice, and to propose reforms. The committee is a body of judges and practitioners which was established in 1982 to make recommendations in relation to Supreme Court practice and procedure.

  A plaintiff who is considering whether or not to accept a payment into court needs to know whether the judge will give him an opportunity to make a statement in open court which will clear his name. As a result of a recent change in the rules, a plaintiff can now apply to the judge for approval of a proposed statement before accepting a payment in.

  Once the problem of complexity has been tackled the Lord Chancellor will wish to consider providing for some
  332
  categories of defamation cases to be heard in the county court, with a view to reducing delay and cost and ensuring the most appropriate use of judicial resources.

  The Lord Chancellor intends to issue two consultation papers inviting views on proposals to modify specific aspects of the substantive law of defamation. These papers will deal with the problems of those who use advanced technology and innocently disseminate defamatory materials, and the problems which arise when a party to defamation proceedings has died.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Visible Trade
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the United Kingdom's visible trade balance in 1989.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The latest estimate is for a visible trade deficit of £23 billion in 1989.

  Inflation
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the current inflation rates in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) other Group of Seven countries.

  Mr. Lilley
  The inflation rate in other G7 countries, all but one of which exclude mortgage interest payments from the index, was 4·2 per cent. On a comparable basis the United Kingdom inflation rate was 6·1 per cent. in December 1989.

  Mr. Bell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many other European Community countries have a higher inflation rate than the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Ryder
  Four EC countries have higher inflation rates than the United Kingdom when estimates of home owners' costs are excluded so as to bring the published figures on to a more comparable basis.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current rate of inflation.

  Mr. Andrew MacKay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current level of inflation.

  Mr. Ryder
  The all-items annual rate of inflation as measured by the RPI is 7·7 per cent. The underlying rate, excluding mortgage interest payments, is 6·1 per cent.

  Family Expenditure
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the effect on a married man with a wife who is not working and two children who has a £37,500 mortgage and earns £15,000 a year if(a) mortgage rates are cut by 2 per cent. and (b) if 2p is cut off the standard rate of tax.

  Mr. Ryder
  The estimated effects of these changes would be(a) a reduction in annual mortgage interest payments, net of basic rate tax relief, of £600 and (b) a reduction in income tax of £212·50.

  Child Poverty Action Group
  Mr. Benn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met representatives of the Child Poverty Action Group to discuss taxation.

  Mr. Major
  I refer the right hon. Member to the reply that I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Clwyd, South-West (Mr. Jones).

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met representatives of the Child Poverty Action Group to discuss taxation.

  Mr. Lilley
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given earlier today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Clwyd, South-West (Mr. Jones).

  Bank of England
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the Governor of the Bank of England; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Ryder
  My right hon. Friend meets the Governor of the Bank of England from time to time to discuss a variety of matters.

  Take-home Pay
  Mr. Moss
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the growth in real take-home pay of a married man with two children on male average earnings during the 1980s.

  Mr. Lilley
  A married man on average male earnings with two children enjoyed an increase in real take-home pay of over 26 per cent. between 1979–80 and 1989–90.

  Interest Rates
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the current level of interest rates.

  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current level of interest rates.

  Mr. Ryder
  Bank base rates are 15 per cent.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the current short-term interest rates in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) West Germany.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the current short-term interest rates in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) West Germany.

  Mr. Ryder
  I refer the hon. Members to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett) on 15 February.

  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the current short-term interest rates in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) West Germany.

  Mr. Ryder
  On 14 February three-month interbank rates were 15·1 per cent in the United Kingdom and 8·5 per cent. in Germany.
  334
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from Scottish industry and other business interests about interest rate policy.

  Mr. Siliars
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from Scottish industry and other business interests about interest rate policy.

  Mr. Ryder
  My right hon. Friend has received a number of such reperesentations.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for reducing interest rates this year.

  Mr. Ryder
  There will be no early relaxation of policy. Interest rates will remain high for some time to come.

  Tax Office
  Mr. Trotter
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to transfer offices of the Inland Revenue and the Customs and Excise from London and the south-east to the northern region.

  Mr. Lilley
  The Inland Revenue plans to open new offices in Sunderland and Middlesbrough, taking in total 420 posts from London.

  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to merge the offices of collectors and inspectors of taxes.

  Mr. Lilley
  As reported in the Inland Revenue management plan for the next three years, published today, it has been decided that the time is now ripe to consider whether greater operational efficiency and improved service to taxpayers could be obtained by bringing together the work of local collectors and inspectors of taxes. With Ministers' approval, the board is studying all the implications, and planning experiments both to test the concepts involved and to establish the likely benefits to the Department and to taxpayers. Details of these experiments will be announced when this preliminary work is further advanced.

  European Monetary System
  Ms. Quin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from business in relation to British membership of the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system.

  Mr. Ryder
  My right hon. Friend and I have received a number of representations.

  Mr. Doran
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what realignments there have been within the past 12 months of currency levels within the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system.

  Mr. Ryder
  In the last 12 months, there has been one realignment of the exchange rate mechanism on 8 January 1990, involving a narrowing of the lira's margin of fluctuation from ©6 per cent. to 2¼ per cent.

  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average inflation rate of countries participating in the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system.
  335
  Mr. Major
  Using data which exclude estimates of owner-occupier housing costs to provide figures on a more comparable basis, the average inflation rate of countries in the exchange rate mechanism of the EMS was 4·2 per cent. in November 1989.

  Crown Estates
  Mr. Kennedy
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the First Crown Estates Commissioner; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Major
  My predecessor met the First Crown Estates Commissioner on 12 July 1989. Their discussion covered chiefly the Crown Estate Office's performance in 1988–89 and the forward programme.

  Public Expenditure
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any allocations have been made from the contingency reserve since the publication of the public expenditure White Paper.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any allocations have been made from the contingency reserve since the public expenditure White Paper.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  Claims on the reserve have been, and will continue to be, announced after they are agreed.

  Capital Flows
  Mr. Lofthouse
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the short-term capital flows into the United Kingdom in 1989.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  It is not meaningful to distinguish between short-term and long-term capital flows.

  Gross National Product
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average growth of gross national product in the United Kingdom for the last four years for which figures are available; and what it was between 1977 and 1979.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  Over the four years ending 1988, the average annual rate of growth of United Kingdom gross national product, at constant factor cost, was 4·0 per cent. compared with 3·1 per cent. from 1977 to 1979.

  Group of Seven
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last attended a meeting of the Group of Seven finance Ministers; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mr. Ryder
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave him on 18 January, at column 345.

  Confederation of British Industry
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the Confederation of British Industry; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor last met the CBI at the meeting of the National 336
  Economic Development Council on 10 January. The Council discussed various papers on the outlook for the economy, the plastics processing industry, and the Government's higher education policies.

  Football
  Mr. Ashton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total income the Exchequer received from tax on football pools and value added tax on football gate receipts, transfers and other commercial activities of the Football League clubs.

  Mr. Ryder
  Pool betting duty receipts in 1988–89 were £279 million. Information is not available on the value added tax collected from football gate receipts, transfers and other commercial activities of the Football League clubs.

  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue is received per year from football and football pools.

  Mr. Lilley
  Details of revenue received in direct taxes from football clubs, players and staff are not available separately from other income tax and corporation tax revenue. For details of indirect taxes, I refer to the answer given earlier today by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Ashton).

  Taxation
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will institute a review of the impact of the taxation system on the environment.

  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to shifting the burden of taxation from production to consumption.

  Mr. Lilley
  I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.

  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the need to reform the taxation of savings; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lilley
  I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.

  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to introduce a substantial increase in investment tax allowances for manufacturing industry.

  Mr. Major
  I cannot anticipate my Budget statement.

  Northern Region
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the economy in the northern region.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The Government's economic policies have created the conditions for greatly increased prosperity in the northern region. The fall in the unemployment rate over the last year has been one of the fastest in the United Kingdom.

  Civil Service Catering
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed by the Civil Service catering organisation.

  Mr. Ryder
  As at 1 February 1990, the Civil Service catering organisation employed 1,250 staff including 1,024 industrial civil servants of whom 823 were part-time employees.

  Customs and Excise
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state any convenient figures he has for the numbers of Customs and Excise personnel qualified to discriminate between legal and illegal imports of listed flora and fauna, rain-forest birds and reptiles.

  Mr. Ryder
  All staff employed on Customs control are trained to be alert to the possibility of illegal imports of endangered species of flora and fauna. Where this is suspected and the identification of particular specimens is required, qualified experts in the appropriate field are called upon to advise Customs.

  Economic Growth
  Mr. Barry Porter
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his Department's latest estimates for economic growth for 1990; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Franks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his latest estimates for economic growth in Britain in 1990; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The latest forecast for GDP growth in 1990 is 1¼ per cent. as published in the Autumn Statement.

  Savings
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the total interest paid on savings in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Ryder
  Payments to the personal sector of dividends and interest on financial assets of all kinds amounted to £35·1 billion in 1986, £38·1 billion in 1987 and £45·4 billion in 1988. These figures are gross of tax. They include income on savings in the form of equity in life assurance and pension funds, and may be found in table 3.7 of the United Kingdom National Accounts "Blue Book" or on the CSO databank which is accessible through the Library.

  Child Care
  Mrs. Currie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will outline the tax concessions which are available to working mothers receiving benefits in kind in the form of subsidies for child care from their employers.

  Mr. Lilley
  Employees earning less than £8,500 a year are not normally subject to tax on subsidised child care. Employers can qualify for tax relief on day-to-day expenditure on all forms of child care provision for their employees' children. Tax relief is also available for certain capital expenditure on child care facilities.

  Third World Debt
  Mr. Galloway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current policy of the Inland Revenue in relation to the tax treatment of United Kingdom banks which make provision against Third world debt.

  Mr. Lilley
  The Inland Revenue operates the test laid down by law. This provides tax relief to the extent that the principal is estimated to be irrecoverable.

  Personal Equity Plans
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the impact of personal equity plans.

  Mr. Lilley
  Since its start in 1987, the personal equity plan scheme has proved very successful. By the end of 1989, nearly 700,000 plans had been started, with a total initial investment of more than £1·4 billion. More than 300 financial intermediaries now act as plan managers.

  Labour Costs
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes there have been in labour costs in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) West Germany over the past five years.

  Mr. Ryder
  Data on unit labour costs in manufacturing in the United Kingdom and West Germany are published in the CSO's Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics.

  Charities
  Mr. Cyril D. Townsend
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was raised by the Exchequer, in each of the last three financial years, through value added tax on charities.

  Mr. Ryder
  There is no comprehensive information available on the subject but it is estimated that charities pay between £150 million and £200 million in value added tax each year.

  Narcotics Seizures
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the trend of seizures of narcotics in ports and airports.

  Mr. Ryder
  Her Majesty's Customs and Excise provisional figures for 1989 show substantial increases in the numbers and quantities of seizures of the major drug types.

  The overall number of seizures shows an increase of some 40 per cent. while increases by weight were of the order of 40 per cent. for heroin, 50 per cent. for cocaine, and 130 per cent. for cannabis resin in 1989 as compared with 1988.

  There is a continuing underlying trend for seizures of drugs consigned from or routed through other EC' countries to represent a substantial proportion of total seizures. In 1989 they amounted to approximately 40 per cent. of the total weight seized.

  Civil Service Staff
  Mr. Grocott
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total size of the Civil Service(a) in 1979, (b) in 1984 and (c) in 1989.

  Mr. Ryder
  Civil Service staff numbers for the years in question were as follows:

  Number

  1 April 1979

  732,275

  1 April 1984

  623,972

  1 April 1989

  569,215

  Sewing Thread (Imports)
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in releasing Mr. Ashok Gosai's consignment of sewing thread from Felixstowe dock held in container No. GSTU3182901/20ft/1854556; and when he expects it to be released.

  Mr. Ryder
  Customs have withheld release of the goods as they were found to have been incorrectly declared and were prohibted to be imported without a Department of Trade and Industry import licence. Release of the goods will be considered by Customs as soon as these outstanding matters have been resolved.

  Private Security Firms
  Mr. George
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the names of all the private security firms currently employed by his Department, the number of employees for each firm on the contract, the total value of each contract and the total value of all contracts for each financial year since 1984–85.

  Mr. Ryder
  The Treasury employs one private security firm, Trafalgar Security Ltd., at Jameson house only. The cost is £4,900 per annum and involves part-time employment of one person.

  This function was previously undertaken by Group 4 at a cost of £2,600 per annum, also involving part-time use of one member of staff.

  The Group 4 contract started in September 1987. Group 4 was replaced by Trafalgar in April 1989. Prior to September 1987 the security was provided by guards employed by Her Majesty's Treasury.

  Public Sector Borrowing
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the levels of public sector borrowing or debt repayment in 1969 and 1978 and the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ryder
  There was a debt repayment of £0·6 billion in 1969–70, borrowing of £9·2 billion in 1978–79 and a debt repayment of £14·4 billion in 1988–89.

  At 3 per cent.of GDP, last year's debt repayment was the largest ever recorded. A further substantial debt repayment is expected this year.

  Banking Services
  Mr. Allan Stewart
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to publish the Government's detailed response to the report of the review committee on banking services.

  Mr. Ryder
  The Government are considering the review committee's report and intend to give their detailed responses shortly.

  Personal Debt
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average level of personal debt per adult in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Ryder
  In 1989 the average level of personal debt in the United Kingdom was approximately £7,870 per adult.

  Information Technology
  Mr. Haselhurst
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the progress with the Government's plans for the future provision and management of their voice and data administrative telecommunications traffic.

  Mr. Ryder
  In March 1989 my right hon. Friend the then Paymaster General announced a collaborative study to identify possible options for aggregating Government voice telecommunications and integrating voice and data traffic. That study has been completed. It has concluded that it would be beneficial to the Government to proceed towards a private integrated digital network, to be known as the Government Telecommunications Service (GTS).

  The study also concluded that such a network could be developed by building on the present Government Data Network (GDN). This is managed by Racal Data Networks Limited, and the contract for its operation envisages the possibility of such expansion and enhancement into an integrated network. Negotiations are therefore being opened with RDNL to see whether it can satisfactorily supply such an integrated service. If this approach is adoped, value for money would be secured by requiring that the provision of the supporting products and services for such a network, which form the major part of the value of the contract, would be let by RDNL on a sub-contract basis through competitive tender, in line with the Government's public purchasing policies.

  Once these negotiations have been concluded, their outcome will be announced.

  A summary of the statement of requirements for a Government Telecommunications Service, the Requirements Overview, has been placed in the Library.

  EC Economic and Finance Council
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest meeting of the European Community's Economic and Finance Council.

  Mr. Ryder
  The ECOFIN Council met in Brussels on 12 February. I represented the United Kingdom. The revised Financial Regulation which sets the rules for implementing the European Community Budget was agreed and will be adopted shortly. There was an initial discussion of the
  341
  procedures for multilateral surveillance of member states' economies during stage one of EMU. Further discussion will be held at a future ECOFIN.

  It was agreed that a medium term loan facility for up to five years should be made available to Hungary for the ECU equivalent of $1 billion. The Community has decided to invite other industrial countries to associate themselves with this facility. The first tranche of this loan will be the ECU equivalent of $400 million and will be available once a stand-by arrangement has been agreed with the International Monetary Fund. This first tranche will be guaranteed by the Community budget and a supplementary budget will soon be adopted to provide this guarantee.

  Finally, the Council took note of a statement by the Commission urging early agreement to three tax measures which have been designed to encourage cross border co-operation in tax affairs.

  Public Works Loan Board
  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the arrangements for lending to local authorities by the public works loan board in the forthcoming financial year.

  Mr. Major
  Every year the PWLB Commissioners, after consultation with the Treasury, determine loan quotas for each authority. Borrowing within these quotas is at very fine rates set by the Treasury. Additional loans may be made in specific circumstances at higher ("non quota A" and "non quota B") rates.

  In recent years the Commissioners have, however, as a matter of course, made advances additional to the normal quotas available at quota rates. This was done with the agreement of the Treasury in order to assist in the management of the money markets. At present, however, local authorities are, in total, investing very substantial sums of money with the banking sector, whilst at the same time borrowing large sums from the PWLB. The combined effect of this is to cause difficulties in the management of the money markets. The Government therefore believe that it is now desirable to curtail the availability of funds from the PWLB at quota rates.

  The PWLB Commissioners have reviewed the quota arrangements for the financial year 1990–91 and have today issued a circular (number 89) indicating that the quota entitlement for each authority will be:
  75 per cent. of its net reckonable capital payments made during 1990–91; plus
  4 per cent. of its net reckonable debt incurred for capital purposes, being the total amount outstanding less the total sums held in financial investments on 31 March 1990.
  There will be no minimum quota entitlement. The normal arrangements by which loans may be made under the non quota A and non quota B facilities will, however, continue to operate. Local authorities' ability to borrow in the market will not be affected.

  With effect from today the Commissioners will no longer be prepared, as a matter of course, to make loans available in addition to the quota and at quota rates.

  In order to limit the level of borrowing in the remainder of this financial year, the Commissioners have also decided to restrict advances within quota from the date of the circular to 31 March 1990, to not more than one tenth of each authority's quota for the current financial year.

  The Commissioners will be prepared to consider requests from local authorities for advances additional to normal quotas at quota rates where the changes listed
  342
  above will cause an authority exceptional difficulties, for example where it faces unusually high levels of maturing debt. The decision will be for the Commissioners, but I understand that, in deciding whether to make an advance, they will take into consideration, along with other factors, the level of the authority's investments and that the Commissioners are unlikely to be prepared to agree to an advance if, and to the extent that, it appears to them that these investments could be used instead.

  An authority wishing to borrow from the board in addition to quota may also apply for non quota B loans. The Commissioners will continue to be prepared to consider applications for such advances where it can be demonstrated that additional capital finance is needed in the relatively near future. The rate of interest on non quota B loans is currently I per cent. above non quota A loans. From 1 April 1990 I have decided that the rate of interest on non quota B loans will be 2 per cent. above the rate of interest on quota loans.

  At present the interest rate on quota loans is set at the lowest possible level consistent with the constraints of the 1968 National Loans Act. I have decided that for the future this fine rate will no longer be appropriate. Quota rates will therefore be gradually increased so that they are closer to, but still below, market rates. This will be done by maintaining PWLB rates when general interest rates fall.

  Premium Bonds
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average value of the purchases of premium bonds in the six months before the change in the minimum purchase to £100 and the period since then in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the total for the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Ryder
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: In the six months prior to the change in the minimum purchase, the average value of a premium bond purchase was £142. In the six months following the change, the average was £338. Separate figures are not available for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Company Visits
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits were made to Northern Ireland in 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89 by companies seeking to invest in Northern Ireland; and what were the locations visited and number of times visited, itemised by parliamentary constituency.

  Mr. Needham
  The number of visits made by companies considering investment in Northern Ireland during the financial years 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89 was 157, 176, and 159 respectively. The locations visited within Northern Ireland and the number of visits made to each location are detailed by district council area in the table. In many instances, particularly on repeat visits to Northern Ireland for detailed discussions with the Industrial Development Board, visits have been confined to IDB house.

  Information in the form requested ie by parliamentary constituency is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
  343

  Number of visits to locations within Northern Ireland by companies considering investment

  District council area

  1986–87

  1987–88

  1988–89

  Antrim

  15

  28

  36

  Ards

  4

  1

  2

  Armagh

  —

  3

  1

  Ballymena

  3

  3

  8

  Ballymoney

  2

  —

  5

  Banbridge

  1

  1

  1

  Belfast

  44

  47

  50

  Carrickfergus

  16

  12

  9

  Castlereagh

  9

  1

  9

  Coleraine

  5

  3

  5

  Cookstown

  1

  1

  —

  Craigavon

  14

  5

  9

  Down

  3

  1

  3

  Dungannon

  3

  3

  3

  Fermanagh

  1

  5

  3

  Larne

  11

  7

  6

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  12

  10

  12

  Londonderry

  5

  12

  10

  Magherafelt

  1

  1

  1

  Moyle

  6

  1

  1

  Newry and Mourne

  5

  5

  4

  Newtownabbey

  10

  18

  22

  North Down

  19

  11

  10

  Omagh

  —

  —

  2

  Strabane

  —

  1

  2

  Totals

  190

  180

  214

  Grants
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will instruct the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland, in future, to publish details of grant assistance made available to companies and in each case state the percentage of the total project cost of the grant assistance made available.

  Mr. Needham
  Since the termination of "British Business" which contained information on grant assistance offered to NI companies, the Industrial Development Board has been considering ways of publishing this information. However, information on particular project costs will remain commercially confidential.

  "Making Belfast Work"
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the breakdown by company and amount of the £50·5 million selective financial assistance offered in 1988–89 by the Industrial Development Board to companies in and immediately adjacent to the "Making Belfast Work" areas.

  Mr. Needham
  The information requested is as follows:

  £ million

  Montupet (UK) Ltd.

  32·0

  Ford Motor Co. Ltd.

  7·06

  Stewarts Supermarkets Ltd.

  3·8

  BS Tooling Ltd.

  5·6

  Wm. Ross and Co. Ltd.

  1·6

  Bass Packaging Ltd.

  0·054

  Blackstaff Textiles Ltd.

  0·09

  Delta Enfield Cables Ltd.

  0·257

  Local Initiative Areas
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for designating the parliamentary constituencies of South Down and West Belfast as Industrial Development Board areas of local initiative on the same basis as Carrickfergus and Derry district council areas.

  Mr. Needham
  I have recently agreed that the IDB should lead a special development initiative for the areas of South Down and South Armagh. Work is already progressing on the "Making Belfast Work" initiative and the constituency area of West Belfast is included in that initiative.

  London-Stranraer Rail Service
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received about the withdrawing of the overnight Stranraer-London and London-Stranraer train services from May 1990.

  Mr Peter Bottomley
  A number from several Members of Parliament and the chairman of Northern Ireland Railways Ltd.

  Fire Authority
  Rev. Wiliam McCrea
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Northern Ireland Fire Authority lodged a valid appeal to the county court in the case of Kerr v Northern Ireland Fire Authority.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  This is a matter for the fire authority. The chairman has informed us that the authority decided to withdraw the appeal.

  Queen's University
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken by the senate of the Queen's university of Belfast to ensure that the current imbalances in employment practices will be rectified.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Queen's university of Belfast is an autonomous institution with its own charter and statutes; recruitment and employment practices are entirely a matter for the university authorities.

  I am aware, however, that various initiatives are to be undertaken as a result of the recent Fair Employment Agency report. These include the appointment of an administrative officer with special responsibilities for equal opportunities, and a review of the university's job advertising, recruitment and promotion procedures.

  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken by the senate of the Queen's university of Belfast to ensure that the current imbalances in acceptances of undergraduates will be rectified.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The admissions policy of Queen's university is entirely a matter for the university authorities. I am unaware of any particular imbalance in the acceptance of undergraduates.

  Supplies (Purchase)
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will take steps to make the purchase of supplies for the public service from suppliers in the Irish Republic in instances where the same goods are available less expensively in Northern Ireland a matter for which chief executives in the public service may be surcharged.

  Mr. Cope
  The Government have continually promoted the need for good purchasing practice, fair competition and value for money in the public sector in Northern Ireland. If the hon. Member wishes to give me details of the instances where such practices as he described have occurred, I will consider passing them to the appropriate audit authorities.

  Community Relations Council
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the current circumstances of the Community Relations Council for Northern Ireland.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The establishment of the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council was formally announced on 4 January 1990. To date, a director, Dr. Mari Fitzduff, and three development officers have been appointed. Twenty-two places on the council have been filled out of a possible 24, and the remaining two places are expected to be filled by the council within the next few months. The council has met twice a nd is presently considering its organisational structure and its development strategy. It will probably publish a strategy paper after Easter. The council hopes to open new offices in Belfast by mid-February.

  Limavady Bypass
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has yet completed his economic assessment for the Limavady bypass; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: The economic assessment of the proposed Limavady bypass is expected to take a further three months to complete. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the results at that time.

  Student Unions
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he takes to determine whether the accounts of student unions are properly audited; and what legislation governs the auditing and publication of such accounts.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: None. The auditing of student union accounts is the responsibility of university authorities who employ external auditors for this purpose.

  There is no specific legislation in Northern Ireland which governs the audit of student union accounts.

  Kincora Boys' Home
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library a copy of the Royal Ulster Constabulary forensic report on Mr. Colin Wallace's memorandum of 8 November 1974 dealing with the Kincora boys' hostel.

  Mr. Brooke
  [holding answer 8 February 1990]: No. It is not the practice to publish police documents or reports of this kind where no prosecution is impending.

  Missile Testing
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals have been made to establish a missile testing establishment at the Shorts site under construction at Lough Mann, situated on the Downpatrick/Ballynahinch road in South Down.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]: No proposals have been made to the Department of the Environment (NI) for such an establishment.

  RUC Inquiry
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State far Northern Ireland, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North, of 6 February, why and in what circumstances it was decided it would not be productive to mount a separate inquiry in an attempt to identify the individual or individuals alleged by Sir John Hermon to be leaking information from the inquiry by the Greater Manchester police into the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

  Mr. Brooke
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]: The content and circumstances of discussions within Government leading up to the decison are confidential. I have nothing to add to my earlier reply.

SCOTLAND

  Storm Damage
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the aid which will be available in Tayside following the damage caused by the recent storms and floods.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  We are still receiving reports of recent storm and flood damage. Scottish Office finance circular No. 4/1990 issued on 8 February reminded local athorities of the Bellwin scheme under which the Government may give special financial assistance if they consider that an emergency situation has arisen in which an undue financial burden has fallen on a community. Circular No. 6/1989 which contained full details of the scheme was sent to all authorities on 28 April 1989.

  Authorities have been advised that if they consider that Bellwin applies in relation to the relevant flooding they should give details to the Scottish Office as soon as. possible.

  My hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State is visiting some of the affected area on 14–15 February.

  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the total sums paid out from
  347
  Government funds under the Bellwin formula in Scotland for each of the last 10 years; and if he will show for each year the total sums received by each local authority.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: The Bellwin formula came into existence in 1983–84, and since then the following amounts have been paid by way of special financial assistance in Scotland:

  Year and authority

  Amount

  £

  1989–90

  Highland Regional Council

  1187,178

  Inverness District Council

  126,325

  Western Isles Islands Council

  112,652

  1 These payments represent 90 per cent, of grants amounting in total to £251,283 in respect of the floods and storms of February 1989.

  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will now review the Bellwin formula governing the sums paid out of public funds to defray costs of repairs following storm damage in Scotland to permit compensation to be paid by the Government where the works to be carried out include an element of betterment.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: I cannot support the suggested change. The Bellwin scheme is operated on a nationwide basis to ensure equal and fair treatment in emergency situations. The scheme is intended to alleviate any undue burden on authorities which have to meet exceptional expenditure in the immediate aftermath of an emergency.

  Where improvements to property to combat severe weather are thought necessary, they should be tackled within existing procedures for planning and approving expenditure programmes, preferably when new facilities are developed.

  Persons with a charge proved (excluding companies) given a custodial sentence, 1984–88

  Males

  Females

  Percentage of persons with a charge proved given a custodial sentence

  Year

  Prison

  Other1 custodial sentences

  All custodial sentences

  Prison

  Other1 custodial sentences

  All custodial sentences

  Percentage of persons with a charge proved given a custodial sentence

  1984

  8,639

  4,737

  13,376

  326

  59

  385

  7·3

  1985

  9,606

  5,377

  14,983

  460

  144

  604

  8·2

  1986

  9,312

  5,293

  14,605

  546

  194

  740

  8·3

  1987

  8,759

  4,682

  13,441

  534

  179

  713

  7·9

  1988

  9,091

  4,176

  13,267

  660

  94

  754

  7·9

  1 Includes detention in a young offenders' institution or a detention centre.

  Mr. Donald Cruickshank
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will suspend Mr. Donald Cruickshank from the inquiry into Lothian health board pending an investigation into his record as chairman of Wandsworth health authority.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  No.

  Child Abuse
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assistance his Department gives to organisations in Scotland involved in the care of adults who were victims of sexual abuse as children in terms of(a) trained staff and (b) funding.

  Prisoners
  Mr. Ernie Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prisoners in Scotland were allowed home leave at Christmas; and in which prisons they were serving their sentence.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The answer is 219, as follows:

  Establishment

  Number allowed home leave

  Aberdeen

  4

  Castle Huntly

  17

  Cornton Vale

  3

  Edinburgh

  14

  Noranside

  104

  Penninghame

  69

  Perth

  2

  Polmont

  6

  219

  Mr. Ernie Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what evidence he has as to the relationship between the likelihood of a person convicted in Scotland receiving a custodial sentence and their social background or income.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I have no evidence of any such relationship.

  Mr. Ernie Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of those convicted in Scotland were disposed of by way of a prison sentence in each year from 1985 to 1989 inclusive; and how many were(a) males and (b) females.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The available information is given in the table. The figures for 1989 are not yet available.

  Mr. Lang
  Grants for training and other purposes are provided under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to voluntary organisations which may be involved in helping adults who have been the victims of sexual abuse as children. Those organisations include Scottish Women's Aid, the Scottish Association of Victim Support, Childline and the National Children's Home which has established a new counselling service for the victims (including adults) of child sexual abuse and their families.

  Local authorities may also make grants available to local groups under the 1968 Act.

  Family Law Administration Working Party
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if his Department is represented on the family law administration working party; and if he will make a statement

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish Home and Health Department is represented on the interdepartmental group of officials which is looking at the issue of lone parents and dependency, in view of my responsibility for, notably, the law on aliment.

  Direct Labour Organsiations
  Mr. Allan Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made in the preparation of regulations relating to the competition requirements for direct labour organisations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Rifkind
  A consultation exercise on the terms of draft regulations has just been completed. I am grateful to all those who responded and have carefully considered all the comments received. In the light of representations made, I have decided to delay the introduction of these regulations for a further six months to 1 October 1990. This short deferment will be of particular assistance to the new town development corporations and to Scottish Homes which are actively pursuing the privatisation of their direct labour organisations.

  Constituency Boundaries
  Mr. Allan Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the boundary commission for Scotland intends to conduct any interim reviews of parliamentary constituencies; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Rifkind
  The boundary commission for Scotland has informed me that it intends to conduct interim reviews of 13 parliamentary constituencies under section 3 of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986. The constituencies are as follows:

  Glasgow Cathcart, Glasgow Rutherglen and Glasgow Springburn;

  Cunninghame North, Eastwood, East Kilbride, and Strathkelvin and Bearsden;

  Midlothian and Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale;

  Moray and Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber;

  Perth and Kinross and North East Fife.

  I understand that the reviews have arisen from alterations to local authority boundaries which those of the parliamentary constituencies concerned no longer follow exactly.

  Pine Martens
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will introduce statutory protection for pine martens.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 8 February 1990]: The pine marten (Martes martes) was added to schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 under the Variation of Schedules Order 1988. It is an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take any wild animal included in the schedule.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Bangladesh
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance is given to Bangladesh to help prevent or mitigate flooding.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Following the serious flooding in Bangladesh in 1988, Her Majesty's Government provided some £26 million for emergency relief, including food aid, and longer-term rehabilitation. In order to help to identify means of flood control and alleviation in future, Her Majesty's Government hosted an international conference in London on 11–12 December 1989. The conference reviewed and broadly endorsed a rolling five-year flood action plan prepared for the Bangladesh Government by the World Bank. Delegates also pledged support for the 26 activities identified in the plan.

  Of these activities, Her Majesty's Government have agreed to undertake a major regional study together with supporting studies on flood control and drainage/ agriculture, operation and maintenance and fisheries. A British team joined others in Dhaka in late January to discuss terms of reference for the studies and to undertake preliminary field visits. We also participated in a further meeting in Dhaka to consider Bangladesh's disaster preparedness plans.

  I have just had the opportunity to visit other flood protection work in the greater Dhaka area, which is partly supported by the international community. The flood protection planning is well thought through. These positive contributions will at least help to protect the Dhaka area for some years to come, until the water flow from the north can be better harnessed for agriculture and other support in the south.

  Brazil
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British forestry experts are now on Overseas Development Administration-sponsored programmes in Brazil.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The first proposed forestry projects under our memorandum of understanding with Brazil are at present awaiting approval by the Brazilian Government. We hope to receive confirmation of their agreement to one (a climate research project involving the Institute of Hydrology) later this month. Mobilisation of the British experts involved would then follow as quickly as possible.

  Somalia
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with representatives of the American, Italian, German, Russian and other Governments in order to persuade the Somali Government to create the conditions in which development aid from Britain to Somalia can be renewed and increased.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We have had contacts with a number of other interested Governments, including those to which the hon. Member refers, about the situation in Somalia. We have made clear to the Somali Government our views about the measures that need to be taken before the restoration of our aid programme can be considered.

  Romania
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response to requests for aid to Romania has been made since the change of Government in that country.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We donated a consignment of medical supplies on 24 December and several items of medical equipment since then. We are treating a number of seriously injured victims of the December fighting for major surgery, at a cost yet to be determined. In addition, as my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs announced on 7 February, we have agreed to donate 1 million disposable syringes worth £40,000. We are contributing about £5·8 million to the food aid and medical supplies packages sent or agreed so far by the EC. The British Council is supporting new projects in the cultural field at a cost of £100,000.

  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced on 22 January that the existing know-how fund for Poland and Hungary would be widened to cover other countries of eastern Europe once they are firmly committed to reform. I hope that Romania will qualify for assistance in that context.

  Cambodia
  Dr. Reid
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he intends to make further aid available to Cambodia.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Lloyd) on 22 January about the recent visit of British officials to Cambodia.

  We have agreed to co-finance eight projects with British NGOs under the joint funding scheme, for which a total of £257,000 has been committed from ODA resources. Of this sum £128,000 has been spent in the current financial year. We are also actively considering new proposals which have been submitted to us by the NGOs in response to our recent announcement that we wished to build up our humanitarian aid to Cambodia. In 1989–90 we are also providing a contribution of £250,000 to UNICEF for its programmes inside Cambodia.

  India
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the report by the Comptroller and Auditor-General on bilateral aid to India.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The Government will reply to the report of the Public Accounts Committee on the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General in the usual way by means of a Treasury minute.

  Southern Africa
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was discussed during the Minister for Overseas Development's recent visit to southern Africa.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I attended the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference's annual consultation meeting with donors in Lusaka on 1 and 2 February. I announced a new pledge of £10 million for regional projects and took part in discussions on the past and future work of the organisation. I also briefly visited Zimbabwe, where I had talks with Zimbabwean Ministers, and South Africa, where I visited the British Council and the health centre in the Alexandra township of Johannesburg.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to visit South Africa to discuss aid projects.

  Mrs. Chalker
  My right hon. Friend has no plans to visit South Africa for this purpose. I made a brief visit to Johannesburg on my way to Lusaka last month to discuss our aid to black South Africans with our project partners.

  Ethiopia
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has plans to upgrade the Government's response to the Ethiopian famine.

  Mrs. Chalker
  In my reply on 31 January,Official Report, column 189, to a question from the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd), I announced a substantial new commitment of food and emergency aid of £3.6 million in addition to commitments totalling £18.5 million in 1989. We shall continue to respond positively to the renewed threat of famine in Ethiopia.

  Eastern Europe
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff at all levels of the Overseas Development Administration worked full-time on matters concerning eastern Europe during January; how many Overseas Development Administration staff worked part-time on matters concerning eastern Europe; and approximately what percentage of their time, on average, this involved.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Bilateral assistance to eastern Europe is administered by a unit staffed jointly by the diplomatic and aid wings of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. At the end of January 1990 the unit had six full-time posts of which three were filled by staff from the Overseas Development Administration. The future staffing of the unit is currently under consideration.

  A number of other ODA staff spent part of their time on bilateral or multilateral matters concerning eastern Europe.

  For each of these staff the percentage of time so involved varies greatly on a day to day basis and could be quantified only at disproportionate expense.

  United Kingdom bilateral aid to five poorest countries in Africa 1975–1988

  £ thousand

  of which

  Total aid

  Total financial aid

  ATP

  Debt relief

  Total TC

  Mozambique—GNP per capita $100

  1975

  25

  19

  —

  —

  6

  1976

  19

  —

  —

  —

  19

  1977

  2,899

  2,863

  —

  —

  36

  1978

  5,831

  5,794

  —

  —

  37

  1979

  6,369

  5,954

  —

  —

  415

  1980

  4,629

  3,953

  —

  —

  676

  1981

  5,379

  4,417

  782

  —

  962

  1982

  1,924

  1,575

  248

  —

  346

  1983

  1,805

  1,555

  548

  —

  250

  1984

  4,182

  3,972

  318

  278

  210

  1985

  8,366

  7,605

  322

  1,112

  761

  1986

  7,424

  6,240

  118

  1,251

  1,184

  1987

  22,798

  20,658

  661

  1,251

  2,139

  1988

  30,512

  24,279

  —

  1,251

  6,233

  Ethiopia—GNP per capita $120

  1975

  2,909

  1,279

  —

  —

  1,630

  1976

  2,332

  1,191

  —

  —

  1,140

  1977

  1,726

  1,002

  —

  —

  724

  1978

  2,841

  2,293

  —

  —

  547

  1979

  2,877

  2,084

  —

  —

  793

  1980

  1,946

  1,240

  —

  —

  706

  1981

  563

  24

  —

  —

  539

  1982

  5,645

  5,242

  —

  —

  403

  1983

  3,433

  3,018

  —

  —

  415

  1984

  7,004

  6,590

  —

  121

  413

  1985

  28,058

  27,434

  —

  212

  624

  1986

  9,627

  8,587

  —

  209

  1,040

  1987

  8,554

  6,141

  —

  209

  2,412

  1988

  19,174

  14,243

  —

  209

  4,931

  Chad—GNP per capita $160

  1975

  39

  —

  —

  —

  39

  1976

  42

  —

  —

  —

  42

  1977

  696

  672

  —

  —

  25

  1978

  -97

  -138

  —

  —

  42

  1979

  45

  1

  —

  —

  45

  1980

  26

  6

  —

  —

  20

  1981

  35

  —

  —

  —

  35

  1982

  360

  303

  —

  —

  57

  1983

  156

  132

  —

  —

  24

  1984

  31

  —

  —

  —

  31

  1985

  1,448

  1,405

  —

  —

  44

  1986

  89

  57

  —

  —

  32

  Nicaragua
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the United States Government concerning the resumption of aid to Nicaragua after the results of the election are announced.

  Mrs. Chalker
  None.

  United Kingdom Aid
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a table showing annual aid, broken down into its constituent categories, given by the United Kingdom to the five poorest nations by 1990 standards in Latin America, Africa and Asia since 1975.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The most recent information on aid expenditure and the poorest countries relates to 1988. The information for the period 1975–88 is as follows:
  355

  of which

  Total aid

  Total financial aid

  ATP

  Debt relief

  Total TC

  1987

  179

  13

  —

  —

  166

  1988

  252

  145

  —

  —

  107

  Malawi—GNP per capita $160

  1975

  10,727

  7,414

  —

  —

  3,312

  1976

  16,015

  11,689

  —

  —

  4,326

  1977

  16,519

  12,090

  —

  —

  4,429

  1978

  15,979

  11,940

  —

  —

  4,039

  1979

  24,941

  19,486

  —

  1,627

  5,455

  1980

  16,543

  10,270

  —

  1,364

  6,273

  1981

  15,999

  9,809

  —

  1,615

  6,190

  1982

  16,984

  10,461

  —

  1,777

  6,523

  1983

  14,620

  7,661

  —

  1,833

  6,959

  1984

  12,959

  6,022

  —

  1,889

  6,938

  1985

  22,356

  15,871

  143

  10,265

  6,486

  1986

  15,346

  8,215

  87

  2,244

  7,131

  1987

  24,865

  16,861

  1,657

  1,874

  8,004

  1988

  46,494

  36,560

  1,410

  11,611

  9,934

  Tanzania—GNP per capita $160

  1975

  4,054

  2,025

  —

  —

  2,029

  1976

  4,440

  2,562

  —

  1,335

  1,878

  1977

  6,685

  4,260

  —

  —

  2,426

  1978

  10,363

  6,660

  —

  —

  3,703

  1979

  24,076

  17,024

  —

  517

  7,051

  1980

  32,119

  23,365

  915

  433

  8,754

  1981

  30,040

  20,699

  687

  415

  9,341

  1982

  27,328

  19,895

  —

  362

  7,434

  1983

  30,384

  23,676

  —

  362

  6,707

  1984

  33,033

  26,783

  —

  3,165

  6,251

  1985

  17,967

  11,054

  —

  362

  6,913

  1986

  12,715

  5,635

  —

  245

  7,080

  1987

  28,789

  20,489

  —

  81

  8,300

  1988

  33,502

  24,675

  —

  81

  8,827

  Bhutan—GNP per capita $150

  1975

  24

  —

  —

  —

  24

  1976

  30

  —

  —

  —

  30

  1977

  26

  —

  —

  —

  26

  1978

  42

  —

  —

  —

  42

  1979

  24

  —

  —

  —

  24

  1980

  63

  —

  —

  —

  63

  1981

  93

  —

  —

  —

  93

  1982

  74

  —

  —

  —

  74

  1983

  136

  —

  —

  —

  136

  1984

  175

  —

  —

  —

  175

  1985

  165

  —

  —

  —

  165

  1986

  187

  —

  —

  —

  187

  1987

  270

  —

  —

  —

  270

  1988

  412

  —

  —

  —

  412

  Bangladesh—GNP per capita $170

  1975

  14,296

  13,246

  —

  —

  1,050

  1976

  14,015

  12,729

  —

  —

  1,286

  1977

  21,991

  20,238

  —

  —

  1,753

  1978

  43,969

  41,097

  —

  —

  2,872

  1979

  33,821

  29,987

  —

  134

  3,835

  1980

  66,190

  60,995

  —

  31,278

  5,195

  1981

  33,383

  28,838

  4,680

  434

  4,545

  1982

  23,537

  18,864

  —

  813

  4,673

  1983

  24,728

  19,844

  —

  813

  4,884

  1984

  35,656

  26,808

  —

  885

  8,848

  1985

  41,173

  30,395

  —

  885

  10,778

  1986

  38,321

  27,400

  —

  885

  10,921

  1987

  34,842

  24,249

  —

  885

  10,593

  1988

  41,968

  24,991

  —

  885

  16,977

  Nepal—GNP per capita $170

  1975

  2,278

  1,378

  —

  —

  900

  1976

  1,749

  709

  —

  —

  1,040

  1977

  4,276

  3,021

  —

  —

  1,254

  1978

  4,401

  3,160

  —

  —

  1,241

  1979

  11,235

  9,176

  —

  181

  2,059

  1980

  6,834

  4,684

  —

  123

  2,150

  1981

  8,035

  5,718

  —

  123

  2,318

  1982

  9,596

  7,100

  —

  123

  2,496

  356 357

  of which

  Total aid

  Total financial aid

  ATP

  Debt relief

  Total TC

  1983

  7,398

  3,992

  —

  123

  3,405

  1984

  8,580

  4,862

  —

  123

  3,718

  1985

  9,675

  4,663

  —

  123

  5,012

  1986

  9,946

  4,726

  —

  123

  5,220

  1987

  10,044

  5,181

  —

  123

  4,863

  1988

  10,826

  3,871

  —

  123

  6,956

  Laos—GNP per capita $180

  1975

  858

  712

  —

  —

  146

  1976

  100

  —

  —

  —

  100

  1977

  45

  —

  —

  —

  45

  1978

  912

  890

  —

  —

  22

  1979

  29

  20

  —

  —

  9

  1980

  13

  —

  —

  —

  13

  1981

  80

  80

  —

  —

  —

  1982

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1983

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  1984

  4

  —

  —

  —

  4

  1985

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1986

  6

  —

  —

  —

  6

  1987

  64

  —

  —

  —

  64

  1988

  104

  40

  —

  —

  64

  Cambodia—GNP per capita less than $500

  1975

  66

  —

  —

  —

  66

  1976

  13

  —

  —

  —

  12

  1977

  3

  —

  —

  —

  3

  1978

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1979

  703

  703

  —

  —

  —

  1980

  486

  486

  —

  —

  —

  1981

  110

  110

  —

  110

  —

  1982

  18

  18

  —

  18

  —

  1983

  693

  693

  —

  18

  —

  1984

  18

  18

  —

  18

  —

  1985

  18

  18

  —

  18

  —

  1986

  18

  18

  —

  18

  —

  1987

  18

  18

  —

  18

  —

  1988

  118

  118

  —

  18

  100

  Haiti—GNP per capita $360

  1975

  35

  —

  —

  —

  35

  1976

  38

  —

  —

  —

  38

  1977

  20

  —

  —

  —

  20

  1978

  6

  —

  —

  —

  6

  1979

  5

  —

  —

  —

  5

  1980

  24

  10

  —

  —

  14

  1981

  4

  —

  —

  —

  4

  1982

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  1983

  19

  10

  —

  —

  9

  1984

  8

  —

  —

  —

  8

  1985

  3

  —

  —

  —

  3

  1986

  331

  325

  —

  —

  6

  1987

  7

  —

  —

  —

  7

  1988

  9

  —

  —

  —

  9

  Bolivia—GNP per capita $570

  1975

  376

  155

  —

  —

  221

  1976

  620

  138

  —

  —

  482

  1977

  1,471

  512

  —

  —

  959

  1978

  1,062

  360

  —

  —

  703

  1979

  888

  15

  —

  —

  873

  1980

  1,158

  166

  —

  —

  992

  1981

  1,052

  141

  —

  —

  911

  1982

  988

  176

  —

  —

  812

  1983

  1,199

  163

  —

  —

  1,036

  1984

  1,182

  144

  —

  —

  1,038

  1985

  1,421

  115

  —

  —

  1,305

  1986

  1,953

  200

  —

  —

  1,752

  1987

  1,748

  11

  —

  11

  1,737

  1988

  2,953

  1,190

  —

  —

  1,763

  Dominican Republic—GNP per capita $680

  1975

  25

  —

  —

  —

  25

  1976

  39

  —

  —

  —

  39

  1977

  53

  —

  —

  —

  53

  358 359

  of which

  Total aid

  Total financial aid

  ATP

  Debt relief

  Total TC

  1978

  107

  —

  —

  —

  107

  1979

  77

  —

  —

  —

  77

  1980

  144

  10

  —

  —

  134

  1981

  139

  —

  —

  —

  139

  1982

  139

  —

  —

  —

  139

  1983

  176

  —

  —

  —

  176

  1984

  61

  —

  —

  —

  61

  1985

  24

  —

  —

  —

  24

  1986

  42

  —

  —

  —

  42

  1987

  34

  —

  —

  —

  34

  1988

  114

  —

  —

  —

  114

  Nicaragua—GNP per capita $830

  1975

  398

  269

  —

  —

  129

  1976

  287

  130

  —

  —

  157

  1977

  405

  35

  —

  —

  370

  1978

  186

  10

  —

  —

  176

  1979

  246

  103

  —

  —

  142

  1980

  127

  66

  —

  —

  61

  1981

  91

  7

  —

  —

  84

  1982

  49

  13

  —

  —

  36

  1983

  64

  34

  —

  —

  30

  1984

  9

  —

  —

  —

  9

  1985

  116

  100

  —

  —

  16

  1986

  86

  83

  —

  —

  3

  1987

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1988

  180

  180

  —

  —

  —

  Honduras—GNP per capita $850

  1975

  275

  67

  —

  —

  207

  1976

  197

  61

  —

  —

  136

  1977

  598

  372

  —

  —

  226

  1978

  313

  —

  —

  —

  313

  1979

  230

  —

  —

  —

  230

  1980

  335

  18

  —

  —

  317

  1981

  5,002

  4,702

  —

  —

  300

  1982

  2,272

  2,039

  —

  —

  233

  1983

  6,670

  6,335

  —

  —

  334

  1984

  3,446

  3,090

  —

  —

  356

  1985

  3,653

  3,131

  —

  —

  522

  1986

  1,258

  771

  —

  —

  487

  1987

  811

  246

  —

  —

  565

  1988

  1,212

  615

  —

  —

  596

  Venezuela
  Mr. Conway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list for each of the past five years the sum of bilateral aid for Venezuela.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Following are the most recent available figures:

  £

  1984

  —

  1985

  1,000

  1986

  10,000

  1987

  24,000

  1988

  10,000

  Thailand
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid Her Majesty's Government are giving Thailand, directly or indirectly, related to helping protect the Tamboon Thakadan Sanam Chai Khet forest in Chachoengsao; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We have received no request for assistance for this forest.

PRIME MINISTER

  Kincora Boys' Home
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Linlithgow,Official Report, 27 November 1989, column 92, if she will place in the Library any representations she has had during 1989–90 relating to events at the Kincora boys' home.

  The Prime Minister
  No.

  President Mitterrand
  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to meet the President of France; and what matters she will then discuss.

  The Prime Minister
  I expect to meet President Mitterrand before long. As is usual, there is likely to be a wide range of issues to discuss, including developments in eastern Europe, East-West relations and European Community matters.

  German Democratic Republic
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Prime Minister if she has had any recent discussions with(a) Chancellor Kohl and (b) other European Community state leaders concerning the forthcoming general election in the German Democratic Republic; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  I last met Chancellor Kohl at the European Council in Strasbourg in December. Other EC Heads of State or Government were also present. The present timing of the GDR elections had not been fixed at that point, but we had a useful discussion of the question of German unity. This was reflected in the Council's Declaration.

  South Africa
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Prime Minister when she last spoke to President Bush about the Government's relations with South Africa.

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

  Mail
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister how many items of mail she received today; and what subjects they concerned.

  The Prime Minister
  I receive approximately 650 letters a day from members of the public covering a wide range of issues.

  Departmental Responsibilities
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Prime Minister (1) if she has any plans to absorb the Department of Energy's responsibilities within those of any other Department;

  (2) if she has any plans to review the responsibilities of the Department of the Environment; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  No.

  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will outline the division of responsibilities between Government Departments in respect of(a) air pollution, (b) sea pollution and (c) land pollution.

  The Prime Minister
  I refer the hon. Member to the Department of the Environment publication, "Protecting Your Environment—A Guide", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Pages 2 and 3 give a succinct but complete summary of the responsibilities in these areas.

  Disaster Planning
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister which Departments will be represented at the conference on disaster planning organised by the Association of Metropolitan and London Authorities, to be held in London on 15 March.

  The Prime Minister
  The Home Office will be represented.

  Crown Servants
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the reply to the Adjournment debate of 12 February,Official Report, column 118, if she will define the difference between formal and informal job descriptions for those working in Northern Ireland.

  The Prime Minister
  The Official Report quoted by the hon. Member refers only to formal and draft job descriptions, in a context which makes the meaning clear.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on informal job descriptions for Crown servants.

  The Prime Minister
  Her Majesty's Government do not have a policy on informal job descriptions for Crown servants.

  Mr. Colin Wallace
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the reply to the Adjournment debate of 12 February,Official Report, column 118, if she will identify the misunderstandings that she may unwittingly have communicated to right hon. and hon. Members about Colin Wallace.

  The Prime Minister
  I have nothing to add to my letter of 30 January to my right hon. Friend the Member for Worthing (Mr. Higgins), a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

  Engagements
  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 15 February.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 15 February.

  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 15 February.

  Mr. Lofthouse
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 15 February.

  The Prime Minister
  This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

WALES

  Welsh Language
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received to date from(a) the business sector, (b) local authorities and (c) voluntary organisations concerning the document "A Strategy For The Future of the Welsh Language", published by the Welsh Language Board.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  My right hon. Friend has received four representations from voluntary groups concerning the Welsh Language Board's strategy document. However, organisations with an interest were invited to respond to the board direct.

  Housing (Flexi-ownership)
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a further statement on the progress of his housing flexi-ownership scheme.

  Mr. Grist
  On 30 November 1989 the Development Board for Rural Wales announced that it was ready to accept applications for flexi-ownership. Since then there have been 87 firm inquiries of which 21 have become formal applications. This represents a very encouraging start.

  Health Authorities (Bonus Payments)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many senior staff in each of the district health authorities in Wales have received during the past 12 months bonuses on top of their salaries linked to cost reduction performance; and what was the total payment made last year in Wales by way of such bonuses.

  Mr. Grist
  None. The majority of top managers (including district and unit general managers) in district health authorities are employed on short-term contracts at fixed salaries with entitlement to performance related pay. Performance related pay is not given for cost-reduction performance but is aimed at rewarding those managers who are identified as consistently achieving a meritorious performance measured against pre-set objectives expressed in terms of standards of service provision. The aim is accordingly to encourage improvements in the delivery of health care services to the public.

  Overseas Visits
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the overseas countries which he has visited in his official capacity; and what were the purposes and dates of each such visit.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The information is as follows:

  Dates

  Country visited

  1987

  14 to 20 November

  Japan

  1988

  28 to 29 June

  West Germany

  4 to 8 July

  Soviet Union

  1989

  30 January to 3 February

  United States of America

  11 to 12 April

  West Germany

  24 to 30 September

  Japan and South Korea

  1990

  5 to 8 February

  Saudi Arabia

  The prime purpose of these visits was to promote trade and investment activity between Wales and the country visited.

  Bypasses
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those towns in Wales which have, during the past 15 years, had trunk road bypasses for which his Department is responsible opened to relieve traffic from their town centres.
  364
  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Communities relieved of traffic as a result of trunk road schemes completed since 1975 include:

  Bancyfelin

  Kilgetty

  Bangor

  Llanddarog

  Bodelwyddan

  Llanfairfechan

  Brecon

  Llanfair

  Bridgend

  Pwllgwyngyl

  Cardiff

  Merthyr Vale

  Castleton

  New Inn

  Caernarfon

  Northop

  Carmarthen

  Penmaenmawr

  Chepstow

  Pontardulais

  Colwyn Bay

  Pontypool

  Crosshands

  Porthyrhyd Pyle

  Dolgellau

  Quakers Yard

  Drefach

  Rossett

  Gresford

  Ruabon

  Haverfordwest

  St. Clears

  Hawarden

  Stepaside

  Holywell

  Troedyrhiw

  Litter
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what legislative provisions place responsibility on(a) county councils and (b) district councils in Wales to keep their local environments tidy from litter; whether his Department has at any time undertaken a performance audit to ascertain the effectiveness of local authority performance in this matter; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  The Litter Act 1983 defines the offence of littering, for which prosecutions may be initiated by county and district councils as litter authorities, and empowers such authorities to provide and maintain litter bins which they must empty regularly. In addition, the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 place various responsibilities on district councils in Wales to collect up and dispose of refuse.

  It is not the Department's practice to carry out performance audits of the provision of local authority services.

  Part IV of the Environmental Protection Bill, which will place a new duty on local authorities to ensure that land in their control to which the public has access is kept free of litter and refuse, will enable any local resident or group to apply to a magistrates court for an order requiring the authority concerned to clear litter which is detrimental to the amenities of the locality.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what was the total expenditure for which he is responsible of(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, during the last year where figures are available; and what proportion of expenditure was allocated to (i) administration in general, (ii) hosting of meetings and conferences, (iii) allowances for attending meetings and (iv) general allowances given to nominees on the committee;

  (2) what was the total expenditure for which he is responsible of (a) the Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee, (b) the Advisory

  365
  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, during the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of expenditure was allocated to (i) administration in general, (ii) hosting of meetings and conferences, (iii) allowances for attending meetings and (iv) general allowances given to nominees on the committee;

  (3) what was the total expenditure for which he is responsible of (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, during the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of expenditure was allocated to (i) administration in general, (ii) hosting of meetings and conferences, (iii) allowances for attending meetings and (iv) general allowances given to nominees on the committee;

  (4) what was the total expenditure for which he is responsible of (a) the Cardiff Bay development

  Proportion of net expenditure allocated to:—

  Total net expenditure 1988–89

  1. Administration in general

  2. Hosting of meetings and conferences

  3. Allowances for attending meetings

  4. General allowances to nominees on the Committee

  Outturn £000s

  per cent.

  per cent.

  per cent.

  Land Authority for Wales2

  10,491

  12

  —

  —

  —

  Place Names Advisory Panel

  1

  —

  —

  —

  100

  Rent Assessment Panel

  127

  100

  —

  —

  —

  Sports Council for Wales

  4,199

  14

  —

  —

  —

  All Wales Advisory Panel on the Development of Services for people with mental handicap Health Policy Board

  5

  —

  —

  100

  —

  Health Policy Board

  1

  —

  —

  100

  —

  Health Promotion Authority for Wales

  1,838

  40

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

  18,267

  13

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Committee for the Welsh Scheme for the Development of Health and Social Research

  367

  7

  —

  n/a

  —

  Committee on Opportunities for Volunteering

  133

  14

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  The Courts and Councils of:

  (i) National Library of Wales

  3,582

  17

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  (ii) National Museum of Wales

  11,716

  11

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Curriculum Council for Wales3

  114

  47

  n/a

  5

  n/a

  Development Board for Rural Wales2

  18,300

  13

  This information is not separately identifiable

  4—

  Forestry Commission Reference Committee—Panel for Wales

  —

  No Committees have been formed from this Panel. No expenditure has therefore been incurred.

  Historic Buildings Council for Wales

  10

  —

  —

  100

  —

  Housing for Wales/Housing Corporation in Wales

  66,891

  1

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Library and Information Services Council (Wales)

  4

  25

  —

  75

  —

  Local Government Boundary Commission

  70

  95

  —

  5

  —

  National Parks Committee

  52,796

  This information is not held centrally

  —

  Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales

  4

  —

  —

  100

  —

  Agricultural Wages Committee

  4

  75

  —

  25

  —

  Ancient Monuments Board for Wales

  4

  —

  —

  100

  —

  British Wool Marketing Board6

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1 n/a—This indicates that information is not held in the format requested.

  2 The expenditure is shown gross.

  3 Expenditure on the Curriculum Council for Wales only commenced in January 1989.

  4 In the period 1 April to 30 September actual salaries for part-time commitment paid to the Chairman and other members of the Board were £23,913 and £4,725 respectively. These rose to £24,234 and £4,790 in the period 1 October 1988 to 31 March 1989. In addition, Board members

  366
  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; and what proportion of expenditure was allocated to (i) administration in general, (ii) hosting of meetings and conferences, (iii) allowances for attending meetings and (iv) general allowances given to nominees on the committee;

  (5) what was the total expenditure of (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 during the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of expenditure was allocated in each case to (i) administration in general, (ii) hosting of meetings and conferences, (iii) allowances for attending meetings and (iv) general allowances given to nominees on the committee.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The available information on the expenditure for which I have responsibility is as follows:
  367
  were entitled to claim within an authorised scale travelling expenses incurred on the business of the Board.

  5Expenditure for which the Secretary of State is responsible is limited to the National Parks Supplementary Grant (NPSG), which is payable as a block grant. National Parks also receive funds from the relevant County Council(s) and other miscellaneous sources of income. Primary financial control is exercised by the County Council(s) since National Parks Committees are Committees of the Council(s).

  6 The Secretary of State has responsibility only in connection with setting the wool guarantee price and making loans to the British Wool Marketing Board.

  Proportion of net expenditure allocated to:—

  Total net expenditure 1988–89

  1. Administration in general

  2. Hosting of meetings and conferences

  3. Allowances for attending meetings

  4. General allowances to nominees on the Committee

  Outturn £000s

  per cent.

  per cent.

  per cent.

  District Health Authorities in Wales

  Clwyd

  109,825

  3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  East Dyfed

  66,673

  4

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Gwent

  128,749

  3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Gwynedd

  64,722

  3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Mid Glamorgan

  149,993

  3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Pembrokeshire

  26,229

  4

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Powys

  29,880

  6

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  South Glamorgan

  172,058

  3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  West Glamorgan

  114,821

  3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Family Practitioner Committees in Wales

  Clwyd

  40,566

  1

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  Dyfed

  35,775

  1

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  Gwent

  44,752

  1

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  Gwynedd

  25,627

  1

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  Mid Glamorgan

  54,022

  1

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  Powys

  12,123

  2

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  South Glamorgan

  41,741

  1

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  West Glamorgan

  38,350

  1

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  Community Health Councils in Wales

  Clwyd

  68

  91

  —

  9

  —

  East Dyfed

  63

  80

  —

  20

  —

  Gwent

  77

  92

  —

  8

  —

  Gwynedd

  70

  86

  —

  14

  —

  Mid Glamorgan

  131

  90

  —

  10

  —

  Pembrokeshire

  26

  94

  —

  6

  —

  Powys

  30

  88

  —

  12

  —

  South Glamorgan

  77

  96

  —

  4

  —

  West Glamorgan

  77

  97

  —

  3

  —

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his remarks in the Official Report, columns 990–94, on 24 January, what responses he has received from South Glamorgan, Powis, Gwynedd, Newport and Cardiff councils.

  Mr. Grist
  My right hon. Friend has received and is considering one reply from South Glamorgan county council.

  Welsh Office (25th Anniversary)
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the overall financial cost of the anniversary celebration concert at St. David's halls marking the 25th anniversary of the Welsh Office.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The concert will be held in March; the estimated cost to the Welsh Office is £9,000.

  Conductive Education
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has for developing in Wales an availability of conductive education methods for disabled children; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  The Welsh Office is associated with the commitment announced by my right hon. Friend the 368
  Minister for the Disabled to contribute towards the establishment of a new International Peto Institute. This will secure the continuing availability of conductive education in Budapest for children from all parts of the United Kingdom while building up a nucleus of trained conductors to provide this service in the United Kingdom. My right hon. Friend has no immediate plans to establish a centre for Wales. An application by Clwyd education authority, on behalf of other education and health authorities, is being considered in the Department.

  Soviet Delegation
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to ensure that the Soviet delegation which he will shortly welcome to Wales will be made aware of the customs and national identity of the Welsh people; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  I am pleased to say that in a highly successful two-and-a-half-day visit to Wales the parliamentary delegation from the Supreme Soviet was made fully aware of the customs and national identity of the Welsh people.

  Workplace Nurseries
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he is taking to encourage the establishment of workplace nurseries by Welsh employers; and if he will make a statement.
  369
  Mr. Grist
  The ministerial group on women's issues, on which the Department is represented, has been active in drawing employers' attention to the availability of tax relief on capital equipment and the running costs of workplace nurseries. Whether or not employers in Wales make such provision is a matter for their judgment.

  Child Care, Welsh Office
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what child care provision is currently made for Welsh Office employees in(a) London and (b) Cardiff.

  Mr. Grist
  The Department ran a holiday play scheme for children of staff in Cardiff last summer and plans to do so again for the Easter and summer school holidays this year. Staff in the Welsh Office London can make use of the Westminster holiday play scheme which the Cabinet Office organises.

  The Welsh Office is also looking at the possibility of providing nursery facilities for its staff in Cardiff in conjunction with other Government Departments.

  Literacy and Numeracy
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of standards of literacy and numeracy among participants in(a) YTS and (b) the employment training programme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Current figures show that the number of ET trainees with a need for literacy and numeracy training is approximately 18 per cent. Equivalent figures for YTS in Wales are not available, but there is provision for young people with literacy and numeracy problems under the arrangements for those with special needs.

  Basic Skills
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what funding is being made available in Wales for the basic skills accreditation initiative; what is the number of participants in the programme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Funding for the basic skills accreditation initiative is being provided on a United Kingdom basis by the BBC, DES through ALBSU, and the Training Agency. The Department supports the activities of ALBSU and is also supporting with education support grants the introduction of open learning centres for adults with literacy and numeracy problems the BSAI will be delivered through these centres. Although we expect a substantial number of people in Wales to take advantage of opportunities under the initiative, no details are yet available of participation rates.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has anything to add to his answer on 12 February, concerning the respects in which the responsibilities he expects employers in Wales to fulfil for collecting cash from poll tax defaulters differ from the expectations and responsibilities placed on employers in Scotland.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  Under the Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989, a370
  Welsh charging authority which has obtained a liability order from a magistrates court may make an attachment of earnings order. This is an order instructing the debtor's employer to make deductions from the debtor's earnings and pay the amounts deducted to the charging authority. The amounts to be deducted will be specified in the attachment of earnings order. The employer may deduct £1 from the debtor's earnings to cover his administrative costs in respect of each deduction. The employer is required to notify the charging authority if the debtor leaves his employment.

  The following information in relation to the position in Scotland has been given to me by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

  The enforcement methods to recover community charge debts are substantially the same as those for ordinary "private" debts. The local authority can choose either to proceed on the basis of a summary warrant or a court order obtained in a court action. Summary warrant procedure is an expedited procedure available since 1947 for the recovery of rates (and subsequently made available for the recovery of tax debts). Almost invariably, local authorities opt for summary warrant procedure. A single summary warrant application to the sheriff can cover a number of community charge debtors.

  An important difference between Scottish and English procedures for enforcement is the absence of a court role in the enforcement of Scottish court orders to recover debts, either private or public e.g. taxes. In Scotland, creditors take the initiative in instructing sheriff officers (independent contractors under the supervision of, but not in the employment of, the court) to take enforcement action against debtors. The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 abolished civil imprisonment for non-payment of rates and civil imprisonment is also not available if community charge is unpaid.

  Methods of enforcing community charge debts:

  The summary warrant authorises the use of the following diligences:

  1. An earnings arrestment (similar to the English attachment of earnings procedure).

  2. A poinding and sale (roughly comparable to the English "distraint of goods" procedure). ("Poinding" is pronounced "pinding".)

  3. An arrestment and action of forthcoming or sale. (Abolition of Domestic Rates, etc (Scotland) Act 1987 Schedule 2, Paragraph 7 as amended)

  Earnings Arrestment

  This is a new diligence introduced by the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 and is a system of continuous diligence requiring the debtor's employer to deduct a statutory fixed sum, which is related to net earnings, on each pay day until the debt is cleared. (Abolition of Domestic Rates, etc (Scotland) Act 1987, schedule 2 paragraph 7(3)(b) as amended Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, section 49 and schedule 2).

  An earnings arrestment is started by service on the employer of the prescribed form of schedule of arrestment and it remains in effect broadly until the debt is paid or the debtor leaves that employment. The form was designed to provide the employer with easy-to-follow instructions on how to operate the procedure. The employer receives from the sheriff officer a copy of the statutory deduction tables to enable him to calculate the amount to be deducted. He also receives details of the person or body to whom the payment should be made "as soon as reasonably

  371
  practicable". In addition, the employer is entitled to deduct from the employee debtor a nominal fee of 50p for each payment. (Act of Sederunt (Proceedings in the Sheriff Court under Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987) 1988, 1988 No. 2013, Paragraph 38 and Form 30)

  Poinding and Warrant Sale

  This is the method by which the debtor's moveable goods which are in his custody and control are attached, brought within the control of the court, and thereafter and, if necessary, sold with the proceeds being used to pay off the debt. (Abolition of Domestic Rates etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, schedule 2, paragraph 7(3)(a) as amended).

  Arrestment followed by an action of forthcoming or sale

  This is the method by which a creditor may attach money or goods belonging to the debtor which are in the hands of a third party.

  Thereafter the creditor and debtor may agree to the money or goods being transferred to the creditor to settle the debt or failing such agreement a court action of forthcoming or sale is necessary to authorise the transfer of the money or goods to the creditor for sale. (Abolition of Domestic Rates etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, schedule 2, paragraph 7(3)(c) as amended).

  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many councils have announced budgeted spending below their standard spending assessment.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  Welsh local authorities are currently in the process of setting their budgets for 1990–91. The information sought is therefore not yet available.

  Project 2000
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money has been invested in Project 2000 in Wales; how many students there are on the courses; how the courses are funded; and in which colleges they are held.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  The sum of £696,000 has been made available for implementation of Project 2000 in Wales in 1989–90. This includes £420,000 to prepare for implementation of which £365,000 has been allocated to DHAs to fund ad hoc schemes to launch Project 2000; and £276,000 allocated to the Welsh National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting for extra teachers and certain development and planning costs.

  Information is not held as to the resources invested by individual DHAs. It is the intention that the new courses will be introduced from autumn 1991.

  Community Charge
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what regulations he intends to lay before the House governing the standard community charge in Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  We have no plans to make further regulations on the standard community charge.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Mr. Salman Rushdie
  Mr. Allan Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police officers have been involved in the protection afforded to Mr. Salman Rushdie;
  372
  (2) what is his estimate of the cost of continuing the present special security measures for Mr. Salman Rushdie throughout the 1990–91 financial year;

  (3) what is his latest estimate of the cost of the special security measures taken for Mr. Salman Rushdie.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  It would not be proper to disclose information about police protection which would indicate its nature and scale in a particular case.

  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it remains the policy of his Department to ensure that Mr. Rushdie receives full police protection regardless of cost as long as there remains a threat to his life; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The need for protection is assessed by the police. It will continue for as long as is considered necessary, having regard to all of the circumstances.

  Iranian Citizens (Deportation)
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iranian citizens were deported from the United Kingdom on grounds of public security in the last 12 months; and what further action is to be taken against Iranian nationals in the United Kingdom suspected of acting on instructions of the Iranian regime and whose presence may present a continuing danger to public security.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  During the past 12 months, a total of 31 Iranian citizens have been served with notice of the intention to make deportation orders against them on the grounds that this would be conducive to the public good for reasons of national security; 29 of the 31 left the United Kingdom without an actual deportation order being made against them, one was deported and action on the other deportation order served has been deferred to await the outcome of current criminal proceedings.

  I am unable to give any details of any possible further action but my right hon. and learned Friend will not hesitate to use the powers vested in him under the Immigration Act to require the departure of any overseas national whom he is satisfied poses a threat to the security of this country.

  Horserace Betting Levy Board
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will outline the investment plans for the distribution of the current levy of the Horserace Betting Levy Board monies; if such plans are inclusive of the £4 million surplus which has accrued; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what plans exist within the Horserace Betting Levy Board for the improvement of catering and accommodation facilities for stable staff; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what proposals are under consideration to allocate funds from the Horserace Betting Levy Board for the establishment of pensions schemes for stable staff; and if he will make a statement;

  (4) what proposals there are for the Horserace Betting Levy Board to make an investment in the company Satellite Information Services; and if he will make a statement;
  373
  (5) what proposals there are for the setting aside of funds of the Horserace Betting Levy Board for the provision of low-cost loans for stable staff accommodation; and if he will make a statement;

  (6) who determines the distribution of the funds of the Horserace Betting Levy Board; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  It is the statutory duty of the Horserace Betting Levy Board itself to determine the distribution of its funds, for purposes conducive to one or more of the following:(a) the improvement of breeds of horses; (b) the advancement or encouragement of veterinary science or veterinary education; (c) the improvement of horse racing.

  The following information has been provided by the board. The board has no expenditure plans as to: Satellite Information Services; the establishment of pensions schemes for stable staff; or loans to stable staff to purchase or rent accommodation.

  As to capital expenditure on the improvement of catering and accommodation facilities for stable staff, the board accords a high priority to assisting race courses to improve, where necessary, their staff hostels and associated canteen facilities, and is discussing with Racing Welfare the possibility of assisting with housing projects for married staff at a number of racehorse training centres.

  The board's next policy statement, which it aims to publish by the end of this month, will set out its heads of expenditure for 1990–91, including the expenditure of higher-than-forecast income from the horserace betting levy, and the relative priorities for those heads.

  Ambulance Dispute
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from chief constables on the cost(a) per constable hour, (b) at overtime rates per officer, (c) in numbers of police involved and (d) in number of police man-hours used, in order to cover the duties of ambulance staffs currently in dispute (i) nationally and (ii) in Nottinghamshire.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Police constables' pay is on a scale connected with number of years of service. It is therefore not possible to give a national hourly basic or overtime rate per officer. For examples of hourly rates charged by some police authorities for assisting ambulance services, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Mr. Pendry) on 8 February,Official Report, column 722.

  I understand that the Nottinghamshire force is likely to charge approximately £18 per hour, a rate which includes national insurance and pension contributions and rent allowance.

  I understand that the total number of man hours which forces have provided in assisting ambulance services in England and Wales up to and including 13 February has been about 1·1 million. In Nottinghamshire, where assistance has been provided by the police for only a few days recently, I understand that the number of man hours is about 1,100. Information on the number of police officers involved either in Nottinghamshire or nationally is not readily available.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the way in 374
  which the cost incurred by the Metropolitan police arising from the current ambulance workers' dispute is (a) calculated and (b) recouped; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The London ambulance service is charged for the hours worked by officers at full salary cost for normal duty hours and the appropriate rates for overtime. Other costs, including those for vehicles and catering, are charged on a full repayment basis; and there is a 5 per cent. charge to cover administrative overheads.

  Costs are claimed weekly from the London ambulance service two weeks in arrears.

  Fire Service
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will consider urgently the need to guarantee supplies of water for fire fighting; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will seek to amend the Fire Services Act in order to establish a legal obligation to provide water supplies for fire fighting purposes.

  Mr. John Patten
  It is clearly essential that water supplies for firefighting are guaranteed. We have received representations from the South Yorkshire county fire service expressing concern that the fire service may face additional costs arising from the provision by water undertakers of facilities to provide a flow of water for firefighting purposes above that required for domestic purposes. We have no plans for legislation in this area but will keep the situation under review.

  Electronic Tagging
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report the numbers of defendants appearing in(a) Nottingham magistrates court, (b) Tyneside magistrates court and (c) Tower Bridge magistrates court who have been electronically tagged; and the numbers of those in each area who subsequently breached their conditions.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to questions from the hon. Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Bermingham) on 9 February,Official Report, column 823.

  Demonstrations (Police Videos)
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on(a) the number of occasions that the police have used video cameras to record demonstrations during the year 1989, (b) the dates on which this occurred, (c) the identities of the organisers of each demonstration, (d) whether the organisers agreed to the demonstrations being video taped in each case and (e) the use to which the video produced on each occasion has since been put.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Metropolitan police use video cameras to record demonstrations if they have reason to believe that disorder may occur. These video tapes may be used for debriefing or training officers or for evidential purposes. No record is kept of the occasions on which the Metropolitan police videotaped demonstrations in 1989.

  Probation Service
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to publish a green paper on the probation service.

  Mr. John Patten
  We have published today a Green Paper, "Supervision and Punishment in the Community", (Cm 966). This sets out options for the first major reorganisation of the probation service since its formation in 1907, and invites comments from interested organisations and individuals.

  The Government have recently published the White Paper, "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public", which gives our legislative proposals for changes in the way courts in England and Wales deal with offenders. It is essential that the probation service should be organised so that it can meet the demands that the proposals would place on it, and the Green Paper sets out several options for the future.

  These include: re-organising and strengthening the management of probation services; using the present Home Office powers to bring about changes in local organisation and procedure; extending the controls exercised by the Home Office; moving to a system whereby the Home Office provides 100 per cent. of probation finance removing all financial obligations from local authorities; and moving to a national service—either under the direct control of the Home Office or as a separate agency.

  The Green Paper also discusses ways of involving voluntary organisations and the private sector more in work with offenders, and considers ways of improving probation training where much needs to be done. No final decisions have been made on any of these issues, and the Government are keen to hear the views of the probation service and other interested bodies about the various proposals in the Green Paper.

  Prevention of Terrorism Legislation
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received a report from the Viscount Colville of Culross QC on the operation in 1989 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1984 and 1989.

  Mr. John Patten
  My right hon. and learned Friend has received such a report from Viscount Colville and copies have been placed in the Library.

  Constituency Boundaries
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the boundary commission for Wales intends to conduct any further interim reviews of parliamentary constituencies.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The commission has told my right hon. and learned Friend of its intention to review the constituencies of Brecon and Radnor, Carmarthen, Ceredigion and Pembroke, North, Llanelli, Montgomery and Pembroke.

  Fishing Limits
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what stage has been reached in his discussions with the Isle of Man Government about the 376
  creation of a 12-mile fishing limit around the Isle of Man; how the traditional rights of Northern Ireland fishing boats in these waters will be guaranteed; what provision is being made for fishing boats from Belgium, France and the Republic of Ireland in the waters around the Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Territorial Sea Act 1987 made provision for the territorial sea adjacent to the Isle of Man to be extended to 12 miles. Discussions to implement this provision are nearing a conclusion. In respect of fishing, it is recognised that any arrangement to implement extension must safeguard the interests and traditional rights of all fishermen, including those from Northern Ireland, of all nationalities (British, French, Belgian, Irish) who currently have access to the area concerned.

  Bankruptcies
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will legislate to extend the powers of trustees in personal bankruptcies fully to cover the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No. This is a matter for domestic legislation within these Dependencies and has now been met by the Insolvency Act 1986 (Guernsey) Order 1989, the Bankruptcy (Desastre) (Jersey) Law 1989 and the Isle of Man Bankruptcy Act 1988.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Family Support
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update the figures given in his answer of 3 March 1989,Official Report, column 365–66, to the hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook) on the level of total Government support for families with children, at 1989–90 constant prices in each year since 1970 to 1989–90.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The answer is set out in the table.

  Government support for families with children 1974–75 to 1989–901

  £ million

  Cash

  Real (1989–90 prices)

  1974–75

  1,855

  7,838

  1975–76

  2,169

  7,289

  1976–77

  2,604

  7,721

  1977–78

  2,426

  6,319

  1978–79

  3,092

  7,276

  1979–80

  3,640

  7,334

  1980–81

  3,965

  6,750

  1981–82

  4,675

  7,249

  1982–83

  5,400

  7,809

  1983–84

  6,140

  8,484

  1984–85

  6,650

  8,753

  1985–86

  7,190

  8,982

  1986–87

  7,620

  9,209

  1987–88

  8,320

  9,548

  1988–89

  8,790

  9,405

  21989–90

  9,390

  9,390

  1 Includes (i) child benefit, (ii) one parent benefit, (iii) child tax allowances and additional personal tax allowances (lone parents), (iv) family credit/family income supplement, (v) maternity benefit, (vi) statutory maternity benefit, and (vii) social fund, income support/supplementary benefit, housing benefit and community

  377
  charge benefit paid to lone parent families and to people looking after elderly parents.

  2 Estimated outturn

  Local Offices (Callers)
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will institute an urgent review of the causes of the chronic jamming of switchboards and other difficulties of callers at local offices; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  All local Department of Social Security offices measure the quality of service provided over the telephone and to personal callers. Office managers are accountable for the standards achieved. Results of a national customer opinion survey conducted by local offices in October 1989 found that 80 per cent. of personal callers said the service was "very or fairly good" and more than 77 per cent. of telephone callers got through to the office in what they considered a reasonable time.

  However, the Department accepts that service standards vary round the country and where there are

  Limit on income support payments

  Number of claimants

  Income support expenditure

  Cash

  September 1989 prices

  £

  (000s)

  £ million

  £ million

  Residential care

  Old age

  130

  58

  —

  —

  Very dependent/blind elderly

  155

  19

  —

  —

  Mental illness

  130

  5

  —

  —

  Alcohol and drug dependence

  130

  2

  —

  —

  Mental handicap

  160

  15

  —

  —

  Physical handicap below pension age

  190

  5

  —

  —

  Others

  130

  3

  —

  —

  TOTALS

  —

  107

  565

  608

  Nursing homes

  Others including elderly

  185

  34

  —

  —

  Mental illness

  185

  5

  —

  —

  Alcohol and drug dependence

  185

  1—

  —

  —

  Mental handicap

  200

  1

  —

  —

  Physical handicap below pension age

  230

  2

  —

  —

  Terminal illness

  230

  4

  —

  —

  TOTALS

  —

  46

  354

  382

  1 Denotes figures under 500.

  Notes

  1. Numbers rounded to nearest thousand, expenditure to nearest £ million.

  2. Expenditure includes income support applicable amounts for both the appropriate limit and personal expenses.

  3. These estimates are based on four quarterly, one per cent., samples of live cases. Although total income support expenditure figures are available the figures for individual groups of residents are based on too small a sample to be sufficiently reliable.

  4. Centrally held data from claimant records about actual charges is not statistically reliable.

  Earnings
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing the number of male and female employees in 1990–91, or the most recent available estimate, earning more than the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions showing the distribution of those earnings(a) over the upper earnings limit but less than £18,001 per year, (b) £18,001 to £20,000 per year, (c) £20,001 to £25,000 per year, (d) £25,001 to £30,000 per year, (e) £30,001 to £50,000 per year and (f) over £50,000 per year.
  378
  problems special efforts are in hand to overcome them. If the hon. Member has a particular office in mind perhaps he will let me know so that I can provide further details.

  Residential Care
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing, with regard to the payment of income support to people in independent residential care homes and nursing homes for 1988–89, and for the current financial year(a) the ceiling payments for care support for each residential care category, (b) the number of claimants in each category, (c) the expenditure in current and constant prices on each category, (d) the amount by which he estimates that the ceiling payments fall short of the average weekly costs of placements in these categories and (e) the amount by which he estimates that expenditure set out in (c) falls short of the total costs of placements in each category.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 1 February 1990]Statistically reliable data held centrally is limited to that shown in the table. This gives the available information for 1988–89. No information is yet available for 1989–90.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 9 February 1990]Information on those expected to earn more than the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions in 1990–911 is shown in the table.

  Millions

  Earnings band

  Males

  Females

  Total

  £18,200 to £20,000

  0·45

  0·10

  0·55

  £20,001 to £25,000

  1·05

  0·20

  1·25

  £25,001 to £30,000

  0·50

  0·05

  0·55

  £30,001 to £50,000

  0·45

  0·05

  0·50

  Over £50,000

  0·15

  nil

  0·15

  Total

  2·60

  0·40

  3·00

  379
  1£18,200 a year.

  Nursing Homes (Fees)
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (I) what provision is made for patients who refuse to be transferred to nursing homes because the Department of Social Security fails to meet the fees;

  (2) why the chronically sick who are transferred to nursing homes on the recommendation of the appropriate medical authority to avoid bed-blocking are required to meet the homes' charges if they do not qualify for Department of Social Security assistance.

  Mr. Freeman
  I have been asked to reply.

  No patient should be discharged from an NHS bed to care in a private nursing home against his wish if he or the relative will be personally responsible for the home's charges. If a patient in an NHS bed does not agree to a transfer to a fee-charging home, if he or she is in need of continuous nursing care, the patient should remain under the care of the health authority. The Department included guidance on these points in a circular issued to health authorities last year (HC(89)5), a copy of which is available in the Library. This circular requires all health authorities to review and revise their discharge procedures and to report on the action they have taken to their regional health authority by 31 March 1990.

TRANSPORT

  Vehicle Excise Duty
  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what he anticipates will be the revenue from vehicle excise duty on cars in 1989–90.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Department's estimates of revenue in 1989–90 from vehicle excise duty on cars in the United Kingdom is £2,050 million.

  Motorists (Eyesight)
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many learner drivers fail their driving test as a result of poor eyesight.

  Mr. Atkins
  In 1988–89, the latest year for which information is available, 592 out of over 2 million candidates failed their test because they did not meet the statutory eyesight requirements.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he has any plans to introduce compulsory eye tests and regular tests for motorists over the age of 50 years;

  (2) if he has received any representations from (a) motoring organisations and (b) chief constables regarding the eyesight standards of motorists; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what estimate he has of the number of motoring accidents caused by the defective eyesight of motorists.

  Mr. Atkins
  We have in the past received representations from the police and motoring organisations regarding the eyesight standards of motorists. Research studies have not identified poor eyesight as a significant cause of accidents. I therefore have no plans to change the current requirements, which fully meet the standards 380
  proposed by the European Commission in the draft second directive on driver licensing and which are supported by the college of Opthalmologists.

  City Routes
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he provides any guidelines to highway authorities responsible for major city routes such as Whitehall on hours of night working, penalties for overrun and ways of minimising disruption.

  Mr. Atkins
  The programming of highway works on local roads and form of contract employed are matters for the local highway authority concerned. Last autumn the local authority associations sent a report to their members, commending the use of lane rental contracts as a financial incentive to contractors to shorten the period of occupation of the road during works on busy traffic routes.

  Vehicle Licences
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the rates of vehicle licences for each of the member states of the European Economic Community.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information requested is not readily available. I shall write to my hon. Friend.

  Motorway Safety
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many injury accidents involving road vehicles have occurred in each of the last five years within motorway service areas; and what action he is taking to reduce such risks.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Department does not keep records of accidents within motorway service areas (MSAs). Police reporting of road accidents excludes accidents within MSAs, because the roads there are not roads within the Road Traffic Act 1988.

  Three operators, responsible for 29 MSAs used by about 75 million vehicles a year, have confirmed that personal injury accidents within MSAs are rare; those consulted recalled two accidents in the last five years.

  The Department seeks to reduce accidents on MSAs by careful design of roads and by separate parking for cars, coaches and HGVs, and good signing and lighting. It inspects MSAs annually. The Department also considers safety matters when examining requests for MSA operators to make structural alterations.

  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an appraisal of the implications for safety, particularly for vehicles legally prohibited or practically unable to travel at speeds exceeding 50 mph., of the present arrangement for vehicles joining the M42 from the M40 in the offside fast lanes.

  Mr. Atkins
  The present layout where the M40 and M42 link roads join allows traffic at different speeds to adjust and merge. It is operating satisfactorily and safely with present traffic flows. No vehicle complying with the construction and use regulations and permitted to travel on a motorway is legally prohibited from travelling in excess of 50 mph there.

  Channel Tunnel
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority annual report for the year 1 April 1988 to 31 March 1989 was published; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Mr. Hargreaves) on 15 January,Official Report, column 45.

  Traffic Lights, Chiswick
  Sir Barney Hayhoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) at what time the traffic lights failed at the Hogarth roundabout on the A4 at Chiswick on 10 February; and at what date and time they were repaired and functioning normally again;

  (2) what action was taken to limit danger to vehicles emerging from Church road and Chiswick lane while the traffic lights were not working at the Hogarth roundabout on and after 10 February;

  (3) what emergency arrangements exist for dealing with traffic problems when the traffic lights are out of action at the Hogarth roundabout on the A4 at Chiswick; and when these were implemented in respect of the lights failure on 10 February;

  (4) what emergency road signs were set up to warn drivers on the A4 of the need for extra care at the Hogarth roundabout at Chiswick while the traffic lights were not functioning on and after 10 February;

  (5) what steps he is taking to improve the liaison and co-operation arrangements between the Metropolitan police and those responsible for the functioning of the traffic lights at the Hogarth roundabout on the A4 at Chiswick.

  Mr. Atkins
  The failure of these signals was reported to the traffic control systems unit by the local police at 0808 hours. The unit's maintenance contractor was on site within five hours but was unable to make a quick repair because the fault is in a main underground cable which must be replaced. The contractor placed signs warning of the failed signals before each signalled junction. As the Church street and Chiswick lane junctions are not signalled, no warning signs were provided there.

  Work is in hand to replace the damaged cable, it is hoped without the need to excavate the carriageway, as quickly as possible.

  The traffic control systems unit manages all London's traffic signals as agent for the Department. It relies on the reporting of faults by the police, the public and, increasingly, automatic reporting systems. It operates a system of priorities for dealing with faults and works in close liaison with the police, the highway authorities, and the maintenance contractor.

  I regret the inconvenience to travellers, but I am satisified that there was no breakdown in liaison in this case.

  Light Dues
  Sir David Price
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what decisions he has taken about light dues in 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Parkinson
  Continuing progress in containing costs will permit me to make a further reduction in light dues 382
  this year. The present buoyancy of the general lighthouse fund liquid reserves will also permit me to return some of the benefit of this in 1990–91 in the form of a "bargain break" to payers in the cargo sector who have contributed to the strength of the liquid reserves in past years. This will take the form of a reduction, for 1990–91 only, in the maximum number of chargeable voyages (from seven to six voyages). I am also introducing a further round of reforms to the light dues system to remove some remaining anomalies and to bring into charge certain vessels which have hitherto gained exemption. In broad terms these changes are equivalent to a reduction of about 14 per cent. in light dues and will mean that light dues have been roughly halved in real terms since 1981. I am grateful for the efforts of the general lighthouse authorities which have made this possible.

  In summary the main changes are:

  1. A 2 per cent. reduction in the voyage tariff.

  2. Waiving of dues in 1990–91 for ships making a seventh liable voyage.

  3. Increasing the half rate tariff for sailing and towed ships to the full rate, together with introduction of a new exemption for sail-training ships.

  4. Ending the exemptions for dredgers, hoppers, visiting foreign racing yachts and commercial sailing ships and towed craft between 20 and 100 net registered tons.

  5. Making tugs liable on the basis of registered length in place of net tonnage (which hitherto had in practice exempted most tugs from charge).

  6. Re-defining the ballast exemption to exclude from it ships which are engaged in commercial revenue earning activities other than the carriage of cargo or passengers.

  7. Increased minimum charges per voyage.

  8. Introduction of flat rate charges for pleasure craft in place of tonnage based charge. (This change affects only those pleasure craft over 20 net registered tons liable to light dues. The British Ports Federation is conducting a separate feasibility study into extending light dues to smaller pleasure craft; its report is expected shortly.)

  9. Ending the former "uplift" charge for ships registered in countries which have no reciprocal tonnage agreement with the United Kingdom.

  10. Removal of the remaining distinctions between ships in the former "home" and "foreign" trades and (as already announced last year) extending to all ships which pay per voyage the option to pay dues on no more than two voyages a month.

  Following representations from the shipping and port industries, I have decided to retain the present exemptions for ships genuinely in ballast or calling into port for their own purposes. I have concluded that ending these exemptions, while offering a simplification of the rules, would have had disproportionate redistributive effects.

  I have also considered further the remaining major reform recommended by the 1988 light dues working party, that light dues paid per voyage should be assessed on ship's gross rather than net tonnage. There appears to be general agreement that this reform would be a fairer basis of charge, and the remaining question is one of timing. I have concluded in principle that this change should be made in 1994 in conjunction with the full implementation of the new tonnage measurement system introduced by the international tonnage convention 1969. Subject to determination of the appropriate level of charge at the time, I envisage a single change to a gross tonnage basis with effect from 1 April 1994. Announcement of this now will allow time for those concerned to prepare for the change.
  383
  After the 1989–90 adjustment of the payment period for fishing vessels, to bring it into line with the standard financial year for light dues, the 1990–91 charge for fishing vessels is being held at its 1988–89 level, representing a reduction in real terms of over 10 per cent.

  These changes represent a continuing reduction of the burden of light dues combined with a further round of constructive reforms to the light dues system. The necessary order will be laid shortly. This is the third successive year in which light dues have been reduced in cash as well as real terms, and forecast movements of costs suggest that an increase in dues at least in line with inflation may be necessary in 1991. Tight control costs will none the less be maintained.

  Aircraft Terminals
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to seek powers to limit noise and other forms of pollution from aircraft at existing and future aircraft terminals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport already has such powers under the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and the Airport Act 1986.

  Dial-a-Ride
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements have been made to fund the London dial-a-ride service for 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  I am pleased to announce that the Government grant to London dial-a-ride services for 1990–91 will be £8·27 million, an increase of £1 million on 1989–90, or 6 per cent. in real terms. Next year's funding will be some 50 per cent. more in real terms than in 1985–86, the last year in which it was funded by the GLC. In the same period membership has grown by over 80 per cent. The number of journeys made in 1989–90 is expected to be about 625,000, more than double those made in 1985–86. The additional £1 million for 1990–91, with a forecast improvement in the level of efficiency, should result in a 10 per cent. increase in the number of journeys to about 690,000.

  Roads, London
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what form and degree of study and analysis his Department is undertaking of the responses of the London road assessment studies.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 5 February 1990]: They are not road assessment studies. The consultants suggest improvements to both roads and public transport. All responses received by 28 February will be examined and comment on the various aspects will be considered carefully before decisions are taken.

EMPLOYMENT

  London Borough of Newham
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment for what reason the employment service classifies the London borough of Newham as an inner London borough.
  384
  Mr. Eggar
  The employment service classifies the London borough of Newham as an inner London borough in order that it may benefit from its range of inner city initiatives.

  Employment Training
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently undertaking employment training in the north-east of England.

  Mr. Nicholls
  On 26 January 1990, the latest date for which information is available, there were 23,700 people on employment training in the Training Agency's Northern region.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the planned level of employment training places and the anticipated level of filled places for each quarter of 1990 for Great Britain.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: Plans for the number of employment training places are for internal management information purposes only.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total expenditure on training bonus paid as part of employment training broken down by £50 to £100 and £101 to £200 between December 1988 and December 1989 for each of the standard regions, Wales, Scotland and Great Britain.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The information is not available in the form requested.

  Labour Statistics
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the latest figures of the risk of unemployment by social class.

  Mr. Eggar
  It is not possible to publish a table as the information is not available. The monthly unemployment count provides information on age, sex, and length of time unemployed only.

  Channel Tunnel
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the dates when representatives of the Health and Safety Executive visited the Channel tunnel construction site to assess safety levels and the outcome of the visits.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Information on the total number of visits made by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to assess health and safety levels at the Channel tunnel construction sites and the outcome is not readily available and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  Information which is available shows that between July and December 1989 inspectors based in HSE's South East area local office at Ashford, Kent made 86 visits to the Channel tunnel construction sites. Frequent visits have also been made by specialist inspectors from the technology division.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the industrial accidents notified to the Health and Safety Executive that have occurred
  385
  during work on the Channel tunnel, giving dates, details of accidents and the outcome of any action taken by the Health and Safety Executive.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information as requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, between March 1987 and December 1989, the latest date for which information is available, a provisional total of 327 accidents which occurred during work on the Channel tunnel were reported to the Health and Safety Executive. Action taken by the executive following accidents is appropriate to the particular circumstances of the incident.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the prosecutions by the Health and Safety Executive of the British consortium, contractors and sub-contractors building the Channel tunnel giving dates, details of the cause of accidents and where appropriate the nature of the serious injury or cause of death.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted the five constituent companies of Translink JV on two occasions. The prosecutions followed investigations by HSE into two incidents which were notified under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, neither of which resulted in injuries.

  The first incident occurred on 2 December 1987 when four 8-ton railway wagons ran 300 metres down an adit into the tunnel workings. The second incident occurred underground on 5 April 1988 when a cylinder of LPG was hit and punctured by a train.

  Health and Safety
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria the Health and Safety Executive uses in deciding whether a project is under the supervision of Her Majesty's inspectors of mines and within the mines and quarries regulations or regulated by the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Decisions about which inspectors supervise a particular project falling within the scope of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act are internal management matters for the Health and Safety Executive. If such a project is or concerns a mine as defined in the Mines and Quarries Act, it will be the exclusive concern of the mines inspectorate.

  Radiation
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the new code of practice introduced on 5 February covering radiation exposure limits on the workforce.

  Mr. Nicholls
  No new code of practice was introduced on 5 February 1990 to cover radiation exposure limits of the workforce. The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) published on that date a consultative document inviting comment on proposals for additional guidance on radiation protection. The proposals represent interim action recommended by the HSC to take account of revised estimates of risk from radiation. A copy of the consultative document has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Community Programme and Employment Training
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total number of community programme participants and employment training trainees in each of the months July 1986 to December 1989, for each of the standard regions, Scotland, Wales and Great Britain.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: The information is not available in the form requested.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Accountancy Firms (Inspectors' Reports)
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will make it his policy that whenever he appoints an inspector from the accountancy firms criticised by an inspector's report he will make a statement to this effect to Parliament.

  Mr. Redwood
  No. My right hon. Friend does not propose to change the practice on announcement of appointment of inspectors as explained by my noble Friend Lord Young of Graffham, the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, in an answer to a written question from Lord Bruce-Gardyne in the other place on 11 May 1988,Official Report, House of Lords, columns 1209–12.

  Disabled People (Employment)
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the number of companies which have failed to comply with schedule 7, paragraph 9 of the Companies Act 1985 to provide information relating to the employment of disabled persons; and what steps he is taking to secure the future compliance with the Act.

  Mr. Redwood
  The statistical information requested is not available. Companies House staff carry out certain basic checks on reports and accounts, but the contents are not scrutinised in detail except in response to specific complaints. There have been no such complaints in recent years about non-compliance with the statutory require. ment to which the hon. Member's question refers.

  Accountants
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the number of qualified accountants in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) the United Kingdom's major counterparts in the European Community.

  Mr. Redwood
  There is no generally agreed definition of a qualified accountant. The information requested is therefore not available.

  Insider Dealing
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to hand over the power to investigate insider dealings to the Securities and Investments Board and the Stock Exchange; and if he will make a statement.
  387
  Mr. Redwood
  None, as I explained in my letter of 26 January to my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Mr. Warren), Chairman of the Trade and Industry Select Committee, a copy of which is in the Library.

  EC Directives
  Mr. Tom Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Commission directives under the 1992 programme are now in force throughout the Community.

  Mr. Redwood
  I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-East (Mr. Leighton), which appeared in the Official Report on Thursday 18 January 1990.

  Companies Acts Investigations
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many cases of section 447 of the Companies Act or equivalent investigations further investigations were carried out under other sections of the Companies Acts since 1979.

  Mr. Redwood
  Between 1979 and 1989 three section 447 inquiries led to further investigations under other sections of the Companies Act. In addition one investigation under section 105 of the Financial Services Act 1986 led to further investigation under the Companies Act.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many cases of section 447 of the Companies Act, or equivalent, investigations external advice or assistance was sought by his Department since 1979.

  Mr. Redwood
  Investigations under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985, and under its predecessor, section 109 of the Companies Act 1967, can be carried out only by officers of my Department. Those carrying out such inquiries are advised by departmental lawyers as appropriate and it is rarely necessary to seek external advice or assistance. No separate record is kept of the number of cases in which such advice is sought.

  From 21 February, when section 63 of the Companies Act 1989 comes into force, the Secretary of State will be able to authorise competent persons who are not officers of the Department under section 447.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many cases of section 447 of the Companies Act or equivalent investigations cases were referred to either legal, professional or regulatory bodies for further action since 1979.

  Mr. Redwood
  Since 1979 information obtained under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985 and its predecessor, section 109 of the Companies Act 1967, has been made available when appropriate to the police and prosecuting authorities. The power to disclose restricted information under section 447 of the 1985 Act to professional or regulatory bodies has been available only since November 1986.

  Records before 1987 are not readily available. Between 1 April 1987 and 31 December 1989, information obtained under section 447 was referred to either prosecution, professional or regulatory bodies outside my Department in 68 cases.
  388
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total number of investigations carried out under section 447 of the Companies Act and the equivalent sections in preceding Acts since 1979.

  Mr. Redwood
  The total number of investigations under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985 started and completed between 1 January 1979 and 31 December 1989 was 1,158.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total number of investigations carried out under the Companies Acts since January 1979.

  Mr. Redwood
  The total number of investigations under the Companies Act started and completed since 1 January 1979 to 31 December 1989 was 1,194.

  Financial Services
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many cases reports arising from section 177 of the Financial Services Act have been passed to professional bodies since 1979.

  Mr. Redwood
  Section 177 of the Financial Services Act 1986 (which confers power to appoint inspectors to investigate possible insider dealing offences) came into force in November of that year. All reports made by inspectors appointed under that section have been considered with a view to disclosing information in them as permitted by the Act. However, no such information has so far been disclosed to a professional body.

  Prosecutions
  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the 113 successful prosecutions completed since 1 January 1979 were commenced by his Department as opposed to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Serious Fraud Squad or the police before that date.

  Mr. Redwood
  For the period preceding January 1986, the information requested cannot be produced without exceeding the limit imposed on costs. However from January 1986, 23 prosecutions were carried out by my Department.

  1992
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has completed his consideration of the European Economic Community-university of Louvain study of the impact of 1992 on regions; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  We have studied the report. Many of its conclusions are in line with our own priorities of encouraging business development and enterprise throughout the country and ensuring effective targeting of training, infrastructure and R and D facilities in the run-up to 1992.

  Shipbuilding
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any proposals for changes in the European Commission's sixth directive on aid to the shipbuilding industry.
  389
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  In line with the decision of the European Commission, which was notified to member states on 18 January, I have decided to reduce the maximum level of support for merchant ships from 26 per cent. to 20 per cent. with effect from 1 January 1990.

  I have also decided that, from the same date, the sliding scale for ships costing less than £10 million will be reduced from a maximum of 20 per cent. to a maximum of 15 per cent. This will fall by half of one percentage point for every £1 million reduction in the cost of build below £10 million. This when combined with shipbuilder's relief, will bring support for ships costing less than 6 million ecu below the upper level of 14 per cent. set by the Commission.

  C. J. How
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to set up a compensation fund to assist investors who have lost funds through C. J. How.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: None.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the responsibilities of FIMBRA in respect of the investment company C. J. How.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: From 1 January 1984 until the introduction of the Financial Services Act on 29 April 1988, FIMBRA was recognised under section 15 of the Prevention of Fraud (Investments) Act. C. J. How was a member of FIMBRA between July 1982 and January 1988 and FIMBRA was therefore responsible for the regulation of the firm's business of dealing in securities from January 1984 until January 1988 when its membership was terminated.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when his Department was first aware that the investment company C. J. How had lost its membership of FIM BRA and what action was taken to alert existing and potential investors.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: My Department was notified on 21 January 1988 that FIM BRA had terminated the membership of C. J. How. My Department was not notified whether FIMBRA had publicised that fact.

  Self-regulatory Organisations
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure that private investors are made aware when investment companies cease to be authorised by a self-regulatory organisation under the Financial Services Act.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: This is a matter for the Securities and Investments Board.

  Tied Agents
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will amend the Financial Services Act to make principals responsible for all products sold by their tied agents.

  Mr. Redwood
  Under the Financial Services Act, a principal is responsible for its appointed representatives'390
  actions in carrying on investment business for which the principal has accepted responsibility in writing. It is for the Securities and Investments Board and the self-regulating bodies to consider what requirements should be imposed on principals in relation to the activities of their appointed representatives. I have no plans to amend the Financial Services Act in this regard.

  Garston Amhurst
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will institute an inquiry into the affairs of Garston Amhurst companies during the period they should have been regulated by his Department prior to the commencement of the Financial Services Act.

  Mr. Redwood
  If my Department receives information about companies in the Garston Amhurst group which suggests there is good reason to mount an investigation, I will of course consider doing so.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will meet the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to discuss accountancy matters arising out of the role of Sieff Davidson as auditors to Garston Amhurst companies.

  Mr. Redwood
  I meet senior members of the professional accountancy bodies from time to time, but I cannot yet say whether it would be appropriate to raise the issues arising from the Garston Amhurst case when I next meet the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to monitor progress being made by the Securities and Investments Board in protecting the interests of investors in funds managed by Garston Amhurst-controlled companies; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  It is the responsibility of the Securities and Investments Board to ensure that the regulatory framework established by its own rules and those of the self-regulating bodies provides the appropriate level of protection for investors. The Secretary of State has responsibilities for general oversight of the regulatory system under the Financial Services Act, but not for its day-to-day operation.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his inspectors currently investigating Barlow Clowes will examine and report on the extent, number and nature of transactions between Barlow Clowes companies-investment funds and Garston Amhurst companies-investment funds.

  Mr. Redwood
  The inspectors appointed to investigate the affairs of Barlow Clowes Gilt Managers Limited may inquire into any such matters to the extent that they consider necessary for the purpose of their investigation.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Dover of 2 February,Official Report, columns 413–14, when Garston Amhurst companies started offering financial and investment advice to the public.

  Mr. Redwood
  This information is not available.
  391
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what authorisation the Garston Amhurst companies held to market and advise on investments prior to the Financial Services Act becoming operational.

  Mr. Redwood
  None.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information his Department has on connections between the auditors Sieff Davidson, the company Sieff Davidson Financial Services Limited and Garston Amhurst companies, their partners, directors and shareholders and as to whether any of those persons had authorisations to give financial and investment advice(a) prior to and (b) subsequent on the commencement of the Financial Services Act.

  Mr. Redwood
  Sieff Davidson, chartered accountants, is certified by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to carry on investment business. Sieff Davidson Financial Services Ltd., which was set up jointly by Sieff Davidson and the principal directors of Garston Amhurst Associates, is a member of the Financial Intermediaries, Managers and Brokers Regulatory Association. None of these persons held a principal's or a representative's licence under the Prevention of Fraud (Investments) Act 1958.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he is next due to meet the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board; and if he will raise the mattes of Garston Amhurst with him and the nature of the protection given to investors by the Lautro rule book.

  Mr. Redwood
  My right hon. Friend and I meet the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board to discuss issues of mutual interest as often as is necessary. No date has yet been set for the next such meeting.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Dover of 2 February,Official Report, column 413–14, what information he has on changes in the name of Garston Amhurst Associates (General) Ltd. and Garston Amhurst Associates Group Holdings Ltd.

  Mr. Redwood
  The company currently registered in the name Garston Amhurst Associates (General) Limited changed its name on 21 October 1986 from Garston Amhurst General Limited. There is no company currently registered by the name Garston Amhurst Associates Group Holdings Limited.

  Securities Dealers
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department has at any time since 1 January 1980 had discussions with or corresponded with James D. Krekis, Gordon M. Davies, C. Diccon Wright or Andrew S. Woodhouse with a view to any of them becoming licensed dealers in securities or registered representatives of a licensed dealer in securities, or any company of which any of them are or were directors becoming a licensed dealer in securities.

  Mr. Redwood
  None of the four people mentioned in the hon. Gentleman's question ever applied for a licence to 392
  deal in securities under the Prevention of Fraud (Investments) Act 1958 either in their own name or through the companies in the Garston Amhurst Group. In late 1983 an official in my Department obtained documents suggesting that Garston Amhurst Associates might have been carrying on the business of dealing in securities without authorisation. My Department wrote to the company on 22 May 1984 advising that such activities might constitute an offence under the Prevention of Fraud (Investments) Act 1958. Following telephone calls from Mr. Wright and from his solicitors which attempted to clarify the scope of the Act, written assurances were received from the company's legal advisers that all such activities had ceased, and would not be resumed without the necessary authorisation being first obtained.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what authorisations exist at the present time for the purposes of dealing in securities or the giving of financial advice to the public in the names of James D. Krekis, Gordon M. Davies, C. Diccon Wright and Andrew S. Woodhouse.

  Mr. Redwood
  None.

  Target Group and National Financial Management Corporation
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what authorisations the Target Group and National Financial Management Corporation plc held from his Department prior to the commencement of the Financial Services Act.

  Mr. Redwood
  The main provisions of the Financial Services Act 1986 came into effect on 29 April 1988. Immediately prior to this date, Target Investment Management Ltd. held a principal's licence under the Prevention of Fraud (Investments) Act 1958. Target Life Assurance Company Ltd. and National Financial Management Corporation plc (formerly known as Target Annuities Ltd.) were authorised to write insurance business in classes I-IV, VI and VII. Consumer credit licences covering categories A-F and Z were also held by Target Home Loans Ltd. and National Financial Management Corporation plc.

  Seiff Davidson Financial Services Limited
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which self-regulatory body is responsible for the authorisation of Sieff Davidson Financial Services Limited and its directors and staff under the Financial Services Act.

  Mr. Redwood
  Seiff Davidson Financial Services Ltd. is a member of the Financial Intermediaries, Managers and Brokers Regulatory Association.

HEALTH

  Committee on Safety of Medicines
  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether adverse reaction data submitted to the Committee of Medicines on yellow cards is the property of the Committee on Safety of Medicines.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  National Health Service personal health information, from which adverse drug
  393
  reactions (ADR) data are usually derived, will be the subject of a forthcoming circular. Yellow cards are issued by the statutory committees on safety of medicines and on dental and surgical materials for use by doctors, dentists and coroners in a voluntary scheme for reporting suspected ADRs. The information received is treated in strict confidence by those committees and the licensing authority.

  Health Service Inflation
  Sir David Price
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish in the Official Report the indices of health service inflation for each of the past 10 years.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information requested has been placed in the Library.

  AIDS
  Mr. Cash
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a further statement on his Department's campaign on AIDS.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The objectives of the United Kingdom AIDS public education campaign and the Government's continuing commitment to them were reaffirmed at the symposium on HIV and AIDS jointly convened by the Health Departments and the Health Education Authority (HEA) on 24 November 1989.

  The symposium provided an expert assessment of the potential for the spread of HIV in the United Kingdom. The consensus which emerged was that the three major routes of HIV transmission are now all well established,

  Patients treated, NHS hospitals, England and Basildon and Thurrock district health authority, 1987–88 and 1988–89

  England

  Basildon and Thurrock

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1987–88

  1988–89

  In-patient cases

  6,619,354

  6,585,982

  34,669

  33,706

  Day cases

  880,852

  1,016,327

  4,840

  5,966

  New out-patients

  8,529,759

  8,406,254

  42,800

  43,891

  Total out-patient attendances

  36,874,293

  36,145,910

  195,357

  193,323

  Source: SH3a KH09 and KH18 returns

  North-East (Expenditure)
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent so far in the north-east by his Department by district health authorities and family practitioner committees to prepare for the implementation of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We have no central information about any such local expenditure.

  Social Workers
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from Northumberland social service regarding the implications of shortages of local authority social workers.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We have received no such representations from Northumberland social services department.
  394
  and that we must continue to work to increase and maintain public awareness of this. On 14 February the HEA launched the latest phase of the AIDS campaign. This builds on the outcome of the symposium and consists of statements from experts in the HIV and AIDS field about the transmission routes for HIV infection and the action people should take to protect themselves and those they love.

  The Government are also encouraging health and local authorities and the voluntary sector to develop co-ordinated local AIDS educational work.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average life expectancy for people diagnosed with AIDS, defined as the length of time from their diagnosis with AIDS to their deaths, in(a) London, (b) Cardiff, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Manchester and (e) Birmingham.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 14 February 1990]: The current average survival time from diagnosis of AIDS to death is approximately 18 months. Numbers of cases outside London are still too small to permit significant comparisons of life expectancy to be made.

  Thurrock Health Authority
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many in-patients and out-patients were treated(a) in England and (b) by Basildon and Thurrock health authority in each of the last two years.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information requested is given in the table.

  Schizophrenia
  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are currently admitted to mental illness hospitals and units under compulsory powers with a diagnosis of schizophrenia; how many of those admitted informally were subsequently detained as formal patients; and what percentage they constituted of all patients admitted or subsequently detained under compulsory power.

  Mr. Freeman
  Figures relating diagnosis to legal status, either on admission or before discharge, are not available.

  However in 1986, the latest year for which reliable diagnostic figures are available, there were 24,741 admissions, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, to National Health Service mental illness hospitals and units in England. This represents 12·5 per cent. of all admissions into these hospitals and units. The figures may exceed the number of patients since the same individual may be admitted and discharged more than once during the year.

  Overtime
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the amount of overtime worked in the ambulance service in each of the last four years for which figures are available; if he will publish such information, in summary form, in the Official Report; and if he will make a statement on his proposals to reduce the amounts of overtime worked.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The figures of overtime worked in the ambulance service are not readily available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Severn-Trent Water
  Mr. Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has given the Severn-Trent water authority a full indemnity against any civil liability, including negligence, arising from the fluoridation of drinking water supplies by the company.

  Mr. Freeman
  A full indemnity was provided to Severn-Trent Water by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Treasury, on 21 November 1989.

  North Western RHA
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial resources the North Western regional health authority has received over the last three years to run breast cancer screening programmes; and how many mobile screening units are currently in operation.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  North Western regional health authority has received a total of £4,129,000 over the years 1987–88 to 1989–90 to introduce and run breast cancer screening by mammography.

  There are two mobile breast cancer screening units currently in operation in the North Western region. The centres are based in the following areas:

  (a) South Manchester—serving Manchester and

  (b) West Lancashire and Chorley and South Ribble—serving both those districts.

  Further mobile units are planned for introduction in March 1990 and July 1990.

  Ambulance Service
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had regarding the ambulance workers' pay claim; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Dykes) on 17 January at column 278.

  National Health Service Reorganisation
  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department has any plans to reduce the number of district health authorities.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Any proposal to reduce the number of district health authorities within a region has to be considered by the regional health authority concerned and submitted to my right hon. and learned Friend the 396
  Secretary of State. Each case is subject to full public consultation and my right hon. and learned Friend needs to be convinced that there is a compelling case for change before approving it. The Health Service reforms are about concentrating management where it matters, not about widespread restructuring.

  Mr. Maxwell-Hyslop
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his policy towards promotion by the South West regional health authority regional general manager of the amalgamation of North Devon district health authority, Exeter district health authority or Torbay district health authority with each other, or with any other district health authority or district health authorities in the context of the National Health Service structure after reorganisation; and what information he has as to the policy of the South West regional health authority.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Any proposals to merge health authorities would need to be subject to full consultation by the regional health authority. We would expect there to be broad agreement that any proposed merger would be in the interests of the population served. Any recommendations arising out of the consultation would be considered by my right hon. and learned Friend, who would need to be convinced that there were compelling reasons for the change before approving it. The South Western regional health authority has not formulated a policy on this matter.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the minimum notice that a district health authority will be required to give to terminate a block contract for health care.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The duration of any contract will be a matter for negotiation and agreement between the contracting parties. However, the Department has advised that for block contracts the norm should be for three year initial contracts with a further 12 months extension negotiated annually. This would ensure that both parties received at least two years notice of any proposal for significant change.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures the Government intend to take to monitor the effects of the proposed changes in the National Health Service on(a) the quality of care provided, (b) the quantity of care provided, (c) the degree to which provision meets needs for care and (d) the travelling time of patients to obtain care.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The proposed system of contract placement will allow district health authorities to specify the nature and quality of services and ensure that patient services are of a satisfactory standard. It will be for the National Health Service management executive to satisfy itself, and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State, that high and improved standards of care are provided as our proposals are implemented. We have asked it to devise suitable methods of monitoring Health Service provision to achieve this.

  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his reply of 12 February sent to the hon. Member for Walsall, North,Official Report, columns 22–25, what form of consultation has so far occurred over hospitals opting out of the existing National Health Service management structures; and if he will give the result of such consultation area by area.
  397
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Formal consultation on proposals to establish NHS trusts cannot take place until after the necessary legislation has received Royal Assent. Information is not available centrally on any informal consultation by units which have expressed an interest in trust status.

  Registration of Marriages
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to bring forward legislation to reform the law affecting the registration of marriages.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mr. Hunter) on 1 February 1990 at columns 354–55 announcing publication of a White Paper "Registration Proposals for Change" (Cm 939.) The White Paper contains proposals for reform of the registration system in England and Wales, including changes to the conduct and registration of civil marriages.

  The Government hope to introduce the legislation necessary to effect those returns at an early opportunity during the present Parliament.

  General Practitioners
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ask the chairman of North Yorkshire family practitioners committee to investigate and report on the circumstances in which 120 patients have been removed from the list of patients and the practice in Filey, Yorkshire, of Dr. P. Garnett and partners; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave her on 12 February at column 28. The address of the North Yorkshire family practitioners committee is Ryedale house, 60 Piccadilly, York YO1 1PE.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much extra funding will be available to each of the three general practitioner practices in Calderdale who have applied to become budget holders.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  To date, practices have been invited only to register their interest in fund holding, since the legislative provision for the operation of the scheme is not yet in place. It is not possible, therefore, to give any estimate of the level of funds which might be available to individual practices.

  Practices which volunteer to join the scheme will be able to claim an annual management allowance of up to £32,000 to meet expenses legitimately incurred in running a fund. In 1990–91 an allowance of half that level will be available in recognition of the preparatory work which practices will have to undertake before entering the scheme.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much time he considers that each doctor should spend on medical audit in addition to that currently spent; and what steps he is planning to take to provide additional resources to ensure that that time is not at the expense of patient care.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Medical audit is essentially a professional matter. Doctors will be advised by their professional bodies, including the royal colleges, on how 398
  much time should be spent on it. The Government are making available additional resources—£31 million in 1990–91—to ensure that medical audit is adequately supported and that doctors are able to participate in it without detriment to their other duties.

  Leukaemia and Lymphoma (West Cumbria)
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received the results of the case control study of leukaemia and lymphoma in young people resident in West Cumbria recommended in the report of the independent advisory group chaired by Sir Douglas Black in 1984.

  Mr. Freeman
  Yes. The results of the case control study, which was commissioned and funded by the Department of Health, have been published today. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library.

  The study was undertaken by the Medical Research Council epidemiology unit at Southampton, in response to the first recommendation of the Black advisory group's report on cancer incidence in West Cumbria.1

  The study documents an association between the excess of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in children living in the vicinity of Sellafield, and employment of the fathers of the affected children at Sellafield over the period 1950 to 1985.

  In particular, the study documents an association between the raised incidence in children of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and the recorded level of external radiation dose received by the father before conception of the affected child.

  The Government note with concern the results of the study, and recognise the anxieties that it must cause to those who might be at risk. In view of its importance, the results have been referred to the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) for its urgent consideration and preliminary advice, following its next meeting in March.

  COMARE will also be considering the study in conjunction with the results of other studies, completed, under way or planned, recommended in the Black report or by COMARE in its second2 and third3 reports, and accepted by Government.

  The following studies, which have been funded by Government, have already been completed:
  'Birth and School Cohort Studies in the area around Sellafield'.
  'A reanalysis of the data from the Northern Children's Cancer Registry'.

  Other relevant studies already under way include:
  'A case control study of young people registered as cases of leukaemia or lymphoma in the Dounreay area'.
  'Birth and School Cohort Studies in Thurso and around Dounreay'.
  'A case-control study of childhood leukaemia and other cancers in West Berkshire and North Hampshire, in which the Ministry of Defence establishements at Aldermaston and Burghfield are situated'.

  Finally, plannned work includes detailed epidemiological studies to obtain more information on the possible health effects in the offspring of parents occupationally exposed to radiation. These studies should start in the near future.

  In addition, subject to the agreement of the individuals concerned, the Health and Safety Executive will set up an

  399
  investigation which will be conducted by the Nuclear Inspectorate in co-operation with British Nuclear Fuels plc and the workforce.

  This investigation will examine in detail both the internal and external radiation doses, and chemical occupational exposure histories, of the parents of the affected children. This may help in identifying any common factors which may be relevant.

  In the meantime, the nuclear industry will wish to consider this report and the possible implications for its workforce, including the need for counselling.

  I am advised that the average annual external radiation doses for workers at Sellafield during the late 1960s and the early 1970s were in the range about 12–13 millisieverts (mSv).

  Improvements in plant design and radiation protection standards in the 1970s and 1980s have led to a substantial reduction in average external radiation doses, with four-fold reduction between 1974 and 1989. For 1989 the average annual external dose was about three mSv.

  The current statutory annual dose limit for people occupationally exposed to radiation is 50 mSv. The National Radiological Protection Board advised, following new data on cancer induction in exposed individuals, that doses should be kept below 15 mSv per year on average, over a number of years.

  The Health and Safety Commission has recently issued a consultative document containing proposals to carry this recommendation forward, by the institution of an investigation into the individual circumstances whenever the average is exceeded. The consultative document also stresses for the same reason the increased need to keep doses as low as reasonably practicable.

  Interpretation of this study is not straightforward. Until the results have been confirmed or not, and possible mechanisms elucidated, no definitive statement can be made on the possible risk to individuals.

  If the effects are demonstrated to be related to external radiation, then on the basis of the evidence from annual doses, only workers receiving relatively high doses might be at risk. There would be a limited number of such workers in the nuclear industry and industries using industrial radiography. COMARE has been asked to advise on this and will report in due course.

  (1) 'Investigation of the possible increased incidence of cancer in West Cumbria'—Report of the Independent Advisory Group, Chairman: Sir Douglas Black. HMSO 1984.

  (2) 'Investigation of the possible increased incidence of leukaemia in young people, near the Dounreay Nuclear Estabishment, Caithness, Scotland'—COMARE 2nd Report. HMSO 1988.

  `Report on the incidence of childhood cancer in the West Berkshire and North Hampshire area, in which are situated the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, Aldermaston, and the Royal Ordnance Factory, Burghfield'—COMARE 3rd Report. HMSO 1989.

  Food Safety
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the report of the Richmond committee on the microbiological safety of food.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Sir Mark Richmond submitted to Ministers on 18 January part 1 of his committee's report. It is being published today.
  400
  In this part, the committee has examined the incidence of food poisoning and its main causes (salmonella, campylobacter and listeria), outbreak management, surveillance arrangements, food manufacture, the poultry meat industry and the general legislative framework. My colleagues and I welcome it as a constructive and thorough document. We shall follow up positively its many useful recommendations. We trust that others to whom recommendations are addressed, in particular the food industry and environmental health authorities, will examine it to see how the level of food safety in this country can be further raised. We shall certainly draw it to their attention.

  The committee's proposals for licensing in due course go further than the Government feel to be necessary. We do, however, see the value of the committee's views on prior notification and we intend to introduce a simple system of prior registration which would not impose unnecessary administrative burdens, but would help business and enforcement authorities alike.

  The report indicates support for the Government's Food Safety Bill which the committee felt accommodates many of its views. Because we believe that many of the recommendations in the report call for early action and some are relevant to the Food Safety Bill now before Parliament, the Government have decided to publish their immediate response to the recommendations. This is set out in a paper which is being put into the Library.

  My right hon. Friends and I are most grateful to the committee for its hard work so far. It has stated that in part 2 of its report it will examine the arrangements for Scotland and Northern Ireland; catering, retailing and the home; and other important foods. We are therefore extending the committee's life and asking it to finish its work by 31 July 1990.

  Halifax General Hospital
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the new Halifax general hospital will be built within the current timetable.

  Mr. Freeman
  Subject to the determination of its capital programme by the regional health authority, the project for the new Halifax general hospital, now known as Calderdale district general hospital, is programmed to start on site in December 1992 and is due for completion in December 1995.

  Nursing Students
  Mr. Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to uprate the bursaries paid to nursing students pursuing Project 2000 courses of nursing education in the light of the report of the review body on nurses' pay.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I cannot add to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member on 4 December 1989 at column 69.

  Wakefield Health Authority
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will call for a report from the chairman of Wakefield health authority on how many functions have been held by the authority to give time out to senior
  401
  managers in order to consider management structure within a possible self-governing trust; where these functions were held; and what was the full public cost;

  (2) if he will call for a report from the chairman of Wakefield health authority as to when the district finance officer of the authority was informed in writing of his suspension from duty;

  (3) if he will call for a report from the chairman of Wakefield health authority on why the locks on the door of the office of the district finance officer of the authority were changed shortly after his recent suspension from duty;

  (4) if he will call for a report from the chairman of Wakefield health authority on the reasons for the suspension from duty of the district finance officer of the authority; and if he will make a statement;

  (5) if he will call for a report from the chairman of Wakefield health authority as to why senior managers of the authority spent the night of 12 February at the Crown hotel, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire; what was the purpose of their stay and the full cost to be met from public funds; and whether he will make a statement;

  (6) if he will set up an independent inquiry into the circumstances leading up to the suspension from duty of the district finance officer of Wakefield health authority.

  Mrs Virginia Bottomley
  These are matters for local management who are currently dealing with them.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to instruct his Department's director of audit to carry out a full audit of Wakefield health authority's hospitality account and to make the report public.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State does not intend to instruct the Department's director of audit to carry out an audit of the Wakefield health authority's hospitality account.

  Wandsworth Health Authority
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the increase or decrease in the numbers of(a) bed spaces, (b) wards and (c) hospitals in the Wandsworth health authority area since 1986.

  Mr. Freeman
  Between 1986 and 1989 the average daily number of beds available fell from 2,234 to 2,095 and the number of hospitals in the district fell from 5 to 4. Similar information on wards is not held centrally and the hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of Wandsworth health authority.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the underspend or overspend figures for Wandsworth health authority's budget on a monthly basis between January 1985 and October 1989;

  (2) if he will place in the Library the accounts of Wandsworth health authority covering (a) 1986, (b) 1987 and (c)

  Mr. Freeman
  The detailed financial budget information requested is not collected centrally. I refer the hon. Member to the chairman of the Wandsworth health authority, who may be able to assist with the information sought and supply copies of the authority's annual accounts.

  NHS Funding
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence from his Department to the National Health Service units on the issues of the National Health Service trust and general practitioner fund holding

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the relevant figures in table 13.3 of Cm 1013 adjusted by the hospital and community health service current, hospital and community health service capital and the FPS current pay and price deflators to the year 1988–89.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information requested is contained in the reply which I gave the hon. Member on 13 February at columns 157–59.

ENVIRONMENT

  Devon County Council
  Sir Peter Emery
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he is willing to give to Devon county councillors before they decide on their projected budget for 1990–91; and what is his assessment of the opportunity for them to make a change in their budget.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  In setting their budget the councillors should take a hard look at the services the county council provides, and make sure that they are satisfied that charge payers will be getting full value for money. They should consider whether they can justify the proposed expenditure on each of these services to their charge payers, and look into the scope for contracting services out where this would be more efficient. The key point that they should bear in mind is that £1 saved is £1 off the community charge.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr dated 23 November 1989, which asked for a response to the statement by the leader of Birmingham city council on the revenue support grant settlement and its implications for poll tax in Birmingham.

  Mr. Chope
  My hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities, wrote to the hon. Member on 12 February.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his November estimate of the amount of poll tax payable in 1990–91 per adult compared to rates took account of any transitional reliefs.

  Mr. Chope
  The provisional assumed charges published on 6 November, and the assumed charges published on 11 January, include safety net contributions or receipts and any transitional special grant but take no account of community charge benefit or transitional relief, which are paid to individuals, not to areas. The effect of community
  403
  charge benefit and transitional relief is that charge payers in receipt of either or both will pay less than the personal community charge for the area.

  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria he will adopt when giving consideration to the capping of the poll tax.

  Mr. Chope
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bradford, North (Mr. Wall) on 24 January at column 739.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number and weighting of all indices of need in the grant-related expenditure and standard spending assessment and the effect of the changes made in both on the financial allocations.

  Mr. Chope
  The formula used to calculate grant-related expenditure assessments for 1989–90 was set out in the Rate Support Grant Report (England) 1989–90, approved by the House on 19 December 1988. The formulae for assessing standard spending assessments are set out in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England), debated in the House on 18 January 1990. The new

  1990–91 SSAs—Cash changes from adjusted 1989–90 GREs

  1989–90 GRE

  Adjusted 1989–90 GRE

  1990–91 SSA

  Cash change (column 3 minus column 2)

  £ million

  £ million

  £ million

  Per cent.

  (1)

  (2)

  (3)

  (4)

  Beverley

  5,161

  5,063

  5,624

  11·1

  Boothferry

  3,633

  3,487

  4,743

  36·0

  Cleethorpes

  4,760

  4,653

  4,617

  -0·8

  Glanford

  4,117

  4,036

  4,932

  22·2

  Great Grimsby

  7,622

  7,347

  7,019

  -4·5

  Holderness

  2,483

  2,425

  2,994

  23·5

  Kingston upon Hull

  27,416

  26,223

  25,149

  -4·1

  East Yorkshire

  4,448

  4,307

  5,071

  17·7

  Scunthorpe

  4,750

  4,468

  4,365

  -2·3

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the scaling factors used to calculate stages 2 and 3 of the standard spending assessment, specifying how they were arrived at; and if he will show how they were used in arriving at the standard spending assessment for Grimsby borough council.

  Mr. Chope
  The method used to calculate the scaling factors for standard spending assessments is set out in paragraph 3.3 of section 3 of the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England), approved by the House on 18 January. The factors used in deriving the SSA for Great Grimsby are:

  Other Services

  Other Services—District level: 0·9999

  Other Services—County level: 1·1047

  Flood Defence: 1·0124

  Coast Protection: 1·0193

  Interest Receipts: -0·0287

  Capital Financing

  Debt Charges: 0·9569

  Capital Expenditure Charged to Revenue Account: 0·3014

  Interest on Capital Receipts to shire districts: -0·3926

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the factors and indicators taken into account in assessing(a) grant-related expenditure allocations and (b) standard spending assessments and his reasons for the differences between the two.
  404
  standard spending assessments are the result of extensive research and discussion with local authority representatives. They are composed of fewer elements than grant-related expenditure assessments and each element is based on understandable factors of direct relevance to the services provided by local authorities.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the grant-related expenditure allocations 1989–90 and the standard spending assessments allocations for 1990–91 for each district in Humberside and the percentage increase or decrease; and if he will explain the reasons for the divergence.

  Mr. Chope
  The table provides the information requested. Standard spending assessments follow from extensive research and discussion with local authority representatives. They are composed of fewer individual service elements than grant-related expenditure assessments, with each element based on simple understandable factors of direct relevance to the services provided by local authorities.

  Mr. Chope
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him today.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the grant-related expenditure allocations for Grimsby for 1986–87 to 1989–90, together with his proposed standard spending assessment figures of November 1989 and his final standard spending assessment figures in January; and if he will outline the reasons for the differences between the last two.

  Mr. Chope
  The figures requested for Great Grimsby are as follows:

  Grant Related Expenditure Assessment

  £000's

  1986–87

  7,288

  1987–88

  6,855

  1988–89

  6,969

  1989–90

  7,622

  The figures for 1986–87 to 1988–89 are those determined in the latest supplementary report for the relevant year. The 1989–90 GRE is a settlement figure.

  The standard spending assessment (SSA) for Great Grimsby issued as part of the November consultation was £7·053 million. The final SSA is £7·019 million. The main

  405
  reason for the difference is the replacement of an estimated credit approval used in calculating the capital financing element with a figure based on actual credit approvals.

  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Government's spending assumption for the area safety net and the community charge transitional relief scheme and the figures for assumed spending by local authorities in England in 1990–91, issued by his Department on 11 January, represent the amount he considers it appropriate for each authority to spend in 1991.

  Mr. David Hunt
  No. It is an authority's standard spending assessment (SSA) for the year which is intended to represent the amount of revenue expenditure which it would be appropriate for the authority to incur in that year to provide a standard level of service consistent with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's view of the amount of revenue expenditure which it would be appropriate for all authorities to incur. This latter amount is net total standard spending, as defined in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England), which the House approved on 18 January 1990.

  The Government's spending assumption—and the assured charge based on it—does not represent the Government's view of what an authority could or should spend or charge. Nor does it represent a Government target or guideline for, or a prediction of, spending and charges by individual local authorities next year. The spending assumption, based on 1989–90 rate income and grant, adjusted for changes in function and increased to be consistent with total standard spending of £32·8 billion for 1990–91, is a reference point for the calculation of the area safety net and of the assumed charge for the purposes of the transitional relief scheme. Both of these measures are designed to give an appropriate degree of protection from changes arising from the move from the old system to the new. They are not designed to protect people from changes arising from individual authorities' spending decisions for which they are accountable to their electorate.

  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the distribution of changes in the percentage of net income paid in(a) domestic rates in 1989–90 and (b) community charge in 1990–91, if community charges are set at the level assumed for the calculation of 1990–91 revenue support grant entitlements.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I have today placed in the Library a note updating figures on the impact on household finances of the community charge system. The figures are based on the assumed community charges published in January. They show that three out of five households would pay less with the community charge than they would have paid had rates continued. The actual gains for households will depend on spending decisions by their local authorities. Higher spending than we have assumed will result in higher community charges, just as it would also have resulted in higher rate bills.

  The analysis compares 1989–90 rate levels with 1990–91 community charges. Since these are at different price levels, the results are presented in terms of changes in percentage of net income paid in rates and community charge. The figures show that 60 per cent. of households (11·4 million) gain from the new system—88 per cent. of single pensioner households and 82 per cent. of other
  406
  single adult households gain from the new system; community charge is particularly good news for households in the lowest income band. On average, they will see a 26 per cent. reduction in the percentage of their income paid to local government as a result of the new system. This is because community charge benefits will be more generous than rate rebates and because many of the single adult households benefiting from the change are on low incomes.

  The message is clear. The community charge with its benefit system is fair. Contrary to claims made by opponents of the community charge, many of the lowest income households should gain from the changes being made. But for the full benefits of the community charge to be felt, local authorities must control their expenditure. High spending will lead to high community charges just as it would lead to high rate bills. Those high bills would be the responsibility of local authorities, not the Government.

  Mr. Lord
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to make a report under the Personal Community Charge (Relief) (England) Regulations 1990 (S.I., 1990, No. 2).

  Mr. Chris Patten
  Over the next three years the community charge transitional relief scheme will reduce personal community charges for about 6 million people by £710 million during the changeover from domestic rates to the new system. Most charge payers would pay no more than £3 per week more than they did in rates, where councils spend in line with the Government's assumptions.

  I have today laid the Community Charge Transitional Relief Report (England), as required by these regulations, which sets out the assumed community charges for the purposes of the scheme: these are as announced on 11 January in connection with the revenue support grant settlement for 1990–91. Copies of the report are being sent to local authorities and to the local authority associations.

  Local authorities will be reimbursed in full for the income forgone as a result of the abatement of community charges. In addition they will receive grant in respect of administrative costs.

  When the community charge transitional relief scheme was announced I met the local authority associations and made it clear that authorities' reasonable costs incurred in preparing for and administering the scheme would be reimbursed in full. KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock, management consultants, were commissioned to undertake an independent study of these costs. They have had discussions with 31 local authorities, software suppliers, and have met the local authority associations to discuss their views on the operation of the scheme and on methods for cost reimbursement. They have now submitted their report and copies of the recommendations and cost summary have been placed in the Libraries of the Houses of Commons and Lords: copies of the complete report will be available shortly.

  In the light of the report, I am today announcing detailed proposals for consultation with the local authority associations for the reimbursement of these costs. I propose that authorities' preparation costs for the scheme, largely for computer software and related expenditure, should be reimbursed in full on the basis of the actual expenditure incurred, as confirmed by the authority's auditor. The consultants' report estimates preparation costs to be about £7 million in total.
  407
  I propose that the general administrative costs which authorities will incur as a consequence of the scheme, in particular dealing with inquiries, should be reimbursed at a flat rate of 27p per charge payer, with an allowance for higher costs in London. On this basis, the administrative costs grant would be about £9·5 million in total.

  The report recommends that the cost of dealing with applications from elderly and disabled persons and the cost of issuing any second bills to charge payers should be reimbursed on the basis of an amount per application and an amount per bill. I propose that applications should be reimbursed at a rate of £3 per charge payer for each application made, including the cost of dealing with unsuccessful applications.

  I continue to expect that wherever possible authorities should send out bills in good time reflecting entitlement to community charge benefit and transitional relief where appropriate. However, where bills are sent out without taking into account transitional relief, and second bills have to be issued, I propose that the cost of printing and postage for such bills should be reimbursed at a rate of 50p each. This would not apply where the second bill relates to a substitute charge.

  The total cost of this package of grant aid to meet authorities' costs would be about £21 million. These proposals and a copy of the recommendations and cost summary have been sent to the local authority associations for their comments before final decisions are made.

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

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him on 13 February 1990 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport at column 168.

  Recycling
  Mr. Bevan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the Government's target for recycling.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The Government's target is that 50 per cent. of recyclable household waste should be recycled by the end of the century, and that all forms of recycling should be maximised. This is part of our policy of conserving resources through preventing and reducing waste and promoting the effective and efficient re-use and recovery of materials. To this end we are bringing forward measures in the Environmental Protection Bill to empower and encourage local authorities to undertake recycling. In addition we are working with manufacturers and retailers, voluntary groups and local authorities to identify and remove the barriers to further recycling.

  Homelessness
  Mr. Eastham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any proposals to address the problems of homelessness following mortgage repossession.

  Mr. Chope
  The statement last November by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment 408
  (copies of which are in the Library) contained the wide range of proposals from the Government to relieve or prevent homelessness, from whatever cause.

  Disabled People (Public Toilets)
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to introduce a scheme to allow free access to specially adapted public toilets for those who are disabled and over retirement age.

  Mr. Chope
  The national key scheme administered by the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation enables disabled people who have a key to obtain free access to specially adapted public toilets.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make additional resources available to local authorities to enable them to construct and convert public toilet provision adapted to the needs of the disabled.

  Mr. Chope
  The Government make resources available to local authorities through the revenue support grant settlement in support of their expenditure on revenue services generally. These services include the provision of public conveniences, including those adapted to the needs of the disabled. Details of the settlement for 1990–91 were announced on 11 January and full information about the grant entitlement of each area was sent to authorities on 25 January.

  The settlement is based on total standard spending by authorities of £32·8 billion; this is the amount which it is appropriate for authorities in aggregate to incur to provide a standard level of service. I have no plans to make additional resources available.

  Revenue support grant is unhypothecated. Now that authorities have details of their entitlements, it is for them to decide how much to spend on the construction or conversion of public toilet provision adapted to the needs of the disabled.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he collected on the location of specially adapted public conveniences for the disabled.

  Mr. Chope
  This information is not collected by my Department. Information of the kind to which the hon. Member refers is collected by the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, and is made available to disabled people by the association.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will consider making a key available free of charge to those disabled people in receipt of mobility or attendance allowance who request it to enable them to gain 24-hour access to the existing public toilets specially adapted for the disabled by local authorities; and what is his estimate of the cost of providing such a key.

  Mr. Chope
  No. Keys giving access to public toilets specially adapted for the disabled included in the national key scheme are available from the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation at a cost of £2·90 each.

  Bed-and-Breakfast Accommodation
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest figures in the north-east for the number of people living in bed-and-breakfast accommodation.

  Mr. Chope
  At the end of September 1989 there were an estimated 80 households temporarily living in bed-and-breakfast accommodation who had been accepted as homeless by local authorities in Tyne and Wear, Cleveland, Durham and Northumberland.

  Sewage Discharges (Severn)
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to end the discharge of untreated sewage into the Severn estuary; and within what timescale.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  On 20 October 1989 my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) announced details of a £1·1 billion programme (November 1987 prices) designed to bring United Kingdom bathing waters identified under the EEC bathing water directive up to the directive's standards within the next 10 years. Major schemes at Barry (£26·3 million) and Weston-Super-Mare (£13 million) will help to improve the bathing waters in the Severn estuary.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to widen the powers of waste disposal authorities to allow them(a) to ensure that environmental and amenity constraints are fully considered in the implementation of their policies and (b) to minimise the movement of domestic, industrial and special wastes.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The existing waste disposal authorities will be reformed under the powers of the Environmental Protection Bill. Their functions will be divided between waste regulation authorities, whose function will be to license waste management facilities and to enforce standards, and the waste disposal authorities, whose functions will be to seek tenders for the disposal of waste.

  The waste regulation authorities will have wider powers under the provisions of the Bill to prevent the pollution of the environment or harm to human health. The Secretary of State will issue guidance on the way in which the authorities should carry out their duties and the authorities will be under statutory duty to have regard to this guidance.

  The waste disposal authorities will arrange, through competitive tendering, for the disposal of household waste collected by the collection authorities. They will take into account the costs of transporting the waste to the facility in deciding on the tenders they have received. While the authorities are not generally involved in the disposal of industrial waste or special waste, the producers of such waste can also be expected to take into account the costs of transport to the disposal facility. However, some wastes require specialised treatment and it may sometimes be necessary for such waste to move ouside its area of origin to a suitable facility.

  Wild Birds
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what powers are available to him to meet Her Majesty's Government's obligations under article 4 of the European Community directive on the conservation of wild birds, 79/409 EC, in relation to tidal areas outside the jurisdiction of local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Trippier
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Competitive Tendering
  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines are issued to local authorities to take account in the contracting-out service of the training and apprenticeship policies of the tendering companies.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Under the terms of section 17 of the Local Government Act 1988, the training of a contractor's workforce is a non-commercial matter which local authorities must not take into account when awarding contracts for the supply of goods or materials, the supply of services or the execution of works. The Department's circular 8/88 advises local authorities that consideration of the number or proportion of apprentices to be employed by a contractor is not allowed during the contractual process.

  Overtime
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the amount of overtime worked in local government manual services in each of the last four years for which figures are available; if he will publish such information, in summary form, in the Official Report; and if he will make a statement on his proposals to reduce the amounts of overtime worked.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  This information is not available centrally. The amount of overtime worked by manual workers in local government is a matter for each local authority.

  Lambeth
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how he calculates grants due to Lambeth council in the absence of audited accounts.

  Mr. Chope
  Following the enactment of the Rate Support Grant Act 1988, which closed down the rate support grant system, information from audited accounts is not relevant to the calculation of an authority's rate support grant entitlement. Nor will such information be relevant to the calculation of revenue support grant entitlements under the new system of local government finance.

  Where entitlements to other grants depend on information from audited accounts, and where that information is not available, final entitlements cannot be determined, although on-account payments may be made.

  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much Lambeth council will now receive in 1990–91 from(a) its share of the uniform business rate, (b) revenue support grant and (c) housing subsidies.
  411
  Mr. Chope
  In 1990–91 Lambeth borough council will receive £50·5 million in redistributed business rates from the central pool, and £174·3 million of revenue support grant (after allowing for the safety net).

  Lambeth's claim for housing subsidy and grants for slum clearance, home insulation and improvement grant for 1990–91 will not be known until April. In 1989–90 it claimed a total of £63·3 million.

  Waste Management 90 Conference
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to the information received in response to the reply to the hon. Member for Newport, West,Official Report, 5 February, column 436, he now expects his Department to be represented at the Waste Management 90 conference in Tucson.

  Mr. Trippier
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Globe '90 Conference
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will participate in the Globe '90 conference on economic developments and environmental protection in Vancouver in March; and whether any request has been received from the organisers to his Department.

  Mr. Trippier
  Mr. David Pounder, my Department's environmental protection technology adviser, has accepted an invitation from the organisers of Globe '90 to participate in the conference, and will be speaking on the subject of cleaner production.

  Fire Brigade
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take immediate action to persuade the private water companies of the need to ensure that the fire-fighting services have an adequate water supply.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Private water companies have statutory duties under the Water Act 1989 both for the provision of water supplies for fire-fighting and in respect of constancy of supply and water pressure. These duties are enforceable by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment under section 20 of the Act.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had about the current anxieties of the South Yorkshire fire service in regard to the provision of water supplies.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  None, but representations have been made to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and are currently being considered.

  Sulphur Emissions
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment over what timescale his pollution inspectorate will require existing large combustion plant from(a) the general industrial sector, (b) the refinery sector and (c) the electricity supply industry to meet BATNEEC—best available techniques not entailing excessive cost—requirements for new plant.

  Mr. Trippier
  Subject to the enactment of the Environmental Protection Bill, integrated pollution 412
  control of existing plants will be introduced progressively. There will be a rational timetable, which will be subject to consultation, for bringing categories of process within the IPC system.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the United Kingdom will meet its obligations to cut sulphur emissions under the large combustion plants directive; and how he expects this to be achieved in(a) the general industrial sector, (b) the refinery sector and (c) the electricity supply industry.

  Mr. Trippier
  The Government set out their general plans for implementing the directive in a consultation paper published in August 1989. A copy is held in the Library of the House. Further consultation will take place before a statutory plan is issued for emissions reductions from existing plants.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the extent to which the use of low-sulphur coal in power stations represents the best available techniques not entailing excessive costs of reducing emissions of sulphur dioxide.

  Mr. Trippier
  The use of low-sulphur coal is one of a number of means of reducing emissions of sulphur dioxide and is expected to contribute to meeting the United Kingdom's obligations under the large combustion plants directive. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is preparing detailed notes on the operation of large combustion plants which will specify the SO2 emission standards to be achieved in plants of different sizes and according to the sulphur content of fuel. The notes are expected to be published in the summer.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of plans to burn high-sulphur Orimulsion Venezuelan bitumen emulsion in power stations; and what the overall impact will be on the sulphur and nitrogen budget for the electricity supply industry.

  Mr. Trippier
  No assessment has been made of plans to burn Orimulsion, but Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is aware of the results of a related test. The sulphur and nitrogen budgets would be subject to the arrangements the Government put in place for implementing the large combustion plants directive.

  Large Combustion Plants
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether it remains the Government's intention to move increasingly to stated timetables for upgrading existing registered large combustion plants.

  Mr. Trippier
  Yes, in accordance with the proposals contained in our consultation paper.

  Local Government Employees (Pensions)
  Mr. Favell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to make the regulations allowing part-time local government employees to buy additional service for pension purposes.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  It is the intention to make these regulations as soon as possible.

  Nuclear Waste Disposal
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the limit set on the radioactivity of wastes disposed of at Drigg in(a) 1985 to 1990 and (b) 1990 to 1995.

  Mr. Trippier
  Disposal limits are specified in the certificate of authorisation issued to BNFL by the authorising Departments. I will send the hon. Member copies of the certificates covering the relevant period. It is Government policy to keep all such certificates under regular review.

  Radiochemical Inspectors
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the sites at(a) Aldermaston, (b) Burghfield, (c) Springfield, (d) Capenhurst, (e) Sellafield, (f) Calder Hall, and (g) Chapel Cross, were last inspected by the radiochemical inspectors.

  Mr. Trippier
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: The latest date on which each of the following sites was inspected by HMIP is as follows:
  (a) Aldermaston—30 January 1990, (b) Burghfield—30 July 1986, (c) Springfield—18 December 1989, (d) Capenhurst—30 January 1990, (e) Sellafield—2 February 1990, (f) Calder Hall—9 January 1990.

  Inspection of the BNFL site at Chapel Cross is a matter for the Secretary of State for Scotland.

  Property Services Agency
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many Property Services Agency staff responded to the Property Services Agency trawl for posts in the Ministry of Defence;

  (2) if he will detail the programme, by date, function, and staff numbers, for transferring work out of the Property Services Agency, Hastings.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 14 February 1990]: A total of 418 Property Services Agency staff responded to the trawl published by PSA on 5 October 1989 for approximately 120 posts in the Ministry of Defence.

  Crown Suppliers
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the impact of the secondment agreement with the National Union of Civil and Public Servants and Civil and Public Servants Association on the morale of staff concerned, and on the retention of staff by the Crown Suppliers.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 14 February 1990]: None, but secondment has been welcomed by those staff to whom we have been able to offer it.

DEFENCE

  Fuel Pipelines
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the costs to the Exchequer of capital investment in the Government pipeline project from Calne, Wiltshire, to RAF Fairford in each of the past five years.
  414
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There has been no United Kingdom capital investment on the Calne to Fairford line over the past five years, and therefore no cost to the Exchequer.

  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the names of all contractors constructing and operating fuel pipeline systems on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The major contractors responsible for operating existing MOD pipelines are British Pipeline Agency (BPA), Esso UK Limited and Texaco.

  Construction work is subcontracted by these contractors, or via the Property Services Agency, to a great many different companies, depending on the nature of the work to be done, and the outcome of competition. No contract has yet been awarded for the construction of the new Calne to Fairford pipeline.

  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the cost of the proposed extension of the Government pipeline project from Calne, Wiltshire, to RAF Fairford will be paid in full by the United Kingdom Government.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No. The cost of the extension will be met in full from NATO funds.

  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list payments to contractors for the operation of any part of the Government pipeline project from Calne, Wiltshire, to RAF Fairford in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No. The information requested is commercial-in-confidence.

  Expenditure
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the expenditure on defence for each of the years from 1979 at constant prices.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to Cm. 1021, "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1990–91 to 1992–93", where the information requested is shown in table 21.2.11.

  HILEX 1990
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of Stale for Defence what was the date of exercise HILEX 1990; if he will list the United Kingdom participants in the exercise; and what was the purpose of the exercise.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The NATO crisis management exercise HILEX 14 was to have taken place from 4 to 9 March 1990. The Alliance recently decided that in view of international developments it would be inappropriate to hold the exercise at the present time.

  "Codename Badger"
  Mr. Allason
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his agreement was sought prior to the publication in America of "Codename Badger" by John Cottell; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I have been unable to find any record that the Ministry of Defence was consulted prior to publication of the book.

  Lines of Communication Arrangement
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the exercises in which procedures for the provision of host nation labour under the terms of the United States—United Kingdom lines of communication arrangement have been tested.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The procedures for the provision of civil labour in support of the United States—United Kingdom lines of communication arrangement are tested from time to time, in conjunction with the Department of Employment. It would not be appropriate to list the occasions upon which these procedures have been exercised.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the publication dates and titles of the various joint logistic plans drawn up to meet the objectives of the United States—United Kingdom lines of communication arrangement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The titles of the joint plans refer to classified information and therefore cannot be released.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the United Kingdom representatives on the United States-United Kingdom telecommunications working group, established under the terms of the United States-United Kingdom lines of communication arrangement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The United Kingdom representation on the telecommunications working group consists of staff at major level with responsibility for communication matters from the central staffs and single-service departments of the MOD.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British private firms have contracted to provide supplies or services to the United States armed forces in crisis, tension and war, under the terms of the United States-United Kingdom lines of communication arrangement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There are some hundreds of contractors with which the United States forces contract for supplies and services in peace time. The majority of these contracts would continue in time of crisis and war.

  Colin Wallace
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he made, pursuant to the answer to the Adjournment debate of 12 February,Official Report, column 115, of the implications for his policy of his reading of "Who Framed Colin Wallace" by Paul Foot.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  None.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will name the five Army officers whose names appear on the memorandum written by Colin Wallace in August 1973.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the undated and unsigned briefing notes which were reproduced in Paul Foot's book "Who Framed Colin Wallace", page 292. No Army officers' names appear on that document.
  416
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what disciplinary action is to be taken against those officials who failed in their duty to provide accurate information to Ministers in relation to parliamentary questions about Operation Clockwork Orange and related matters on 10 January 1989.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  This is the subject of the current internal inquiry. It would be premature to speculate whether any form of disciplinary action will be appropriate.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the reply to the Adjournment debate of 12 February,Official Report, column 118, by whom, and on whose authority, an additional job description was drafted to cover additional duties for Mr. Colin Wallace; and why they were not recorded in any subsequent approved and issued job description.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I have nothing to add to the statement which I made on 30 January in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Arundel (Mr. Marshall),Official Report, 30 January 1990 c. 110–13. Such matters are within the purview of Mr. Calcutt's inquiry.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the reply to the Adjournment debate of 12 February,Official Report, column 118, (1) by what process documents have recently come to light making reference to a project called Clockwork Orange; and if he will specify the day on which they first came to light;

  (2) what factors led to the re-examination of files on the Colin Wallace affair, indicating that Mr. Wallace had undertaken unattributable covert briefings.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I have nothing to add to the information given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 1 February and the subsequent exchanges,Official Report, 1 February 1990, columns 446–68, and in his letter of 2 February to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone). A copy of that letter is in the Library of the House.

  Electric Vehicles
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department is funding or assisting projects designed to develop electrically powered road vehicles.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  No.

  Kincora Boys' Home
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) of 12 February,Official Report, column 117, what inquiries were conducted into the rumours referred to about MI5 and MI6 blocking of an inquiry into Kincora, to establish that they were unsubstantiated.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I have nothing to add to what I said to the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) in the debate on 12 February, (Official Report, 12 February 1990, c. 117).

  Temperatures
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what information has been received by the Meteorological Office in respect of the number of days between I November 1989 and 31 January 1990 when the average daily temperature allowing for wind chill factor fell below 0 deg. C. at each recording station in Scotland;

  (2) what information the Meteorological Office has received from recording stations in the United Kingdom regarding any period of seven consecutive days between 1 November 1989 and 31 January 1990, when the average daily temperature, allowing for a wind chill factor, fell below 0 deg. C.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, on 15 December 1989, Vol. 163, c.882.

  The Meteorological Office does not record wind chill factors, and does not provide such calculations without a specific request stating the criteria to be applied. The work involved would have to be undertaken on repayment terms.

  The incidence of temperatures sought by the hon. Member, even without any chill factor applied, could be provided here only at disproportionate cost. However, temperatures covering the same period, recorded for the purposes of regulation 2 of the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988, are placed weekly in the Library of the House on the instructions of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security.

THE ARTS

  English National Ballet and Opera
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Minister for the Arts (1) what representations he has received from(a) the chairman of the Arts Council, (b) the chairman of the English National Ballet and the English National Opera and (c) Westminster city council about the future funding of the English National Ballet and English National Opera;

  (2) whether he will list the dates in the last six months on which he has met (a) the chairman of the Arts Council, (b) the chairman of the English National Ballet and the English National Opera and (c) the leader of Westminster city council to discuss the impact of the community charge and the uniform business rate on the future funding of English National Ballet and English National Opera.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 12 February 1990]: I received a number of representations on behalf of English National Opera and English National Ballet. The Government took these and other factors into account in increasing the Arts Council's grant by 12·5 per cent. in the coming year. As a result, the Arts Council has been able to announce a further increase in its grants to these two companies of £1·1 million each in recognition Of their special local circumstances created by the termination of the London rate equalisation scheme.

  Arts Council
  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will dismiss Mr. Peter Palumbo as chairman of the Arts Council as a result of the failure of the Arts Council to provide additional funding for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: No, Sir.

  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Minister for the Arts (1) if he will increase the Government's grant to the Arts Council, earmarking the increase as extra funding for the English National Opera;

  (2) if he will increase the Government's grant to the Arts Council, earmarking the increase as extra funding for the English National Ballet.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]: I have already announced that the Arts Council's grant will increase by 22 per cent. over the next three years, including a 12·5 per cent. increase in 1990–91. It is for the Arts Council to determine the allocation of this additional money to individual companies. The council's grants to English National Opera and English National Ballet for 1990–91 represent increases of 11 per cent. and 12 per cent. respectively. The council announced yesterday an additional £1·161 million to English National Opera and £1·120 million to English National Ballet from its reserves, in recognition of their special local circumstances.

  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will increase the Government's grant to the Arts Council, earmarking the increase as extra funding for the Royal Shakespeare Company; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 13 February 1990]:I have already announced that the Arts Council's grant will increase by 22 per cent. over the next three years, including a 12·5 per cent. increase in 1990–91. This is an extremely generous settlement and underlines the Government's commitment to the arts. It is for the Arts Council to determine the allocation of this additional money to individual companies. I am advised that the council's grant to the Royal Shakespeare Company will increase next year by 11 per cent., bringing it to over £6 million.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  European Community Free Food
  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when is the deadline for applications from organisations wishing to operate the European Community free food scheme in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  I and my colleagues are currently considering the arrangements for a scheme in 1990 and will make an announcement as soon as a decision has been reached.

  Scrapie
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has as to whether the infective agent in scrapie can be passed to mink.
  419
  Mr. Maclean
  Reports of outbreaks of natural transmissible mink encephalopathy in north America indicate that some may have resulted from the feeding to mink of scrapie-infected sheep material. In addition, research conducted in the United States has in certain circumstances transmitted scrapie-infected material from sheep and goats into mink experimentally.

  Rodents
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what assessment he has made of whether the requirements of the European Commission's common rules regarding the producing of rodents on the European Community market will require changes in the practices of British producers;

  (2) what changes in the rules governing rodent producers in Britain will be imposed as a result of the European Commission's proposed regulation to remove disparities between member states' rodent health restrictions;

  (3) what arrangements he is making to assist European Commission veterinary experts who will be making on-the-spot inspections to ensure British rodents are bred and kept within the requirements of European animal health restrictions.

  Mr. Maclean
  The proposed animal health conditions governing the placing of rodents on the market in the Community should not require changes in the practices of British producers. Tularaemia, myxomatosis and viral haemorrhagic disease would become notifiable, in addition to rabies, and exports to other member states would not be subject to official veterinary certification. We will provide whatever assistance is required by the Commission's veterinary experts in carrying out their inspections, if the proposal is adopted.

  Veterinary Surgeons
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the number of veterinary surgeons employed by county councils in England and Wales.

  Mr. Maclean
  I have no information on the number of veterinary surgeons employed by county councils.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what provision he is making for the training of veterinary surgeons in enforcement of welfare and public health standards prior to 1992.

  Mr. Maclean
  My Department provides training for veterinary surgeons who are to undertake meat work. Arrangements have already been made to enable increased numbers to receive this training.

  Members of the state veterinary service (SVS) receive regular training on welfare matters; a course is held annually to cater for veterinary surgeons joining the service. Individual training is also given to local veterinary inspectors (LVIs) employed to carry out welfare functions. The impact of 1992 on welfare is not yet clear but once any new needs have been assessed appropriate training will, if necessary, be given.

  Animal Movement Records
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what new procedures he has introduced during the last three years concerning the maintenance by producers and auctioneers of animal movement records in respect of bovines.

  Mr. Maclean
  None.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he gives concerning the level of compensation to be paid in respect of bovine spongiform encephalopathy confirmed cattle identified at abattoirs; what certification is involved; which officials are authorised to certify payments; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The levels of compensation payable for cattle compulsorily slaughtered between 8 August 1988 and 13 February 1990 (inclusive) because of BSE were laid down in the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Compensation Order 1988. The levels payable for cattle slaughtered on or after 14 February 1990 are laid down in the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Order 1990.

  A suspected animal's market value is determined by agreement between the owner of the animal and an officer of the state veterinary service, or by one valuer appointed jointly by the owner and the officer or, failing such agreement or appointment, by a valuer nominated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the outbreak of disease among mink in Wisconsin in 1947, where the animals displayed symptoms similar to those of cows affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy, will be considered as part of his Department's research into the causes and properties of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

  Mr. Curry
  The disease referred to in the question is called transmissible mink encephalopathy and outbreaks have occurred in continental Europe and north America. Part of the Department's research programme on BSE is to determine whether BSE is transmissible to mink.

  EC Fraud
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of fraud upon the European Community agricultural funds were referred to the Commission by each of the 12 member states in the first nine months of 1989.

  Mr. Curry
  Regulation 283/72 requires member states to notify the Commission each quarter of all instances of irregularity affecting the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund. Irregularity is defined as contravention of a legal provision, whether deliberate or not, exceeding 1000 units of account (about £800) in value. The number of irregularities notified is not, therefore, a measure of detected fraud, nor does it necessarily relate to the volume of actual fraud committed. The numbers notified in the first three quarters of 1989 are as follows:
  421

  Guarantee Section

  Guidance Section

  Belgium

  2

  0

  Denmark

  11

  0

  Germany

  24

  0

  Greece

  0

  0

  Spain

  10

  0

  France

  85

  1

  Ireland

  8

  5

  Italy

  33

  0

  Luxembourg

  1

  0

  Netherlands

  58

  27

  Portugal

  0

  0

  United Kingdom

  129

  34

  422
  Source: Commission of the European Communities.

  Salmonella
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many outbreaks of salmonella enteritidis have been identified or reported in free range flocks of poultry and in intensively reared flocks for the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available.

  Mr. Maclean
  Between 1 January and 29 December 1989 there were 24 reports of salmonella enteritidis in free-range laying flocks and 77 in intensively reared laying flocks.

  FOOD SAFETY REPORT
  FOOD SAFETY REPORT
  COMMUNITY CHARGE: TRANSITIONAL RELIEF SCHEME
  COMMUNITY CHARGE: TRANSITIONAL RELIEF SCHEME
  DEFAMATION LAW: REFORMING MEASURES
  DEFAMATION LAW: REFORMING MEASURES
  PROBATION SERVICE: GREEN PAPER
  PROBATION SERVICE: GREEN PAPER