Written Answers of 22 January 1990

TRANSPORT

  Radioactive Material
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each of the past 10 years, how many tonnes of radioactive material were(a) imported and (b) exported through the ports of (i) Barrow, (ii) Dover, (iii) Felixstowe, (iv) Harwich, (v) Liverpool (vi) Portsmouth, (vii) Southampton and (viii) Workington; and, in each case, what method of transport was used to convey the material to or from the port.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Department does not collect this information, and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by year for the last 10 years(a) the sources and (b) the destinations, of radioactive material (i) imported and (ii) exported through the port of Immingham-Hull.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Department does not collect this information on a routine basis and it can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Channel Tunnel
  Mr. Warren
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will arrange for the publication of the safety requirements of the Channel tunnel design together with the supporting calculations.

  Mr. Portillo
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Mr. Hargreaves) on 15 January,Official Report, column 45, and to my hon. Friend the Member for Hampshire, North-West (Sir D. Mitchell) on 19 December, Official Report, column 195. The general characteristics of the Channel tunnel are specified in the concession agreement (Cmnd 9769). It is for Eurotunnel to prepare detailed designs and submit them for approval by the Channel tunnel intergovernmental commission. On safety matters, the commission is advised by the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority, which has recently published its annual report for 1988–89. I understand that the authority intends to publish further reports in due course. The commission's recent decision on the non-segregation of passengers from their vehicles was accompanied by a number of binding safety requirements.

  Light Rapid Transit Systems
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is the current amount allocated for the development of light rapid transit systems for the financial year 1990–91, excluding London;
  490
  (2) what is the amount currently budgeted for allocation for the development of light rapid transit systems for the financial year 1991–92, excluding London.

  Mr. Portillo
  Total provision of about £50 million in 1990–91 and £40 million in 1991–92 has been made for the Manchester Metrolink project. No decisions have yet been taken on resource allocations for any other light rail schemes outside London.

  Tamar Estuary Crossing
  Mr. Robert Hicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends announcing details of the proposed study of a second road crossing of the Tamar estuary as outlined in his May 1989 "Roads for Prosperity" strategy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  I aim to invite tenders this spring from consultants experienced in this kind of study. I shall make an announcement when an appointment has been made.

  A27
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to construct a road of motorway standard north of the existing A27 in East Sussex.

  Mr. Atkins
  We have no present plans to do so but we are putting in place a major study into the need for an east-west strategic route running from Kent to Hampshire within a corridor between the M25 and the south coast.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy not to allow construction to begin on a new roundabout at the junction of the A27 and A26 at Beddingham until such time as a projected route has been announced for the proposed improvements to the A27 between Lewes and Polegate, and a full public consultation period has elapsed.

  Mr. Atkins
  No. Provision of this roundabout is considered good value for money in the medium term and will not pre-empt consideration of options for improving the A27.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy not to approve a final route for the A27 Folkington link until such time as a projected route has been announced for the proposed improvements to the A27 between Lewes and Polegate, and a full public consultation period has elapsed.

  Mr. Atkins
  The issue about which the hon. Member is concerned has been raised by others in the context of public consultation on our Folkington link proposals and will be considered before we decide how the matter should be taken forward. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide details of traffic flows along the A27 between(a) Lewes and Beddingham, (b) Beddingham and Alfriston and (c) Alfriston and Polegate for any of the last 15 years for which figures are available; and if he will indicate the division between HGV and other traffic.

  Mr. Atkins
  The annual average daily traffic flows for the years 1985 to 1988, for which information is readily available, were as follows. Percentages of heavy goods vehicles are shown in brackets:
  491

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  Lewes to Beddingham

  17,500 (8·3 per cent.)

  18,600 (8·3 per cent.)

  18,800 (9·7 per cent.)

  20,300 (9·6 per cent.)

  Beddingham and Alfriston

  11,600 (7·5 per cent.)

  12,300 (7·4 per cent.)

  12,700 (6·6 per cent.)

  13,200 (10·3 per cent.)

  Alfriston and Polegate

  9,400 (9·2 per cent.)

  10,000 (9·0 per cent.)

  10,200 (7·9 per cent.)

  11,000 (7·8 per cent.)

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer in the Official Report, 16 January, column 154, what the possible option identified by East Sussex county council involved with regard to (a) the dualling of the present A27 road, (b) the demolition of houses along the A27 and (c) the construction of a flyover.

  Mr. Atkins
  It is not our policy to release information from scheme identification studies in advance of public consultation. To do so could be misleading and cause unnecessary planning blight for which there might not be a satisfactory recourse under existing legislation.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last corresponded with East Sussex county council in respect of projected improvements to the A27; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  There is regular contact between my Department and East Sussex county council about our four major A27—and seven A259—schemes in addition to a number of other schemes in our regional programme.

  Rear Seat Belts
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in which European Community states the installation of rear seat belts is mandatory; and from what date this took effect in each case.

  Mr. Atkins
  The table gives the available information on the mandatory fitment of rear seat belts in cars for each European Community member state.

  Member state

  Rear belt requirement/Date

  Belgium

  First registered from January 1987

  Denmark

  First registered from April 1989

  France

  First registered from October 1978

  Federal Republic of Germany

  First registered from May 1987

  Greece

  None

  Italy

  First registered from April 1990

  Ireland

  None

  Luxembourg

  First registered from 1988

  Netherlands

  First registered from January 1990

  Portugal

  First registered from January 1992

  Spain

  First registered from October 1990

  United Kingdom

  First registered from April 1987

  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on the number of fatalities and injuries occurring in the United Kingdom if rear seat belts were worn in all vehicles.

  Mr. Atkins
  Our latest estimate is that if all rear seat car passengers wore seat belts, some 200 deaths and 9,000 injuries would be prevented each year.
  492
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current position of draft European Community legislation 9228/88; and when the wearing of rear seat belts will become mandatory.

  Mr. Atkins
  Member countries have not yet taken a decision on this Commission proposal. In the United Kingdom it is already mandatory for children to wear available rear restraints where appropriate for their use. In the case of adults we have no plans to introduce mandatory wearing before a sufficient proportion of cars has the equipment fitted as standard.

  M40 (Widening)
  Sir David Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has considered responses to the environmental statement for the widening of the M40 motorway between High Wycombe and Stokenchurch; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  We have carefully considered the responses to the environmental statement issued on 15 September 1989 containing proposals for widening the M40 motorway. The Department has made various changes to the design of the scheme, in particular to take account of the interests of the environment in this attractive area. The improvements will make the best use of established planting and minimise the effects on wildlife. "Cut-off" lighting will be used to avoid unnecessary glare away from the highway. We shall be making full use of our discretionary powers to provide noise insulation for residential properties. The Department is about to invite tenders for the work.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Child Abuse
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has had concerning the proposal by the National Association for Pastoral Care in Education to set up a national standing conference for educational responses to child abuse; and if he will made a statement.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  My right hon. Friend has received no such representations.

  Disabled Students' Allowance
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to announce new proposals arising from the review of the disabled students' allowance.

  Mr. Jackson
  My right hon. Friend hopes to announce the outcome of his review of the disabled students' and other supplementary allowances in the spring, in time for any changes in the mandatory awards regulations to take effect from 1 September 1990.

  European Parliament Reports
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the response of Her Majesty's Government to resolution A2-327/88 of the European Parliament on genetic engineering known as the
  493
  Rothley report and resolution A2-372/88 of the European Parliament on artificial insemination known as the Casini report.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Government have noted these resolutions, but have not responded.

  National Curriculum
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he has taken to ensure that there are sufficient teachers to teach the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Mr. Michael) on 12 December 1989 at column 553.

  Medical Research Council
  Ms. Primarlo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to increase the budget allocation to the Medical Research Council for 1990–91.

  Mr. Jackson
  My right hon. Friend announced his decision on the science budget allocations for 1990–91 including that for the Medical Research Council in his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Mr. Amos) on 10 January at columns 623-24.

  Teachers' Pay
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidance is given by his Department as to supply teachers' salaries; whether local education authorities are required to pay supply teachers additional increments in accordance with years of service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Teachers employed on short-notice contracts are paid for the duration of each contract at the rate the LEA considers appropriate in the light of local needs and circumstances. In circular 12/89 the Department drew local education authorities' attention to the interim advisory committee's views on the dangers of setting a standard low point on the main scale and endorsed the suggestion of the IAC that such teachers should always be offered the opportunity of being involved in other duties as well as teaching pupils.

  Learning Difficulties
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many letters he has received from parents of children with special learning difficulties, including dyslexia, on the issue of assessment and provision of statements under the Education Acts; and how many of these were in respect of children in Essex.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  I regret that it is not possible to identify this information from the Department's records.

  Alpha-rated Research
  Mr. Warren
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would have been the extra money required by each research council to have funded all the alpha-rated research projects in the financial year 1988–89; and how much money was spent by each research council on alpha-rated projects in that financial year.
  494
  Mr. Jackson
  The additional amounts that would have been required to fund all alpha-rated research grant applications in the academic year 1988–89 were as follows:

  £ million

  Agricultural and Food Research Council

  0·3

  Medical Research Council

  17·9

  Natural Environment Research Council

  0·7

  Science and Engineering Research Council

  63·6

  Economic and Social Research Council

  5·0

  87·5

  In the 1988–89 financial year the councils' spend on alpha-rated research projects was as follows:

  £ million

  Agricultural and Food Research Council

  9·1

  Medical Research Council

  44·5

  Natural Environment Research Council

  4·6

  Science and Engineering Research Council

  123·0

  Economic and Social Research Council

  4·3

  185·5

  Student Loans Company
  Mr. Hanley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in acquiring premises for the Student Loans Company, and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. MacGregor
  [pursuant to his reply, 22 November 1989, column 5]: The Student Loans Company Limited has reached agreement with landlords on the terms of a lease on premises at 100 Bothwell street in Glasgow. I have been requested by the landlords to guarantee the company's obligations under that lease. I have considered the lease and the terms of the guarantee requested. I have concluded that I should give such a guarantee in accordance with the departmental minute laid before Parliament on 22 November 1989 and have indicated to the Student Loans Company that I will do so.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the decision will be taken on the exact location in Glasgow of the headquarters for the Student Loans Company; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  I refer the hon. Member to the pursuant reply that my right hon. Friend gave today to my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond and Barnes (Mr. Hanley). The headquarters of the Student Loans Company Limited will be at 100 Bothwell street, Glasgow.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Social Security
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Attorney-General how many cases were heard by the social security commissioners in the last year for which statistics were available; how long on average each hearing took; and on what number of occasions the Department of Social Security and the appellant, respectively, was legally represented.

  The Attorney-General
  A total of 442 cases were heard by the social security commissioners in 1989. On average, each hearing took 2·25 hours. Statistics on the representation of parties are not kept.

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Attorney-General what arrangements will be made to obtain evidence and advice from the solicitors' profession on legal aid, for the purposes of the review of the financial conditions for legal aid announced on 13 November 1989.

  The Attorney-General
  The solicitors' profession will be consulted as appropriate for information and for its views.

  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Attorney-General (1) what is his estimate of the percentage of the population now potentially eligible on income grounds for legal aid for non-matrimonial cases; what was the equivalent figure obtaining in 1979 and each successive year; and whether he will place a summary of relevant calculations of the data used in the Library;

  (2) what progress has been made in the study of family expenditure survey data and the conclusions to be drawn from it in relation to eligibility for legal aid since his answer of 20 March 1989, Official Report, column 449.

  The Attorney-General
  Estimates indicate that at present about 56 per cent. of the population is eligible on income grounds alone for civil legal aid in non-matrimonial cases. This estimate does not take account of the improvements announced on 13 November 1989,Official Report, column 3, which will be introduced in April. It was based on data obtained from the family expenditure survey—in relation to income for each household type and deductions for housing costs, tax and national insurance payments and allowances for dependants—grossed up and uprated to current level equivalents through a computer model. Such calculations cannot be made for earlier years except at disproportionate cost.

  Legal Advice and Assistance
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Attorney-General whether he will take immediate steps substantially to increase the capital limit of £890 which applies to the legal advice and assistance green form scheme.

  The Attorney-General
  The capital limit for a single person for legal advice and assistance will be increased to £935 in April.

ENERGY

  Nuclear Electricity
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he last met the chairman of Nuclear Electric; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Baldry
  My hon. Friend has met the chairman of Nuclear Electric on a number of occasions to discuss aspects of the nuclear industry.

  Electricity Privatisation
  Mr. Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will set out those guarantees which were sought by the private sector in regard to nuclear stations in the negotiations over electricity privatisation.

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) on 14 November 1989 at column 139.
  496
  Mr. Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he is taking to ensure that the operational expertise of the electricity supply industry in running its nuclear plants will be retained when the non-nuclear sector of the industry is privatised.

  Mr. Baldry
  Nuclear Electric will inherit all the CEGB's nuclear-related assets, expertise and support, including its expertise in health and safety. The chairman of Nuclear Electric has stated that safety is a paramount priority of Nuclear Electric.

  Sellafield
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what payments have been made by his Department to British Nuclear Fuels plc over the past five years in regard to post-operational decommissioning work on facilities at Sellafield used to carry out contracts for his Department; what proportion of the work required arose from the pre-1971 period when Sellafield was operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority; and over what period of time negotiations were entered into over the payments for the work.

  Mr. Baldry
  None. My Department has no liabilities to British Nuclear Fuels plc for decommissioning.

  "Energy Policy in the Greenhouse"
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to obtain a copy of the recently published study "Energy Policy in the Greenhouse" prepared by the international project for sustainable energy paths.

  Mr. Wakeham
  My Department already holds a copy of this study.

  Waste Tips
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will make it his policy to promote methane extraction for useful energy generation of all controlled waste tips of over 1 million cu m of refuse;

  (2) what is the most up-to-date estimate available to him of the minimum size, measured by cubic metres, of controlled household refuse tips, to sustain viable commercial methane extraction.

  Mr. Peter Morrison
  As I explained to the hon. Member in answer to his question of 18 January, my Department has a substantial programme to promote exploitation of methane from landfill sites. This work is not limited to sites with more than 1 million cu m of waste capacity. Landfill gas exploitation is being encouraged at all landfill sites containing a large proportion of biodegradable refuse providing such exploitation can be shown to be economic.

  The minimum size of landfill sites for viable commercial methane extraction does not depend on volume alone. Factors such as locality of potential users are also important. For example, a small-scale greenhouse scheme could be supported by a site of only a few thousand cubic metres in volume. Hence, it would not be appropriate to suggest a minimum value, in terms of cubic metres of refuse on a landfill site, to sustain a viable extraction project.

  Subsidence (Compensation)
  Mr. Andy Stewart
  To ask the Scretary of State for Energy when he expects to receive British Coal's second annual report on its administration of the system for subsidence compensation and repair.

  Mr. Baldry
  I have today placed copies of this report in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list for each local authority district the number of outstanding subsidence claims lodged with British Coal.

  Mr. Wakeham
  British Coal has no operational need to compile details of subsidence damage claims on a district council basis. Details of claims broken down by British Coal area are contained in British Coal's annual report to the Secretary of State for Energy. As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary announced today in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood (Mr. Stewart), copies of the most recent report were today placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The provision of further information is a matter for British Coal.

  Opencast Mining
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will list proposals for opencast working made by the Opencast Executive of British Coal to the appropriate planning authorities, giving the name, location and proposed capacity in each case'

  (2) if he will list the applications for licences to operate opencast mines presently being considered by British Coal, giving the name, location and capacity in each case;

  (3) if he will list the names, locations and capacities of each opencast mine being operated by the Opencast Executive of British Coal;

  (4) if he will list the names, locations and capacities of each opencast mine being operated by a private company under licence from British Coal;

  (5) on how many occasions in each of the past 10 years British Coal has withheld repayment of a bond it held from licensed opencast operators; and what were the reasons in each case.

  Mr. Wakeham
  These are matters for the British Coal Corporation, and I have asked the chairman to reply to the hon. Member.

  Fuel Exports and Imports
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will now provide the information given in his answers of 9 November 1989,Official Report, column 767, 19 December 1989, Official Report, columns 118-19 and 12 January, Official Report, columns 768-69, relating to fuel exports and imports at 1990 constant prices.

  Mr. Wakeham
  I regret that the information requested (on the basis of 1990 constant prices) is not available. The procedure used to provide figures at 1985 constant prices in the previous answers referred to in the question was to apply the 1985 unit value for exports and imports to the relevant volumes for the years concerned. The equivalent export and import unit value figures for the whole of 1990 will not be available until February 1991 at the earliest.

  Nuclear Power (Overseas Production)
  Mr. Benn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the examples of economic production of nuclear power abroad, referred to in his statement of 9 November 1989,Official Report, column 1182; and what information he possesses on how the cost of such nuclear electricity is calculated in each case.

  Mr. Baldry
  My right hon. Friend's remarks were informed by the IEA/NEA study "Projected costs of generating electricity from power stations for commissioning in the period 1995–2000", which gives information on the economics of nuclear power in a number of countries. The study will be published shortly.

PRIME MINISTER

  Cults
  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's mechanisms for the monitoring of cults in the United Kingdom.

  The Prime Minister
  The Government are aware of the distress that can be caused to individuals and families as a result of involvement with certain cults, particularly where young people are concerned. Provided these groups operate within the law, however, it would not be right., in the Government's view, for us to place restraints on freedom of expression or freedom of religion and belief. Any evidence of illegal activities should he referred to the police who will take appropriate action.

  The Government believe that the best way of dealing with these cults is through public exposure of their true nature. For this reason the Home Office has been providing start-up funding since October 1987 over three years for INFORM—Information Network Focus on Religious Movements. Its work is supported by the major churches. Under the terms of its grant, INFORM is required to produce a report annually on its activities. The report for the calendar year 1988 was received in May 1989, and the report for 1989 is expected in due course.

  Student Loans
  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to discuss the future of the scheme for student loans with the chairman of Barclays bank.

  The Prime Minister
  No.

  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will dismiss the Secretary of State for Education and Science for his conduct in relation to the banks' decision to pull out of the student loan scheme; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  No. I was very disappointed that the banks decided to react to external pressure and withdrew from the memorandum of understanding with the Government to administer the student loans scheme. It is the students themselves who will now not have the benefit of access to the banks' branch networks to obtain the loans. But the banks' withdrawal does not affect in any way the objectives, principles or funding of the scheme. Preparatory work is well in hand.
  499
  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Prime Minister if the Government have any plans to take fiscal or other action against those banks which pulled out of the Government scheme for student loans; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The Government have expressed strong disappointment at the banks' withdrawal from the memorandum of understanding: at no stage has there been any question of action against the banks.

  Hong Kong (Ivory Stocks)
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons responsibility for the Hong Kong ivory stock rests with the Foreign and Commonwealth office.

  The Prime Minister
  Matters related to the CITES Convention are the prime responsibility of the Department of the Environment. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for questions arising from the administration of Hong Kong as a dependent territory.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Footwear
  Mr. Fry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he intends to take to reduce the current imbalance of tariff and non-tariff barriers in footwear trade with(a) Thailand, (b) Brazil, (c) Australia, (d) India and (e) Japan.

  Table 1

  Trade balances in manufactures1

  United States $ billion

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989 January to November

  Japan

  With:

  World

  134·7

  160·3

  163·4

  176

  n/a

  EC

  12·7

  20·1

  22·7

  27

  n/a

  United Kingdom

  3·4

  4·7

  6·0

  7

  n/a

  Federal Republic of Germany

  With:

  World

  67·5

  89·4

  104·9

  113

  n/a

  EC

  24·5

  38·1

  50·6

  60

  n/a

  United Kingdom

  7·4

  9·9

  12·9

  15

  n/a

  United States of America

  With:

  World

  -112·9

  -144·9

  -152·1

  -146

  n/a

  EC

  -22·5

  -29·0

  -27·4

  -20

  n/a

  United Kingdom

  -1·3

  -3·0

  -1·9

  —

  n/a

  United Kingdom

  With:

  World

  -7·5

  -11·8

  -16·1

  -30·8

  -31·0

  EC

  -12·3

  -15·9

  -18·2

  -23·9

  -23·0

  1 Standard International Trade Classification, sections 5 to 8.

  n/a—Not available.

  Note: Imports valued inclusive of insurance and freight, exports valued exclusive.

  Sources:

  United Kingdom—Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom.

  Others—OECD except 1988 which are estimated from national sources.
  500
  Mr. Redwood
  We and our Community partners fully support the objectives of the Uruguary round of multilateral trade negotiations in GATT, which include the specific aim of reduction or elimination by all participants of high tariffs and non-tariff measures.

  The European Commission negotiates for the Community in GATT. It has details of all the concerns expressed to us by the United Kingdom footwear industry, and these will be carefully taken into account in formulating the Community's position in these negotiations.

  Trade Surplus
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official Report, a table showing in dollars for each year since 1985, and for 1989 to the latest available date at an annual rate, the trade surplus in manufactures and the balance of payments surplus for Japan, Germany, the United States of America and the United Kingdom with the world, the EEC and the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Redwood
  The available information is in the tables. Care should be exercised in comparing trade balances in manufactures with current account balances because of inconsistencies in valuation. The figures for 1989 relate to the periods shown because annualised figures can be unreliable as a guide to the outturn for the year.
  501

  Table 2

  Balance of payments

  US $ billion

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989 January to September

  Japan with:

  World

  49·2

  85·8

  87·0

  79·6

  46·7

  European Community

  8·0

  14·8

  17·7

  19·8

  n.a.

  United Kingdom

  0·3

  1·5

  2·0

  1·4

  n.a.

  Federal Republic of Germany with:

  World

  15·2

  35·2

  45·1

  48·5

  44·4

  European Community

  -0·4

  9·9

  18·7

  25·4

  n.a.

  United Kingdom

  3·2

  7·3

  10·5

  14·0

  n.a.

  United States of America with:

  World

  -115·1

  -133·2

  -143·7

  -126·5

  -85·2

  European Community

  n.a.

  n.a.

  n.a.

  n.a.

  n.a.

  United Kingdom

  n.a.

  n.a.

  n.a.

  n.a.

  n.a.

  United Kingdom with:

  World

  4·2

  0·1

  -6·0

  -26·0

  -25·8

  European Community

  -4·1

  -13·6

  -21·0

  -29·1

  n.a.

  n.a. = not available.

  Sources: OECD and national statistics.

  Accounting
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether he has asked the accountancy profession to develop any standard on price level accountancy;

  (2) whether he has any plans to introduce a system of current value accounting for company accounts.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Government support the new accounting standards arrangements recommended by the Dearing committee in 1988, including the creation of a Financial Reporting Council and an Accounting Standards Board. In determining the work programme of the board, the council will no doubt take note of the existing commitment of the Accounting Standards Committee to explore effective means of developing a standard on accounting for the effects of changing prices.

  Accountancy Firms
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make it his policy not to appoint inspectors from firms of accountants which have been criticised in inspectors' reports.

  Mr. Redwood
  No. My right hon. Friend will continue to appoint competent inspectors.

  Export Services
  Ms. Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will supply figures for spending by his Department on export services, in constant prices, for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Redwood
  The following figures show gross and net expenditure by the Department on export services in constant price terms:

  £ million (1979–80 prices)

  Year

  Gross expenditure

  Net expenditure

  1979–80

  25·7

  21·2

  1980–81

  19·5

  15·8

  1981–82

  19·4

  15·4

  502

  Year

  Gross expenditure

  Net expenditure

  1982–83

  21·0

  16·6

  1983–84

  20·8

  15·5

  1984–85

  124·6

  118·8

  1985–86

  224·6

  217·4

  1986–87

  24·6

  15·5

  1987–88

  323·4

  314·7

  1988–89

  425·4

  416·6

  1 Expenditure on publicity and promotion was transferred from the COI budget with effect from 1984–85. On a constant price basis, the expenditure amounted to £1·4 million in 1984–85.

  2 Export Intelligence Service revenue was transferred to the exports budget from another DTI budget with effect from 1985–86. On a constant price basis this reduced net expenditure by £0·3 million in 1985–86.

  3 Includes expenditure on publications for the then Statistics and Market Intelligence Library previously treated as part of general library expenditure (value £0·2 million on a constant price basis).

  4 Figures for 1988–89 include grant-in-aid to the International Customs Tariff Bureau (value £0·038 million on a constant price basis), and the "New Products from Britain" service transferred from the FCO in the second half of the year (value £0·2 million on a constant price basis).

  All figures have been converted using the implied GDP factor cost deflator.

  Car Exports
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received assurances from each member state of the EEC that they will permit the import, without restriction, of cars produced in the United Kingdom by firms in Japanese ownership; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ridley
  The European Commission received an assurance from the French Government in April last year that cars produced in Sunderland by Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK Ltd. would be allowed to enter France without restriction and quite independently of the level of car imports into France from Japan.

  No member state currently restricts in any way the import of cars produced in the United Kingdom.
  503
  The Commission has suggested that, during the transitional period over which it envisages that existing restrictions on imports of cars from Japan should be phased out, it may be necessary to take into account in some way the production of cars by Japanese-owned firms in the EC. The Government have made it clear that there is no question of the United Kingdom accepting any arrangement in which cars produced by Japanese-owned firms in the United Kingdom, or anywhere other than Japan, count towards ceilings on imports from Japan.

  Japanese Car Imports
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the purpose of the voluntary restraint arrangement which limits Japanese car imports to 10·8 per cent. of the United Kingdom market; when it was introduced; and if he will now take steps to remove it.

  Mr. Ridley
  The voluntary restraint arrangement on imports of cars from Japan came into operation in 1975 following discussions between the vehicle industries of the United Kingdom and Japan.

  The Government will consider the future of the arrangement within the context of Community-wide moves toward liberalisation of the European car market.

  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what restrictions are imposed on the import of Japanese cars by each member of the EEC; and if the EEC has any plans to remove these restrictions.

  Mr. Ridley
  In addition to the United Kingdom industry's arrangement, France has an unofficial limit on Japanese penetration of the market. There are formal quotas in Italy, Portugal and Spain. Although the Commission has not yet put forward detailed proposals, it envisages that restrictions should be phased out progressively over a transitional period which would extend beyond 1992.

  Financial Services
  Mr. Grylls
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the directives on financial services which have been issued by the European Communities in the last year and the directives that are still required to be issued during the next six months to achieve a fair competitive environment in such services in the member countries.

  Mr. Redwood
  The second banking co-ordination directive, the solvency ratios directive, the own funds directive, the insider dealing directive, the bank branches directive and the prospectus directive have been adopted by the Council of Ministers in the last year.

  The investment services directive, the life insurance services directive, the directive on the annual accounts of insurance undertakings, the motor insurance services directive, the third motor insurance directive and the mutual recognition directive (of stock exchange listing particulars) might be adopted by the end of 1990. The Commission has indicated its intention to submit to the Council of Ministers during 1990 texts of a capital adequacy directive for investment business, a non-life insurance framework directive and of a life insurance framework directive.

  Adoption by Council of these further directives would represent important progress towards completion of the
  504
  single market through a fair competitive environment in financial services. The investment services and insurance directives are especially important to British businesses wanting to do business on the continent of Europe.

  Environmental Technology
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to meet the Ministers for Planning and the Environment of the Soviet Union to discuss opportunities for the sale of environmental clean-up and pollution abatement technology developed in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Forth
  [holding answer 19 January 1990]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is planning to visit the Soviet Union in the near future and will discuss all the main commercial opportunities available with Soviet Ministers during his visit.

  Consumer Protection
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has indicating the percentage of the population supporting a change in legislation to strengthen consumer protection.

  Mr. Forth
  [holding answer 19 January 1990]: No such information is available.

  Consumer Guarantees
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations he has received from bodies opposed to the definition of a consumer guarantee in legislation; and how many of these bodies did not give evidence on the subject to the National Consumer Council.

  Mr. Forth
  A formal public consultation exercise has not been undertaken, but, following publication of the National Consumer Council report "The Consumer Guarantee", representations have been made both for and against the proposed overall approach and on various detailed aspects. It would be inappropriate to quantify the bodies involved in the same way as it would be to name them, since their views have been expressed in confidence.

  Juno Project
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will outline progress in raising funds for the Juno project; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 19 January 1990]: The Juno project is being financed entirely by the private sector. While I wish it every success, Her Majesty's Government are not a sponsor and the hon. Member will need to seek the information he wishes from the project organisers.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Brazilian Rain Forests
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the visit to Brazil of Dr. Synott of the Oxford Forestry
  505
  Institute in November/December 1989, to discuss details of projects in sustainable forestry management and genetic resources of forests; and when such projects are likely to begin.

  Mrs. Chalker
  During this visit a number of possible projects were discussed with Brazilian institutions. These included the Tapajos forest management project, a tropical forest research project, a project to assist biological research in the Ducke reserve and a Varzea (floodplain forest) management study. Project proposals are currently being prepared for ODA consideration which will need to be cleared with the Brazilian Government. Implementation of these projects could begin in the second quarter of this year. Proposals for further projects are awaited from Brazil.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether work has begun on the joint five-year project by Brazilian scientific institutions and the Institute of Hydrology to improve knowledge of the critical effect of rainforests on climate; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We have submitted a detailed proposal for this project to the Brazilian Government for their agreement. While we understand that the proposal is generally acceptable to the Government, we still await confirmation of their agreement to proceed. We hope to receive this within the next few weeks, in time to allow the participating institutions to start the first field season in July as planned.

  Cambodia
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent visit to Cambodia by officials of the Overseas Development Administration.

  Mrs. Chalker
  During their visit to Cambodia officials identified a number of areas for potential ODA support, in co-operation with British non-governmental organisations and multilateral agencies. These included priority sectors such as food production, primary education and health care. There are also increasing opportunities for NGOs to extend their activities beyond Phnom Penh into the provinces. Severe skill shortages among Cambodians could be alleviated by the provision of volunteer experts (VSO) and by appropriate technical training. The ODA is actively discussing possible projects with the NGOs. In addition, as I announced in answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang) on 8 January, I am making available a further £1 million to multilateral agencies for their programmes inside Cambodia in 1990–91.

  Ethiopia
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the latest situation on the famine in Ethiopia; and what steps the Government have taken to alleviate starvation.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The international relief effort continues to be hampered by the civil conflict in northern Ethiopia. The most pressing need is to secure free access for relief supplies across the battle lines. We have been active in recent diplomatic efforts to try and secure this. It was 506
  reported on 18 January that agreement had been reached between the Ethiopian Government and the joint relief partnership of local church organisations on the necessary arrangements, but further details are awaited. We are meanwhile continuing to provide food and other emergency aid via British non-governmental organisations. The total value of our food and emergency aid in 1989 was nearly £18·5 million, including our share of the cost of assistance provided by the European Community.

  Aid
  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the proportion of gross national product given in aid by British Governments to developing countries, excluding commercial aid packages, in 1975, 1978, 1983, 1985 and 1989.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The aid and trade provision has been an integral part of Britain's aid programme since its inception. However, excluding aid reported to the development assistance committee of the OECD under the heading "Grants and Loans included in Associated Financing Packages", the figures are:

  per cent.

  1975

  10·35

  1978

  0·45

  1983

  0·33

  1985

  0·31

  1 No associated financing was reported in 1975.

  The figure for 1989 is not yet available.

  Britain's bilateral aid programme finances sound development projects and programmes of benefit to the recipient country. The bulk of it is tied to the procurement of British goods and services.

  Forestry
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what visits he plans to make in order to evaluate the effectiveness of Britain's support for sustainable forestry projects.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I plan to visit East Africa and India in the spring. I expect to discuss our ongoing and planned forestry assistance during both these visits. The subject will also be covered during other visits later in the year.

WALES

  Uniform Business Rate
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the overall expected change in rateable values in Wales as a result of the publication of the provisional list of revised valuations for the uniform business rate.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  Rateable value of business properties in Wales have increased by a factor of 8·4 overall.

  Mr. Coleman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received regarding the operation of the uniform business rate in Wales and its effect upon small business.
  507
  Mr. Peter Walker
  I have received a number of representations.

  Rechem
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a further statement on the arrangements for the incineration of toxic waste at the Rechem plant.

  Mr. Grist
  My right hon. Friend has been assured by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution that the plant is operating to current requirements.

  Welsh Language Board
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what reponse he has made to the proposals of the Welsh Language Board for a new Welsh Language Act.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  My right hon. Friend is considering the proposals.

  River Pollution
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from bodies concerned about river pollution in(a) Clwyd and (b) Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  We have received a number of representations from organisations through Wales.

  Health Authorities
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he next plans to meet the chairmen of the health authorities; and what matters he proposes to discuss.

  Mr. Grist
  The date and agenda for the next meeting have not yet been agreed.

  Ambulance Service
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met representatives of the ambulance services in Wales; and when he plans to meet them again.

  Mr. Grist
  My right hon. Friend met a group of ambulance men during a visit to Merthyr on 7 November, while I talked to members of the Clwyd service in December. There are no plans for any further meetings.

  Water Privatisation
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of the shares in the recently privatised Welsh Water share flotation was allocated to applicants resident in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on Tuesday 19 December.

  Ronald Greedy
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the decision to transfer Ronald Greedy to Whitchurch hospital, the basis on which he was accommodated, the physical security arrangements and his subsequent escape.
  508
  Mr. Grist
  My officials have already instituted inquiries of the district health authority into the discharge of the conditions which attached to Mr. Greedy's transfer to Whitchurch hospital. I shall write to my hon. Friend when I have considered its advice.

  Batteries and Accumulators
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what steps his Department has taken to promote research aimed a reducing the dangerous substance content and increasing the use of less-polluting substitute substances in batteries and accumulators, and into methods of recycling;

  (2) what steps his Department has taken to reduce the volume of spent batteries and accumulators in household waste.

  Mr. Grist
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the replies given to him by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Industry and Consumer Affairs on Friday 19 January, at column 444.

  North Wales Initiative
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what factors changed during the previous six months which led him to announce his new north Wales initiative in early December.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  I announced in the Welsh Grand Committee in December 1988 that I had asked the Minister of State to discuss with local authorities and other bodies in north Wales how the opportunities presented by the upgrading of the A55 could best he grasped. These discussions resulted in the document "A55—The Road of Opportunity" which sets out the developments which will take place in the next few years and indicates the decisions and activities required to maximise the potential brought by the road. As I said to the hon. Gentleman in my answer on 26 May a formal initiative for north Wales is unnecessary as existing mechanisms are adequate to allow continued improvement.

  National Museum of Wales
  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will publish in the Official Report the attendance figures for 1989 reported by the National Museum of Wales, including its outstations, with the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1988.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  A total of 482,080 people visited the National Museum of Wales during 1989—42 per cent. fewer than the attendance reported for 1988. The difference is largely accounted for by the lower recorded numbers at the main Cathays park museum and, in this connection, I draw the hon. Gentleman's attention to my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Members for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells) and for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 6 November 1989. The transfer of responsibility for the former national museum outstation, Yr Hen Gapel, Tre'r Ddol, from 1 January 1989 has also affected the totals.

  Local Government
  Mr. Geraint Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many persons are employed in Welsh local government and what were the corresponding figures for 1970 and 1980.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  The numbers of persons employed in Welsh local government in 1980 and 1989 are shown in the table. Corresponding information is not available for 1970.

  Number of employees as at September

  1980

  11989

  Full-time

  107,135

  99,108

  Part-time

  46,646

  55,670

  Total full-time equivalents

  126,100

  121,753

  1 Provisional.

  Out-patient Clinics
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what number of patients in each county in Wales had to travel distances of(a) over 10 miles, (b) over 20 miles and (c) over 30 miles in order to attend hospital out-patient clinics in 1988 and 1989;

  (2) what percentage of patients in each county in Wales had to travel distances of (a) over 10 miles, (b) over 20 miles and (c) over 30 miles in order to attend hospital out-patient clinics in 1988 and 1989.

  Mr. Grist
  The information is not available centrally.

  Chernobyl
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many(a) holdings and (b) sheep, remain subject to post-Chernobyl movements and sale restrictions in north Wales.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  Approximately 416 holdings and 300,000 sheep.

  Radiation Monitoring
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) whether his Department has received any correspondence from the Friends of the Earth's radiation monitoring unit about post-Chernobyl contamination in north Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  (2) whether his Department will review its sheep monitoring programme in the derestricted area between Bala and Lake Vyrnwy.

  Mr. Grist
  No correspondence has been received by the Department from the Friends of the Earth's radiation monitoring unit about its recent report about post-Chernobyl contamination in north Wales.

  The area between Bala and Lake Vyrnwy referred to in the report was derestricted in 1986 and monitoring then and subsequently has shown that radiation levels in sheep are well within the action level of 1,000 bq/kg.

  Llanelli General Hospital
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the new Llanelli general hospital will open.

  Mr. Grist
  East Dyfed health authority advises that, on current programming expectations, the new Llanelli 510
  hospital should be open for out-patients at the end of February 1990 and for in-patients towards the end of April 1990.

  Family Practitioner Committees
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the general managers of family practitioners committees, their qualifications and their date of appointment.

  Mr. Grist
  All eight family practitioner committees have now appointed general managers. The table indicates the dates on which appointments were or are to be taken up.

  Family Practitioner Committee

  General Manager

  Date of Appointment

  Gwent

  Mr. H. T. Watkins

  10 November 1989

  Gwynedd

  Mr. R. A. Thomas

  10 November 1989

  Mid Glamorgan

  Mr. M. V. Jenkins

  1 January 1990

  Powys

  Mr. R. G. T. Phillips

  10 November 1989

  South Glamorgan

  Mr. B. A. Ruddy

  10 November 1989

  West Glamorgan

  Mr. G. Plunkett

  1 December 1989

  Clwyd

  Mr. C. N. Last

  1 May 1990

  Dyfed

  Mr. J. P. French

  1 May 1990

  Information about the academic, professional or other qualifications of individual general managers is a matter for each family practitioner committee as the employing body.

  Wages Councils
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he proposes to meet the statutory wages councils to discuss the rates of pay set for categories of workers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Walker
  No. Statutory wages councils are the responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.

  Cerebral Palsy
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what research he has commissioned to investigate the causes of cerebral palsy.

  Mr. Grist
  None, but results of research funded by the Department of Health are available to Wales.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps his Department is taking to monitor trends in cerebral palsy.

  Mr. Grist
  The Welsh Office does not maintain a central statistical record of the incidence of this condition.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of children born in Wales, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, who have been diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.

  Mr. Grist
  Cerebral palsy is not necessarily diagnosed at birth, so information on the number of children born in Wales each year and diagnosed with this condition is not available centrally.

  Supply Teachers
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has received any representations from teachers in West Glamorgan about the county council's policy of reducing the salary of supply teachers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wyn Roberts
  Representations have been received from the West Glamorgan supply teachers' association. The pay of supply teachers is a matter for local education authorities to decide in the light of local circumstances and within the guidelines we have issued. LEAs have discretion to pay supply teachers at any point on the main scale provided that it is no lower than the minimum entitlement appropriate to the teachers' qualifications.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Ulster Museum
  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will publish in the Official Report the attendance figures for 1989 reported by the Ulster museum, including its outstations, with the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1988.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  In 1989 a total of 270,100 people visited the Ulster museum and the Armagh county museum—a decrease of 24 per cent. on the attendance figure for 1988.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Electoral Registration
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to amend the electoral registration form A so that persons registering can indicate if they are willing for the information to be available for sale by the registering authority.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 15 January at column 27.

  Replica Firearms
  Mr. David Young
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ban the advertising, importation and sale of replica firearms in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The sale in England and Wales of any replica gun which can be readily converted to fire live ammunition is, under the Firearms Act 1982, subject to the same stringent controls as those imposed on actual firearms by the Firearms Acts 1968 and 1988. In addition, it is already an offence to use an imitation firearm to commit a crime or resist arrest the maximum penalty for which is life imprisonment.

  Advertising on independent television and radio is, under the Broadcasting Act 1981, the responsibility of the Independent Broadcasting Authority. The authority has a duty to draw up and maintain a code of advertising standards and practice, and from time to time to consult me about the kind of advertisements which must not be
  512
  broadcast. My right hon. and learned Friend has no power to take such a decision unilaterally. However the policy of independent television and radio companies is not to accept advertising for firearms whether replica or otherwise. Advertising in other media is a matter for the Advertising Standards Authority.

  The importation of imitation firearms is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

  We have no plans to introduce further controls on the sale of replica firearms in England and Wales.

  Responsibility for firearms legislation elsewhere in the United Kingdom rests with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

  Football Safety
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to his answer of 14 December,Official Report, column 789, to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central, when he now expects to write with further details about the Middlesbrough-Leeds United game on Sunday 9 December, and whether the reply will refer to any safety agreement between Middlesbrough football club and Cleveland police.

  Mr. John Patten
  I hope to be able to write to the hon. Member within the next few days. I do not think that I can usefully comment in advance on what the letter will say.

  Birmingham Pub Bombings
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the earliest date after which the men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings will be eligible for parole.

  Mr. Mellor
  Life sentence prisoners are not eligible for parole, but may be released on life licence at the discretion of the Home Secretary if this is recommended by the Parole Board. In accordance with our policy that no life sentence prisoner should be detained for more than 17 years without an independent review, consideration of these cases will begin in November 1991. However, such a review does not necessarily mean that the board will recommend release or that my right hon. and learned Friend would accept such a recommendation if it were made.

  Mr. John Stalker
  Mr. Franks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will institute an independent judicial inquiry, with full powers to compel witnesses to attend and give evidence, into the circumstances surrounding those matters concerning Mr. John Stalker, the former deputy chief constable of the Greater Manchester police, and Mr. Kevin Taylor, and into the wider implications of those matters.

  Mr. Waddington
  I see no grounds for instituting a judicial inquiry into matters relating to Mr. John Stalker or Mr. Kevin Taylor as a result of the failure of the recent prosecution of Mr. Taylor. It will be for the chief constable of Greater Manchester to consider whether the proceedings indicate any misconduct on the part of officers of his force and if so to institute appropriate disciplinary or criminal investigation.

  Video Surveillance
  Mr. Geraint Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to change the regulations governing video surveillance; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  We have no plans, at present, to change the guidelines on the use of equipment in police surveillance operations. Our information is that the guidelines work well and that the police service accept that they provide a clear statement of operational policy, with strict safeguards for the public. In the absence of evidence of abuse of the use of video surveillance, we have no plans to introduce regulations governing its general use.

  Concessionary Television Licences
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received about concessionary television licences for retirement pensioners.

  Mr. Mellor
  In 1989 we received 212 letters and four petitions calling for reduced price or free television licences for pensioners. One hundred and one of the letters were from hon. Members and three of the petitions were submitted through them.

  Efficiency Scrutiny
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he hopes to publish the efficiency scrutiny into Government funding for the voluntary sector.

  Mr. John Patten
  The question of publication is at present under consideration.

  Crime and Compensation
  Mr. Holt
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time between a crime and compensation being paid to the victim; and how many cases remain to be resolved as at 31 December 1989.

  Mr. John Patten
  On 31 December 1989, a total of 96,177 cases were awaiting resolution by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. The board does not keep information on the interval between the dates of an incident and the application for compensation. Information about the proportion of cases resolved within certain times of application is given in the board's latest annual report (Cm. 900).

  Entry Clearance
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) spouses and (b) children were awaiting entry clearance as at 30 November 1989; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is available only for the Indian sub-continent, where 5,800 spouses and 4,300 children were awaiting a decision on their application for entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom at 30 November 1989.

  Drugs
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of seizures of illicit drugs occurs at British ports of entry.

  Mr. Mellor
  Seizures at ports and airports from persons, luggage, private vehicles and freight, and from ships and aircraft, represented about 7 per cent. of a total of 38,235 seizures of controlled drugs in the United Kingdom in 1988. Such seizures are, however, often of large amounts: in 1988, port seizures accounted by weight for 76 per cent. of the cocaine, 55 per cent. of the heroin, 12 per cent. of the amphetamines and 87 per cent. of the cannabis seized in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the ports of arrival in Britain and state(a) the street value, (b) amount and (c) type of each drug seized in every month for 1989.

  Mr. Ryder
  I have been asked to reply.

  I regret that this information is not readily available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Juvenile Crime
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from magistrates concerning juvenile crime; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  In the past 12 months the Magistrates Association and individual magistrates have made representations about various matters relating to juvenile crime and juvenile offenders. These include parental responsibility, cautioning, remands, suspended custodial sentences, custodial sentences for girls and the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.

  Computer Crime
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure that regional police forces have adequate resources to deal with computer crime.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The allocation of resources to particular forms of crime is an operational matter for chief officers. However, over the last 10 years we have approved 6,800 additional police officer posts for provincial police forces.

  Sunday Trading
  Mr. Andrew MacKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the Government's plans for legislation on Sunday trading in the light of recent representations from the public and retail trade.

  Mr. Mellor
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, North-East (Mr. Thurnham) on 17 January 1990 at column 266.

  Crime Statistics
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the recent higher than average increases in crime statistics in(a) South Yorkshire and (b) Barnsley.

  Mr. John Patten
  Two hon. Members have recently tabled questions on aspects of crime in South Yorkshire. The Department has received many other representations about crime levels. Some of these relate to crime in particular areas, including South Yorkshire.

  Video Recordings Act
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he collects on the number of(a) prosecutions and (b) convictions, for contravention of the Video Recordings Act.

  Mr. Mellor
  Information is collected from the police on all defendants proceeded against under the Video Recordings Act 1984 and the result of these prosecutions. In 1988, 27 defendants were prosecuted under the Act and 17 convicted. Information for 1989 will not be available until autumn 1990.

  DNA Testing
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when it is proposed to start the DNA testing scheme for applicants for settlement in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Darling) on 27 November at column 108.

  Prisons (New Technology)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons in England and Wales that have and use a fax machine or a computer; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  All prisons in England and Wales have computers and 77 also have fax facilities. The prison service aims to improve IT support for the achievement of its objectives.

  Mail Bags
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons in England and Wales still have inmates working on the sewing of mail bags; and how many inmates were doing this work on 5 January.

  Mr. Mellor
  On 5 January 1990 there were 715 inmates employed in the manufacture of mail bags, in the following establishments.:

  Acklington

  Birmingham

  Bristol

  Canterbury

  Camp Hill

  Gartree

  Gloucester

  Haverigg

  Hull

  Lancaster

  Leeds

  516

  Liverpool

  Manchester

  Oxford

  Preston

  Stafford

  Swaleside

  Swansea

  Wandsworth

  Prisons (Recruitment and Training)
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will next meet the officers of the Prison Officers Association to discuss recruitment and training.

  Mr. Mellor
  Recruitment and training were among the wide range of subjects discussed when my right hon. and learned Friend met the chairman and general secretary of the Prison Officers Association on 18 December. These matters also regularly arise when my right hon. and learned Friend and I meet local branches of the POA in the normal course of visiting prisons. Recruitment and training issues are regularly discussed with the POA at official level within Whitley council procedures.

  Policing, Newham
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of policing the London borough of Newham in 1984–85; and what it is expected to be in the current year.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Information is not available on the actual cost of policing individual boroughs. However, the estimated local manpower costs, increased by 30 per cent. to reflect non-manpower and central service costs, suggests a figure of £9 million is the cost of policing Newham in the current year. The data to produce a similiar estimate for 1984–85 are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Immigration
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has undertaken regarding the consequential numbers of immigrants into the United Kingdom following the grant of the right of settlement in the United Kingdom to an immigrant from the New Commonwealth.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Under the Immigration Rules (HC 388) a person settling here may normally be accompanied or joined by his or her spouse and any children under 18 but other relatives are admitted only in strictly limited circumstances. The available information on immigration patterns from New Commonwealth and other countries is published in the Home Office volume "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 1988" (Cm. 726). More detailed information is collected for the Indian sub-continent and published in "Home Office Statistical Bulletin" issue 44/89 "Immigration from the Indian sub-continent—1988". Copies of both publications are in the Library.

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Hong Kong citizens will be eligible for British citizenship under the British Nationality Act, section 4(5) in return for rendering Crown services.
  517
  Mr. Waddington
  [holding answer 19 January 1990]: There are currently some 180,000 Hong Kong British dependent territories citizens in Crown service under the Government of Hong Kong who are eligible to apply for discretionary registration as British citizens under section 4(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981. An unknown additional number are eligible on the basis of past service. In accordance with the policy announced when the British Nationality Act was before Parliament, the limited powers under this provision are used sparingly.

  Apart from a number of former members of the armed services in respect of whom certain assurances were given, there have been 540 applications from Hong Kong under section 4(5) since it came into force, of which nine have been granted. In view of the special scheme recently announced, I have no plans to change the policy within which section 4(5) applications are considered.

EMPLOYMENT

  Jobcentres
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement regarding the future of jobcentres in(a) Doncaster and (b) Mexborough.

  National monthly return—Actively seeking referrals and disallowances Refusal of employment referrals and disqualifications Period ending 24 November 1989

  Actively seeking employment

  Refusal of employment

  Regions

  Claimants issued warning letters

  Claims referred to adjudication officer

  Allowed

  Disallowed

  Claims referred to adjudication officer

  Not Disqualified

  Disqualified

  Northern

  293

  24

  1

  4

  17

  3

  9

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  337

  47

  1

  5

  49

  5

  0

  East Midlands and Eastern

  318

  39

  21

  2

  55

  2

  7

  London and South East

  1,704

  261

  31

  20

  340

  15

  23

  South West

  350

  58

  8

  12

  26

  1

  1

  Wales

  384

  61

  3

  8

  30

  4

  4

  West Midlands

  319

  33

  5

  0

  43

  10

  0

  North West

  562

  40

  11

  5

  28

  3

  7

  Scotland

  553

  30

  7

  3

  26

  5

  2

  National

  4,820

  593

  88

  59

  614

  48

  53

  Form UB672
  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will instruct his officers to give claimants a copy of the UB672 form in cases where there are doubts about an unemployed claimant's availability for work or whether he is actively seeking work at a Restart or any other counselling interview, if the claimant or their representatives requests it; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  If a UB672 has been completed because of doubts that the claimant is available for work or actively seeking it, current instructions provide that claimants or their representatives may receive a copy of the form on request at any time.

  Employment and Training Schemes
  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the participants in his training schemes and special employment measures referred to in his answer to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North of 14
  518
  Mr. Eggar
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 15 January,Official Report, column 614. When decisions are taken about the future of offices in Doncaster and Mexborough he will be informed.

  Labour Statistics
  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed claimants since 9 October 1989, and for each region, and for Great Britain as a whole, have been(a) issued with warning letters for not actively seeking work, (b) had their claims referred to an AO for not actively seeking work, (c) had their claims allowed or disallowed and (d) have been referred to an AO for refusing suitable employment; and how many of those in (d) have had their benefits disqualified.

  Mr. Eggar
  The table shows the statistical information for the period 9 October to 24 November 1989 on questions of actively seeking employment and refusal of employment.

  November 1989, Official Report, column 148 (a) went on to get regular employment and (b) have started for a second or subsequent time.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Information on the number who went on to regular employment after attending a training opportunities scheme (TOPS) in 1979–80 is set down in the Manpower Services Commission's annual report 1980–81 filed in the House of Commons Library.

  Of the young people on YTS in 1988–89, 66·8 per cent. were in regular employment three months after completing their programme.

  In the period April 1988 to March 1989, 12 per cent. re-entered YTS.

  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the total expenditure on Government training schemes since 1972 at current and at 1989 prices; and what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of the expenditure.
  519
  Mr. Nicholls
  Records are kept on the basis of the standard financial year for Government expenditure, which runs from 1 April to 31 March.

  The Manpower Services Commission was established in 1974. The total spent on training schemes since 1974 by the Employment Department Group Training Agency (and its predecessors, the Training Commission and the Manpower Services Commission) is as follows:

  £ millions

  cash value

  constant 1988–89 prices

  1974–75

  96·4

  376·1

  1975–76

  171·7

  525·2

  1976–77

  256·0

  682·9

  1977–78

  292·0

  693·4

  1978–79

  373·6

  793·6

  1979–80

  451·4

  848·8

  1980–81

  560·4

  889·0

  1981–82

  749·1

  1,080·8

  1982–83

  868·5

  1,169·2

  1983–84

  1,049·5

  1,337·5

  1984–85

  1,144·1

  1,382·8

  1985–86

  1,256·9

  1,441·7

  1986–87

  1,441·4

  1,609·8

  1987–88

  1,613·1

  1,716·4

  1988–89

  2,062·3

  2,062·3

  The figures shown at constant 1988–89 prices were calculated by use of the GDP deflator index.

  Figures are inclusive of expenditure on the following programmes:

  Training for the Needs of Industry.

  Training for the Needs of Individuals.

  Improving Training Effectiveness and Efficiency.

  Training Opportunities Scheme.

  Skillcentre Training.

  Youth Opportunities Programme.

  Occupational Training.

  Adult Training.

  Industrial Training Organisations.

  Technical and Vocational Education Initiative.

  Non Advanced Further Education.

  Youth Training Scheme.

  Scientific and Technical Equipment in Schools (STEPS).

  Employment Training and all related administration costs net of receipts.

  Figures are taken from the appropriation accounts for all years except 1985–86, 1986–87 and 1987–88 for which appropriation accounts do not provide the necessary detail. For those three years the Training Commission annual report has been used.

  This growth in expenditure has been taking place at a time of rising unemployment as the economy adjusts to the demands of international competitiveness. Training schemes have provided unemployed school leavers and adults with the skills necessary to assist them back to work and help the economy.

  The value for money of training schemes is monitored carefully. Cost-effectiveness will be a key aspect in the development of training and enterprise councils, when payments will be increasingly geared to the achievement of specific results.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report those travel-to-work areas which have an unemployment rate of 4 per cent. and less.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information is available from the Library and is contained in the following table.
  520

  Unemployed claimants as a percentage of the total workforce December 1989 (Not seasonally adjusted)

  Travel-to-work areas

  Percentage rate

  Crawley

  1·2

  Winchester and Eastleigh

  1·4

  Tunbridge Wells

  1·4

  Newbury

  1·6

  Andover

  1·6

  Aylesbury and Wycombe

  1·6

  Guildford and Aldershot

  1·6

  Blandford

  1·7

  Cirencester

  1·7

  Basingstoke and Alton

  1·7

  Bury St. Edmonds

  1·7

  Reading

  1·8

  Cambridge

  1·8

  Bicester

  1·9

  Kendal

  1·9

  Clitheroe

  2·0

  Evesham

  2·0

  Woodbridge and Leiston

  2·0

  Oxford

  2·0

  Chichester

  2·0

  Windermere

  2·0

  Slough

  2·1

  Settle

  2·1

  Penrith

  2·2

  Devizes

  2·3

  Welshpool

  2·3

  Skipton

  2·3

  Harrogate

  2·3

  Chippenham

  2·4

  Chelmsford and Braintree

  2·4

  Kettering and Market Harborough

  2·4

  Hertford and Harlow

  2·4

  Worthing

  2·4

  Milton Keynes

  2·5

  Heathrow

  2·5

  Warwick

  2·5

  Malton

  2·6

  Watford and Luton

  2·6

  Bedford

  2·6

  Ripon

  2·6

  Leek

  2·6

  Northallerton

  2·6

  Pickering and Helmsley

  2·6

  Haverhill

  2·6

  Northampton

  2·7

  Shaftesbury

  2·7

  Hitchin and Letchworth

  2·7

  Cheltenham

  2·7

  Newtown

  2·8

  Wellingborough and Rushden

  2·8

  Salisbury

  2·8

  Macclesfield

  2·8

  Newmarket

  2·8

  Diss

  2·8

  Wareham and Swanage

  2·8

  Eastbourne

  2·8

  Chard

  2·8

  Stamford

  2·8

  Stafford

  2·9

  Trowbridge and Frome

  2·9

  Swindon

  2·9

  Ipswich

  2·9

  Huntingdon and St. Neots

  2·9

  Banbury

  2·9

  Melton Mowbray

  3·0

  Brecon

  3·0

  Matlock

  3·0

  South Molton

  3·0

  Stroud

  3·0

  Uttoxeter and Ashbourne

  3·0

  Rugby and Daventry

  3·1

  Ludlow

  3·1

  Pools

  3·1

  Honiton and Axminster

  3·1

  521

  Travel-to-work areas

  Percentage rate

  Yeovil

  3·1

  Spalding and Holbeach

  3·1

  Wells

  3·2

  Taunton

  3·2

  Colchester

  3·2

  Aberdeen

  3·2

  Shetland Islands

  3·2

  Bath

  3·3

  Shrewsbury

  3·3

  Warminster

  3·3

  Ashford

  3·3

  Malvern and Ledbury

  3·3

  Exeter

  3·3

  Beccles and Halesworth

  3·4

  Sudbury

  3·4

  Gloucester

  3·4

  Loughborough and Coalville

  3·4

  Worcester

  3·4

  Carmarthen

  3·5

  Buxton

  3·5

  Sleaford

  3·5

  Bridport

  3·5

  Kidderminster

  3·5

  Grantham

  3·5

  Okehampton

  3·6

  Tiverton

  3·6

  Hexham

  3·6

  Whitchurch and Market Drayton

  3·6

  Galashiels

  3·6

  Fakenham

  3·6

  Hereford and Leominster

  3·7

  Torrington

  3·7

  Norwich

  3·7

  Medway and Maidstone

  3·8

  Thirsk

  3·8

  Llandrindod Wells

  3·8

  Llandeilo

  3·8

  Thetford

  3·9

  Gosport and Fareham

  3·9

  Richmondshire

  3·9

  Stoke

  4·0

  Bournemouth

  4·0

  Newton Abbot

  4·0

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many travel-to-work areas in(a) England and (b) south-east England has an unemployment rate of (i) over 10 per cent., (ii) between 5 and 10 per cent. and (iii) below 5 per cent. in October, November and December 1989.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information is available from the Library, and is contained in the following table.

  Numbers of travel-to-work areas, categorised by unemployment rate1

  South-East

  below 5 per cent.

  5-10 per cent.

  over 10 per cent.

  October

  33

  6

  0

  November

  33

  6

  0

  December

  33

  6

  0

  England

  October

  147

  73

  8

  November

  146

  74

  8

  December

  140

  79

  9

  1 Work force rates, not seasonally adjusted

  Statutory Sick Pay
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has concerning the impact on people's earnings of not receiving statutory sick pay or sick benefit for the first three days of any absence from work due to illness.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information is not available.

  Private Mines
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras on 15 January,Official Report, column 67, which of the prosecutions listed followed (a) an accident and (b) routine inspections by the mines inspectorate.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Prosecutions at Ystrad, Lassodie, Saline, Darran, Hall of Auchincross, Wrytree Drift and Robin Rock mines followed accidents. Prosecutions at Dan-y-Graig and Nantmelyn were the result of inspections.

  Research Projects
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what research projects are currently being carried out under total or partial sponsorship of his Department; by whom they are being carried out; and when they will be completed and published.

  Mr. Eggar
  [holding answer 19 January 1990]: Because of the amount of information sought, I will be writing to the hon. Member.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Hayward
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment in which 20 parliamentary constituencies the largest percentage fall in unemployment occurred in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Nicholls
  [pursuant to his reply, 12 January, c. 783]: I regret that the information given in my reply of 12 January was incorrect due to problems caused by a mistake in operating the computer system from which the data were extracted. The correct information is contained in the following table. The figures are not seasonally adjusted.

  Percentage change in the number of unemployed over the year to November 1989

  Constituency name

  per cent·

  Montgomery

  -48·7

  Westmorland and Lonsdale

  -45·0

  South Derbyshire

  -40·3

  Harrow West

  -40·2

  Amber Valley

  -39·8

  Newcastle-under-Lyme

  -39·3

  North Wiltshire

  -39·2

  Stoke-on-Trent North

  -39·2

  Stratford-on-Avon

  -38·7

  Harrow East

  -38·5

  Old Bexley and Sidcup

  -38·5

  Devizes

  -38·3

  Ceredigion and Pembroke North

  -38·1

  Kincardine and Deeside

  -37·9

  South Worcestershire

  -37·5

  West Hertfordshire

  -37·5

  Hornchurch

  -37·5

  Grantham

  -37·5

  523

  Constituency name

  per cent·

  Wyre Forest

  -37·3

  Mid-Staffordshire

  -37·2

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Chemical Weapons
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has received any recent representations from the International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General Workers' Unions concerning the development of verification techniques for a chemical weapons ban.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Not directly. A report of chemical weapons prepared jointly by the International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General Workers' Unions and the International Confederation of Trade Unions was forwarded last October by the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress.

  Romania
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, during the visit of the right hon. Member for Bristol, West (Mr. Waldegrave) to Romania, he raised the issues of(a) the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference and nuclear technology aid available under article IV of the treaty and (b) acid rain abatement technology available from United Kingdom suppliers for retro-fitting to fossil fuel power plants.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Neither of these matters were raised though doubtless both will be as our relations develop. I did discuss Romania's acute environmental problems, in particular with members of the new Romanian Ecology party.

  Hong Kong
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy,Official Report, 11 January, column 697, who gave the authorisation for force to be used against the boat people in Hong Kong.

  Mr. Maude
  Authority to use the minimum degree of force necessary during the operation to search for weapons in the Chi Ma Wan detention centre on Lantau island on 29 December 1989 was given by Police General Orders 29-01, made by the Commissioner of Police under section 46 of the Police Force Ordinance.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Hong Kong.

  Mr. Maude
  I refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs made in the House on 17 January at col. 291.

  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what level of secondary immigration he would anticipate to arise from primary immigration of 225,000 on the basis of past experience.
  524
  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [holding answer 12 January 1990]: I have been asked to reply.

  Experience in other contexts cannot be a basis for assessing the implications of the scheme to grant British citizenship to people in Hong Kong in a unique arrangement intended to give beneficiaries the confidence to remain there.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at what time, on what day and by what means the Swiss Government were informed of the British Government's decision to enter an exemption to the ivory ban on behalf of Hong Kong; and when the CITES Secretariat learnt of the decision.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The reservation was deposited with the Government of the Swiss Confederation at 10 am on Wednesday 17 January by the delivery of diplomatic notes to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Berne and to the embassy of Switzerland in London. Notification of our decision was faxed to the CITES Secretariat by the Department of the Environment at 4.50 pm on 17 January.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had with representatives of the ivory trade during his recent visit to Hong Kong.

  Mr. Maude
  None.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representation he has received during the last three months regarding the fate of the Hong Kong ivory stocks.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We received a number of representations over the past three months, both in favour and against the entering of a reservation on behalf of Hong Kong. We took all these into consideration. We received no formal representations from other countries.

  Eastern Europe
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the proposal by the Hansard Society to establish, through moneys made available in the know-how funds, a course for politicians from Poland and Hungary to learn about the British parliamentary system.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We have received various proposals for training courses for politicians from Poland and Hungary to be financed by the know-how funds. We are evaluating all such proposals with a view to tailoring them to Polish and Hungarian requirements. We have recently received more specific requests from the Polish Senate for training on several aspects of the United Kingdom system: parliamentary, legal, political and administrative and educational.

  The Hansard Society will be involved in organising seminars to meet these requests along with the IPU, the Great Britain Eastern European Centre, the British Council, and other appropriate bodies.

  Yugoslavia
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial assistance and other advice he is considering offering to the Government of Yugoslavia to aid their efforts to broaden democracy and achieve economic stability.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We have been helping the Yugoslavian economy by participating in the rescheduling of the principal and interest due on debts in the Paris Club. We believe that a new agreement with the IMF will be of central importance for the future of Yugoslavia's programme of economic adjustment and liberalisation. We have agreed with our partners within the European Community that, once an IMF agreement is reached, we will be ready to examine further aid measures and increased cooperation.

  Immigration
  Mr. Bidwell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the chief immigration officer at the British High Commission, New Delhi to issue immediate entry clearance to the close relatives of the late Mr. Sekhon, a constituent of the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  I wrote to the hon. Member on 19 January advising him of the action which Mr. Sekhon's relatives should take if they wish their applications to be considered further.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the spouse of a British subject can be refused a visa to settle in Britain; which of these reasons was used in rejecting the visa application by Mrs. Pianov, who is a Polish national married to a British citizen, Oleg Pianov; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The spouse of a British citizen applying for an entry clearance to settle in this country must satisfy the relevant requirements of the immigration rules; these are set out in paragraph 50 of HC 388.

  Mrs. Pianov has not been refused a settlement visa. She applied for a visit visa which has been granted.

  EEC Overseas Territories
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the names and populations of overseas territories of members of the EEC; if he will further indicate what plans there are to allow persons from such territories the right of abode within the EEC; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maude
  The list of member states' overseas territories and their populations (estimates for the year in brackets) is:

  Numbers and year

  United Kingdom:

  Anguilla

  7,000 (1985)

  Bermuda

  56,000 (1985)

  British Antarctic Territory

  1Nil

  British Indian Ocean Territory

  Uninhabited

  British Virgin Islands

  13,000 (1985)

  Cayman Islands

  23,400 (1987)

  526

  Numbers and year

  Falkland Islands

  1,916 (1986)

  Gibraltar

  29,692 (1987)

  Hong Kong

  5,736,100 (1988)

  Montserrat

  11,900 (1988)

  St. Helena

  5,564 (1987)

  Tristan Da Cunha

  311 (1988)

  South Georgia

  2—

  South Sandwich Islands

  Uninhabited

  Turks and Caicos Islands

  14.000 (1988)

  France:

  Overseas Departments

  Martinique

  336,952 (1988)

  French Guiana

  11,0000 (1989)

  Guadeloupe

  334,000 (1988)

  Reunion

  578,500 (1988)

  Territorial Collectives

  St. Pierre et Miquelon

  6,500 (1987)

  Mayotte

  67,000 (1985)

  Overseas Territories

  French Polynesia

  188,814 (1988)

  French Southern Antarctic Territories

  3Nil

  New Caledonia and Dependencies

  164,173 (1988)

  Wallis and Futuna Islands

  13,100 (1985)

  Netherlands:

  Aruba

  60,312 (1981)

  Netherlands Antilles

  175,395 (1981)

  Portugal:

  Macao

  500,000

  1 Populated by scientists and technicians.

  2 Army unit and staff at British Antarctic Survey, Bird Island.

  3 Population only 200 scientists and staff.

  The Overseas Departments and the Territorial Collectives are part of metropolitan France and their citizens are therefore EC nationals. Gibraltar forms part of the EC and its citizens are therefore EC nationals. Citizens of the other territories listed in the table do not have rights of entry into the Community unless they hold a passport of a member state which specifically entitles them to entry.

  We are not aware of any plans by other EC member states to amend the existing rights of entry to the Community for their overseas territories.

  On Hong Kong, I refer my hon. Friend to the statement my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs made in the House on 20 December.

  Ballistic Missiles
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's assessment as to the number of countries in the middle east that are capable of delivering(a) chemical and (b) nuclear warheads on ballistic missile vehicles; and if he will list them.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  [holding answer 15 January 1990]: The following middle east countries are believed to possess or to be developing ballistic missiles which would be technically capable of delivering either a chemical or nuclear warhead.

  Egypt

  Iran

  Iraq

  Israel

  Libya

  Saudi Arabia

  527

  Syria

  Yemen Arab Republic

  Yemen, People's Democratic Republic of

  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's latest assessment as to the number of countries that have deployed ballistic missiles; and if he will list them.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  [holding answer 15 January 1990]: The following countries are known or believed to have deployed ballistic missiles:

  Afghanistan

  Belgium

  Bulgaria

  China

  Czcechoslovakia

  Egypt

  France

  German Democratic Republic

  Germany, Federal Republic of

  Hungary

  Iran

  Iraq

  Israel

  Italy

  Korea, Republic of

  Libya

  Netherlands

  Poland

  Romania

  Saudi Arabia

  Soviet Union

  Syria

  United States of America

  Yemen Arab Republic

  In addition, North Korea, which is not recognised as a state by Her Majesty's Government, is believed to have deployed ballistic missiles.

  School Fees
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the number of allowances and the total amount paid by the Government for the day school fees in both the United Kingdom and overseas for the education of the children of(a) members of his Department, (b) members of the Diplomatic Services communications division and (c) the Overseas Development Administration including children of technical co-operation officers, for the latest which figures are available.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 19 January 1990]: The amount paid in boarding school fees during the last academic year was £7,600,000 for 956 children of members of the Diplomatic Service (including £744,000 for 101 children of members of the communications division) and £1,613,000 for 582 children of employees of the Overseas Development Administration.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the schools from which receipted bills were submitted in the last convenient year to facilitate the payment of allowances for the education of the children of diplomatic staff and the number of children attending each school.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 19 January 1990]: A list follows of those boarding schools for which receipted bills were submitted in the last academic year for the education
  528
  of children of members of the Diplomatic Service. A composite list of the number of children attending each school is not kept.

  Name

  Abbotsholme School

  Aldenham School

  Aldro School

  All Hallows School

  Ampleforth College (Giling CS)

  Ardingly College

  Ashdown House School

  Ashford School

  Ashley Moor College

  Atlantic College

  Badminton School

  Battle Abbey School

  Beaconhurst Grange

  Bearwood College

  Bedales School

  Bedford High School

  Bedford School

  Bedgebury School

  Bembridge School

  Benenden School

  Bentham Grammar School

  Berkhamsted School

  Berkhamsted School for Girls

  Bethany School

  Bishop's Stortford College

  Bloxham School

  Blundell's School

  Box Hill School

  Bradfield College

  Brambletye School

  Bramcote School

  Brandeston Hall

  Brentwood School

  Brighton College

  Brockhurst

  Bromsgrove School

  Brooke House 6th Form

  Bryanston School

  Burgess Hill School

  Caldicott

  Cambridge Arts Tutors

  Cambridge Centre

  Canford School

  Cannock School

  Cargilfield

  Carmel College

  Caterham School

  Charterhouse School

  Charters-Ancaster College

  Cheadle Hulme

  Cheltenham Ladies College

  Christ College

  Claremont Fan Court School

  Clarendon School

  Clayesmore School

  Clifton College

  Cobham Hall

  Combe Bank School

  Cottesmore School

  Cranbrook School

  Cranleigh School

  Croftinloan School

  Cumnor House

  Dauntseys School

  Dean Close School

  Dollar Academy

  Douai School

  Dover College

  Downe House School

  Downside School

  Dragon School

  Dulwich College Preparatory School

  Dulwich College

  Durham School

  Eastbourne College

  529

  Edgeborough

  Edinburgh Academy

  Edinburgh House School

  Ellerslie School

  Ellesmere College

  Elstree College

  Epsom College

  Eton College

  Farleigh School

  Farringtons School

  Feltonfleet School

  Fernden School

  Fettes College

  Forest School

  Forres School

  Framlingham College

  Frensham Heights School

  Friars School

  Friends School

  Giggleswick School

  Glenalmond College

  Godstowe School

  Gordonstoun School

  Great Walstead School

  Greenacre School

  Greshams School

  Grove School

  Handcross Park School

  Hanford School

  Harrow School

  Harrowgate College

  Headfort School

  Headington School

  Heathfield School

  Highfield School

  Holmewood House School

  Holy Family (Convent of the)

  Hordle House

  Howell's School

  Hunmanby Hall

  Hurstpierpoint

  Hurtwood House

  Indefatigable

  Ipswich School

  James Allen's Girls' School

  Kelly College

  Kent Col.

  Kent College

  Kilgraston School

  King Edward's School

  King's College

  King's School

  King's School (The)

  Kingham Hill

  King's School

  Kingswood School

  Lambrook School

  Lancing College

  Lavant House School

  Lawnside School

  Leys School

  Lomond School

  Loretto School

  Maltman's Green

  Malvern Girl's College

  Marlborough College

  Marlborough House School

  Marshcourt

  Mary Erskine School

  Mayfield College

  Merchiston Castle School

  Methodist College

  Michael Hall School

  Mill Hill School

  Millfield School

  Moira House School

  Monkton Combe School

  Moor Park School

  Morrison's Academy

  New Hall School

  530

  North Foreland Lodge School

  Northaw School

  Notre Dame Convent School

  Oakdene School

  Oakham School

  Oratory Prep School (The)

  Oratory School (The)

  Oswestry School

  Oundle School

  Pangbourne College

  Papplewick

  Parsons Mead School

  Pennthorpe School

  Philpots Manor School

  Pierrepont School

  Pilgrims' School

  Pipers Corner School

  Plymouth College

  Polam Hall

  Port Regis

  Princess Helena School

  Prior Park College

  Prior's Field School

  Priors Court

  Queen Anne's School

  Queen Margarets School

  Queens College

  Queenswood

  Rannoch School

  Reading Blue Coat School

  Reed's School

  Rickmansworth Masonic School

  Rishworth School

  Roedean School

  Rosemead School

  Rossall School

  Royal Alexander and Albert School

  Royal Naval School

  Royal Russel School

  Rugby School

  Rydal School

  Rye St. Antony School

  Sacred Hearts School

  Sandroyd School

  Scarborough College

  Seaford College

  Sevenoaks School

  Shapwick School

  Sherborne School

  Sherborne School for Girls

  Shiplake College

  Shoreham Grammar School

  Sibford School

  Sidcott School

  Slindon College

  St. Edmund's School

  St. Helen's School

  St. Mary's Hall School

  St. Andrew's School

  St. Antony's-Leweston School

  St. Augustine's College

  St. Bede's School

  St. Bees School

  St. Catherine's School

  St. Christopher School

  St. Christopher's School

  St. Denis School

  St. Edmund's College

  St. Edmund's School

  St. Edwards School

  St. Felix School

  St. George's College

  St. George's School

  St. George's School for Girls

  St. John's School

  St. Joseph's College

  St. Lawrence College

  St. Leonards-Mayfield School

  St. Margaret's School

  St. Mary and St. Annes

  531

  St. Mary's

  St. Mary's Convent

  St. Michael's

  St. Neot's School

  St. Paul's School

  St. Peter's School

  St. Stephens College

  St. Swithuns School

  Stanbridge Earls School

  Stoke College

  Stonar School

  Stonyhurst College

  Stover School

  Stowe School

  Strathallan School

  Streete Court School

  Summer Fields School

  Sunningdale School

  Sutton Valence School

  Swanbourne House School

  Taunton School

  Temple Grove School

  Terrington Hall School

  The Blue Coat School

  The Nak Centre

  Tockington Manor School

  Tonbridge School

  Towers School

  United College of the Atlantic

  Upper Chine School

  Victuallers School

  Vinehall School

  Wadhurst College

  Walthamstow Hall School

  Warminster School

  Wellesley House

  Wellingborough School

  Wellington College

  Wentworth Milton Mount

  West Heath School

  Westbourne House School

  Westminster School

  Westonbrit School

  Winchester College

  Windlesham House School

  Wispers School

  Wolborough Hill School

  Woldingham School

  Worth Abbey School

  Wycombe Abbey School

  Yardley Court

  Holiday Visit Passages
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the approximate cost of holiday visit passages paid in respect of(a) children of his Department's personnel being educated in the United Kingdom and in receipt of education allowances and (b) members of the Diplomatic Service communications division being educated in the United Kingdom and in receipt of education allowances, and of any further travelling expenses paid for the latest available year.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 19 January 1990]: The total cost, with travelling expenses, of holiday passages for the children of staff serving overseas on Diplomatic Service terms, including those of the communications division (for whom separate statistics are not kept) was £1·05 million in 1988–89.

THE ARTS

  Curatorial Staff
  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what percentage of public musuem and gallery curatorial staff have received recognised curatorial training; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Luce
  The information requested is unavailable at present. I understand that the newly established museums training institute is currently researching the training needs of museums and galleries staff as part of its overall review of training requirements.

  Arts Council
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Minister for the Arts when he last met the chairman of the Arts Council; and what was discussed.

  Mr. Luce
  I meet Mr. Palumbo regularly to discuss various matters of mutual interest.

  Admission Charges
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he has met the chairman of the Museums and Galleries Commission to discuss the Education, Science and Arts Select Committee's report on charging for admission to national museums.

  Mr. Luce
  I meet the chairman of the Museums and Galleries Commission on a regular basis to discuss matters of mutual interest. I have not met him since the Select Committee's report was issued on 10 January 1990.

  Mr. Flannery
  To ask the Minister for the Arts when he intends to reply to the report of the Education, Science and Arts Select Committee on charging for national museums; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Minister for the Arts when he plans to respond to the Education, Science and Arts Committee's report on charging for admission to national museums.

  Mr. Luce
  I am studying the report and will issue a response in the near future.

  Mr. Dennis Turner
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what is his policy on admission charges to national museums.

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement on the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards charges for admission to national galleries and museums.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what is his policy on charging for admission to national museums.

  Mr. Luce
  I refer the hon. Members to the answer that I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Wrexham, (Dr. Marek).

  Disabled People (Access)
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Minister for the Arts, what steps he is taking to increase access to the arts by disabled people.
  533
  Mr. Luce
  I announced in December 1988 that I was giving £150,000 to the ADAPT fund which the Carnegie Trust is setting up to improve the accessibility of arts venues for disabled people. I am pleased to say that the work of the trust is now well under way. In addition to this initiative, the Arts Council has a disability officer to ensure that the needs of disabled people are taken fully into account in the work of the council and its clients.

  Wilding Report
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Minister for the Arts when he intends to publish his response to the Wilding report on funding of the arts.

  Ms. Short
  To ask the Minister for the Arts when he intends to announce his reponse to the Wilding review of arts funding.

  Mr. Luce
  I expect to make an announcement as soon as possible after I have had an opportunity to consider the responses to the report.

  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Minister for the Arts how many responses he received to the proposals in the Wilding report on altering the boundaries of regional arts associations.

  Mr. Luce
  I have received nearly 5,500 responses which include comment on this issue.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has had from the east midlands on the Wilding report on arts funding.

  Mr. Luce
  I have received a number of representations from individuals and organisations in the east midlands area about the Wilding report.

  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received concerning the amalgamation of the east and west midlands arts organisations.

  Mr. Luce
  I have received a number of representations from individuals and organisations on this matter. I have met the chairmen and directors of the two organisations to hear their concerns.

  Mr. Key
  To ask the Minister for the Arts, what representations he has received on proposed reorganisation of regional arts associations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Luce
  I have received almost 6,000 responses to the Wilding report of which approximately 4,500 are postcards. I shall be announcing my response to the report as soon as possible.

  Tours
  Mr. David Martin
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what steps he is taking to encourage arts bodies to tour both at home and abroad.

  Mr. Luce
  The Arts Council is responsible for actively encouraging touring within the United Kingdom. The council has established a Great Britain touring fund to encourage arts bodies to tour throughout the country. The 534
  fund's budget has gone up from £1·5 million last year to £2 million for this year and for 1990–91. Support for overseas touring is the responsibility of the British Council.

  Uniform Business Rate
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make special provision for the arts in London to take account of the revaluation of business premises and the impact of uniform business rate.

  Mr. Luce
  The aim of my three-year settlement is to give arts bodies a clear view of the Government resources available, so that they have a firm basis on which to plan their activities and meet their final commitments. I see no reason to make special additional provisions to take account of the revaluation of business premises and the unified business rate.

  Arts Funding
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what increase in the funding of the Arts Council is proposed for the next two financial years.

  Mr. Luce
  I announced in November that next year the Arts Council's grant-in-aid will be set at £175 million, an increase of 12·5 per cent. over 1989–90. In 1991–92 that will rise by a further 4·6 per cent. to £183 million. Over the next three years, the overall increase will be 22 per cent.

  Museums and Galleries (Refurbishment)
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what increase there has been in provision for the refurbishment and maintenance of museums and galleries for the year ahead.

  Mr. Luce
  I am providing £48 million in the current financial year for the building and maintenance programmes at the national museums and galleries which I sponsor. I announced on 16 November last year that this provision will increase by 19 per cent. to £57 million, in 1990–91.

  Items in Lieu of Tax
  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will list the allocations made to public institutions in the United Kingdom during the half year ended 31 December 1989 of individual works of art and museum objects pre-eminent for national, scientific, historic or artistic interest which have been accepted in satisfaction of inheritance tax or capital transfer tax, together with information, where applicable, as to conditions or wishes expressed in the matter of allocation by testators or executors; whether he will list the works of art and museum objects which are still awaiting allocation, with the respective dates of their acceptance in satisfaction of inheritance tax or capital transfer tax; and whether a press notice will be issued from the Office of Arts and Libraries covering the information given in his reply.

  Mr. Luce
  The information the hon. Member requests is as follows:
  535

  Items allocated

  To whom allocated

  Conditions/wishes expressed

  Portrait of Sir Alexander Carew attributed to Gheerhaerdts

  The National Trust

  Conditional upon remaining in Antony House, Cornwall

  Painting by Pissaro

  University of Manchester

  Conditional

  Eight Islamic Pottery tiles

  British Museum

  Wish expressed that they be allocated to the British Museum

  Items accepted but not yet allocated

  Date of acceptance

  "Allée à Chantilly" by Cezanne

  23 March 1989

  A press notice is being issued.

  Works of Art (Exports)
  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will list the items for which the issuing of export licences was withheld on the recommendation of the reviewing committee on the export of works of art during the half year ended 31 December 1989, specifying in each case the valuation and whether an item was eventually exported or retained, with particulars in the latter event of the acquiring institution; whether he will list any items for which licences have been withheld but the final disposal of which is not yet decided, specifying in each case(a) the

  Description of item

  Valuation (£)

  Outcome

  A painting "The Fall of Phaeton" by Rubens

  2,046,939

  Export licence granted

  Album of early photographs collected by Reve Calvert Jones 1839–44

  234,150

  Export licence granted

  Two decorated colt percussion revolvers

  475,000

  Decision deferred for 3 months until 10 March 1990

  "The Three Graces" by Canova

  7,600,000

  Decision deferred for additional 3 months until 12 March 1990

  George II Royal Wine Coolers, Makers mark of Paul de Lamerie overstruck by Paul Crespin

  750,000

  Retained. One each acquired by the National Museums of Scotland and the Victoria and Albert Museum

  Museums and Galleries (Attendance)
  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will publish in the Official Report the attendance figures for 1989 reported by the national museums and galleries in England for which he is responsible, broken down into the individual institutions but including their outstations, with figures in each case of the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1988.

  Mr. Luce
  The estimated number of visitors during 1989 to the 11 national museums and galleries for which I am responsible are as follows:

  Estimated attendance in 1989

  Percentage change from 1988

  British Museum

  4,686,454

  +12·3

  British Museum (Natural History)

  1,549,676

  - 7·3

  Imperial War Museum

  1,204,310

  +10·8

  National Gallery

  3,368,217

  + 4·3

  National Maritime Museum

  423,858

  -40·1

  National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside

  1,348,570

  -11·6

  National Portrait Gallery

  625,197

  - 2·1

  Science Museum

  2,607,724

  -32·5

  Tate Gallery

  1,940,004

  - 7·2

  Victoria and Albert Museum

  1,378,546

  - 3·6

  Wallace Collection

  129,010

  -18·1

  Total

  19,261,566

  536
  valuation and (b) the relevant time limit; and whether a press notice will be issued from the Office of Arts and Libraries covering the information given in his reply.

  Mr. Luce
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry accepted my recommendation, following consideration by the reviewing committee on the export of works of art, to defer making for a specified period a decision on an export licence application in respect of the items listed. Details of the items listed were given in press notices issued at the time the Secretary of State decided to accept the recommendation; however, a further press notice will be issued.

CIVIL SERVICE

  Civil Servants (Resignations)
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service how many civil servants of grade 7 and above have left the Civil Service in the last three years to take jobs in industry.

  Mr. Luce
  This information is not available in the form requested.

  Crown Allegiance
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what response he has made to the representations of the First division Association protesting about the new guidelines on allegiance to the Crown and Her Majesty's Government.

  Mr. Luce
  I have nothing to add to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood).

  Civil Service Unions
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what discussions he has had with Civil Service trade union leaders in Nottingham.
  537
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what recent meetings he has had with Civil Service trade unions; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he last met the Civil Service unions; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mr. Luce
  I refer the hon. Members to the reply that I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Mr. Fisher).

  Code of Conduct
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he has any plans to change the present Civil Service code of practice; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Luce
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood).

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Privatised Businesses
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the major businesses privatised since 1979 were in profit in 1979.

  Mr. Lilley
  Of the 29 major businesses privatised since 1979, the following were in profit in 1979: British Petroleum, British Aerospace, Cable and Wireless, National Freight Consortium, Britoil, Amersham International, Associated British Ports, Sealink, British Telecom, British Gas, British Airways, Royal Ordnance, Rolls-Royce, BAA, Northumbrian Water, South West Water.

  Public Sector Pensions
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those instances in which a retrospective amendment has been made to public sector pension schemes.

  Mr. Ryder
  A distinction has to be drawn between, first, amendments where the effect is backdated to cover the elapses of time between agreement on, or the announcement of, a change and the making of regulations to give effect to it and, secondly, amendments which have effect prior to an agreement on, or announcement of, a change.

  There have been many amendments of the first kind. They are acceptable because they ensure that scheme members are not deprived of agreed improvements in benefits for the time that it may take to finalise the necessary amendment of the scheme's rules. It would entail disproportionate cost to provide a complete list of such amendments.

  It has rarely been possible to amend schemes to provide for retrospection of the second kind because of the costs that may be involved and considerations of equity and administration. It has, therefore, been the policy of successive Governments not to allow such retrospection, save in the most exceptional circumstances. In the past 20 years, the only major instances of which I am aware have been the amendments made in the 1970s to bring the public services generally into line with the Civil Service by
  538
  allowing war service to count at half rate for pension purposes; and, in 1979, for the armed forces pension scheme to provide pensions for pre-1950 widows.

  Commercial Accounting and Auditing
  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North on 9 January,Official Report, column 576, which specific sectors of the public sector in which normal accountancy and auditing methods (a) are already employed, (b) are being developed and (e) are considered to be inappropriate.

  Mr. Ryder
  The position in different parts of the public sector is as follows:

  (a) Government Departments
  Some Departments already produce commercial-style accounts. These include the existing trading funds (The Royal Mint, Her Majesty's Stationery Office and The Crown Suppliers) and some other Departments with major trading functions, for example, Ordnance Survey, ECGD and the Forestry Commission.
  The Government's White Paper "The Financing and Accountability of Next Steps Agencies" sets out plans for the future. The arrangements proposed for agencies which become trading funds are described in paragraphs 5.9 to 5.13. The arrangements proposed for those which remain under full Vote accounting are described in paragraphs 5.14 to 5.17. Normally only cash-based appropriation accounts will be published for Departments or parts of Departments which do not become next steps agencies.

  (b) Non-departmental public bodies (NDPBS)
  NDPBs are bodies which have a role in the process of national Government-but which are not Government Departments. Many NDPBs which are classified as executive bodies already produce commercial-style accounts on an accruals basis. The expenses of NDPBs which arc classified as advisory and judicial bodies are generally brought to account in the cash-based appropriation accounts of their sponsoring Department.

  (c) National Health Service
  In the National Health Service accounting has been developed along more commercial lines over recent years, with the exception of accounting for capital. It is intended to implement capital accounting, including the preparation of balance sheets for the financial year 1991-92. It is planned that the Audit Commission should take over the audit of the NHS under the provisions proposed in the NHS and Community Care Bill, and the Local Government and Housing Bill.

  (d) Local Authorities
  In February 1989 the local authority associations and CIPFA published "Capital Accounting in Local Authorities", containing proposals to change the way local authorities account for capital receipts and expenditure, and to secure improvements in local authority accounting. These proposals could form the basis of a code of practice for local authority capital accounting which would apply to all authorities from 1991-92. The proposals would move local authority accounting closer to commercial accounting principles. But they reflect legal constraints: for example, those applying to grants and rates, which do not apply to the private sector.

  (e) Nationalised Industries
  Nationalised industries produce accounts on a commercial basis.

  Mortgage Interest Tax Relief
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many(a) first-time buyers in the first five years of home onwership and (b) other home owners, would be expected to benefit from an increase in the ceiling for mortgage interest tax relief above the current £30,000

  539
  limit; what percentage of all home buyers in each category this would represent; and what would be the cost of the increased benefit to each group were the ceiling to be raised to (i) £35,000, (ii) £40,000 and (iii) £50,000, respectively;

  (2) what would be the cost of adjusting the maximum ceiling for mortgage interest tax relief to (a) £35,000, (b) £40,000, (c) £45,000 and (d) £50,000, on the assumption that (i) relief continues to be available at the higher marginal tax rate where applicable, and (ii) that relief is restricted to the standard 25 per cent. rate of income tax.

  Mr. Lilley
  I regret that information on mortgage interest relief for first-time buyers in the first five years of home ownership is not available. Provisional estimates of the costs of increasing the ceiling are given in the table. All estimates exclude behavioural effects, which would be substantial for the higher ceilings.

  Direct revenue costs at 1989–90 income levels of raising the ceiling for mortgage interest relief

  Ceiling

  Relief at marginal tax rate £ million

  Relief at basic rate of 25 per cent. £ million

  £35,000

  320

  -140

  £40,000

  580

  90

  £45,000

  770

  270

  £50,000

  900

  390

  Increasing the ceiling for mortgage interest relief 1989–90

  Total Income £

  Number of beneficiaries thousands

  Average gain if ceiling is increased to

  £35,000£

  £40,000£

  £45,000£

  £50,000£

  Up to 5,000

  20

  160

  250

  290

  330

  5,000—10,000

  140

  130

  230

  290

  320

  10,000—15,000

  360

  150

  260

  330

  380

  15,000—20,000

  520

  160

  270

  360

  410

  20,000—25,000

  400

  160

  290

  390

  450

  25,000—30,000

  220

  160

  290

  390

  470

  Over 30,000

  390

  190

  350

  470

  580

  TOTAL

  2,050

  160

  280

  380

  440

  If relief was restricted to the basic rate at the same time as the ceiling was increased, the number of beneficiaries with incomes above £30,000 would be reduced. About 190,000 basic rate taxpayers would still benefit, and about 70,000 higher rate taxpayers with mortgages above £48,000 would be net beneficiaries if the ceiling were raised to that level or above.

  Capial Loss Relief
  Mr. Hanley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to change the availability of capital loss relief for transactions in oil rights and oil assets.

  Mr. Lilley
  For disposals made on or after today, the Government intend two changes to stop unwarranted loss relief being available on certain oil assets. These are assets of an essentially wasting nature, whose value in 1982 was very high because of the high oil price at that date but where no actual loss compared with acquisition cost arises. First, unquoted shares deriving the larger part of their value from United Kingdom and United Kingdom continental shelf oil rights and assets will no longer be eligible for an election that rebasing to 1982 for capital gains tax purposes shall apply to all disposals. Secondly, in certain circumstances where oil assets, rights and
  540
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the additional average relief receivable by those people with incomes of(a) up to £5,000 a year, (b) between £5,000 and £10,000 a year, (c) between £10,000 and £15,000 a year, (d) between £15,000 and £20,000 a year, (e) between £20,000 and £25,000 a year, (f) between £25,000 and £30,000 a year, and (g) over £30,000 a year if the ceiling on mortgage interest tax relief were to be raised to (i) £35,000, (ii) £40,000, (iii) £45,000, and (iv) £50,000; and how many beneficiaries there would be in each income band, assuming (x) that relief would continue to be available at the higher marginal tax rate where applicable and (y) that relief was restricted to the standard, 25 per cent. rate of income tax.

  Mr. Lilley
  The information requested is given in the table. All estimates exclude behavioural effects which would be substantial for the higher ceilings.

  unquoted shares are disposed of, indexation allowance will be calculated on the acquisition cost rather than the 1982 market value. The necessary legislation will be included in the 1990 Finance Bill. Further details are in a press release being issued by the Inland Revenue.

SCOTLAN

  Radioactive Waste Disposal
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the implications of the findings of the European Commission's PAGIS study into the suitability of Scottish geology for high-level radioactive waste disposal for the search by Nirex to establish a deep disposal facility for intermediate-level and low-level radioactive wastes.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to her on Thursday 18 January at column 363 by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside.

  Teenage Smoking
  Mr. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if his Department is planning any additional expenditure during the current year for a teenage smoking prevention programme.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  In Scotland the main responsibility for promotion of health education and prevention of ill health lies with the Scottish health education group. It currently expects to spend about £297,000 on antismoking material and campaigns during the current financial year—an increase of £17,000 over its original estimate for the year. The Scottish committee for Action on Smoking and Health will receive grant-in-aid of £40,000 in 1989-90. Both organisations undertake anti-smoking initiatives directed at teenagers.

  Forestry
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place in the Library a copy of the Scottish Development Department's draft circular on indicative forestry strategies.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I have placed a copy of the draft circular and related material in the Library. I am most grateful for the many valuable comments received from a wide range of interests on this proposed advice on the preparation of indicative forestry strategies by regional authorities in Scotland. This confirms the value of these strategies as a framework for future decision-making on forestry planting. The final version of the circular and related technical advice, taking into account the comments received, will be issued shortly. A copy will be placed in the Library.

  Hospital Building
  Mr. Hayward
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the five largest hospital building projects in Scotland currently under construction; and what is the projected cost of each.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information is as follows:

  £ million

  Royal Cornhill hospital, phase 1, Aberdeen

  8·5

  Perth Royal Infirmary, Perth

  21·2

  Western Isles hospital, Isle of Lewis

  22·1

  Acute hospital, Ayr

  23·8

  St. John's hospital, phase 11, West Lothian

  30·1

  Mr. Hayward
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what have been the five largest hospital building projects completed in Scotland since 1979; and what is the cost of each.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information is as follows:

  £ million

  St. John's hospital, phase I, West Lothian

  30·4

  Raigmore district general hospital, Inverness

  31·0

  Borders district general hospital, Huntlyburn

  32·2

  Glasgow Royal infirmary phase I, Glasgow

  55·3

  Royal Alexandra hospital, Paisley

  56·5

  Museums and Galleries
  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will publish in the Official Report the attendance figures for 1989 reported by the national museums and galleries in Scotland, broken down into the individual institutions but including their outstations, with figures in each case of the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1988.

  Mr. Lang
  The information is as follows:

  1989

  Percentage change since 1988

  National Galleries of Scotland

  709,582

  +39·0

  National Museums of Scotland

  899,351

  +30·7

  Attendance figures for the national museums of Scotland for 1989 are inclusive of visitors to the Scottish United Services museum at Edinburgh castle which were not previously attributed to the museums. In 1988 there were 156,614 visitors to the Scottish United Services museum.

  The national galleries of Scotland comprise the National Gallery of Scotland, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The national museums of Scotland comprise the Royal Museum of Scotland buildings at Chambers street and Queen street, Edinburgh, the Scottish Agricultural museum, the Scottish United Services museum, the Museum of Flight and the Shambellie Museum of Costume.

  Pesticide Alternatives
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress is being made in the use of sea-lice and ctenolabrus rupestris as alternatives to pesticides.

  Mr. Lang
  A full evaluation of the Sea Fish Industry Authority's initial trials of gold sinny wrasse to reduce sea lice infestation is not expected until the end of the year. Further trials may be needed before commercial viability could be established.

  Work on the development of a possible vaccine treatment, which is being co-ordinated by scientists from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, is also at a very early stage.

  Lupus Group
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he is taking as a result of the Fife, Lothian and Borders Lupus group letter to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I responded to the points raised in this letter in a reply which I sent to the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill) on 17 November 1989. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Kelvin Central plc
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has granted financial assistance to the management team of Kelvin Central plc in its bid to purchase the company; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Financial assistance has been offered by the Scottish Transport Group to the
  543
  management-employee buyout team led by the managing director of Kelvin Central Buses Ltd. The assistance, which will not exceed £48,750, will cover 75 per cent. of professional advisers' fees up to £65,000. In the event of the bid being successful, no assistance will be paid.

  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide to the employee-led consortium the equivalent financial assistance to that provided to the management-led consortium in its bid for Kelvin Central plc; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Financial assistance is being made available by the Scottish Transport Group to one management-employee buyout team per company. In the case of Kelvin Central Buses Ltd. this assistance has been offered to the management-employee team led by the managing director.

  Conveyancing
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the Scottish-based organisations which have supported his proposals for reform of the law and procedures related to conveyancing; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The following Scottish-based respondents to the consultation paper "The Legal Profession in Scotland" expressed support for some or all of the proposed changes to the conveyancing market in Scotland:

  Citizens Advice Scotland

  Clydesdale Bank plc

  Confederation of British Industry, Scotland

  Dunfermline Building Society

  National Association of Estate Agents, Scottish Branch

  Scottish Consumer Council

  Stuart Wyse Ogilvie, Estate Agents

  All representations on the proposals for reform were taken fully into account before the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Bill was introduced.

  New Building Regulations
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what grounds it was decided not to introduce the new building regulations concerning the conservation of fuel and power in Scotland in April 1990.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The building regulations which will come into effect in April 1990 were made under the Building Act 1984, which applies only to England and Wales. I have included similar improvements for the conservation of fuel and power in a major revision of all parts of the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations, made under the Building (Scotland) Act 1959, which I intend to lay before Parliament later this year.

  Land and Property Holdings
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is yet in a position to publish a schedule of the land and property holdings of the South of Scotland Electricity Board and the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board.

  Mr. Lang
  I have no plans to publish such a schedule.

  Eastern Scottish Bus Company
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to privatise the Eastern Scottish bus company.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Sales of the subsidiaries of the Scottish Bus Group will begin soon and it is expected that the whole programme will be completed early in 1991. It is not possible to say at this stage when Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd will be offered for sale.

  Cerebral Palsy
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research he has commissioned to investigate the causes of cerebral palsy.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The Scottish Home and Health Department has not funded any research specifically to investigate the causes of cerebral palsy. It has funded some research which might be relevant to this condition. Funds are available and applications for soundly based research will be sympathetically considered.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department is taking to monitor trends in cerebral palsy.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Health boards monitor the numbers of children with cerebral palsy who are less than 16 years old. The information is held by the information services division of the Scottish Health Service's common services agency in the handicapped children's register.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of children born in Scotland, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, who have been diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information is as follows:

  Children with cerebral palsy new registrations in year ending 31 December

  Year

  Number

  1978

  79

  1979

  n/a

  1980

  69

  1981

  78

  1982

  124

  1983

  75

  1984

  69

  1985

  100

  1986

  70

  1987

  92

  Homelessness
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made on the latest annual report by Shelter on homelessness in Scotland.

  Mr. Rifkind
  The reported results of Shelter's recent survey on homelessness in Scotland have been given careful consideration within my Department. Shelter does not make it clear the basis on which the statistics it presents have been collected, and its figures do not accord with those provided by local authorities to the Scottish Office. Nevertheless, both Shelter's and our own figures show that the number of households applying to local
  545
  authorities under the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, and the number of them assessed as being homeless or potentially homeless, has remained fairly stable over the last three years.

  The figures quoted by Shelter represent its estimate of the number of applications made to local authorities over a full year. Most of those households are found accommodation by local authorities, and others arrange their own accommodation. The figures are not an indication of the number of households without a home at any one time.

  Court of Session
  Mr. Siliars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings he has attended with Lord President Hope since 1 November 1989; and what matters were discussed.

  Mr. Rifkind
  Since 1 November 1989 I have had one meeting with the Lord President of the Court of Session, at which a range of matters were discussed.

  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date he was informed that Lord Dervaird was resigning from the Court of Session; and who informed him.

  Mr. Rifkind
  By letter dated 21 December 1989, Lord Dervaird advised me that for personal reasons he wished to resign his appointment as a Court of Session judge from 1 January 1990.

  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what part the Lord Advocate took in initiating by advice or otherwise the meeting between Lord President Hope and senior members of the Scottish media.

  Mr. Rifkind
  None.

  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions, and on what dates, the Lord Advocate held with the Lord President of the Court of Session about impending vacancies in the membership of the court.

  Mr. Rifkind
  The Lord Advocate has regular discussions on judicial matters with the Lord President of the Court of Session.

  Number of projects

  New jobs

  Safeguarded jobs

  Total jobs

  1984–85

  69

  8,169

  1,274

  9,443

  1985–86

  58

  4,663

  3,554

  8,217

  1986–87

  50

  4,106

  978

  5,084

  1987–88

  84

  6,363

  4,856

  11,219

  1988–89

  55

  4,846

  2,243

  7,089

  The figures for the years 1987-88 and 1988-89 relate only to projects where there was direct involvement by Locate in Scotland or the Industry Department for Scotland. Locate in Scotland is aware of a further four projects which came to Scotland in 1987-88 without such involvement and of a further five in 1988-89.

  Civil Service Relocation
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is the number of actual jobs created in each of the last five years by new companies and organisations or Government Departments locating in Scotland;
  546
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent meetings he has held with judges of the Court of Session.

  Mr. Rifkind
  I have meetings with judges of the Court of Session from time to time.

  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent meetings the Lord Advocate has had with judges of the Court of Session.

  Mr. Rifkind
  The Lord Advocate has meetings with judges at the Court of Session from time to time.

  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether any recent information has been given by Crown Office officials to the Lord President of the Court of Session.

  Mr. Rifkind
  Information on a wide range of matters is made available on a regular basis by officials of the Lord Advocate to the Lord President of the Court of Session and to his officers of court.

  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether being a practising homosexual within the law bars the nomination and appointment of persons to the Court of Session, or requires resignation from among those presently appointed.

  Mr. Rifkind
  There is no such legal bar.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list each of the announcements made by his Department on new planned jobs locating in Scotland in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Lang
  Details of every inward investment decision cannot be published as information-is supplied by some companies on a commercially confidential basis.

  The following table gives information on inward investment in Scotland for the years 1984–85 to 1988–89, as previously announced. The planned job figures are based on company forecasts.

  (2) what is the number of civil service posts relocated to Scotland in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Lang
  The information on non-Government employment is not available for the first question and the information on Government Departments is not available in the form requested for both questions.

  In the five years since 1985 around 1,490 posts were transferred to Glasgow under the Government's earlier dispersal programme; of these, 1,400 were in the Ministry of Defence and the remainder in the Passport Office. In

  547
  addition there have been some minor moves by Departments to Scotland taken on their own initiatives, but no central records are kept.

  Mentally Ill Patients
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the cost of undertaking an individual assessment of the needs of all long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland over a two-year period.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The cost of undertaking an individual assessment of the needs of long-term mentally ill patients will vary depending on the particular circumstances of the person involved and it is not possible to give an estimate of the costs.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that all long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland will have an assessment made of their individual needs within the next two years.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  People with mental illness have individual care plans to meet their needs while they are receiving treatment in hospital. The White Paper "Caring for People" indicates that health boards and local authorities will be required to complete an assessment of the needs of each person with a long-term mental illness due to be discharged from hospital and prepare joint care programmes for them. The intention is to introduce these care programmes from 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what extra resources will be available to local authorities to pay for the individual needs assessments for long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what extra resources will be made available to local authorities to develop community care for long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland;

  (3) what new resources are currently being planned to offset the reduction in long-term beds for patients who are mentally ill.

  Mr. Lang
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave on 16 January 1990 to his earlier questions on the same subject. (Official Report, Vol. 165, col. 208-09.)

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the proportion of long-term mentally ill patients currently in Scottish hospitals that could satisfactorily be cared for in a community context.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Whether a long-term mentally ill inpatient could be satisfactorily discharged into the community is a matter of clinical judgment. No comprehensive estimates of the likely proportion involved are currently available.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to develop a system of bridging finance to develop services for the provision of community care of long-term mentally ill patients in Scottish hospitals.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Under the arrangements set out in the White Paper "Caring for People", health boards and local authorities will each prepare a community care plan. As a basis for these plans, the White Paper recognises a548
  need for planning agreements between boards and authorities setting out shared assumptions and objectives. A key requirement of planning agreements will be funding agreements setting out the basis on which health and social care will be funded. The details will be the subject of consultation in due course.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to establish an independent body to undertake any needs assessment of individual long-term mentally ill patients in hospitals in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  None. The needs assessment of mentally ill patients in hospital is a matter for the relevant health boards. The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has a statutory duty to inquire into any case where there appears to be any deficiency of treatment or care and to follow this up as appropriate.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to take to reduce the number of inappropriate hospital admissions for patients who are mentally ill.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The proposals in the White Paper "Caring for People" are designed to help the mentally ill to be cared for in a community setting and to ensure that they are admitted to hospital only where, on the basis of clinical judgment, it is necessary for the purposes of treatment.

  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he plans to develop systems of community and institutional care for long-term mentally ill patients in hospitals in Scotland.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The White Paper "Caring for People" sets out in detail the Government's proposals for the provision of comprehensive community facilities for the long-term mentally ill and other priority groups. At the same time we are providing the necessary resources to develop and improve hospital facilities for those whom this remains the most appropriate form of care.

  Judges
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Lord Advocate will initiate a review of the system of appointment and of the terms of service of Scottish judges.

  Mr. Rifkind
  There are no plans to do so.

  Businesses
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of new businesses registered and bankruptcies in Scotland in each year since 1984.

  Mr. Lang
  The table shows the number of new companies registered in Scotland and the number of liquidations notified for Scottish registered companies in each year between 1984 and 1989. The table shows the number of bankruptcies. Bankruptcies are awards of sequestration and relate solely to individuals, partnerships, clubs etc and exclude limited companies.
  549

  Companies registered and liquidated and bankruptcies in Scotland

  Year

  New companies registered1

  Liquidations1

  Bankruptcies2

  1984

  4,976

  757

  296

  1985

  5,417

  757

  298

  1986

  5,999

  762

  437

  1987

  5,860

  636

  3826

  1988

  6,879

  651

  1,420

  1989

  6,779

  674

  2,294

  1 Source Companies House

  2 Source Accountant and Bankruptcy Office

  3 New legislation was introduced in 1986, which affected the number of sequestrations.

  Living Elsewhere Grants
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many students receive grants based on living elsewhere than in the parental home; and what proportion this is of the number of students receiving grants.

  Mr. Lang
  The latest available figures are for the academic session 1988–89, when 31,981 Scottish domiciled students received the elsewhere rate of maintenance grant. This represented 65·8 per cent. of the total number of students receiving a maintenance grant.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the effect of the imposition of the poll tax on the workload of sheriff officers; and if he anticipates a need for any increase in the number of sheriff officers as a result of the poll tax.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Sheriff officers are independent contractors and it is for them to consider how best to respond to requests for their services.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many summary warrants were issued by Scottish regional councils for non-payment of the poll tax at the most recent date for which figures are available; and what was the equivalent number of summary warrants issued by Scottish regional councils for non-payment of rates on the same date in the previous year.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 12 January 1990]: Information on the total number of persons subject to summary warrant procedure for non-payment of domestic rates or community charge is not held centrally. The use of the summary warrant procedure is a matter for regional councils.

HEALTH

  Teaching Hospitals
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what exercises have been carried out by his Department to determine the excess costs of teaching hospitals; and how often these exercises have been repeated.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  In the last 15 years the Department has several times sought to determine the excess costs of teaching hospitals, and to establish what proportion of this excess is attributable to teaching—as 550
  opposed to research, the tendency to treat more complex cases, or other factors. Exercises have been undertaken on four occasions: for the Resource Allocation Working Party (RAWP) in 1975, and again in 1976, and subsequently during reviews of the RAWP formula in 1978–80 and 1986–88.

  For the future, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has accepted a recommendation from the Steering Group on Undergraduate Medical and Dental Education that the basis and level of the service increment for teaching (SIFT), which is intended to compensate hospitals for those excess costs, should be re-examined in 1992.

  Service Increments for Teaching
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the changes in the service increment for teaching formula since 1980.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The formula used to calculate the service increment for teaching (SIFT) has been changed on two occasions in this period; following the work of, first, the Advisory Group on Resource Allocation which reported in 1980, and the NHS Management Board's review of the Resource Allocation Working Party (RAWP) formula, which reported in 1988. The changes on each occasion were:

  In 1980-81:
  Expansion to cover new medical schools at Cambridge, Leicester, Nottingham and Southampton;
  Expansion of the number of teaching hospitals covered by the formula;
  Replacement of the previous method of compensating for higher London costs; introduction of the London weighting addition in its place;
  Introduction of separate recognition for dental hospitals' excess service costs—equal to 85 per cent. of their average outpatient expenditure.

  Recommendations of the RAWP Review: to take effect in 1990–91:
  Increase in the proportion of excess service costs met by medical SIFT from 75 per cent. to 100 per cent.;
  Recalculation of the average amount by which teaching hospitals' service costs exceed those of other hospitals, on the basis of an updated survey;
  Recalculation of dental SIFT in recognition of increased costs in dental hospitals, relative to the rest of the NHS.
  In addition to these changes to the formula, in November 1989 important new advice was issued to the regional health authorities on the principles which should govern their allocation of SIFT to individual hospitals.

  AIDS
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by year for the last eight years, for each regional health authority, the number of people who have died from AIDS; and if he will show in his answer, their sex and age by categories(a) aged under 20 years, (b) aged 20 to 30 years, (c) aged 31 to 40 years, (d) aged 41 to 50 years and (e) aged over 50 years.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  In line with the procedure followed in reports under the AIDS (Control) Act, to safeguard confidentiality numbers below 10 in tables showing AIDS data are represented by an asterisk. A table showing the breakdown requested would include so many asterisks that it would be uninformative. The data have therefore been aggregated to some extent.
  551

  AIDS cases by region of report and year of death for those known to have died to 31 December 1989

  Year of death

  Region of report

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  Unknown

  Northern

  0

  0

  0

  *

  *

  10

  *

  *

  *

  0

  Yorkshire

  0

  0

  0

  0

  *

  *

  14

  14

  11

  0

  Trent

  0

  0

  0

  0

  *

  *

  *

  10

  11

  0

  East Anglia

  0

  0

  0

  0

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  0

  North West Thames

  0

  *

  *

  19

  53

  103

  125

  135

  142

  16

  North East Thames

  0

  *

  *

  *

  23

  51

  73

  57

  70

  *

  South East Thames

  0

  *

  *

  *

  11

  22

  32

  49

  60

  0

  South West Thames

  0

  0

  *

  *

  *

  *

  14

  20

  11

  0

  Wessex

  *

  0

  0

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  12

  0

  Oxford

  0

  0

  *

  0

  *

  *

  *

  10

  11

  0

  South Western

  0

  0

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  0

  West Midlands

  0

  0

  0

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  0

  Mersey

  0

  0

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  0

  North Western

  0

  0

  0

  *

  *

  *

  14

  21

  14

  *

  WALES

  0

  0

  0

  *

  *

  *

  *

  *

  12

  0

  SCOTLAND

  0

  *

  0

  *

  *

  *

  12

  17

  23

  *

  NORTHERN IRELAND

  0

  *

  0

  0

  *

  0

  *

  *

  *

  0

  CHANNEL ISLANDS

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  *

  0

  TOTAL

  *

  *

  16

  47

  118

  260

  335

  383

  420

  25

  AIDS United Kingdom: Age distribution of AIDS cases known to have died by December 1989

  Age group (years)

  Male

  Female

  Total

  0-19

  18

  10

  20-29

  251

  26

  30-39

  609

  14

  40-49

  423

  11

  50 plus

  213

  *

  Unknown

  29

  *

  Total

  1,543

  69

  1,612

  Vaccine-damaged Children
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of children receiving immunisations have suffered vaccine damage, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; how many received compensation; and what was the total amount of compensation paid each year.

  Mr. Freeman
  Information is not available in the form requested, but in the last 10 years over 25 million 552
  childhood vaccinations have been given. Over the same period there were 556 successful claims for a vaccine damage payment. The table sets out the numbers of awards and the expenditure of the scheme.

  Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme: Number of Awards and Expenditure 1980 to 1989

  Year

  Awards

  Expenditure(£)

  1980

  1273

  2,730,000

  1981

  1109

  1,090,000

  1982

  1 45

  450,000

  1983

  42

  2670,000

  1984

  29

  2440,000

  1985

  26

  2220,000

  1986

  15

  2240,000

  1987

  10

  2290,000

  1988

  4

  2140,000

  1989

  3

  2 70,000

  1 Figures are for the number of payments made in these years.

  2 Includes payments in respect of awards made in earlier years.

  Vaccine damage payments are not compensation-that is an entirely separate matter to be pursued in the courts.

  Chernobyl
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received any communication from his counterpart in Norway concerning new evaluations by the Norwegian Food Control Authority over the health effects of Chernobyl radioactive fall-out.

  Mr. Freeman
  No, neither the Department nor the National Radiological Protection Board have received any information from the Norwegian Food Control Authority about new evaluations of the health effects of Chernobyl fall-out.

  Environmental Medicine Foundation
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department makes any funds available to the Environmental Medicine Foundation.

  Mr. Freeman
  No funds are provided to this foundation by the Department of Health.

  Community Care
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of his report to Parliament on the development of community care services to be published under section 11 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultations Representation) Act 1986.

  Mr. Freeman
  The report was laid in draft before Parliament on 21 December last year. Copies will be placed in the Library as soon as they are printed.

  Personal Stereos
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the dangers to public health of loud music played on personal stereos.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Caithness and Sutherland (Mr. Maclennan) on 15 January at column 89.

  Ambulance Service
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money the national ambulance service raised by public donation in the last year for which figures are available.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Information is not held centrally on the extent to which the individual ambulance services raise money by public donation.

  Hospital Cleaning Standards
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he proposes to take to ensure that adequate cleaning standards are guaranteed at(a) Guys hospital, Southwark, (b) Battle hospital, Reading and (c) St. John's hospital, Chelmsford.

  Mr. Freeman
  The setting of such standards, and their maintenance, is a matter for the health authorities concerned.

  Cervical Screening
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by regional health authority, the family practitioner committees that do not issue the Health 554
  Education Authority's leaflet, "The Cervical Smear Test, Why You Need It", to accompany the invitation letter sent to women for a National Health Service cervical cytology screening.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not held centrally.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by regional health authority, the percentage of women who did not attend for a cervical cytology screening when invited for the last year for which he has figures, under the categories(a) inaccessability, (b) ineligibility, (c) unsuitable, (d) failed communication, (e) incorrect classification and (f) refused to attend.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Although the information will not be available in exactly the form requested, it is hoped shortly to be able to give information about women screened in 1988–wing the introduction of a new cancer screening return from April 1988.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to reduce the interval time between cervical cytology screening to three years for all women.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We have recommended to health authorities a maximum interval of five years between tests, which we know can reduce deaths among women screened by more than 80 per cent. We know that the majority of women who die from cervical cancer have never had a smear test. We therefore believe that it is more important to achieve as a first priority a high response rate from all women in the eligible age group rather than aim to reduce the interval between screening. The recommended recall interval is kept under review.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by regional health authority, those district health authorities that do not send notification to women who have had a cervical cytology screening, when the results are negative.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not held centrally.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by regional health authority, those district health authorities that do not offer cervical cytology screening at the age range recommended by his Department; and if he will show in his answer the age range applied by each such district health authority.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We have asked district health authorities to invite all women aged 20 to 64 for cervical cancer screening by March 1993, unless their general practitioner has indicated that they should be excluded. We do not have information on the age ranges currently being invited in each district health authority.

  Kent Contract
  Miss Widdecombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Kent contract for general practitioners conforms with the Statutory Instruments approved by Parliament.

  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Kent contract for general practitioners conforms with the Statutory Instruments approved by Parliament.
  555
  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Some reports have appeared in the medical press which appear to suggest that Kent FPC is proposing to remunerate its GPs and modify its terms of service in accordance with a local contract rather than the contract approved by Parliament. Such suggestions are inaccurate. There is no question of any FPC drawing up an alternative contract to that set out in the NHS (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations as amended last year. Kent FPC has always understood that and is making its preparations on that basis.

  Paramedics
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether ambulance paramedics trained under local schemes such as that operated by Torbay health authority will qualify for the £500 award.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Only staff with extended training to NHS training authority standard and required to use paramedical skills will be entitled to an additional payment of £500 a year under the terms of the management side's final offer. But the management side has also offered to discuss with the staff side recognition of staff with intermediate training with any payment agreed backdated to 1 April 1989.

  Cancer Screening
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list in the Official Report those health authorities in the South East Thames regional health authority which (a) maintain a full breast screening service and (b) do not do so.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We have asked health authorities to implement breast cancer screening services over the three years to 1990 and services will be provided to all district health authority areas. The table shows the three screening centres serving South East Thames regional health authority, the districts presently served, and the districts to which services will be extended in 1990.

  Screening centre or consortium

  Districts served

  Camberwell

  Camberwell

  West Lambeth

  Lewisham and North Southwark

  to be extended to

  Greenwich

  to be extended to

  Bexley

  to be extended to

  Bromley

  Canterbury

  Canterbury and Thanet

  to be extended to

  South East Kent

  to be extended to

  Maidstone

  to be extended to

  Tunbridge Wells

  to be extended to

  Medway

  to be extended to

  Dartford and Gravesham

  East Sussex

  Brighton

  to be extended to

  Eastbourne

  to be extended to

  Hastings

  Psychiatric Hospital Land
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much land used by psychiatric hospitals in the South West regional health authority and Wessex regional health authority areas was sold in each year from 1985 to 556
  1989; how much money was realised from each of these sales; what proportion of the proceeds was allocated to community care programmes and facilities for people with mental health problems; what these programmes and facilities were; and what the remaining proceeds were spent on;

  (2) what land presently occupied by psychiatric hospitals in the South West and the Wessex regional health authority areas is to be sold over the next five years; what timetable is planned for these sales; and what plans are in place for the utilisation of the moneys produced.

  Mr. Freeman
  Property transactions are delegated to regional health authorities and information on sales and future sales of surplus NHS property and land is not collected centrally by functional group. To do so by means of a special exercise would involve disproportionate cost. The instruction to health authorities set out in "Property Transactions in the NHS" (a copy of which is in the Library) is that closures of hospitals for the mentally ill and handicapped must be preceded by the provision of comprehensive alternative services and that proceeds must be used specifically for the development of the alternative services.

  Severn Clinic
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response he has made to the request by the charity MIND for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the closure of the Severn clinic at Wrington near Bristol and the operations of the owning company, Britannia Health Care; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Department wrote to MIND on 5 January and that letter has been copied to the hon. Member. Health authorities' responsibility for private hospitals is limited to ensuring that there has been no breach of registration requirements. They are not empowered to investigate financial stability.

  Chiropractors
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints his Department received in the last full year for which there are records about chiropractic treatments; and how many of the complaints related to(a) qualified and (b) unqualified chiropractors.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Department received one complaint during the past year. It is understood that the practitioner concerned holds a chiropractic qualification.

  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received from members of the public calling for compulsory registration of chiropractors.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 13 December 1989 at columns 675-76.

  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what qualifications are required of anyone who advertises treatment as a chiropractor.

  Mr. Freeman
  No qualifications restrictions are placed on chiropractors who are free to offer their services privately to the public subject only to those provisions of statute and civil law which apply.

  Back Pain
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated annual cost to the National Health Service of providing treatment to sufferers from back pain.

  Mr. Freeman
  This information is not available centrally.

  Medicines Directive
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to incorporate the provisions of the European Community directive 89/381/EEC into United Kingdom legislation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  EEC directive 89/381, which is binding on all member states, was adopted on 14 June 1989 and requires member states to take measures necessary to comply with its provisions before 1 January 1992. We are currently examining what measures are necessary to give effect to the directive by that date.

  Bioethics
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the members of the Council of Europe's ad hoc committee of experts on bioethical issues (CAHBI) and the countries from which they come.

  Mr. Freeman
  The membership of the Council of Europe's Ad Hoc Committee of Experts on Bioethics (CAHBI) is a matter for the member states concerned. At the last meeting in December 1989 the members were:

  Austria

  Dr. Renate Kausek

  Mme Ingrid Djalinous

  Belgium

  M. Philippe Meire

  Professor Armond Andre

  Cyprus

  Mrs. Frosso Parrisiadou

  Denmark

  Mr. Ulrich Horst Petersen

  Finland

  Ms. Paula Kokkonen

  France

  M. Christian Byk

  M. Georges David

  Federal Republic of Germany

  M. G. Fieberg

  Dr. Lydia Mathy

  Greece

  Mrs. Panagiota Dalla-Vorgia

  Iceland

  Dr. Orn Bjarnason

  Ireland

  Dr. Niall Tierney

  Italy

  M. Giovan Battista Ascone

  M. Salvatore Puglisi

  Luxembourg

  M. Arsen Betz

  558
  Malta

  Rev. Prof. Charles G. Vella

  Dr. Joseph Louis Grech

  Netherlands

  Mrs. Johanna H. W. Kits Nieuwenkamp

  Norway

  Mr. Kare Berg

  Mrs. Grete Gjertsen

  Portugal

  Dr. Luis Mendes Graca

  Spain

  Dr. Octavi Quintana-Trias

  Sweden

  Ms. Lena Jonnson

  Mr. Goran Hermeren

  Switzerland

  Mr. Hansjakob Muller

  M. Franz Furger

  Turkey

  Dr. Yaman Ors

  United Kingdom

  Dr. Jeremy Metters

  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those who represented the United Kingdom at the Council of Europe's first symposium on bioethics held in Strasbourg in December 1989; and if he will place in the Library papers presented and records of the proceedings.

  Mr. Freeman
  There were no formal representatives of the UK. However, Dr. Jeremy Metters, deputy chief medical officer, Department of Health, attended as chairman of CAHBI. There were in addition a number of independent participants from the United Kingdom at the symposium.

  Papers and records of the proceedings have not yet been published by the Council of Europe. As soon as they become available they will be placed in the Library.

  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the procedures for appointment by member states of the Council of Europe of members of the CAHBI committee.

  Mr. Freeman
  Members are appointed by the member states of the Council of Europe.

  Council of Europe
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been Her Majesty's Government's response to Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1100; and whether it has passed through the Council of Europe's internal consultative machinery.

  Mr. Freeman
  Her Majesty's Government have not yet been asked to respond to Recommendation 1100 of the Parliamentary Assembly which is still being considered within the Council of Europe's internal consultative machinery.

  Medico-ethics
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any proposals have been submitted by the European Commission on harmonisation of medico-ethical questions following the Ulburghs report adopted by the European Parliament Document A2-78/88.

  Mr. Freeman
  The European Commission has not made any proposals on harmonisation of medico-ethical questions following the Ulburghs report.

  Meningitis
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of meningitis have been diagnosed in(a) under 18's and (b) over 18's in each of the last five years for which figures are available in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Norfolk, (iii) Essex, (iv) England and (v) the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Freeman
  Information is not available in the form requested. However, the available information on meningitis notifications is set out in the table.

  Notifications of all forms of meningitis 1984 to 1988

  East Anglia regional health authority

  North East Thames regional health authority

  England, Wales and Scotland

  1984

  Up to 14 years

  27

  39

  884

  Up to 24 years

  32

  60

  1,082

  25+ years

  6

  27

  260

  1985

  Up to 14 years

  36

  35

  1,030

  Up to 24 years

  43

  54

  1,293

  25+ years

  13

  38

  349

  1986

  Up to 14 years

  32

  61

  1,600

  Up to 24 years

  39

  77

  1,941

  25+ years

  8

  21

  384

  1987

  Up to 14 years

  36

  80

  1,827

  Up to 24 years

  46

  109

  2,192

  25+ years

  10

  45

  470

  1988

  Up to 14 years

  42

  85

  1,976

  Up to 24 years

  52

  114

  2,432

  25+ years

  13

  41

  656

  Northern Ireland ( Information is not centrally collected by age groups)

  Year

  All ages

  1984

  182

  1985

  149

  1986

  162

  1987

  102

  1988

  1154

  1 Provisional.

  Source: OPCS.

  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the notification and action procedure for all doctors in a health authority area once a case of meningitis has been diagnosed.

  Mr. Freeman
  By regulations made under section 13 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, doctors 560
  are obliged to notify cases of meningococcal meningitis or septicaemia to the Medical Officer for Environmental Health or proper officer. The Chief Medical Officer wrote to all regional medical officers on 2 February 1988 asking them to ensure that they had action plans to deal with meningitis (PL/CMO (88)1). He also wrote to all doctors on 3 February 1988 to pass on expert advice on the epidemiology, early management and prevention of the spread of meningococcal infection. A copy of the Gloucester health authority leaflet on meningitis was enclosed with the letter (PL/CMO (88)2).

  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice to parents his Department issues about meningitis(a) in general and (b) once a case has been confirmed.

  Mr. Freeman
  It is for health authorities to determine their own policy on issuing parents with advice about meningitis.

  The Department recommends Gloucester health authority's "About Meningitis" leaflet and the Meningitis Trust's "Meningitis—the Facts". Both leaflets contain useful and clearly written information on meningitis and include a list of signs and symptoms of the disease. The Department values the work the Meningitis Trust does in promoting awareness of the disease, and the support it gives to sufferers' families.

  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department will take to curtail a suspected outbreak of meningitis in Suffolk and Essex.

  Mr. Freeman
  This is a matter for the local directors of public health who are taking action in accordance with guidance issued by the Department's Chief Medical Officer.

  Air Ambulance
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the total monthly running costs for the Cornwall Air Ambulance.

  Mr. Freeman
  This information is not held centrally. I understand that the running costs for air ambulance vary from month to month. The total annual cost is reported to be around £350,000.

  Cerebral Palsy
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned to investigate the causes of cerebral palsy.

  Mr. Freeman
  The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research in the United Kingdom is the Medical Research Council. However, the following research, funded by Department of Health, includes investigation of causes into cerebral palsy together with other impairments.The Oxford region child development study was funded by the Department between April 1983 and September 1989. It is a population-based register of pre-school impairment, including cerebral palsy. Data collected in this study established the prevalence rate of cerebral palsy and the register provides a framework for satellite studies which may look at causes of cerebral palsy. This register is currently funded by Oxford region health authority.

  561
  The Department has been funding the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Oxford, which coordinates clinical trials as part of its functions, since 1989. Children who as babies participated in some trials have been followed up, enabling study of the causes of cerebral palsy.
  A study at University College London (jointly funded by DH and MRC) is focusing on neurodevelopmental disorders in very small babies.
  A study in Liverpool is looking at the long-term outcome in small babies.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to monitor trends in cerebral palsy.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Department does not monitor trends in cerebral palsy on a national basis. However, we observe the results of local population based studies of such trends. Whether or not we need to monitor more closely is being considered in the larger context of the development of child health surveillance policies.

  Ambulance Dispute
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which health authorities have(a) the Army, (b) the police, (c) the Red Cross and (d) St. John Ambulances been deployed on ambulance duties.

  Mr. Freeman
  [holding answer 8 January 1990]: (a) On 15 January 1990 military vehicles were deployed in the following regional health authorities.

  Trent RHA

  North West Thames RHA

  West Midlands RHA

  Wessex RHA

  North East Thames RHA

  South West Thames RHA (including London)

  Oxford RHA

  (b) The police are assisting the ambulance services in the above authorities, and also in:

  Northern RHA

  Mersey RHA

  Yorkshire RHA

  South East Thames RHA

  (c) Information on the assistance provided to health authorities by the Red Cross and St. John Ambulance service is not held centrally.

  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date(a) the Army and (b) the police began performing ambulance duties.

  Mr. Freeman
  [holding answer 8 January 1990]: The Army began ambulance duties on 7 December 1989 and the police on 23 October 1989.

DEFENCE

  Laser Weapons
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations his Department has carried out, or is aware of, into the effects of laser or other dazzle light on the eyes and brain functions of human beings; and what are the results of such investigations.

  Mr. Neubert
  MOD research establishments have studied the effects of lasers and other high power light sources on human eyes. This research is continuing, with particular reference to quantifying the impact of such sources, and to devising techniques to counter these effects.

  Faslane
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the incident in early December when a Royal Navy vessel was damaged and had to return to Faslane; and whether any inquiry has been instigated.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No Royal Navy vessel returned to Faslane due to damage during December.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are his plans to insert a magnetic facility in the middle of the loch at Faslane; for how long this facility would be in use per annum; and what restrictions will apply to those who live on boats or sail yachts on the loch.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  In order to remove the magnetic signature, which is acquired by all steel-hulled vessels, submarines are required to undergo periodic treatments. While existing arrangements meet the present requirement, these will be incapable of treating the larger Vanguard class of submarine. A new magnetic treatment facility is, therefore, required and this will be permanently located at a position in the Gareloch some 305 metres off Rowmore Point which meets the operational requirement and is sufficiently far away from other constructions with a steel content.

  Following completion, which is planned for the end of 1992, up to 30 treatments per year are expected to be necessary with each treatment likely to last up to two days. It will be necessary to establish an exclusion zone around the facility of 160m to the west and north. To the east, the exclusion zone will join the existing prohibited zone around the Faslane base. The resulting proposed amendment to the Ministry of Defence byelaws will be the subject of consultation and advertisement in the normal way. Outside the prohibited zone, it is not expected that there will be any restrictions on those who live on boats or sail yachts on the loch; a residual channel will allow navigation to and from Garelochhead.

  Gareloch
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans, and for what purpose, his Department has to dredge a channel at the mouth of Gareloch; and what effect this will have upon Rhuspit site of special scientific interest.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Work has started on improving the existing access channel to the Clyde submarine base Faslane through the Rhu Narrows. The work is necessary in order to permit safe transit in all tidal states by the larger Vanguard class submarines being introduced as part of the Trident programme. The dredging will have no detrimental affect on the nearby site of special scientific interest.

  Soviet Nuclear Test Site
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has received any invitation from his counterpart in the Soviet Union to visit the Soviet nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No.

  Flora and Fauna
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's participation in the project to film a major wildlife documentary series on the fauna and flora of the defence estate.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Ministry of Defence takes its responsibilities towards the conservation of its estate very seriously. The diversity of habitats means that many rare and uncommon species are to be found on defence land and a number of wildlife documentary programmes have either already been made, or are in the process of production. It is hoped, in due course, to complement these individual programmes with a major series.

  Property Services Agency
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the £9 million increase in his Department's budget relating to the costs of privatisation of the Property Services Agency; and if he will give details.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The £9,182,000 increase in the Ministry of Defence's cash limit for 1989–90 to which the hon. Member refers is not connected with the decision to privatise the Property Services Agency announced on 26 October 1989. It is the share borne on Class 1, Vote 4 of additional expenditure arising from the reorganisation of the PSA on more commercial lines in preparation for Government Departments being untied for works services from 1 April 1990. The principal areas of expenditure covered information technology support, the setting up of the Business Development Directorate and the taking over of some functions of the Crown Suppliers such as the Government car service.

  Tyndale Hunt
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action is to be taken following an entry by the Tynedale hunt through Albermarle barracks, Stamfordham, on 1 January.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  None. The Tynedale hunt has a licence to hunt in this area.

  Trooper Wayne Cross
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will exercise clemency to give early release to Trooper Wayne Cross, found guilty of being absent without leave at a court martial at Tidworth barracks on 16 January.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Trooper Wayne Cross presented a petition to the confirming officers against the sentence of the court-martial court. His case is therefore under consideration by the appropriate military authorities.

  Absences Without Leave
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average term of imprisonment imposed on service men found guilty of being absent without leave over the last five years.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There have been no cases in recent years of a court-martial awarding imprisonment for 564
  absence without leave. The usual punishment is military detention, which is a form of corrective training, with or without dismissal from Her Majesty's service.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rights of appeal there are for service men found guilty of being absent without leave.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  A soldier found guilty of absence without leave may present a petition against finding and/or sentence to the confirming officer before confirmation. After confirmation, he has the further right to present a petition to the reviewing authority in respect of finding or sentence or both. Finally, he has the right to petition against finding to the Army Board of the Defence Council as a first step to having his case heard by the courts-martial appeal court. A soldier who is convicted by court-martial is required by Queens Regulations to be given a pamphlet explaining his rights of petition and appeal. Comparable appeal arrangements exist for the other two services.

  Ships (Nuclear Weapons)
  Mr. Douglas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the implications of the recent experiment on the Black sea, in which short-range passive methods were used to supplement long-range detectors to verify the presence of nuclear weapons on board surface ships for the policy by successive United Kingdom Governments neither to confirm or deny the presence of such weapons on board United Kingdom vessels.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There are no implications for our policy neither to confirm nor to deny the presence of nuclear weapons in particular ships at particular times.

  Namibia
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has received any request from the new Government of Namibia to provide training for Namibia's armed forces.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I have been asked to reply.

  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Kingswood (Mr. Hayward) on 10 January at column 939.

  Military Training
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what instructions are issued to those participating in mud runs in relation to heat stress.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  [holding answer 15 January 1990]: All participants in diver training will have been instructed on the recognition and first aid treatment of heat-related illness, and other preventive measures include regular reminders to instructors of the problems associated with heat exhaustion and heat stroke; a minimum interval of two hours between normal physical training and training across mud; the participants' being bareheaded as an aid to body cooling; and the provision of a standby vehicle in case urgent medical evacuation should be necessary.
  565
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what representations have been received calling for the cessation of mud runs; and what advice he has received regarding their value and purpose;

  (2) whether mud runs are being used in (a) aptitude tests and (b) training in the armed forces.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  [holding answer 15 January 1990]: There may be a requirement, in operations, for divers in the Royal Navy and the Army to cross mud at speed or carrying heavy equipment, and their training necessarily reflects this. Moreover, this form of training is valuable in developing the qualities required generally of military divers, whose work is arduous and potentially dangerous. However, mud runs are no longer used during aptitude tests.

  I am not aware of any representations calling for the cessation of mud runs having been received in 1989, but one letter on this subject has been received from an hon. Member this year.

  Procurement
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his Department's major procurement purchases which have followed competitive tendering in each year since 1984.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  [pursuant to his reply, 16 January 1990, c. 136]: The following further information is now available:

  Common wheat

  Butter

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  United Kingdom £

  110·67

  110·67

  11475

  2,084·52

  2,084·52

  2,125·83

  Belgium/Luxembourg BF

  8,107·43

  8,107·43

  7,900·53

  150,482·26

  150,482·26

  145,246·99

  Denmark DK

  1,476·73

  1,476·73

  1,461·10

  27,420·56

  27,420·56

  26,861·65

  Germany DM

  404·46

  400·36

  388·36

  7,549·59

  7,472·60

  7,;070·39

  France FF

  1,260·98

  1,260·98

  1,259·49

  23,414·42

  23,414·42

  23,155·19

  Greece Dr

  22,631·60

  22,631·60

  31,250·40

  470,661·30

  470,661·30

  49,307·96

  Ireland Irish £

  140·22

  140·22

  133·60

  2,606·19

  2,606·19

  2,577·14

  Italy Lir

  269,371·73

  269,371·73

  273,730·23

  5,051,916·00

  5,051,916·00

  5,059,456·00

  Netherlands Fl

  453·39

  448·82

  435·36

  8,463·60

  8,333·90

  7,934·65

  Spain Pta

  26,011·66

  26,011·66

  25,231·77

  487,921·75

  487,921·75

  468,604·28

  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the EEC proposal in the current general agreement on tariffs and trade negotiations that an agricultural price freeze is sufficient to meet its short-term commitment to reduce agricultural support and protection levels in 1990; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  The United Kingdom expects reforms in the CAP which have been agreed in recent years to result in aggregate levels of support in 1990 consistent with the Community's short-term GATT obligations.

  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the EEC uses the producer subsidy equivalent for the purpose of calculating total agricultural support; and why its outline proposals for agricultural reform tabled in the general agreement on tariffs and trade Uruguay round, measure reductions against a 1986 starting level.

  Mr. Curry
  The European Commission uses an aggregate measure of support known as the support measurement unit which is based on the OECD's producer
  566
  1989 'AS90' Self Propelled Howitzer.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action has been taken by the EEC to fulfil its general agreement on tariffs and trade commitment to participate in substantial progressive reductions in agricultural support and protection.

  Mr. Curry
  The Community, in common with other GATT members, has tabled proposals for reform of agricultural policies. Negotiations in the GATT round are continuing.

  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the trend in common agricultural policy support prices, expressed in national currencies, for cereals and dairy products in each member state over the past three years.

  Mr. Curry
  The buying-in prices for common wheat and the intervention prices for butter over the last three years are given in the table. Prices are in national currencies per tonne, applicable at the start of each marketing year. No figures are supplied for Portugal, since cereals and dairy products are not supplied to intervention in that country.

  subsidy equivalent. A 1986 starting level reflects agreement that credit is to be given for measures taken since the current GATT round was launched.

  Fish Disease
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of(a) dab, (b) flounder, (c) cod, (d) herring and (e) plaice caught in water around the United Kingdom showed evidence of disease for each of the ad hoc surveys conducted since 1980 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, together with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland.

  Mr. Curry
  Since 1980, the Department's surveys for fish diseases in water around the United Kingdom have shown wide differences in prevalence between fish species. For dab and flounder, external diseases are recorded at higher prevalence rates than in cod, herring or any other species.

  The prevalence rates of disease vary not only between species but in relation to abundance, size, sex, spawning state and food availability. For dab and flounder, up to 10

  567
  per cent. prevalence would be expected in some areas, and then fluctuations would be expected according to the season. For cod, diseases are noted only when the migrations occur inshore during the autumn. At this time approximately 10 per cent. has been recorded, but this figure varies between years. Diseases in herring are rare, that is, less than 1 per cent. in all our surveys.

  Monitoring prevalence of disease in marine fish is only useful when it is made over an extended time period, and when all biological and physical parameters have been taken into account. We know that all current diseases in the above species have been documented since the turn of the century.

  Grants
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the total cost of grants to farmers from the Agricultural Development Advisory Service for each of the past 10 years, together with equivalent figures in other European Community nations.

  Mr. Curry
  Grants to farmers in the United Kingdom under common agricultural policy and United Kingdom national schemes for the years 1984–85 to 1988–89 (forecast) are set out in the publication "Agriculture in the United Kingdom 1988". Figures for preceding years are contained in the annual review of agriculture White Papers. Forecasts for 1989–90 are contained in the Supply Estimates. No comparable figures are available for other European Community nations, but any schemes which they operate have to comply with the appropriate EC legislation or be approved by the Commission under articles 92 to 94 of the treaty.

  Radioactive Contamination
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his Department will introduce monitoring of the levels of radioactive contamination in sheep sold from derestricted areas bordering those areas where bans have been in operation.

  Mr. Maclean
  Periodic surveys are carried out immediately outside the restricted areas in England and Wales to confirm the continuing validity of the boundaries set. There is no case for special, additional, monitoring of sheep sold from outside the restricted areas.

  Milk Lorries
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will meet representatives of the Direct Sellers Co-operative Limited to discuss milk lorries.

  Mr. Curry
  I have no such plans.

  Cattle Offal
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what restrictions he has imposed on the export of cattle offal from the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  I have imposed no restrictions on the export of cattle offal from the United Kingdom. Within the limits of Community rules where they apply, it is up to importing countries to determine the conditions under which such imports may take place.

  Microwave Ovens
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he will conduct his own research into the effects of microwave oven heating on food containing amino acids; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) whether he will conduct his own research to ascertain the chemical effects of microwave oven heating on milk; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  No. I gave a clear explanation of my Department's views of Professor Lubec's research on 13 December 1989,Official Report, column 698. I have no new information at this time that would justify my Department conducting its own research in this area.

  Food Surpluses
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his latest estimate of the amount which the European Economic Community is spending per week on the storage, destruction and dumping of food surpluses; what is the comparable sum actually spent per week, five and 10 years previously; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  European Community expenditure in 1990 on storage, withdrawal and export refunds for agricultural products is expected to be about £9,000 million, or £173 million per week. Comparable figures for 1985 are £6,965 million (£134 million per week) and for 1980 £4,610 million (£89 million per week).

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the reasons for refusing the Cumbria county council trading standards department details of the movements in Cumbria of cows found to be suffering from bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

  Mr. Maclean
  The handling and, if necessary, the investigation of cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy is the responsibility of the Ministry. Details of individual cases are held in confidence.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has about the extent of the use of bovine products in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries; whether such use includes the use of offals banned from human consumption; whether he has any estimate of the amount of such products; and whether there are any controls, either current or proposed, to regulate such use.

  Mr. Maclean
  Returns from the pharmaceutical industry confirm that only a small percentage of their products include materials of bovine and other animal origin. I have no comparable information about the cosmetic industry. Bovine offals account for only a small proportion of the animal material and they are mainly imported from countries where bovine spongiform encephalopathy has not been detected. The Southwood committee concluded that the risk of transmitting bovine spongiform encephalopathy via medicines appears remote and theoretical, but as a precautionary measure, special
  569
  guidelines from the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Veterinary Products Committee on the use of bovine materials in the production of medicines were circulated to pharmaceutical companies last March. If any evidence were to be found that a medicinal product might be unsafe, Ministers have powers under the Medicines Act to revoke or suspend the licence.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all those animal species which are currently or proposed to be researched with a view to determining susceptibility to spongiform encephalopathy from scrapie of bovine spongiform encephalopathy sources.

  Mr. Maclean
  The following animal species are currently or proposed to be the subject of transmission experiments to determine their susceptibility to bovine spongiform encephalopathy:

  Cattle

  Sheep

  Goats

  Pigs

  Chickens

  Marmosets

  Mink

  Hamsters

  Mice

  Research on species' susceptibility to scrapie is being funded at the AFRC/MRC neuropathogenesis unit through the science budget.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will detail work being undertaken to develop a diagnostic test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the live and clinically affected animal.

  Mr. Maclean
  Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is currently diagnosed on the basis of histopathology in the brain of clinically infected animals. MAFF is funding research to develop diagnostic tests in the live, pre-clinical affected animal using molecular biological techniques. This research is being carried out at MAFF's central veterinary laboratory, Weybridge and the AFRC-MRC neuropathogenesis unit in Edinburgh. Relevant slow virus research is being funded at the neuropathogenesis unit through the science budget.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is currently researching into the effects of scrapie-infected material being incorporated into feeding compounds for pigs and chickens; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Southwood working party pointed out that no naturally occurring spongiform ence-phalopathies had been recorded in pigs and poultry and did not suggest that action was necessary to stop the use of ruminant protein in their feed. However, it was suggested that further research should be carried out and MAFF is conducting transmission experiments to investigate the susceptibility of pigs and poultry to bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he intends researching into the infectivity of organs and tissues from bovine spongiform encephalopathy-infected cattle other than those currently banned from human consumption; and which such organs he regards as his research priority.
  570
  Mr. Maclean
  MAFF will he funding research into the infectivity of the full range of organs and tissues from bovine spongiform encephalopathy-infected cattle not currently banned from human consumption.

  Priority will be given to those organs and tissues consumed by humans in significant quantities, to confirm their safety as currently assessed from research on scrapie. Tissues of possible relevance in the transmission of the disease in cattle will also be tested.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he received the interim report of the Tyrell committee on research into bovine spongiform encephalopathy; and why he decided not to make the report immediately available to the public.

  Mr. Maclean
  The report was received on 16 June 1989. It makes many recommendations on a wide range of research topics which necessitated detailed, and inevitably time-consuming, study to enable a properly considered response in respect of the work to be done and its funding. There have, however, been no delays and a good deal of the most important research is already under way.

  Enzymes
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy for meat which has been treated with proteolytic enzymes, or which is derived from an animal that has been so treated, to be labelled with the words treated with vegetable enzymes.

  Mr. Maclean
  I have no plans to do so. The hon. Member's suggestion does not seem to offer any particular improvement in terms of consumer understanding over the present requirement to describe meat so treated as "tenderised".

  Veterinary Manpower
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will make a decision on the Page report on veterinary manpower.

  Mr. Maclean
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science and the Minister will be making an announcement shortly.

  Standing Veterinary Committee
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the standing veterinary committee of the EEC is constituted; and how he ensures that Her Majesty's Government's views are represented at this committee.

  Mr. Maclean
  The arrangements for the operation of the standing veterinary committee are contained in a Council decision of 15 October 1968. Attendance by Government officials ensures that the views of the United Kingdom are fully represented.

  Agricultural Products (Trade)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under what EEC provision the West German Government have banned the import of beef from the United Kingdom.
  571
  Mr. Maclean
  The German Government have not banned imports of beef from the United Kingdom. I do not consider that the conditions they have imposed on such imports are consistent with Community rules.

  Tyrell Committee
  64. Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy towards the recommendations of the Tyrell committee that the results of all research should be open for scrutiny and published at the appropriate time.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 16 January col.217.

  Scrapie
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research is currently being undertaken into the incidence of scrapie; and whether he has any programme to reduce such incidence.

  Mr. Maclean
  Scrapie has existed in this country for many years and no specific research into its incidence is currently being undertaken. Advice is available to farmers from ADAS on the control of the disease and flock owners may participate in a monitoring scheme under the Ministry's sheep and goat health scheme. Work is being undertaken at both the central veterinary laboratory and the neuropathogenesis unit to develop a diagnosis test. Work is being funded through the science budget to evaluate the genetic predisposition of sheep to scrapie. In addition, MAFF continues to fund work on a scrapie-resistant flock to assess the potential of breeding programmes for control and reduction of the incidence of scrapie in sheep.

  Cattle Semen (Exports)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what restrictions currently apply to the export of semen from British cattle.

  Mr. Maclean
  The animal health conditions covering the export of semen are established by negotiation with the importing country. These may include confirmation of freedom from certain disease in relation to the collection centre and the donor, its herd of origin or the country as a whole and specific requirements in relation to the method of collection. In almost all cases the importing country will require the semen to be accompanied by an export health certificate signed by an official veterinarian to confirm that the necessary conditions have been met.

  The United States, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Iran have currently suspended imports of bovine semen from Great Britain because of concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

  North Sea Conference
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the proposals he will be putting to the North sea conference later in the current year.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I have been asked to reply.

  One of the main objectives of the third North sea conference is to review the work undertaken by member
  572
  states in implementing the recommendations of the second North sea conference held in London 1987. As with its predecessor, the third conference will review all the major activities with an impact on the marine environment, including discharges of dangerous substances via rivers and the atmosphere, nutrients, dumping, shipping and offshore installations. The United Kingdom has taken a very full part in preparations for the conference and I am confident that the conference declaration, which will be the product of work by all the North sea states, will include valuable new measures, including a number proposed by the United Kingdom.

  Cetaceans
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has made an assessment of the reason for the deaths within the last 12 months of seals in the Liverpool bay area.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I have been asked to reply.

  An assessment carried out by Liverpool university department of veterinary pathology on the basis of post-mortem examinations shows that viral or bacterial pneumonia was the commonest cause of death in seals washed ashore in this period.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what species of cetaceans are known to inhabit the Liverpool bay area; whether any species previously logged within the last 25 years are now thought to have disappeared from the area; and if he will provide any readily accessible information to indicate changes in estimated population levels of all species of cetaceans in the Liverpool bay area over the past 25 years.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I have been asked to reply.

  In United Kingdom waters generally there is as yet no reliable population and status information on small cetacean species although valuable data are available from sightings and strandings reporting schemes. Recent reports do not suggest that cetaceans are resident in Liverpool bay, but migratory animals are reported. In the last five years Liverpool university department of veterinary pathology has examined stranded animals from the following species:

  Pilot whale

  Bottle-nosed dolphin

  White-beaked dolphin

  White-sided dolphin

  Common porpoise

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether dead seals from the Liverpool bay area within the last 12 months showed evidence of blocked uterine ducts.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I have been asked to reply.

  I understand that work carried out by Liverpool university department of veterinary pathology indicates that two out of a total of 12 dead seals washed ashore in the Liverpool bay in the last 12 months have been found to have blocked uterine ducts. There is no evidence that this contributed to the animals' death.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Hardship Payments
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people under 25 years have received hardship payments from his Department's office in Durham since October 1988.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  I regret that the information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Independent Living Fund
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will list by month since 1986 to date, for his Department's offices in(a) Doncaster and (b) Wath on Dearne (i) the number of independent living fund payments made and (ii) the amounts paid;

  (2) if he will list by year since 1986 to date for his Department's offices in (a) Doncaster and (b) Wath on Dearne what surplus has remained from the independent living fund.

  Mr. Scott
  The independent living fund was established in June 1988. It is a charity which is administered centrally from Nottingham under the guidance of its trustees. Information on the number of payments and amounts paid is not available by local office area.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether any reviews are being made by his Department of the independent living fund.

  Mr. Scott
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam) on 10 January at column 657.

  Actors
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received from actors reluctant to accept contracts in excess of eight weeks for

  Number of IS claimants

  Lone parents

  Disabled1

  Pensioners

  Unemployed

  000s

  000s

  000s

  000s

  000s

  Budgeting loans

  1989

  January

  243

  106

  24

  12·0

  86

  February

  265

  117

  24

  13·0

  95

  March

  284

  126

  25

  14·0

  104

  April

  301

  135

  25

  15·0

  110

  May

  314

  141

  25

  15·0

  111

  June

  326

  148

  25

  15·0

  120

  July

  332

  152

  25

  16·0

  122

  August

  336

  154

  24

  16·0

  125

  September

  339

  157

  24

  16·0

  124

  October

  344

  161

  24

  16·0

  125

  November

  351

  167

  23

  16·0

  128

  December

  344

  166

  22

  16·0

  124

  Crisis loans

  1989

  January

  40

  8

  1

  0·5

  27

  February

  45

  9

  1

  0·5

  30

  March

  47

  9

  1

  0·5

  36

  April

  48

  10

  1

  0·5

  33

  May

  48

  9

  1

  0·5

  33

  June

  49

  10

  1

  0·5

  33

  July

  49

  10

  1

  0·5

  34

  August

  50

  10

  1

  0·5

  34

  September

  50

  11

  1

  0·5

  33

  574
  fear of losing full entitlement to the payment of mortgage interest if subsequently unemployed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The Department has no record of any such representations.

  Mrs. I. E. Hart
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he hopes to make a decision with regard to the back payment of the widow's pension for Mrs. I. E. Hart of 21 Greenswood road, Brixham, Devon; and if he will make a statement as to the reason for the delay.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing this matter to my attention. Mrs. Hart's case is a complicated one which involves inquiries going back a number of years. However, I have to say that there has been an unacceptable delay in the handling of her case, and for this I offer Mrs. Hart my apologies. Urgent action is now being taken to put this right. A member of the Department's management at Torbay local office will visit Mrs. Hart today to explain the reasons, and apologise for the delay. The local office manager will write to my hon. Friend as soon as the case has been resolved.

  Budget and Crisis Loans
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what number of claimants on income support were repaying a budgeting or crisis loan for each month since January 1989; and what number of(a) one-parent families, (b) sick and disabled claimants, (c) pensioners and (d) unemployed claimants on income support were repaying a budgeting or crisis loan for each month since January 1989.

  Mr. Scott
  The information available is given in the table. The figures represent the number of loans being repaid on the last day of each month.
  575

  Number of IS claimants

  Lone parents

  Disabled1

  Pensioners

  Unemployed

  000s

  000s

  000s

  000s

  000s

  October

  52

  11

  1

  0·5

  35

  November

  53

  11

  1

  0·5

  36

  December

  47

  10

  1

  0·5

  32

  1Applicants receiving a disability premium. It is not possible to identify separately applicants who are sick and not receiving a disability premium.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total amount of budget or crisis loans to claimants on income support for each month since January 1989.

  Mr. Scott
  The information available is set out in the table. The information represents the amounts outstanding on the last day of each calendar month.

  Budgeting loans £ million

  Crisis loans £ million

  January 1989

  46·491

  4·485

  February 1989

  51·897

  5·132

  March 1989

  56·595

  5·751

  April 1989

  60·944

  6·330

  May 1989

  63·596

  6·789

  June 1989

  65·893

  7·189

  July 1989

  66·549

  7·583

  August 1989

  66·958

  8·055

  September 1989

  67·111

  8·388

  October 1989

  68·173

  8·840

  November 1989

  71·201

  9·619

  December 1989

  70·095

  9·523

  Statutory Sick Pay
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has concerning the impact on people's incomes of not receiving sick benefit or statutory sick pay during the first three days of any absence from work due to illness.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  I regret that the information requested is not available.

  Advertising
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the total cost of advertising by his Department in 1987–88, 1988–89 and 1989–90; and what is his planned expenditure for 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The total cost of advertising in the year 1987–88 was £0·.82 million; in 1988–89 it was £4·57

  Large self-administered schemes

  Number of schemes

  Schemes reporting in

  with surplus over 5 per cent.

  with surplus under 5 per cent.

  wound up

  Aggregate value1 £ million

  1987–88

  127

  176

  12

  530

  1988–89

  481

  853

  26

  2,040

  April—December 1989

  443

  596

  15

  1,830

  1 Surplus for those reporting on surplus of over 5 per cent.

  Note: The amount shown in the final column represent for schemes reporting to the Inland Revenue in each year. They do not provide a basis for estimating the aggregate level of pension fund surpluses.
  576
  million. In 1989–90 the planned expenditure is expected to be £7·16 million; the estimate for 1990–91 is £4·1 million. The forecast for 1991–92 is £7·4 million.

  Social Fund (Wales)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many local Department of Social Security offices have reported overspending on money allocated for social fund payments in Wales in each county; and which offices have overspent by more than 10 per cent.

  Mr. Scott
  No social security office has overspent its allocation for social fund loans and grants for 1989–90.

  Earnings Limit
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether unemployed people were given advance warning of the effect that the £43 earnings limit might have on their benefit entitlement if they worked for one or more days in the week preceding 10 December 1989.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  People are only required to declare their earnings at the end of the benefit week in which they work. It would not have been possible to identify individuals who may have had earnings in the week commencing 3 December 1989 prior to the declaration of these earnings in week commencing 10 December 1989.

  Pension Fund Surpluses
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what he estimates has been the level of aggregate pension fund surpluses each year since 1979.

  Mr. Lilley
  I have been asked to reply.

  Information is not available in the form requested. The table gives information on large self-administered pension funds reporting to the Inland Revenue action which they propose to take to remove surpluses following the provisions of the Finance Act 1986.

ENVIRONMENT

  Chemical Discharges
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to reply to the letter of 27 November 1989, from the hon. Member for Stretford in his capacity as honorary secretary of the north-west group of Labour hon. Members of Parliament, requesting a meeting with him and a delegation from that group to discuss accidents involving the discharge of harmful chemicals; and if he intends to meet a delegation.

  Mr. Trippier
  I have written to the hon. Member today.

  Hylands Park, Chelmsford
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment pursuant to the answer on 15 January concerning the date of the public inquiry on the Hylands park, Chelmsford, planning application, what negotiations he is referring to in his answer; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The negotiations are being undertaken by Chelmsford borough council with the Sue Ryder Foundation and other parties, in the light of the objections to the present planning applications, and with the aim of submitting revised proposals. Those revised proposals are expected to reduce the issues which need to be considered at the public inquiry, with savings on its duration and costs.

  Catnip
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking concerning the smoking of the herb catnip.

  Mr. Mellor
  I have been asked to reply.

  None. The herb catnip is not a controlled drug and I am not aware of any evidence to suggest that it gives rise to such harmful effects that it ought to be considered for control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to the average delays for elderly people waiting for housing benefit determinations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  I have been asked to reply.

  I regret that information is not collected in the form requested. Local authorities have statutory responsibility for determining housing benefit claims. Returns for the financial year 1988–89 have not yet been received from all local authorities, but the information available indicates that 75 per cent. of all claims for housing benefit have been processed within 14 days.

  Source: Housing benefit management information system.

  Uniform Business Rate
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated level of unified business rate payments due to metropolitan district councils in 1990–91; and what was the income from the business rate in 1989–90.
  578
  Mr. Chope
  Tables placed in the Library on 11 January show that under our proposals business rates payable to metropolitan district councils from the non-domestic rate pool total £2·4 billion in 1990–91. The estimated amount to be raised from non-domestic properties in metropolitan districts in 1989–90 is £2.1 billion.

  Electrical Contractors
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to reach a conclusion about the proposals of the Electrical Contractors Association for reciprocal recognition of electrical contractors in the single European market; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  We are considering the proposals put forward by the association and hope to reach a conclusion shortly.

  Energy and Environment Research Unit
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he, or any ministers in his Department, have any plans to meet the director and staff of the energy and environment research unit at the Open university.

  Mr. Trippier
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to visit the energy and environment research unit at the Open university in the immediate future.

  Private Bills
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his discussions with the Nature Conservancy Council on the use of private Bills to circumvent planning issues.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My right hon. Friend has had no discussions with the Nature Conservancy Council on the use of private Bills to circumvent planning issues. The Government's initial response to the Joint Committee's report on private Bill procedures (HC 625, Session 1987–88) was given by the Leader of the House in the debate on 20 April 1989.

  Conservation Programmes
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what curtailment has taken place in the programmes for(a) marine conservation and (b) urban nature conservation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Trippier
  The development of marine and urban nature conservation programmes is primarily for the Nature Conservancy Council. It is for NCC to decide where its priorities lie and to implement them in accordance with its corporate plan, copies of which have been placed in the Library.

  Drinking Water
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his proposals for the protection of drinking water in the light of the recommendations of the report of the Lowermoor incident health advisory group.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Following publication of the report of the Lowermoor incident health advisory group
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  (LIHAG), the Department wrote to all the water undertakers in England drawing their attention to its conclusions and recommendations. The substance of LIHAG's recommendation No. 8 requiring a water undertaker to notify the relevant health authorities without delay of any incidents such as Lowermoor had already been included in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989 (SI. No. 1147). The water undertakers were asked to confirm that the remaining recommendations, Nos. 7 and 9, relating to water supply had been or were being incorporated into their standard procedures. I am pleased to report that they have confirmed that these recommendations had been or were being implemented.

  Environmentally Friendly Building Materials
  Mr. Thornton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce an incentive scheme for developers, builders and specifiers to use environmentally friendly materials and techniques when maintaining the existing building stock; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to introduce such a scheme.

  Occupiers of domestic, commercial and industrial buildings are increasingly demanding evidence of the "green" credentials of their properties. Many of the nation's major developers, builders and specifiers have recognised this and are responding to this market demand.

  Compensation
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish in the Official Report the time scale for making changes to current compensation arrangements for those individuals and institutions affected by road and rail building projects.

  Mr. Moynihan
  We are currently considering proposals for changes in land compensation arrangements in the light of the responses received to the Department's consultation paper of 7 March 1989. Any proposals to change the law will be introduced at the earliest suitable opportunity.

  Property Services Agency
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what accounts and bill-paying functions are currently performed by the Property Services Agency at Hastings; how many staff are engaged on this work; and what arrangements are being considered for the future of this work and the staff.

  Mr. Chope
  Currently 366 staff are employed on the following accounts and bill-paying functions by the Property Services Agency at Hastings:

  a. Payment of contractors' accounts for construction and maintenance work at civil central Government properties and defence establishments, including United States bases, in the United Kingdom.

  b. Payment of fees to consultants engaged by PSA and suppliers of materials and equipment.

  c. Payment of gas, water and electricity accounts for the central Government civil estate.

  d. Payment of rents for leasehold civil estate properties.

  e. Calculation and payment of salaries to PSA and DOE non-industrial staff.

  f. Payment of travelling etc claims to PSA employees.

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  g. Invoicing clients for works services supplied on payment terms, tenants for rents and services charges, and government departments for accommodation, gas, water and electricity charges on the civil estate.

  h. Maintenance of costing, management information and vote accounting records, the latter incorporating expenditure by PSA overseas.

  i. Supply of information about expenditure on properties and projects, administration cost budgets, vote subheads to PSA divisions.

  j. Supply of expenditure information to other departments.

  k. Operation of resource costing management information systems, and supply of information.

  Firm decisions have not yet been taken about the location of the accounting functions which will support the operating divisions of PSA Services and Property Holdings, but it is likely that some functions will be dispersed to local units of the operating divisions. Responsibility for the payment of gas, water and electricity accounts is currently being transferred to Departments. The agency will make every effort to find other posts, in PSA or in other Departments, for staff whose posts are no longer required as a result of these changes.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what work DITMOS is carrying out for the Property Services Agency; how many staff are engaged on this work; when the work will be complete; and what arrangements will be made to find alternative work for DITMOS staff.

  Mr. Chope
  PSA's directorate of information technology management and office systems (DITMOS) provides the agency with a range of IT and business support services. Its headquarters is in Hastings and it currently has some 490 staff in post. This number is likely to reduce over the next two to three years. It will then stabilise at a level reflecting the need for continuing systems support.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to keep open the option of compulsorily transferring the Property Services Agency's executive, administrative and support staff to the Government-owned company.

  Mr. Chope
  If PSA is incorporated as a Government-owned company it is intended that the staff in it will be transferred by a scheme under clause I of the Property Services Agency and Crown Suppliers Bill. The PSA will use its best endeavours, in advance of that incorporation, to find other posts within Government for staff who do not wish to transfer.

  Politically Restricted Posts
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by what date local authorities must complete the list of politically restricted posts referred to in section 2(2) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

  Mr. David Hunt
  By section 2(4) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, local authorities must deposit their first list under section 2(2) with the proper officer of the authority by 29 January. Thereafter they must maintain the list, and from time to time deposit any necessary modifications with the proper officer.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he issued the consultation document
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  "Restrictions on Public Political Activity by Senior Local Government Staff", what was the last date for submissions on the document; and when he will issue his response.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The answers are as follows: 2 October 1989; 27 November 1989 (although we agreed to consider later submissions); soon.

  Local Government and Housing Act 1989
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many Government amendments were made to the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The figure is 1,037.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 was published.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The date was 6 December 1989.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the regulations to be made under section 1(5) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

  Mr. David Hunt
  As soon as possible.

  Sellafield (Waste Discharges)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consents are held by British Nuclear Fuels plc for the discharge of non-radioactive toxic wastes from Sellafield; what is the annual volume of each such waste discharged from Sellafield; and what changes in consents have been necessitated by the Water Act 1989.

  Mr. Trippier
  I shall write to the hon. Member shortly.

  BNFL Plants
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are taken to ensure that British Nuclear Fuels plc plants at Sellafield, Springfields, Capenhurst and Chapel Cross are operated within the appropriate regulations under the Alkali Works Regulation Act 1906, the Radioactive Substances Act 1960, the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Control of Pollution Act 1974, the Control of Pollution (Special Wastes) Regulations 1980 and the Treaty of the European Atomic Energy Community (the 1957 Euratom Treaty).

  Mr. Trippier
  I shall write to the hon. Member shortly.

  Radioactive Waste (Clifton Marsh)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what volumes of radioactive waste are currently disposed of at Clifton Marsh; what radionuclides are deposited; how many bequerels of(a) gamma, (b) beta and (c) alpha radioactivity are at the site; and when disposal of radioactive waste was first begun at Clifton Marsh.

  Mr. Trippier
  Radioactive wastes disposed of at Clifton Marsh originate from British Nuclear Fuels plc's plant at Capenhurst and Springfields and are measured by weight (tonnes) not by volume. In 1988 a total of 10,000 tonnes was disposed of which equates to approximately 6,600 sq. m.
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  Uranium and its short-lived daughter radionuclides are authorised for disposal at Clifton Marsh.

  It is estimated that for the period up to 1988 0.7 terabecquerels of alpha activity and less than or equal to 0.7 terabecquerels of beta/gamma activity have been disposed of at Clifton Marsh.

  Disposals at Clifton Marsh commenced in 1974.

  Community Charge
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the highest sums(a) per local authority and (b) per community charge payer, being paid under the safety net arrangements to (i) a London borough and (ii) non-London local authorities in England; what is the sum being paid or received in the London borough of Newham (1) in total and (2) per community charge payer; and if he will illustrate his calculations relating to the levels of each of these receipts or payments.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 17 January 1990]: Under our proposals the highest sums to be paid under the safety net arrangements to a London borough is £32·96 million to Greenwich; and to a non-London local authority in England is £38·57 million to Sheffield.

  When divided by relevant population, the highest amounts paid are £212 to Greenwich and £138 to Calderdale.

  The London borough of Newham would contribute £3·06 million to the safety net, a payment of £ 19 per charge payer.

  A description of the calculation of the safety net contributions and receipts can be found in the annex to the revenue support grant transition report (England) laid before the House on 11 January 1990.

  Standard Spending Assessments
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each local education authority in England the standard spending assessments in the categories and sub-categories(a) education, (b) under-fives, (c) primary schools, (d) secondary schools, (e) 16 to 19-year-olds and (f) other.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 18 January 1990]: I have today placed in the Library a table showing 1990–91 standard spending assessments for under-fives education, primary education, secondary education, post-16 education, other education and all education services; for each local education authority in England.

  Lancashire County Council
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total amount his Department estimated Lancashire county council should have collected from commerce and industry in rates during 1989–90; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 19 January 1990]: The amount expected to be raised by Lancashire county council from commercial and industrial ratepayers in 1989–90 is £101 million.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his best estimate of the total cost in 1990–91 of exempting all YTS trainees from liability to pay the poll tax.

  Mr. David Hunt
  [holding answer 16 January 1990]: The gross cost of exempting all YTS trainees before any
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  allowance for community charge benefit would be about £20 million. This assumes a total of 73,250 YTS trainees liable to pay the community charge.

  Virtually all non-employed trainees, and a proportion of employed trainees, would be entitled to community charge benefit.

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  ADVISORY BOARD FOR THE RESEARCH COUNCILS