Written Answers of 9 July 1990

THE ARTS

  Natural History Museum
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will place in the Library the correspondence between himself and the president of the Linnean Society on the level of funding for taxonomic research at the natural history museum.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 15 June 1990]: I have placed copies of my correspondence with Professor Claridge in the Library.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received from the Geologists Association concerning the attitude of the natural history museum towards sponsorship from South Africa; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 28 June 1990]: An hon. Member has forwarded to me a letter that he received from the president of the Geologists Association about the natural history museum's attitude towards sponsorship from South Africa. Sponsorship policy at national museums and galleries is a matter for their directors and boards of trustees.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  International Monetary Fund
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he expects to bring forward proposals to change criteria applied by the International Monetary Fund for loans to developing countries.

  Mr. Ryder
  No.

  Family Incomes
  Dame Jill Knight
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the percentage increase in the average family's real income over the last 11 years.

  Mr. Lilley
  A married man with two children on average male earnings has enjoyed an increase in real net income of over a third since 1978–79.

  European Currency Unit
  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to make the ecu legal tender in Britain; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 26 June 1990]: It is not necessary for the ecu to be made legal tender for it to be used in transactions if both parties so agree.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Conveyancers
  Mr. Favell
  To ask the Attorney-General what recent representations he has received about the payment of insurance commissions to conveyancers.

  The Attorney-General
  Since the Courts and Legal Services Bill was published on 6 December 1989, I have received three representations and the Lord Chancellor has received 20 representations concerning the payment of insurance commissions to conveyancers.

  City Fraud
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Attorney-General when he next expects to meet the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding City fraud; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  Primary responsibility for the prosecution of commercial fraud rests with the Serious Fraud Office; I met the director of the Serious Fraud Office on Monday 2 July to discuss matters of departmental interest.

  Pub Bombings
  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Attorney-General when he last discussed the Guildford and Woolwich pub bombings case with(a) the Lord Chief Justice and (b) the Master of the Rolls.

  The Attorney-General
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave today to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin).

  Crown Prosecution Service
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Attorney-General whether he will issue guidance to the Crown prosecution service or prosecution lawyers in respect of the care to be exercised in regard to comments in court which may be damaging to individuals and communities not directly involved in the case before the court.

  The Attorney-General
  No. Guidance on this subject is already given to all barristers and solicitors, including those appearing in court on behalf of the CPS, in the codes of conduct issued by their respective professional bodies, the Bar Council and the Law Society.

  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Attorney-General when he last met the Director of Public Prosecutions to discuss the work of the Crown prosecution service.

  The Attorney-General
  I last met the Director of Public Prosecutions for this purpose on 5 July 1990.

  Extradition (Irish Republic)
  Mr. Gow
  To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Government of the Irish Republic about extradition; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  I discuss these matters from time to time with the Irish Attorney-General as the need arises.

  Magistrates
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Attorney-General how many stipendiary and non-stipendiary magistrates are in post; how many were in post 10 and 20 years ago; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  In England and Wales on 1 January 1990 there were 64 stipendiary magistrates and 28,700 lay magistrates in post; in 1980 there were 52 stipendiary and 24,700 lay magistrates; and in 1970 there were 47 stipendiary and 19,300 lay magistrates in post.

  The number of lay magistrates continues to increase and the Lord Chancellor values the contribution they make to the administration of justice. Stipendiary magistrates are appointed where they are needed to support the lay magistracy.

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the countries which subscribe to the European agreement on the transmission of applications for legal aid.

  The Attorney-General
  The countries subscribing to the European agreement on the transmission of applications for legal aid are:

  Austria

  Belgium

  Denmark

  Eire

  France

  Greece

  Italy

  Luxembourg

  Norway

  Portugal

  Spain

  Sweden

  Turkey

  Finland, which is not a member state of the Council of Europe, has acceded to the agreement.

  Hilda Murrell
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the progress of the Director of Public Prosecution's consideration of the report of the West Mercia police on the murder of Hilda Murrell.

  The Attorney-General
  The Director of Public Prosecution is awaiting a report on the outcome of the further police inquiries to which I referred in my answers to the hon. Gentleman on 18 June at cols.675–76. Further consideration will be given to the case once that report has been received.

  Children Act 1989
  Mr. Summerson
  To ask the Attorney-General what progress has been made by the Lord Chancellor's Department towards the implementation of the Children Act 1989.

  The Attorney-General
  The Children Act 1989 represents a major step towards the Government's objective of providing proper and rationalised arrangements for hearing and determining family proceedings. It 4
  brings together in one statute all the public and private law on the care and upbringing of children with the overriding purpose of promoting and safeguarding the child's welfare. It also establishes a new jurisdictional structure encompassing the magistrates court, county courts and the High Court in which children's cases will be heard at the appropriate level of tribunal by trained lay and professional judiciary, according to uniform rules and procedures.

  An extensive programme of work is being undertaken by the Lord Chancellor's Department, in conjunction with the Home Office and the Department of Health, to ensure that the Act can be implemented in October 1991.

  First, new rules of court, embodying the recommendations of an advisory committee on procedure chaired by Mrs. Justice Booth, will be drafted for consultation this autumn. There will also be public consultation on the criteria to be laid down by the Lord Chancellor for the allocation of cases between courts.

  Secondly, it is intended that children's cases in the higher courts should be heard by judiciary who, by reason of their experience and training, are specialists in family work. An amendment will be tabled to the Courts and Legal Services Bill giving the Lord Chancellor the power to nominate such judiciary, with the concurrence of the president of the family division. The Judicial Studies Board has already embarked on a programme of 17 inter-disciplinary seminars throughout the country to explain the guiding principles of the Act to both lay and professional judiciary and these will be followed next year by more detailed training in the new procedures.

  Thirdly, all courts with divorce jurisdiction will continue to deal with such cases, but work requiring the attention of a circuit judge will be concentrated on a network of family hearing centres. Some 52 of those courts will also act as centres for care cases transferred up from the magistrates courts.

  Finally a central advisory committee will be established to advise on whether the guiding principles of the Act are being achieved and the new system is working effectively. Local groups will also be set up before October 1991 to ensure that the system is properly established at local level by the date of implementation and thereafter maintained.

ENVIRONMENT

  Architects
  Mr. Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Southend, East of 18 June,Official Report, column 419, if he will make inquiries with the Governments of (a) Germany, (b) France and (c) Italy as to whether they have any records of the numbers of United Kingdom qualified architects who have been registered by the appropriate professional bodies in each of these countries as qualified to practice as architects.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  The European Commission has recently invited all member states to provide statistics on the registration of migrant architects. It is expected that the responses will be available later this year.

  Ferro Alloys (Emissions)
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the arrangements to monitor air emissions from the Ferro Alloys chimney stack in Glossop, and of air emissions from the stack in each of the last 12 months.

  Ferro Alloys and Metals Ltd—SO2, Calculations July 1989—June 1990

  Month

  Total SO2 (Tonnes)

  Days Production

  Average SO2/Day (Tonnes)

  July 1989

  248

  31

  8·0

  August 1989

  132

  17

  7·7

  September 1989

  252

  30

  8·4

  October 1989

  263

  31

  8·5

  November 1989

  248

  30

  8·3

  December 1989

  247

  31

  8·0

  January 1990

  242

  31

  7·8

  February 1990

  242

  28

  8·6

  March 1990

  240

  31

  7·7

  April 1990

  235

  30

  7·8

  May 1990

  231

  31

  7·5

  June 1990

  212

  30

  7·1

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by how much the sulphur dioxide emissions were required to be reduced following the decision by the Secretary of State for the Environment to uphold the appeal to extend the planning permission for the Ferro Alloys chimney stack in Glossop; and if the process will be covered by IPC.

  Mr. Trippier
  The sulphur dioxide emissions were required to be reduced to a rate not exceeding 113 kg/hour by 31 August 1992, a reduction of 70 per cent. on previous emission rates.

  The process will be covered by IPC.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information held by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution or his Department concerning(a) emissions from the Ferro Alloys chimney stack in Glossop, and (b) other producers of sulphur dioxide in the area, has been exchanged with the Peak Park planning board.

  Research contracts commissioned by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of pollution during the year ending 30 June 1990

  Contractor

  Contract value (excluding VAT) £

  Duration (months)

  Area of work

  University of Lancaster

  60,340

  15

  Study of Polonium 210 levels

  Research Surveys (GB)

  64,750

  15

  Cumbrian coastal area habit surveys

  W. S. Atkins

  89,000

  12

  Modelling gas generation

  Biotreatment

  77,221

  12

  Removal of radionuclides by bio-sorption

  UKAEA

  45,200

  12

  Study of environmental distribution of technetium

  NRPB

  10,050

  7

  Exposure of sewer workers

  National Nuclear

  39,500

  12

  Management of tritium wastes

  UKAEA

  85,000

  12

  West oxidation of organic waste

  UKAEA

  80,000

  9

  Effect of elevated temperatures on cement and blended cements

  PA Technology

  90,000

  24

  Microbiological treatment of low level waste

  UKAEA

  104,000

  24

  Removal of active species from liquid effluent

  Taymel

  1,500,000

  24

  Quality checking of radioactive and hazardous wastes

  RPRWC

  19,945

  8

  Monitoring of tritium discharges

  UKAEA

  10,000

  6

  Determination of the efficiency of absorber materials

  University of Newcastle upon Tyne

  83,634

  9

  Study of scope of site investigation programmes

  6
  Mr. Trippier
  The darkness of the emissions is monitored continually by measuring transmitted light. Sulphur dioxide emissions are assessed by calculations based on the levels of sulphur fed into the plant. Tests made by an HMIP sampling team in December 1988 confirmed this correlation.

  Information on sulphur dioxide calculations covering the period July 1989 to June 1990 is shown in the table.

  Mr. Trippier
  Glossop is within the High Peak district council area and not the Peak Park planning board, and there has been no exchange of information with the latter.

  The Ferro Alloys chimney stack is the only registered works within the Glossop area producing sulphur dioxide.

  Pollution Inspectorate
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give full details of all contracts awarded in the last year by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to private consultants, university departments and other bodies, and include the value of each contract, the research/analysis to be undertaken and the duration of the contract.

  Mr. Trippier
  The research contracts listed in the table were commissioned by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution during the year ending 30 June 1990.

  In addition, a number of short-term consultancy contracts were awarded during the same period by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
  7

  Contractor

  Contract value (excluding VAT) £

  Duration (months)

  Area of work

  NERC

  295,000

  24

  Nature and complexing properties of humic substances

  NERC

  380,000

  12

  Colloid migration studies

  ANS

  18,880

  6

  Management options for organic liquid waste

  UKAEA

  119,368

  31

  Radioactivity in air and rainwater

  Laboratory of Government Chemist

  306,321

  39

  Radiochemical analysis of drinking water supplies

  ICI Tracerco

  143,299

  39

  Radiochemical analysis of private water supplies

  NRPB

  186,500

  38

  Radiochemical analysis of effluents

  ICI Tracerco

  293,856

  39

  Environmental radioactivity monitoring programme

  UKAEA

  85,100

  45

  Assessment and reporting of environmental monitoring programmes

  UKAEA

  49,100

  12

  Artificial radioactivity in tide-washed pastures

  Electrowatt

  144,812

  11

  United Kingdom radioactive waste inventory

  UKAEA

  28,800

  6

  Pollution control at chemical incineration works

  Environmental Resources

  35,080

  6

  Pollution control at large glass works

  Warren Spring Laboratory

  32,500

  6

  Pollution control at municipal incineration works

  Cremer & Warner

  28,100

  6

  Pollution control at hospital incineration

  UKAEA

  160,000

  12

  Microbial aspects of gas generation

  Clayton, Bostock Hill and Rigby

  25,500

  6

  Pollution control at sewage sludge incineration works

  National Nuclear

  41,500

  12

  Liquid effluent treatment

  UKAEA

  22,600

  4

  Review of organic material in radioactive wastes

  INTERA-ECL

  28,704

  4

  Data requirements for groundwater modelling

  W. S. Atkins

  74,500

  9

  Thermodynamic detabase and geochemical modelling

  NRPB

  20,000

  24

  Development of atmospheric dispersion model

  UKAEA

  328,220

  24

  Testing of models for colloid transport

  UKAEA

  86,700

  11

  Technetium removal from aqueous effluents

  UKAEA

  30,000

  11

  Effects of radiation on wasteforms

  UKAEA

  76,800

  11

  Treatment of complexed radionuclides

  University of Aberdeen

  326,460

  11

  Effect of elevated temperatures on cement in radioactive waste isolation

  UKAEA

  240,000

  10

  Actinide sorption on geological materials

  INTERA-ECL

  39,000

  10

  Methodology for assessing disposal of wastes

  WRC

  38,612

  5

  Sewage sludge BPEO study

  British Ceramic

  24,500

  6

  Monitoring of coke oven emissions

  IMPEL

  20,400

  7

  Assessing industrial process emissions

  City Grants
  Mr. Thornton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, by region, and in chronological order(a) all projects and (b) companies involved, the amounts they are investing and the amounts they are likely to receive, which have been offered a city grant.

  Approved city grant projects by region

  Date offer made

  Project name

  Developer's name

  Approved grant (£)

  Private investment

  Number of schemes

  West Midlands

  6 October 1988

  Windmill Lane, Smethwick

  McLean in the Inner Cities Ltd.

  775,000

  2,286,000

  —

  28 October 1988

  Seven Stars Industrial Estate

  Deeley LCP Ltd.

  1,627,000

  4,748,000

  —

  9 January 1989

  The Bond

  Raltorten Ltd.

  391,355

  785,000

  —

  9 January 1989

  Garrick Business Park

  Garrick Properties Limited

  750,000

  4,099,000

  —

  18 January 1989

  Startpoint Industrial Development

  Pentos plc

  283,000

  850,000

  —

  27 January 1989

  Kings Norton Business Centre

  Slough Properties Ltd.

  1,260,000

  7,635,000

  —

  1 February 1989

  Sandwell Ski Centre

  Glenarn Investments Limited

  282,000

  2,101,000

  —

  26 April 1989

  Washington Centre, Dudley

  Folkes Properties Ltd.

  3,500,000

  8,486,000

  —

  10 May 1989

  Garrison Lane, Ind. Dev. Birmingham

  J. A. Elliot (Developments) Ltd.

  570,000

  2,906,000

  —

  9 June 1989

  Constitution Hill

  T. S. Gandhi

  67,933

  284,000

  —

  30 June 1989

  St. Marks Church Conversion

  Quest International Partnership

  368,865

  1,037,000

  —

  3 August 1989

  Waterlinks

  Waterlinks plc

  6,200,000

  22,600,000

  —

  22 August 1989

  Walsall Chamber of Commerce

  Walsall Chamber of Commerce

  68,377

  281,000

  —

  8
  Mr. Moynihan
  The information requested is as follows:
  9

  Date offer made

  Project name

  Developer's name

  Approved grant (£)

  Private investment

  Number of schemes

  22 August 1989

  Hay Lane/Bayley Lane, Coventry

  Ice Developments Ltd.

  624,000

  1,792,000

  —

  25 September 1989

  Jewellery Business Centre

  Grosvenor Laing Urban Enterprise Ltd.

  934,271

  3,136,000

  20 October 1989

  Davenport Warehouse and offices, Willenhall

  H. Davenport & Sons Ltd.

  110,000

  604,000

  —

  14 December 1989

  The Arcadian Centre

  Avatar Limited

  3,200,000

  17,160,000

  —

  27 February 1990

  Browning Street, Ladywood

  Nationwide Housing Trust

  902,000

  3,375,000

  —

  27 February 1990

  Bordsley Village, Phase I

  Bryant, Tarmac, Wimpey

  1,401,257

  5,200,757

  —

  29 March 1990

  Batmans Hill Development, Sandwell

  Douglas Homes Limited

  1,399,431

  10,633,500

  —

  9 April 1990

  Industrial Estate, Bilston

  Echo Estates (trading as Richardson Developments)

  1,160,725

  4,266,990

  —

  10 May 1990

  Molineux Alley

  T. S. Frobisher Ltd.

  666,120

  1,723,550

  —

  10 May 1990

  Old Heath Road, Wolverhampton

  Manders Property (Wolverhampton) Limited

  154,421

  3,066,472

  —

  11 May 1990

  Tipton Trading Estate, Phase II

  A. & J. Mucklow

  1,660,000

  5,200,000

  —

  4 June 1990

  Bordsley Village Initiative

  Bellway Urban Renewals (New Homes) Limited

  3,720,603

  10,990,500

  —

  Regional Total

  32,076,358

  125,246,769

  25

  North west

  —

  2 August 1988

  Frederick Street, Farmworth

  Allen Homes Ltd.

  202,820

  1,766,000

  —

  2 August 1988

  Prospect Mills Housing

  Tay Homes (Northern) Ltd.

  649,773

  1,593,000

  —

  24 October 1988

  Oozebooth Mill

  Euro Jeans Ltd.

  142,000

  441,000

  —

  12 December 1988

  Park Road Hotel

  Florshiem Company (UK), Limited

  1,053,000

  4,755,000

  —

  22 December 1988

  Salford University Tower

  Manchester Parc Securities Limited and Amec Regeneration Limited

  2,550,000

  8,614,000

  —

  18 January 1989

  Atlantic Mill Site

  Hillcrest Homes Limited

  377,123

  1,508,000

  —

  25 January 1989

  Hazel Avenue and Acme Mill Housing Development

  Brackenlea Ltd.

  580,000

  2,915,000

  —

  3 March 1989

  Ice Rink, Blackburn

  Arena Associates Ltd.

  679,500

  1,980,000

  —

  25 April 1989

  Carriageway, Manchester

  Upton-Hunter Estates Ltd.

  99,100

  261,000

  —

  26 April 1989

  Bell Crescent, Manchester

  Tay Homes (North West) Ltd.

  621,700

  2,347,000

  —

  26 April 1989

  Every Street Housing Scheme

  Tay Homes (North West) Ltd.

  456,615

  1,674,000

  —

  9 June 1989

  Rose Hill, Bolton

  Lovell Urban Renewal Ltd.

  559,987

  2,483,000

  —

  30 June 1989

  Stretton Road/Tabley Road, Bolton

  Rushmoor Investments Limited

  308,000

  1,880,000

  —

  30 June 1989

  Low Hollin Ind. Units, Blackburn

  Northern Trust Company Limited

  100,992

  312,000

  —

  14 August 1989

  Moat House Hotel, Bolton

  Fraserfort Ltd.

  900,000

  9,430,000

  —

  22 August 1989

  Portland Mews, Manchester

  Barratt Manchester Ltd.

  451,000

  1,907,000

  —

  6 November 1989

  Queens Park Deck Flats, Blackburn

  Wimpey Homes Holdings Limited

  738,620

  3,300,000

  —

  24 November 1989

  Housing and Urban Park, Lower Audley

  Elite Homes (North West) Ltd.

  1,209,000

  6,007,885

  —

  4 December 1989

  Oak Hotel, Wigan

  Oak Group Hotel

  360,000

  3,991,000

  —

  19 December 1989

  Bennington St. Housing, Lower Audley

  Lovell Urban Renewal Ltd.

  707,000

  3,577,000

  —

  19 December 1989

  Exchange Street Development, Blackburn

  Rawlings Estates Limited

  258,247

  846,750

  —

  31 January 1990

  Orient Mill, Salford

  Clark & Terry (Manchester)

  202,000

  875,000

  —

  27 February 1990

  Grand Hotel, Manchester

  Trusthouse Forte PLC

  1,215,000

  15,799,000

  —

  27 February 1990

  Woodside Mills

  Bellway Homes Ltd.

  550,983

  3,936,000

  —

  27 February 1990

  Park/Persian Mill, Bolton, MK2

  William Hargreaves Ltd.

  398,233

  2,969,405

  —

  27 February 1990

  Wilson Park, Manchester

  Grand Metropolitan Estates Limited

  3,519,810

  11,863,760

  —

  27 February 1990

  Oldham Town Centre Redevelopment

  Arlington Retail Developments Ltd.

  4,793,842

  65,330,330

  —

  23 March 1990

  London Road, Blackburn

  Norwest Holst Partnerships Ltd.

  688,407

  3,152,000

  —

  23 March 1990

  Derker Street, Oldham

  Wiggett Construction Ltd.

  165,443

  850,406

  —

  29 March 1990

  St. Annes School, Manchester

  David Hill & Frank Moyle

  107,290

  315,000

  —

  29 March 1990

  Units at St. Annes School, Manchester

  Meir Heilpern & David Adler

  134,735

  378,000

  —

  4 April 1990

  Hurel-Dubois Factory, Burnley

  Hurel-Dubois UK Limited

  135,730

  480,000

  —

  6 April 1990

  Crown Business Centre, Oldham

  P & O Developments Limited

  200,000

  1,350,000

  —

  10 May 1990

  Kersal Vale, Salford

  Regalian Estates Ltd.

  5,152,000

  26,202,000

  —

  17 May 1990

  Sovereign Business Park, Wigan

  Allen Commercial Developments Limited

  362,760

  3,000,000

  —

  22 May 1990

  Brandsby Gardens, Salford

  Willan Homes Ltd.

  100,000

  585,250

  —

  31 May 1990

  Globe Works, Padiham, Burnley

  Colway Contracts

  63,140

  200,000

  —

  Regional Total

  30,793,850

  198,901,786

  37

  10 11

  Date offer made

  Project name

  Developer's name

  Approved grant (£)

  Private investment

  Number of schemes

  Northern

  17 November 1988

  7–19 Mosley Street

  Kelburn Holdings Ltd.

  413,000

  1,606,000

  —

  15 December 1988

  Ascot Court, Phase 3, Farringdon

  Two Castles Ltd.

  100,806

  403,000

  —

  20 January 1989

  Grosvenor Mews, North Shields

  R. A. Construction Ltd.

  64,620

  253,000

  —

  9 March 1989

  Dean Street, Newcastle

  Avatar

  351,000

  896,000

  —

  9 March 1989

  43–49 Grey Street, Newcastle

  City and Northern Properties Ltd.

  487,500

  3,660,000

  —

  22 March 1989

  Coach Lane, North Shields

  Nomad Properties plc

  88,892

  442,000

  —

  10 April 1989

  Gilley Law, Sunderland

  Wimpey Homes Holdings Ltd.

  1,221,447

  4,119,000

  —

  10 April 1989

  Ascot Court, Sunderland, Phase 4

  Two Castles Limited

  54,910

  309,000

  —

  21 April 1989

  Wellington Road, Dunston

  Stannah Lifts LImited

  200,704

  1,002,000

  —

  26 April 1989

  Boldon Business Park

  Boldon Investments Ltd.

  1,230,940

  2,472,000

  —

  5 May 1989

  Owton Manor, Hartlepool

  Wimpey Homes Holdings Ltd.

  570,000

  1,454,000

  —

  8 June 1989

  West Row, Stockton

  Glynns Estates (Cleveland) Ltd.

  96,722

  425,000

  9 June 1989

  Hartlepool Business Park

  East Mercia Developments Ltd.

  634,600

  3,940,000

  —

  9 June 1989

  Mowbray Court, South Shields

  Red Castle Properties Ltd.

  100,693

  411,000

  —

  14 August 1989

  Former Walkers Department Store

  Onix Construction Ltd.

  128,500

  414,000

  —

  20 September 1989

  Baronshill

  Wimpey Homes Holdings Ltd.

  438,445

  1,116,000

  —

  23 October 1989

  Grange Road, Middlesbrough

  Tendermill Ltd.

  247,841

  4,044,000

  —

  24 October 1989

  Dorrington Road Flats

  Wimpey Homes Holdings Ltd.

  1,087,000

  2,817,400

  —

  5 December 1989

  Clayton Street

  Highbridge Properties Ltd.

  310,073

  1,144,119

  —

  30 January 1990

  Moore Street, Gateshead

  East Coast Ltd.

  30,750

  210,400

  —

  13 March 1990

  Bertha Street

  Gowerflag Ltd.

  78,077

  336,700

  —

  15 March 1990

  Newport Road: Phase 3

  Roseberry Construction Co-operative Limited

  223,900

  1,068,090

  —

  17 May 1990

  Jackson's Building, Newcastle

  Peaston Investments Ltd.

  450,670

  2,777,568

  —

  Regional Total

  8,611,090

  35,320,277

  23

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  26 October 1988

  Abbey Park

  Barratt Leeds Ltd.

  364,516

  1,997,000

  —

  2 November 1988

  175 Arundel Gate

  Manor Developments (Chesterfield) Ltd.

  245,730

  856,000

  —

  30 November 1988

  Victoria Buildings

  Lynthorpe Property and Development Ltd.

  72,790

  224,000

  —

  13 February 1989

  Canalside Warehouse

  Mr. Marino Belivacqua

  100,567

  349,000

  —

  9 March 1989

  Huttons Buildings, Sheffield

  Crofton Place Estate Co. Ltd.

  269,750

  1,520,000

  —

  6 April 1989

  Maxi's Chinese Restaurant

  Maxi's (Yorkshire) Co. Ltd.

  74,000

  614,000

  —

  11 April 1989

  Site 2, Ringway Industrial Centre

  Slough Properties Ltd.

  218,720

  565,000

  —

  24 April 1989

  Holroyd Hill/Wibsey Bank

  Amex Regeneration Limited

  700,000

  4,536,000

  —

  6 September 1989

  The Sheffield Arena

  International Sports Marketing Inc.

  4,750,000

  26,250,000

  —

  20 September 1989

  Tudor Square Hotel

  Able Property Developments Ltd.

  1,044,000

  10,080,000

  —

  20 November 1989

  New Wholesale Market and Residential Development, Mark 2

  Harrogate Properties Ltd. and Clayton Bowmore Ltd.

  492,090

  2,428,680

  —

  13 December 1989

  Charnwood Hotel, Sheffield

  Charnwood House Limited

  179,000

  1,216,000

  —

  19 December 1989

  Pelican House, Bradford

  Crownhold

  80,000

  350,000

  —

  17 January 1990

  Roger Street Development

  Ackroyd and Abbott Ltd.

  169,654

  937,500

  —

  27 February 1990

  Lower Grange, Bradford

  Wimpey Homes Holdings Ltd.

  2,652,707

  10,812,500

  —

  27 February 1990

  Wombwell Industrial Estate, Barnsley

  Rafahart Limited

  162,677

  2,000,000

  —

  4 April 1990

  Dubrovnik Hotel and Restaurant

  Mr. and Mrs. Basic

  150,000

  1,150,000

  —

  11 May 1990

  Redbrook Business Park

  Tinselsave Limited

  559,123

  5,372,563

  —

  17 May 1990

  Birdwell Development, Barnsley

  Rafahart Limited

  453,982

  1,873,832

  —

  18 June 1990

  Thorncliffe Road, Industrial Units, Bradford

  J. R. Timme and Sons Ltd.

  60,000

  219,000

  —

  4 July 1990

  Midland Road, Bradford

  J. and S. Batty Brothers Limited

  136,860

  720,000

  —

  Regional Total

  12,936,166

  74,071,075

  21

  London

  20 September 1988

  Alami Import/Export

  Alami Import and Export Ltd.

  780,000

  2,547,000

  —

  25 January 1989

  Alaska Works, SE1

  Charterhouse Estates Limited

  4,162,590

  16,587,000

  —

  14 February 1989

  Catholic Church Site, Deptford High Street

  First Premise Limited

  157,785

  437,000

  —

  27 February 1989

  Atlantis Paper Company

  Atlantis Paper Company

  400,000

  3,277,000

  —

  1 March 1989

  Ackermans Chocolates Ltd.

  Ackermans Chocolates Ltd.

  70,000

  280,000

  24 July 1989

  Priter Way Arches

  British Rail Property Board

  505,000

  2,500,000

  —

  12 13

  Date offer made

  Project name

  Developer's name

  Approved grant (£)

  Private investment

  Number of schemes

  7 November 1989

  Archbishop Temple

  Lenta Business Space

  500,000

  3,855,000

  —

  24 November 1989

  Ffinch Street Railway Arches, Deptford

  British Rail Property Board

  300,000

  1,070,000

  —

  19 January 1990

  Stamford Wharf, Southwark

  CSCB Ltd.

  3,327,050

  15,300,873

  —

  27 February 1990

  Former Synagogue, Brixton

  R. C. McLure Esq

  1,033,000

  4,058,000

  —

  23 March 1990

  Sardar Manufacturing Company (Leather) Ltd.

  Sardar Manufacturing Company (Leatherwear) Ltd.

  410,000

  1,184,777

  —

  11 May 1990

  Raleigh Hall Mk 2, Brixton

  Inner City Enterprises plc

  359,212

  988,070

  —

  Regional Total

  12,004,637

  52,034,720

  12

  East Midlands

  11 May 1988

  8 Stanford Street, Nottinghamshire

  Rushcliffe Developments Ltd.

  305,500

  1,159,000

  —

  28 July 1988

  Rutland Square Hotel

  Rutland Hotels Ltd.

  738,000

  2,478,000

  —

  2 August 1988

  Sir Francis Ley Industrial Park South

  Shaftsbury Commercial Properties Ltd.

  3,287,000

  8,300,000

  —

  20 October 1988

  The Nottingham Business Design Centre

  Priest Marian Developments

  2,019,000

  4,635,000

  —

  8 November 1988

  20, 20a, Fletcher Gate

  Garratt Properties

  159,304

  424,000

  —

  24 November 1988

  Glasshouse Street (Avalon Court)

  Avalon Holdings Limited

  673,688

  3,690,000

  —

  17 February 1989

  Lamberts Factory Office Development

  Pickering Developments Ltd.

  796,548

  2,594,000

  —

  17 February 1989

  Pilcher Gate, Nottingham

  James McArtney Architects

  79,833

  627,000

  —

  3 March 1989

  St Johns Corner

  Provident Mutual Life Assurance Association

  566,463

  5,078,000

  —

  13 March 1989

  Arnhem House, Leicester

  London & Manchester Assurance Co. Ltd.

  708,200

  6,079,000

  —

  29 March 1989

  The Former Art Annexe

  Michael Goodall Quality Homes Limited

  120,000

  364,000

  —

  17 April 1989

  Players Court, Nottingham

  Thomas Long & Sons Ltd.

  969,590

  3,000,000

  —

  18 May 1989

  3 & 4 Kayes Walk, Nottingham

  Spenbeck Ltd.

  129,534

  444,000

  —

  14 August 1989

  Commerce Square, Mk 2

  Commerce Square Limited

  1,630,874

  4,886,000

  —

  22 August 1989

  Kingsway Industrial Estate, Derby

  K & A Enterprises Derby) Ltd.

  1,050,000

  4,007,000

  —

  22 August 1989

  Raynesway Park, Derby

  St. Modwen Developments Ltd.

  564,000

  2,930,000

  —

  5 June 1990

  Bitterlings Factory Redev. Nottingham

  Topical (Nottingham) Limited

  93,123

  535,000

  —

  27 June 1990

  Queensway Buildings, Leicester

  R. S. Gill, G. S. Gill, M. S. Gill, H. S. Gill.

  445,167

  1,084,660

  —

  Regional Total

  14,335,824

  52,314,660

  18

  Merseyside

  24 May 1989

  Former Huntley & Palmer Building

  Anglo International Holdings Ltd.

  334,690

  1,307,000

  —

  10 October 1989

  Green Bank: Ravenhead

  Green Bank Ltd.

  6,330,000

  19,350,000

  —

  1 November 1989

  Halton Road, Runcorn

  John Ross Properties Ltd.

  62,000

  277,000

  —

  1 February 1990

  Cathedral Chambers Commercial Area

  Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Christ

  1,349,765

  5,966,947

  —

  15 May 1990

  The Hotties, St Helens

  Pilkington Properties Ltd.

  3,048,000

  14,130,000

  —

  5 June 1990

  Prudential/Colonial Offices, Liverpool

  Villagate Properties Ltd.

  1,164,000

  5,428,630

  —

  Regional Total

  12,288,455

  46,459,577

  6

  South West

  22 December 1988

  Hawks Gymnastics Centre

  Bristol Hawks Gymnastics Club Ltd.

  145,000

  310,000

  —

  Regional Total

  145,000

  310,000

  1

  GRAND TOTAL

  123,191,380

  584,658,864

  143

  Mr. Thornton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average time taken in 1989–90 by each regional office of the Department of the Environment to process completed applications from the private sector for city grant.

  Mr. Moynihan
  Although city grant applications are initially submitted through the Department's regional 14
  offices, they are considered by the appraisal team which is based in London. The average time to decide applications made in 1989–90 was 13 weeks.

  Single Homelessness
  Mrs. Golding
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list those places which have obtained approval and agreement following his consultations under his plan to tackle single homelessness;

  (2) if he will list those (a) Church organisations and (b) other organisations he consulted when drawing up his plans to tackle single homelessness.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  We had informal preliminary discussions with a number of voluntary and church groups. My announcement stressed the importance of co-operation with voluntary groups, housing associations and local authorities in developing our package of measures. We are now taking forward these consultations urgently.

  Air Emissions, Sellafield
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give full details of the arrangements for monitoring air emissions of radioactive substances at Sellafield.

  Mr. Trippier
  Emissions of radioactive gases from the main discharge points are monitored continually; emissions from approved places other than those monitored points are estimated from air concentration data obtained at the site boundary.

  Planning Applications
  Sir Dudley Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the calling-in procedures over planning applications, so as to give greater protection to the general public interest.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  My right hon. Friend has no plans to modify the Government's policy on calling in planning applications for his decision. That policy was set out by my right hon. Friend the Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Sir H. Rossi) on 5 May 1987. I am satisfied that the procedures for operating that policy generally work well, and I have no present plans to review them.

  Land sold to private developers in 1989/90 by size of site

  Urban development corporation

  Number of sites smaller than 1 acre

  Number of sites between 1 and 5 acres

  Number of sites between 5 and 10 acres

  Number of sites larger than 10 acres

  Black Country

  3

  3

  1

  0

  Bristol

  None

  Central Manchester

  None

  Leeds

  None

  London Docklands

  2

  2

  1

  1

  Merseyside

  4

  4

  1

  0

  Sheffield

  None

  Teesside

  0

  1

  1

  2

  Trafford Park

  2

  1

  1

  0

  Tyne and Wear

  75

  1

  3

  0

  Canals
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will detail the mechanism of accountability to him or his Department for decisions made by British Waterways about the management and operation of canals in its remit.

  Orlit Housing, Ealing
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money has been paid and when the money was paid to Ealing council in respect of defective Orlit housing relating to(a) owner-occupiers and (b) council tenants in the Ferrymead avenue area of Greenford; if he expects to make further payments; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  The following payments have been made to Ealing London borough council in respect of 11 Orlit dwellings under the housing defects legislation:

  £

  1986–87

  5,830

  1987–88

  11,779

  1988–89

  15,054

  These payments represent the notional loan charges on 75 per cent. of the difference between the repurchase price and the defective market value of the dwellings, and will be payable for a period of 20 years.

  The market value of properties repurchased is included in the calculation of the authority's entitlement to main housing subsidy (to 1989–90) and to housing revenue account subsidy (HRAS) from 1990–91. The costs incurred by the authority in maintaining and repairing its housing stock are similarly included in those calculations.

  Urban Development Corporations
  Mr. Thornton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each urban development corporation in 1989–90 the number of sites sold to private developers which were(a) smaller than an acre, (b) between 1 and 5 acres in size, (c) between 5 and 10 acres in size and (d) larger than 10 acres.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The table gives the information requested.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The British Waterways Board is a nationalised industry which the Department sponsors. The board acts in accordance with broad policy objectives agreed with Government, but decisions about day-to-day waterway management are entirely the board's responsibility.

  Weston Shore (Pollution)
  Sir David Price
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response he intends to make to the legal proceedings opened by the European Commission in respect of the pollution of the waters off Weston Shore in Southampton Water; and what action he intends to initiate to ensure that these waters meet European Community standards.

  Mr. Trippier
  By convention legal proceedings of this kind are not conducted in public. However, it is the Government's intention to respond firmly to the complaint. We are at present consulting the National Rivers Authority and Southern Water Services Ltd. to confirm the relevant facts.

  Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the membership of the public interest panel of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee; and what public interest groups are represented on the public interest panel.

  Mr. Trippier
  Attendance at the public interest panel of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) is by invitation. The following organisations were invited to send representatives to the meeting of the panel in February 1990:

  Environment Council

  Caithness Against Nuclear Dumping

  Institute of British Geographers

  National Federation of Women's Institutes

  Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment

  Institution of Environmental Health Officers

  Society for Radiological Protection

  Institution of Water and Environmental Management

  Nuclear Free Zones—Scotland

  Institute of Biology

  Royal Society of Chemistry

  Drigg and District Action Group

  National Society for Clean Air

  Institution of Geologists

  Scotland Against Nuclear Dumping

  Ecological Affairs Committee (for British Ecological Society)

  Institution of Civil Engineers

  Institute of Waste Management

  Institute of Physics

  Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland

  Council for the Protection of Rural England

  Council for the Protection of Rural Wales

  Dounreay Action Group

  Friends of the Earth Ltd.

  Friends of the Earth—West Cumbria

  Green Alliance

  Highland Anti-Nuclear Group

  Institute for European Environmental Policy

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what vacancies are current or forthcoming on the public interest panel of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee; if meetings of the public interest panel are open to the public; and if there is funding available to facilitate public attendance at these meetings.

  Mr. Trippier
  The public interest panel has no fixed membership. The chairman invites representatives of environmental organisations to attend, according to the topics on the agenda. The meetings are not open to the public.

  Global Warming
  Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what approximate calculations have been made of the relative importance of car and aircraft emissions in global warming.

  Mr. Trippier
  The total fuel consumption of road traffic compared with aircraft gives a good approximation to their relative importance in terms of global warming. World figures for 1986 show that aviation accounted for about 12 per cent. by weight of the combined consumption of motor fuel, jet fuel and aviation gasoline.

  Housing, Exeter
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what amount he has given his consent for Exeter city council to spend this year on the building of houses from its general fund capital receipt.

  Mr. Chope
  Under the new system of local authority capital finance local authorities are free to use all their usable capital receipts for capital expenditure on any service and no consents are required.

  House Prices
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state(a) the average percentage rises in house prices, by region, annually in the last 10 years and (b) the current average house price for each region.

  Mr. Chope
  Dwelling price indices showing the annual change in the prices of houses and flats bought with building society mortgages, and adjusted to take account of the mix of dwellings sold, for the years 1978 to 1988 are in the latest annual volume of "Housing and Construction Statistics—Great Britain" (Table 10.8), a copy of which is in the Library. The corresponding indices for 1989 and the average dwelling prices for the same year are as follows:

  Index 1985=100

  Price1 £s

  North

  170

  37,374

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  194

  41,817

  East Midlands

  207

  49,421

  East Anglia

  221

  64,610

  Greater London

  203

  82,383

  South East (excluding Greater London)

  216

  81,635

  South West

  219

  67,004

  West Midlands

  219

  49,815

  North West

  184

  42,126

  England

  207

  58,458

  Wales

  193

  42,981

  Scotland

  144

  35,394

  Northern Ireland

  124

  30,280

  United Kingdom

  202

  54,846

  1 These are simple average prices of dwellings purchased with building society mortgages, not adjusted for the mix of dwellings. Figures for earlier years are in table 10.11 of the publication referred to.

  European Environment Agency
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the establishment of the European Environment Agency.
  19
  Mr. Trippier
  The EC regulation establishing the agency was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 7 May 1990 but will not come into force until a decision has been taken by the Council on where it is to be located. The agency will not start its work until then.

  Dilapidated Buildings
  Mr. Gow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from(a) Eastbourne borough council or (b) any other borough or district council that the powers conferred upon local authorities by section 79 of the Building Act 1984 are inadequate; what proposals he has to strengthen those powers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Spicer
  I have received no such representations. I am not aware of any general feeling that the powers available to local authorities under section 79 of the Building Act 1984 are inadequate and I have no proposals to strengthen those powers.

  CITES
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 7 June,Official Report, column 689, if he will make a statement regarding his consideration of the World Wide Fund for Nature's request for a contribution towards the costs of the investigation and enforcement officer employed by the CITES secretariat.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The World Wide Fund for Nature's request is still under consideration. I will write to the hon. Member when a decision has been reached.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to take any action to help parish and town councils with the community charge bills because of the loss of income from the business rate; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  Parish and town councils have the same access to the income from business rates as do county and district councils. I see no need for action to change this position.

  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects those people who have a holiday caravan on a protected site within the meaning of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 to receive the benefits of the changes to the Local Government Finance Act 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Field) on 30 March at column 346.

  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett), 27 June,Official Report, columns 258–59, whether the quarterly statistical survey referred to will be published, placed in the Library and sent to all individual right hon. and hon. Members.

  Mr. Chope
  I am willing to place an analysis of the returns from local authorities in the Library of the House,20
  once sufficient returns have been received. We would also make the analysis available to the local authority associations, but I have no plans to send them to all individual right hon. and hon. Members.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria he used in reaching his decision to vary from his original proposal the budget reductions required of(a) the London borough of Brent, (b) the London borough of Southwark and (c) the metropolitan borough of Wigan.

  Mr. Portillo
  [holding answer 5 July 1990]: My right hon. Friend's decisions on caps for the 17 authorities, including Brent, Southwark and Wigan, which did not accept the caps which he proposed for them and which put forward alternative amounts within the statutory 28-day period, represent in each case his view of what is achievable and appropriate in the light of all the circumstances of the individual authorities concerned, on the basis of all the information available to him.

  Mr. Hinchcliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's latest estimate of the additional borrowing requirement of local authorities in England and Wales arising as a direct result of late payment and non-payment of the community charge.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 2 July 1990]: No analysis is available of the separate effects of the many factors which influence the borrowing requirements of local authorities. The indications are that the vast majority of community charge payers are already making payments to their local authorities. However, the Government have paid 25 per cent. of authorities' revenue support grant in the first two months of the financial year to compensate them for any cashflow problems caused by the introduction of the new local government finance system.

  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the borough or district council element of each community charge in Essex in descending order from the highest to the lowest.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 5 July 1990]: The operation of the collection fund means that the community charge is not split between the councils providing services in each Essex district.

  If all authorities had provided a standard level of services the community charge could have been set at £278 throughout Essex, before safety net adjustments. Each additional £1 per community charge payer that a district council raises above the amount needed to provide a standard level of service adds £1 to the community charge in its area. The effect of district councils' 1990–91 budget decisions on community charges in Essex is shown in the table.

  Effect on community charge £

  Basildon

  +154

  Harlow

  +113

  Thurrock

  +75

  Brentwood

  +73

  Southend-on-Sea

  +45

  Castle Point

  +38

  Chelmsford

  +36

  Rochford

  +31

  21

  Effect on community charge £

  Tendring

  +25

  Braintree

  +16

  Epping Forest

  +15

  Maldon

  +5

  Colchester

  +2

  Uttlesford

  -3

  Notes: The figures for each district show the level of demands on the collection fund minus the standard spending assessment, expressed as an amount per head of relevant population. The standard spending assessment covers services provided by both parish and district councils. For consistency, the effects shown above include parish as well as district council spending.

  Property Services Agency
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the future of the Property Services Agency office in Leeds.

  Mr. Chope
  PSA Services has a number of offices in Leeds, including a regional headquarters, design office, estates office and district works office.

  PSA Services is reviewing all its organisation as part of its drive towards greater efficiency and in the light of future business needs.

  National Rivers Authority
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the reasons for the delay in placing in the Library the letter from his officials to the National Rivers Authority referred to in his answer of 3 July,Official Report, column 504, until 5 July.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The letter was placed in the Library without undue delay and was sent direct to the hon. Member.

  Acid House Parties
  Mr. Andrew Hargreaves
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations or guidelines his Department has initiated with local authorities concerning acid house parties.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The Government are supporting a private Member's Bill which would increase the penalties for infringement by party organisers of the licensing laws. The working party on my Department's review of noise has been looking into the problems posed by acid house parties. Subject to its recommendations, my Department with the help of the Home Office will be issuing guidance to local authorities.

  Dolphins and Porpoises
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to protect dolphins and porpoises in British waters and internationally.

  Mr. Trippier
  [holding answer 5 July 1990]: All species of cetacean already receive protection through their listing in schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This means that it is an offence to kill, injure, take or sell any wild cetacean.
  22
  At the third North sea conference at the Hague, Ministers of states bordering the North sea signed a memorandum of understanding on small cetaceans. The agreement specifies a series of measures to improve our knowledge of the health and status of these species and threats to them and gives a commitment in principle to take appropriate regulatory action where it is clear that human activities are causing damage.

  At the meeting of the International Whaling Commission now taking place in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom has fully supported the proposal by New Zealand to bring small whales, dolphins and porpoises within the remit of the commission.

  Whales
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that investigations are carried out to establish the causes of death of whales washed up on the British coast.

  Mr. Trippier
  [holding answer 6 July 1990]: I am pleased to announce that the Department of the Environment is commissioning three new research projects which will focus primarily on dolphins and porpoises but will extend as appropriate to other species in the cetacean or whale group. The first project establishes a co-ordinator based at London Zoo to oversee a systematic collection of samples from strandings and to arrange post mortems on appropriate animals. This project will apply to English and Welsh coasts and separate arrangements are being made to establish a similar system in Scotland.

  A second contract, co-ordinated by the sea mammal research unit of the Natural Environment Research Council and also involving the British museum of natural history will cover the cost of tissue analysis, particularly for contaminants. A third project, with the United Kingdom Mammal Society, will update and improve information from sightings surveys.

  The Department of the Environment is contributing £180,000 to the cost of these projects with additional contributions from the Welsh Office, the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and the Welsh region of the National Rivers Authority.

  Toxic Waste
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on cases of toxic waste sites being in close proximity to underground water supplies.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 6 July 1990]: This is a matter primarily for waste disposal authorities in carrying out their disposal licensing functions under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. Prior to their assuming these responsibilities, the Department and Institute of Geological Sciences co-operated with local government and water authorities in 1973–74 on a desk survey of disposal sites which might pose risks to water. The survey results were published in 1975. More recently a list of the sites has been supplied to the National Rivers Authority to assist in its review of groundwater monitoring requirements.

  Crown Suppliers
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the terms of reference given to Deloittes, in respect of the Crown Suppliers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  Deloitte, Haskins and Sells—now known as Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte—was appointed to provide accountancy advice on the sale of the Crown Suppliers in May 1989. I have put the terms of reference for that work in the Library. In addition it has recently been given a commission based on the expansion of some of that work, but the terms of that commission are commercially confidential.

  DELOITTE HASKINS AND SELLS

  TERMS OF REFERENCE

  Advice on taxation matters relating to the transfer of TCS
  To advise on taxation issues which may require special attention in TCS legislation. To examine the tax consequences of any legislation or administrative action (such as incorporation or capital restructuring) proposed before a sale. To advise on the taxation implications of incorporating and selling TCS, having regard to the effect of taxation on direct sale proceeds and on overall Government revenue.

  Accountants' Report
  To prepare long form reports on those activities of TCS indentified by the Secretary of State as being businesses to be privatised.
  In addition to the long form reports, to provide abbreviated reports if required for publication in any documents related to the privatisation of TCS which are to be made available to prequalified potential purchasers. These abbreviated reports will draw upon the long form reports rather than present an audit report of prior years. The abbreviated reports will include a reconciliation between the statutory accounts and the accounts of the businesses which are being sold.

  Other matters
  To attend as required various meetings leading up to an invitation to bid. Also as required to carry out further work associated with the invitation document(s), including consideration of any accounting matters which might arise in the course of the sale, and reviewing any financial information which is to be released, together with the issue of formal comfort letters.

  Rural Areas (Planning)
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to review the planning procedures for rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moynihan
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for the City of Durham (Mr. Steinberg) on 27 June,Official Report, column 273.

  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent consultations he has held with the Council for the Protection of Rural England on planning issues in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moynihan
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Doncaster, North (Mr. Welsh) on 27 June 1990,Official Report, column 272.

  Urban Development Corporations
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all those urban development corporations(a) which have elected members of the relevant local authorities on their boards and (b) which have on their boards elected members of the relevant local authorities nominated by those same local authorities.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The board of each English urban development corporation normally includes one or more elected members from the local authority, or authorities, in its area. These appointments are made only after consultation with the relevant local authorities. There are currently temporary vacancies for such members of the boards of Leeds, London Docklands and Sheffield development corporations.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Development Education
  Mr. Orme
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current level of funding for development education in the United Kingdom.

  Mrs. Chalker
  With schools as a main focus, most of the ODA's information budget is spent on development education, raising public awareness of the interdependence between developed and developing countries. So far in the current financial year over £300,000 of this budget has been committed to specific development education activities.

  Guyana
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria his Department employs in deciding on the funding of aid projects in Guyana; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Our criteria are Guyana's priority needs and Britain's ability (along with other donors) to help meet these. We have not given financial aid in project form since the capital aid programme was suspended in 1984. The new capital aid programme (begun in 1989) is being used to finance essential imports in connection with Guyana's IMF and World Bank supported macroeconomic reform programme. Our technical co-operation is concentrated on the key areas of training in the United Kingdom and local training for both public administration and the private sector.

  Population Growth
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution Her Majesty's Government make to international programmes aimed at slowing population growth.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We are major contributors to the three multilateral population programmes. We also support bilateral projects and programmes and research and teaching at United Kingdom institutions aimed at reducing population growth. Aid programme spending on activities directly related to population concerns has increased from £6·5 million in 1981 to £17·3 million in
  25
  1989. We intend to increase the level and quality of this assistance and help promote awareness of population issues within developing and developed countries.

  Sir Charles Morrison
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action his Department is taking to reduce the growth of the world's population; and whether he will make a statement.

  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution is made through the overseas aid programmes to international efforts to slow population growth.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We are major contributors to the three multilateral population programmes. We also support bilateral projects and programmes and research and teaching at United Kingdom institutions aimed at reducing population growth. Aid programme spending on activities directly related to population concerns has increased from £6·5 million in 1981 to £17·3 million in 1989. We intend to increase the level and quality of this assistance and help promote awareness of population issues within developing and developed countries.

  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response Her Majesty's Government have made, and what action they propose to take, with regard to the United Nations report on estimated world population growth.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Newport West (Mr. Flynn) on 22 June at column 718.

  Third World Debt
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives Her Majesty's Government will be proposing at the G7 summit in July to promote debt relief for developing countries.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The Government keep the debt strategy under continuous review, and we are hoping to discuss its achievements and prospects at the summit, with particular attention to the needs of the poorest debtors.

  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the sufficiency for developing countries of the Toronto plan for the poorest indebted countries.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The impact of concessional rescheduling on the financing needs of the poorest countries is kept under close review; 17 countries have already benefited, and other creditor Governments have joined us in writing off old aid loans to the poorest.

  Southern Africa
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the level of aid to the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference's programme by(a) the United Kingdom and (b) other donor countries.

  Mrs. Chalker
  United Kingdom pledges to the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference's programme total £70 million: information 26
  on pledges from other donors is not readily available. In 1988 net bilateral aid to the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference member states from DAC donor countries totalled $2,668·46 million (nearly £1,500 million) of which the United Kingdom provided $247·62 million (£139 million).

  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Overseas Development Administration has to introduce new initiatives to help black people in South Africa.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Hughes) on 19 March at column 431.

  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's support to SADCC programmes.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) on 24 May at column 368.

  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has recently had discussions with non-governmental organisations on the subject of aid for people in Southern Africa; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan) on 18 June at column 391.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the current levels of each of the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference countries' external bilateral debts to the United Kingdom broken down into concessional and non-concessional categories.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State on 28 November 1989 at column 200.

  Ethiopia
  Mr. Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in Ethiopia in respect of food supplies.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent information he has in respect of the famine in Ethiopia.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the famine situation in Ethiopia.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The situation remains essentially as stated in my replies of 18 June at column 394 to the hon. Members for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) and Stockton, North (Mr. Cook), respectively. We have since been pleased to hear that both the Government and rebel sides have agreed to an early visit by United Nations personnel to assess the extent of damage to the port of Massawa and the prospects for reopening it to relief shipments. We await the outcome of the visit with great interest.

  Cambodia
  Mr. Ted Garrett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has given further consideration to the idea of sending another British delegation to review the situation in Cambodia.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes) on 18 June.

  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the development needs of Cambodia.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Mr. Bowis) on 5 July. Britain is helping to meet the basic humanitarian needs of the people of Cambodia by supporting the projects of British NGOs under the ODA's joint funding scheme and by contributing to the programmes of international agencies.

  Mr. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commomwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border.

  Mrs. Chalker
  There are approximately 300,000 Cambodian displaced persons living in camps administered by the Cambodian resistance factions. The United Nations Border Relief Organisation (UNBRO), other international agencies and NGOs provide humanitarian assistance. In common with other members of the international donor community, the United Kingdom provides financial support for these humanitarian relief activities. Support is channelled through the various relief agencies and is aimed at providing food, water, shelter and medical services for the non-communist groups.

  Environmentally Sustainable Development
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the call in the OECD's development assistance committee 1989 report for a stronger concern for environmentally sustainable development.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I welcome and endorse the DAC chairman's comment on this point.

  Namibia
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to help relieve Namibian debt incurred before its independence; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman) on 3 July.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government are making in support of a substantial beef quota and least-developed country status for Namibia under the Lomé convention.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We favour generous terms of accession both as regards a beef quota and least-developed country status under the Lomé convention for Namibia. We expect to receive proposals from the Commission shortly.

  Development Assistance
  Mr. Eadie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the level of British official development assistance.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Net official development assistance in 1989 is provisionally estimated at £1,579 million, compared with £1,485 million in 1988.

  Caribbean Bananas
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what position the Government will be taking towards the Caribbean banana producers when the European single market comes into effect in 1992.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The European Commission is currently considering the arrangements to apply to bananas post-1992, but has not yet come forward with proposals. We are encouraging the Commission and other member states to ensure that any new arrangements fulfil our commitments to Commonwealth Caribbean suppliers and that they take account of consumer interests, trade policy considerations and the competition and efficiency objectives of the single market initiative.

  Environmental Projects
  Mr. Wray
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support Her Majesty's Government are giving to proposals by President Mitterrand for a special global environmental facility to finance programmes to tackle environmental problems through the World Bank.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave the hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Cummings) on 14 May.

  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any environmental projects or initiatives in the third world have been funded by money additional to the existing aid budget.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Britain's contribution of up to $15 million to the funding mechanism to help developing countries meet their obligations under the strengthened Montreal protocol will be separate from the aid budget to developing countries. It will form part of a new and separate item in the ODA's expenditure plans.

  Hazardous Imports
  Mr. Eastham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on efforts by the Overseas Development Administration to build technical expertise and institutional structures within developing countries for the regulation of hazardous imports.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The ODA has been involved in a number of projects designed to help developing countries to tackle a range of environmental issues associated with hazardous substances. For example in 1988 expert advice was provided to Nigeria on the status and disposal of a toxic
  29
  waste dump in Bandel state. I am ready to consider providing further assistance of this kind if so requested by developing countries. To help developing countries to strengthen their capacity to deal with pollution and hazardous substances, amongst other environmental problems, the ODA funds training in the United Kingdom for developing country nationals, for example, in environmental education, environmental pollution control and industrial waste management.

  Women (Adult Education)
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance is given by the Overseas Development Administration to provide adult education for females.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Yes, we provide such support in a variety of ways: as component parts of ODA projects; through in-country training and training on courses in British institutions; through distance learning; and in joint ventures with non-governmental organisations and in our contribution to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

  Forestry Projects
  Mr. Patchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the cash limit for the 1990–91 aid programme has been increased in respect of the extra £100 million for forestry projects announced by the Prime Minister in November.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The planned aid budget for 1990–91 of £1,587 million set out in this year's Public Expenditure White Paper (Cm. 1002) was £75 million higher than the earlier planning figure for 1990–91 set out in Cmd. 602. This covers in part the increased expenditure arising from the Prime Minister's announcement in November 1989 that we aimed to commit a further £100 million on forestry projects over the next three years.

  Global Warming
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how his Department is measuring the impact of Britain's bilateral aid programme on global warming; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave the hon. Member for Knowsley, South (Mr. Hughes) on 18 June.

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives Her Majesty's Government will be proposing at the G7 summit in July to assist developing countries to adapt to global climate change and a rise in the sea level.

  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives Her Majesty's Government will be proposing at the G7 summit in July to help developing countries implement policies to reduce the growth rate of carbon emissions.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The summit is an informal meeting between Heads of Government and I cannot predict in advance what will be discussed. However, it is likely that the issue of global warming and developing countries will be debated.

  Pesticides
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government are giving developing countries in their efforts to regulate imports of pesticides.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The ODA attaches great importance to the promotion of pesticide safety in developing countries and has carried out a wide range of activities aimed at strengthening the capacity of those countries to address pesticide safety issues. For example, last year we helped to fund a training workshop in the United Kingdom for government and parastatal organisations from developing countries on the FAO international code of conduct on the distribution and use of pesticides. I am writing to the hon. Member giving further examples of our activities.

  India
  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of British aid to India in the past 10 years has been spent in projects in the Punjab or Kashmir.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Statistics for the British aid programme are not collated for the regional distribution of aid within recipient countries.

  However, assistance has been offered for projects in both states in response to requests from the Government of India. This includes an aid agreement for £17 million concluded in 1989 for the Uri hydroelectric power station in Kashmir and the offer of aid in connection with a coach factory in the Punjab, as well as technical co-operation projects.

  Animal Conservation
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received regarding support from Her Majesty's Government for animal conservation schemes.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We regularly receive such representations, from a wide variety of sources, ranging from interested members of the public to official requests for assistance from NGOs and overseas Governments. No central record of such representations is kept, but recently many have concerned support for elephant and rhino conservation in east Africa. We are already funding a number of such activities and are always ready to consider new requests for help.

  Nicaragua
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what purposes the recent United Kingdom allocation of £600,000 to Nicaragua will be used.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The funds will be provided as grant in support of activities crucial to Nicaragua's economic recovery. Specific uses will be agreed with the Nicaraguan authorities shortly.

  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on what criteria have been used for providing the recently announced £600,000 aid package to Nicaragua.
  31
  Mrs. Chalker
  We decided to provide this aid to assist the new, democratically elected government of Senora Chamorro in its efforts to revive the Nicaraguan economy.

  South-East Asia
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's aid to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The Government are supporting British NGO activities in both Cambodia and Vietnam. We are also funding humanitarian aid programmes administered by international agencies in Vietnam. We have no bilateral aid programme to Laos. In Thailand we have a technical

  Net official development assistance from G7 countries 1979—1989 (£ million)

  Country

  1979

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  United Kingdom

  1,016

  798

  1,081

  1,028

  1,063

  1,070

  1,184

  1,185

  1,160

  1,485

  1,577

  Canada

  498

  462

  586

  684

  942

  1,216

  1,258

  1,156

  1,150

  1,318

  1,289

  France

  1,626

  1,789

  2,060

  2,305

  2,515

  2,835

  3,082

  3,482

  3,982

  3,854

  4,715

  Germany

  1,599

  1,533

  1,569

  1,801

  2,094

  2,082

  2,269

  2,613

  2,679

  2,656

  3,152

  Italy

  129

  294

  328

  463

  550

  848

  847

  1,639

  1,596

  1,793

  2,007

  Japan

  1,265

  1,441

  1,564

  1,727

  2,479

  3,232

  2,929

  3,842

  4,480

  5,128

  5,794

  United States of America

  2,208

  3,069

  2,851

  4,686

  5,327

  6,518

  7,253

  6,523

  5,458

  5,693

  4,490

  El Salvador
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial assistance Her Majesty's Government have provided to the Government of El Salvador between 1984 and 1990.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Between 1984 and 1988 we provided bilaterally £1 million of financial aid, all for disaster relief; and £113,000 of technical co-operation. The provisional figures for 1989 are £140,000 (disaster relief) and £4,000 (technical co-operation). European Community aid commitments in 1984–89 totalled 45·79 million ecu; expenditure in 1984–88 was 8·3 million ecu; the United Kingdom share of this aid is about 20 per cent.

  Chile
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government have considered granting financial help towards the newly established solidarity and social investment fund in Chile, along with other European Governments.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We have a bilateral technical cooperation programme for Chile which we have recently decided to increase. We have given careful consideration to the Chilean Government's request for further bilateral assistance, but have had to conclude that we cannot help.

  We also assist Chile through multilateral channels such as the World Bank and European Community action; in 1988 expenditure on Chile by the EC amounted to just under £1 million, of which the United Kingdom share is about 20 per cent.

  Environmental Conference, Japan
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what subjects it is proposed to discuss at the conference the Minister for Overseas Development is attending in Japan on the environment, in relation to Japanese treatment of the rain forest.
  32
  co-operation programme of about £1·5 million per year, focused mainly on the provision of training awards and English language teaching. Financial aid is also available to Thailand under the aid and trade provision.

  Aid Budget
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the relative trends in the British aid budget since 1979 and that of other G7 countries.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The level of net official development assistance since 1979 of the United Kingdom and other G7 countries is as follows:

  Mrs. Chalker
  Development Ministers visiting Japan for the annual Tidewater meeting will discuss a wide range of current and development issues, including the environment.

  Zambia
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provisions Her Majesty's Government have made to cancel Zambia's aid debt.

  Mrs. Chalker
  As I told the House on 5 April at column 734, as part of our support for Zambia's present programme of structural adjustment and economic reform we have offered to reschedule all repayments, totalling some £12·85 million, of aid debt due from Zambia in the current (1990–91) United Kingdom financial year. These include accumulated arrears since Zambia ceased to service its aid loans in 1987. We hope to finalise the arrangements shortly.

  Mozambique
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is considering making additional funds available for refugees and displaced people in Mozambique.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I announced in April a grant of £3·5 million and 10,000 tonnes of food aid for displaced persons within Mozambique. The £3·5 million will be used for basic relief supplies, seeds and food.

  I also announced in June a further £3 million, in response to an appeal by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, for Mozambican refugees in Malawi and other neighbouring countries. I will continue to monitor the situation in Mozambique very carefully.

  Angola
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make further funds available in addition to the £500,000 British emergency aid so far given to help fight the Angolan famine; and what other action he intends taking to help reconstruction in that country.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Since September 1989 I have announced two pledges totalling £1 million for relief in Angola. Detailed discussions with the Angolan authorities and international and British relief agencies have been necessary because of the very difficult logistical and organisational problems present in Angola. All of the first £500,000, and £240,000 from the second pledge, has now been allocated to specific requirements. We are ready to allocate the remainder as it becomes possible to do so. Reconstruction is unlikely to be possible on a large scale until the fighting has stopped.

  Kenyan National Parks
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the reply of 7 June,Official Report, column 677, if he has now completed agreement with the Kenyan Wildlife Service on the communications project in the Tsavo and Meru national parks; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The agreement with the Kenyan Wildlife Service on the communications project has not yet been signed, but we hope to conclude formalities very soon.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  International Development and the Environment
  Mr. Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans the Government have to increase spending on education in the United Kingdom on international development and environmental issues.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  In England it is for individual local education authorities, schools, and further and higher education institutions to determine the resources to be devoted to education on international development and environmental issues.

  School Psychological Service
  Mrs. Wise
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether costs related to the school psychological service will be passed to individual schools to be met under their local management of schools budgets.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  Under local management of schools it is for individual local education authorities to decide whether to delegate the costs of the school psychological

  Net institutional expenditure per pupil1 1988–89 cash terms

  Local education authority2

  Maintained nursery and primary schools

  Maintained secondary schools

  Maintained special schools4

  £

  £

  £

  Barking

  1,255

  1,970

  7,680

  Barnet

  1,250

  1,820

  7,070

  Bexley

  1,100

  1,685

  5,845

  34
  service to individual schools or to retain those costs centrally. All LEAs have chosen to retain some of the costs centrally, and most are retaining all the costs.

  GCSE
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will consider establishing machinery to monitor examining in GCSE English language and literature by public examining bodies; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The School Examinations and Assessment Council is responsible under section 14(4)(a) of the Education Reform Act 1988 for keeping all aspects of examinations and assessment under review. In addition to this my right hon. Friend has responsibility under section 4(2)(c) of the Education Reform Act 1988 for determining arrangements in connection with the assessment of the national curriculum. We have every confidence that the arrangements being made by the GCSE examining groups for the examination of English following the introduction of the national curriculum will build on and improve those at present in force.

  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received concerning the sitting dates for GCSE examinations.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  My right hon. Friend has received nearly 50 representations from head teachers and others about the GCSE timetable. The joint council for the GCSE is preparing to consult a sample of centres offering the GCSE about this matter. My right hon. Friend will expect to discuss with it the outcomes of the consultation.

  Education, London
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the cost in each London education authority of providing a school place for each child between five and 11 years of age; and what is the additional cost deemed necessary for each child with special needs in(a) a special school and (b) an integrated unit of a school for children under 11 years;

  (2) what is the cost in each London education authority of providing a place for each student between 11 and 18 years; and what additional cost is deemed necessary for each child with special needs in (a) a special school and (b) integrated unit in a secondary school.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The available information is contained in the table. It shows net institutional expenditure for each type of school in 1988–89. Local education authority expenditure returns to the Department of the Environment do not give separate figures for the education of pupils in integrated units in ordinary schools, or for different age ranges within special schools.
  35

  Local education authority2

  Maintained nursery and primary schools

  Maintained secondary schools

  Maintained special schools4

  £

  £

  £

  Brent

  1,375

  2,305

  6,945

  Bromley

  1,165

  1,770

  5,725

  Croydon

  1,180

  2,040

  5,935

  Ealing

  3n/a

  3n/a

  3n/a

  Enfield

  1,110

  1,715

  6,210

  Haringey

  3n/a

  3n/a

  3n/a

  Harrow

  1,115

  1,740

  9,795

  Havering

  1,095

  1,860

  6,475

  Hillingdon

  1,195

  1,870

  4,870

  Hounslow

  1,270

  1,895

  6,555

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  1,175

  1,900

  5,625

  Merton

  1,210

  1,660

  9,035

  Newham

  1,360

  2,140

  6,700

  Redbridge

  1,070

  1,735

  5,775

  Richmond-upon-Thames

  1,180

  1,640

  5,020

  Sutton

  1,095

  1,630

  4,990

  Waltham Forest

  3n/a

  3n/a

  3n/a

  ILEA

  1,610

  2,510

  8,820

  1 Net institutional expenditure includes the costs of salaries and wages, premises and certain supplies and services. It does not include the cost of school meals, central administration and inspection, debt charges or revenue contributions to capital outlay.

  2 The figures are based on LEA expenditure returns to DOE and pupil number returns to DES.

  3 n/a denotes that an expenditure return has not been received from the LEA.

  4 Spending on special schools will vary according to the learning difficulties catered for, the pupils' disabilities, and the pattern of provision in each LEA.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have recently applied for grant-maintained status.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The governing bodies of 17 schools published proposals for grant-maintained status during the first six months of this year.

  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out a list of local education authorities, indicating for each authority(a) the number of schools which qualify for application for award of grant-maintained status, (b) how many have applied for a ballot, (c) in how many the ballot has been successful, (d) in how many the ballot has been unsuccessful, (e) how many have submitted an application to him, (f) how many applications have been agreed, (g) how many applications have been declined, (h) how many schools have achieved grant-maintained status, and (i) how many, including those in (h), will have achieved that status by September.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  It will take a long time to put together the information. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of both Houses.

  TVEI
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department is carrying out any current evaluation of the educational impact of the technical and vocational education initiative; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The Department of Employment Training Agency is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of the technical and vocational education initiative. Her Majesty's inspectorate does, however, inspect TVEI in the schools and colleges and a number of those reports have been published; HMI will be carrying out two surveys focusing on TVEI provision for 16 to 19-year-olds in the forthcoming academic year.

PRIME MINISTER

  Diego Garcia
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister if she will visit Mauritius in order to ascertain from the Ilois people whether they wish to return to Diego Garcia in the changed military circumstances.

  The Prime Minister
  No. Those concerned worked on the former copra plantations in the Chagos Archipelago. After the plantations closed between 1971 and 1973 they and their families were resettled in Mauritius and given considerable financial assistance. Their future now lies in Mauritius. The defence facilities in British Indian Ocean Territory continue to make a vital security contribution.

  Manchester Olympic Committee
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Prime Minister what specific steps she and the Government are taking in support of the Manchester Olympic Committee's bid to stage the Olympic Games in 1996; and if she will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The Government wholeheartedly support Manchester's bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games and have offered the bid team whatever promotional help they can. I have made our support very clear both in correspondence with His Excellency Juan Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee, and in statements to the House.

  In addition, the Government have provided Manchester with the necessary assurances required by the Olympic charter, and will pay full regard to the Olympic rules and byelaws and do all within their powers to facilitate entry and freedom of movement to members of the Olympic family. My hon. Friend the Minister for Sport has met the bid team, visited Manchester to meet an International Olympic Committee evaluation team and attended a dinner in honour of 10 International Olympic Committee members hosted by the British Olympic

  37
  Association. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has written to International Olympic Committee members endorsing the bid and our posts overseas are supporting the bid team in their lobbying efforts.

  Adult Basic Education
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Prime Minister what investigation has been undertaken to assess the relative spending on adult basic education in Scotland with that in England and Wales; and with what findings.

  The Prime Minister
  Overall comparisons between Scotland and England and Wales are not practicable because it is not possible in Scotland separately to distinguish between spending by local authorities on adult basic education from spending on community education generally.

  Urban Aid
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Prime Minister what current urban aid programmes involve provision for ethnic minorities.

  The Prime Minister
  The urban programmes for England, Wales and Scotland all make provision for ethnic minorities as one of the priority groups to be helped in the inner cities. Local authorities are required to ensure that the needs of ethnic minorities are being met when submitting their bids for urban programme resources.

  Open Learning Centres
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Prime Minister how much the Scottish Education Department gives to open learning centres.

  The Prime Minister
  The Scottish Education Department provided a grant of £29,500 in 1988–89, £35,000 in 1989–90 and £40,000 in 1990–91 to assist with the running costs of the Whitfield open learning centre in Dundee.

ENERGY

  Oil Rig Abandonment
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer of 14 June,Official Report, column 350, to the hon. Member for Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes), if he will make a statement on further monitoring of the oil rig abandonment programme.

  Mr. Peter Morrison
  I shall shortly be writing to Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd. and its co-venturers to inform them about further work they will be required to carry out under the abandonment programme for Piper Alpha. When I have done so, I will inform the House.

  Nuclear Power (Privatisation)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will place in the Library a copy of all correspondence between Kleinwort Benson and his Department regarding the feasibility and costs to public expenditure of privatising nuclear power generation.
  38
  Mr. Baldry
  No.

  Oil Rigs
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will introduce legislation requiring the segregation of production and accommodation quarters on British oil rigs in the North sea; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Morrison
  Existing legislation provides comprehensive controls over the design and construction of offshore installations. This requires, among other things, that accommodation should be placed and constructed so as to afford protection to persons on the installation, and that the certifying authority should carry out an independent assessment of the design and method of construction of the installation.

DEFENCE

  Polish Resettlement Act 1947
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence further to his reply on 11 May,Official Report, column 212, when he now expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight of 3 April on the Polish Resettlement Act 1947.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  As my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces indicated in his letter of 24 April to the hon. Member, this is a complex issue which involves archive research and consultation with a number of other Government Departments. Unfortunately this process is taking longer than we had hoped, but my noble Friend will give a substantive reply to the hon. Member as soon as he is in a position to do so.

  Transmitter, Glen Garry
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the bodies consulted by his Department on the proposed extremely low-frequency transmitter in Glen Garry.

  Mr. Neubert
  The following have been consulted at various times:

  1. Forestry Commission (local and regional).

  2. West Highland Estates.

  3. Nature Conservancy Council.

  4. Countryside Commission for Scotland.

  5. Lochaber district council.

  6. Highland regional council.

  7. Scottish Wildlife Trust.

  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which company is conducting the environmental impact assessment of the proposed extremely low-frequency transmitter in Glen Garry; on what date the contract was awarded; what is the value of the contract; and what is the contracted completion date for the assessment.

  Mr. Neubert
  A contract for preliminary work, including an assessment of environmental impact, was awarded to W. A. Fairhurst and Partners of Newcastle on 14 November 1989. The value of the contract is a matter of commercial confidentiality. It is expected that this work will be completed by the end of this year. A formal notice
  39
  of proposed development, together with an environmental impact assessment, will be submitted to Highland regional council at the appropriate time, if it is decided to proceed.

  Valiant Submarines
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress in checking the reactor equipment of Valiant class submarines following the discovery of faults earlier this year.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The programme of inspections of our nuclear powered submarines is continuing.

  Low-frequency Communications
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on the extremely low-frequency communications programme in each year since 1979; and what is the projected expenditure for the next three years.

  Mr. Neubert
  It is not our practice to identify separately spending on individual research projects.

  Diego Garcia
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to review the use of the base on Diego Garcia.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No.

  Exercise Teamwork 90
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the nature of NATO's exercise Teamwork 90, planned for September; where in Scotland it will take place; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Teamwork 90 is a NATO maritime exercise to be held in the North Atlantic and in the waters off Norway from 6 to 23 September 1990. The exercise is designed to train NATO's maritime forces, including amphibious and air forces, to defend and operate in this geographically demanding area.

  The exercise will involve some activity at RAF stations in Scotland and in Scottish waters.

  Military Salaries
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the percentage change in real terms in the annual amount of Government expenditure on military salaries between (i) 1969 and 1979 (ii) 1979 and 1989;

  (2) what is the percentage change in real terms in the pay upon appointment of (a) a field marshal, (b) major generals, (c) colonels, (d) captains, (e) second lieutenants, (f) sergeants, (g) corporals, and (h) privates, between (i) 1969 and 1979 and (ii) 1979 and 1989.

  Table 1 Intake to United Kingdom Regular Forces from civilian life

  Males

  Females

  Total number

  Total

  Officers

  Servicemen

  Total

  Officers

  Servicewomen

  All Services

  1971–72

  55,454

  48,876

  2,378

  46,498

  6,578

  392

  6,186

  1972–73

  46,324

  41,007

  1,989

  39,018

  5,317

  359

  4,958

  1973–74

  32,433

  27,722

  1,921

  25,801

  4,711

  316

  4,395

  1974–75

  42,236

  36,852

  1,890

  34,962

  5,384

  273

  5,111

  1975–76

  46,906

  41,686

  1,882

  39,804

  5,220

  253

  4,967

  1976–77

  40,244

  36,390

  2,007

  34,383

  3,854

  320

  3,534

  1977–78

  38,237

  34,188

  1,957

  32,231

  4,049

  297

  3,752

  40
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  [holding answer 2 July 1990]: The military salary in its current form was not introduced until 1970 and it would not therefore be realistic to provide comparisons from before that date. Comparisons for the two 10-year periods commencing with the financial year 1970–71 are therefore provided.

  The real changes in rates of pay were:

  Financial year 1970–71 to financial year 1979–80 per cent.

  Financial year 1979–80 to financial year 1988–89 per cent.

  Field Marshal

  -24·3

  + 86·4

  Major General

  -30·5

  +44·5

  Colonel

  -12·1

  +29·7

  Captain

  -4·8

  +21·9

  2nd Lieutenant

  -13·6

  +13·1

  Sergeant

  +9·0

  11·9

  Corporal

  +10·7

  +9·0

  Private

  +11·0

  -4·0

  Government expenditure on military salaries for the corresponding periods showed a drop of 2·8 per cent. in real terms between financial year 1970–71 and financial year 1979–80 and an increase of 13·4 per cent. in real terms between financial year 1979–80 and financial year 1988–89.

  Services (Recruitment)
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many men and women were recruited into the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force in each financial year since 1969; and how many left each of the services prematurely.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  [holding answer 2 July 1990]: Information on intake and premature wastage in the years before 1971–72 is not available in the form requested. The total intakes to the United Kingdom regular forces in each financial year since 1971–72 are shown in table 1 below. The total numbers of exits from the services under premature wastage outflow categories during the same period are shown in table 2. The categories included in the outflow numbers are those listed in table 4.18 of volume 2 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates (Cm. 1022–11) with the exception of "Time and age expires or exercise of rights at option point" and for service women only "By exercise of right to give 18 months notice". Individual service officer premature outflow figures for 1989–90 have been amended from those given in the answer to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Mr. Rogers) on 5 June at columns 426–28 which, regrettably, contained a number of errors in compilation.
  41

  Males

  Females

  Total number

  Total

  Officers

  Servicemen

  Total

  Officers

  Servicewomen

  1978–79

  43,366

  38,774

  2,110

  36,664

  4,592

  280

  4,312

  1979–80

  50,652

  46,206

  2,547

  43,659

  4,446

  333

  4,113

  1980–81

  50,488

  46,693

  2,924

  43,769

  3,795

  409

  3,386

  1981–82

  22,607

  21,188

  2,319

  18,869

  1,419

  282

  1,137

  1982–83

  21,647

  19,342

  2,136

  17,206

  2,305

  232

  2,073

  1983–84

  36,991

  33,760

  2,544

  31,216

  3,231

  305

  2,926

  1984–85

  34,721

  32,076

  2,716

  29,360

  2,645

  300

  2,345

  1985–86

  32,651

  30,407

  2,799

  27,608

  2,244

  327

  1,917

  1986–87

  34,049

  31,147

  2,920

  28,227

  2,902

  360

  2,542

  1987–88

  33,826

  31,215

  2,548

  28,667

  2,611

  362

  2,249

  1988–89

  33,863

  30,862

  2,262

  28,600

  3,001

  361

  2,640

  1989–90

  36,412

  32,337

  2,599

  29,738

  4,075

  376

  3,699

  Royal Navy

  1971–72

  10,846

  9,667

  492

  9,175

  1,179

  51

  1,128

  1972–73

  11,034

  9,865

  536

  9,329

  1,169

  67

  1,102

  1973–74

  8,065

  6,983

  493

  6,490

  1,082

  60

  1,022

  1974–75

  9,802

  8,723

  470

  8,253

  1,079

  42

  1,037

  1975–76

  8,910

  7,732

  488

  7,244

  1,178

  35

  1,143

  1976–77

  8,195

  7,238

  485

  6,753

  957

  34

  923

  1977–78

  7,167

  6,269

  487

  5,782

  898

  42

  856

  1978–79

  6,791

  5,978

  533

  5,445

  813

  27

  786

  1979–80

  8,526

  7,701

  649

  7,052

  825

  22

  803

  1980–81

  9,088

  8,130

  685

  7,445

  958

  47

  911

  1981–82

  3,805

  3,353

  400

  2,953

  452

  18

  434

  1982–83

  3,584

  3,078

  395

  2,683

  506

  13

  493

  1983–84

  4,785

  4,223

  445

  3,778

  562

  8

  554

  1984–85

  4,582

  4,231

  537

  3,694

  351

  14

  337

  1985–86

  4,276

  3,987

  568

  3,419

  289

  32

  257

  1986–87

  5,336

  4,791

  592

  4,199

  545

  36

  509

  1987–88

  5,181

  4,601

  455

  4,146

  580

  26

  554

  1988–89

  5,298

  4,598

  484

  4,114

  700

  31

  669

  1989–90

  5,556

  4,696

  516

  4,180

  860

  42

  818

  Royal Marines

  1971–72

  Included in Royal Navy figures

  1972–73

  1973–74

  1974–75

  1975–76

  1,154

  1,154

  46

  1,108

  —

  —

  —

  1976–77

  929

  929

  46

  883

  —

  —

  —

  1977–78

  903

  903

  48

  855

  —

  —

  —

  1978–79

  1,282

  1,282

  51

  1,231

  —

  —

  —

  1979–80

  1,676

  1,676

  42

  1,634

  —

  —

  —

  1980–81

  1,674

  1,674

  69

  1,605

  —

  —

  —

  1981–82

  699

  699

  52

  647

  —

  —

  —

  1982–83

  447

  447

  28

  419

  —

  —

  —

  1983–84

  447

  447

  33

  414

  —

  —

  —

  1984–85

  954

  954

  43

  911

  —

  —

  —

  1985–86

  1,093

  1,093

  65

  1,028

  —

  —

  —

  1986–87

  1,233

  1,233

  62

  1,171

  —

  —

  —

  1987–88

  991

  991

  53

  938

  —

  —

  —

  1988–89

  937

  937

  43

  894

  —

  —

  —

  1989–90

  1,063

  1,063

  45

  1,018

  —

  —

  —

  Army

  1971–72

  34,303

  31,298

  865

  30,433

  3,005

  180

  2,825

  1972–73

  28,862

  26,484

  750

  25,734

  2,378

  172

  2,206

  1973–74

  17,554

  15,310

  822

  14,488

  2,244

  157

  2,087

  1974–75

  24,264

  22,041

  997

  21,044

  2,223

  134

  2,089

  1975–76

  29,591

  27,238

  1,096

  26,142

  2,353

  145

  2,208

  1976–77

  24,088

  22,344

  1,003

  21,341

  1,744

  134

  1,610

  1977–78

  22,550

  20,868

  1,020

  19,848

  1,682

  149

  1,533

  1978–79

  25,254

  23,528

  1,021

  22,507

  1,726

  156

  1,570

  1979–80

  29,189

  27,164

  1,127

  26,037

  2,025

  154

  1,871

  1980–81

  28,871

  27,241

  1,285

  25,956

  1,630

  204

  1,426

  1981–82

  14,204

  13,603

  1,198

  12,405

  601

  148

  453

  1982–83

  13,071

  11,679

  1,157

  10,522

  1,392

  132

  1,260

  1983–84

  22,348

  20,811

  1,295

  19,516

  1,537

  173

  1,364

  1984–85

  22,278

  20,914

  1,435

  19,479

  1,364

  160

  1,204

  1985–86

  20,268

  19,173

  1,374

  17,799

  1,095

  151

  944

  1986–87

  19,918

  18,718

  1,362

  17,356

  1,200

  154

  1,046

  1987–88

  21,041

  19,895

  1,254

  18,641

  1,146

  148

  998

  1988–89

  21,348

  19,921

  1,150

  18,771

  1,427

  147

  1,280

  1989–90

  22,084

  20,398

  1,377

  19,021

  1,686

  177

  1,509

  Royal Air Force

  42 43

  Males

  Females

  Total number

  Total

  Officers

  Servicemen

  Total

  Officers

  Servicewomen

  1971–72

  10,305

  7,911

  1,021

  6,890

  2,394

  161

  2,233

  1972–73

  6,428

  4,658

  703

  3,955

  1,770

  120

  1,650

  1973–74

  6,814

  5,429

  606

  4,823

  1,385

  99

  1,286

  1974–75

  8,170

  6,088

  423

  5,665

  2,082

  97

  1,985

  1975–76

  7,251

  5,562

  252

  5,310

  1,689

  73

  1,616

  1976–77

  7,032

  5,879

  473

  5,406

  1,153

  152

  1,001

  1977–78

  7,617

  6,148

  402

  5,746

  1,469

  106

  1,363

  1978–79

  10,039

  7,986

  505

  7,481

  2,053

  97

  1,956

  1979–80

  11,261

  9,665

  729

  8,936

  1,596

  157

  1,439

  1980–81

  10,855

  9,648

  885

  8,763

  1,207

  158

  1,049

  1981–82

  3,899

  3,533

  669

  2,864

  366

  116

  250

  1982–83

  4,545

  4,138

  556

  3,582

  407

  87

  320

  1983–84

  9,411

  8,279

  771

  7,508

  1,132

  124

  1,008

  1984–85

  6,907

  5,977

  701

  5,276

  930

  126

  804

  1985–86

  7,014

  6,154

  792

  5,362

  860

  144

  716

  1986–87

  7,562

  6,405

  904

  5,501

  1,157

  170

  987

  1987–88

  6,613

  5,728

  786

  4,942

  885

  188

  697

  1988–89

  6,280

  5,406

  585

  4,821

  874

  183

  691

  1989–90

  7,709

  6,180

  661

  5,519

  1,529

  157

  1,372

  Table 2 Premature outflow from United Kingdom regular forces

  Number

  Total

  Males Total

  Officers

  Servicemen

  Females Total

  Officers

  Servicemen

  All Services

  1971–72

  33,822

  28,806

  1,950

  26,856

  5,016

  245

  4,771

  1972–73

  34,248

  29,324

  2,136

  27,188

  4,924

  233

  4,691

  1973–74

  31,164

  26,624

  2,355

  24,269

  4,540

  215

  4,325

  1974–75

  32,764

  28,406

  1,953

  26,453

  4,358

  194

  4,164

  1975–76

  30,089

  26,259

  2,433

  23,826

  3,830

  188

  3,642

  1976–77

  29,121

  25,733

  2,599

  23,134

  3,388

  176

  3,212

  1977–78

  30,951

  27,810

  2,707

  25,103

  3,141

  168

  2,973

  1978–79

  33,702

  30,544

  2,570

  27,974

  3,158

  159

  2,999

  1979–80

  30,861

  28,068

  2,098

  25,970

  2,793

  146

  2,647

  1980–81

  25,313

  22,884

  1,810

  21,074

  2,429

  144

  2,285

  1981–82

  18,932

  16,905

  1,948

  14,957

  2,027

  170

  1,857

  1982–83

  16,838

  14,879

  1,971

  12,908

  1,959

  142

  1,817

  1983–84

  19,330

  17,413

  2,096

  15,317

  1,917

  139

  1,778

  1984–85

  21,422

  19,488

  2,088

  17,400

  1,934

  136

  1,798

  1985–86

  22,407

  20,413

  2,303

  18,110

  1,994

  150

  1,844

  1986–87

  21,901

  19,911

  2,286

  17,625

  1,990

  152

  1,838

  1987–88

  22,474

  20,383

  2,191

  18,192

  2,091

  153

  1,938

  1988–89

  24,251

  22,452

  2,187

  20,265

  1,799

  162

  1,637

  1989–90

  27,184

  25,006

  2,460

  22,546

  2,178

  184

  1,994

  Royal Navy

  1971–72

  6,050

  5,218

  415

  4,803

  832

  42

  790

  1972–73

  7,396

  6,533

  551

  5,982

  863

  53

  810

  1973–74

  5,875

  5,004

  378

  4,626

  871

  40

  831

  1974–75

  6,698

  5,901

  430

  5,471

  797

  50

  747

  1975–76

  5,549

  4,688

  375

  4,313

  861

  37

  824

  1976–77

  5,038

  4,278

  388

  3,890

  760

  35

  725

  1977–78

  5,138

  4,437

  491

  3,946

  701

  35

  666

  1978–79

  7,305

  6,584

  457

  6,127

  721

  36

  685

  1979–80

  7,073

  6,497

  442

  6,055

  576

  20

  556

  1980–81

  5,675

  5,092

  387

  4,705

  583

  24

  559

  1981–82

  4,275

  3,864

  409

  3,455

  411

  31

  380

  1982–83

  3,004

  2,635

  406

  2,229

  369

  30

  339

  1983–84

  3,448

  3,007

  473

  2,534

  441

  44

  397

  1984–85

  3,786

  3,394

  329

  3,065

  392

  17

  375

  1985–86

  4,700

  4,344

  369

  3,975

  356

  17

  339

  1986–87

  4,702

  4,332

  380

  3,952

  370

  17

  353

  1987–88

  4,145

  3,760

  389

  3,371

  385

  20

  365

  1988–89

  4,091

  3,747

  409

  3,338

  344

  17

  327

  1989–90

  4,963

  4,576

  469

  4,107

  387

  21

  366

  Royal Marines

  1971–72

  930

  930

  33

  897

  —

  —

  —

  1972–73

  997

  997

  39

  958

  —

  —

  —

  1973–74

  1,075

  1,075

  38

  1,037

  —

  —

  —

  1974–75

  1,134

  1,134

  40

  1,094

  —

  —

  —

  1975–76

  843

  843

  38

  805

  —

  —

  —

  1976–77

  728

  728

  38

  690

  —

  —

  —

  1977–78

  889

  889

  42

  847

  —

  —

  —

  44 45

  Total

  Males Total

  Officers

  Servicemen

  Females Total

  Officers

  Servicemen

  1978–79

  1,100

  1,100

  43

  1,057

  —

  —

  —

  1979–80

  1,344

  1,344

  28

  1,316

  —

  —

  —

  1980–81

  1,123

  1,123

  27

  1,096

  —

  —

  —

  1981–82

  573

  573

  37

  536

  —

  —

  —

  1982–83

  434

  434

  33

  401

  —

  —

  —

  1983–84

  492

  492

  37

  455

  —

  —

  —

  1984–85

  658

  658

  33

  625

  —

  —

  —

  1985–86

  809

  809

  36

  773

  —

  —

  —

  1986–87

  831

  831

  39

  792

  —

  —

  —

  1987–88

  777

  777

  27

  750

  —

  —

  —

  1988–89

  766

  766

  38

  728

  —

  —

  —

  1989–90

  834

  834

  48

  786

  —

  —

  —

  Army

  1971–72

  20,953

  18,718

  913

  17,805

  2,235

  92

  2,143

  1972–73

  19,523

  17,341

  833

  16,508

  2,182

  72

  2,110

  1973–74

  16,613

  14,561

  818

  13,743

  2,052

  96

  1,956

  1974–75

  18,311

  16,362

  701

  15,661

  1,949

  57

  1,892

  1975–76

  17,379

  15,757

  1,047

  14,710

  1,622

  79

  1,543

  1976–77

  17,383

  15,947

  1,202

  14,745

  1,436

  70

  1,366

  1977–78

  19,039

  17,704

  1,432

  16,272

  1,335

  71

  1,264

  1978–79

  20,659

  19,349

  1,522

  17,827

  1,310

  67

  1,243

  1979–80

  17,471

  16,244

  1,180

  15,064

  1,227

  85

  1,142

  1980–81

  14,366

  13,354

  1,013

  12,341

  1,012

  66

  946

  1981–82

  10,852

  9,904

  1,051

  8,853

  948

  67

  881

  1982–83

  10,061

  9,106

  1,025

  8,081

  955

  58

  897

  1983–84

  12,025

  11,165

  1,133

  10,032

  860

  43

  817

  1984–85

  13,126

  12,186

  1,205

  10,981

  940

  66

  874

  1985–86

  12,680

  11,657

  1,335

  10,322

  1,023

  76

  947

  1986–87

  12,343

  11,401

  1,287

  10,114

  942

  49

  893

  1987–88

  13,508

  12,492

  1,256

  11,236

  1,016

  65

  951

  1988–89

  14,233

  13,490

  1,139

  12,351

  743

  58

  685

  1989–90

  15,267

  14,393

  1,332

  13,061

  874

  71

  803

  Royal Air Force

  1971–72

  5,889

  3,940

  589

  3,351

  1,949

  111

  1,838

  1972–73

  6,332

  4,453

  713

  3,740

  1,879

  108

  1,771

  1973–74

  7,601

  5,984

  1,121

  4,863

  1,617

  79

  1,538

  1974–75

  6,621

  5,009

  782

  4,227

  1,612

  87

  1,525

  1975–76

  6,318

  4,971

  973

  3,998

  1,347

  72

  1,275

  1976–77

  5,972

  4,780

  971

  3,809

  1,192

  71

  1,121

  1977–78

  5,885

  4,780

  742

  4,038

  1,105

  62

  1,043

  1978–79

  4,638

  3,511

  548

  2,963

  1,127

  56

  1,071

  1979–80

  4,973

  3,983

  448

  3,535

  990

  41

  949

  1980–81

  4,149

  3,315

  383

  2,932

  834

  54

  780

  1981–82

  3,232

  2,564

  451

  2,113

  668

  72

  596

  1982–83

  3,339

  2,704

  507

  2,197

  635

  54

  581

  1983–84

  3,365

  2,749

  453

  2,296

  616

  52

  564

  1984–85

  3,852

  3,250

  521

  2,729

  602

  53

  549

  1985–86

  4,218

  3,603

  563

  3,040

  615

  57

  558

  1986–87

  4,025

  3,347

  580

  2,767

  678

  86

  592

  1987–88

  4,044

  3,354

  519

  2,835

  690

  68

  622

  1988–89

  5,161

  4,449

  601

  3,848

  712

  87

  625

  1989–90

  6,120

  5,203

  611

  4,592

  917

  92

  825

  Outflow of United Kingdom Regular Forces: by category

  Number

  Financial years

  1 April—31 December

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1988

  1989

  All Services

  34,554

  36,521

  36,961

  36,938

  39,278

  28,964

  31,987

  Male officers

  3,194

  3,388

  3,258

  3,374

  3,369

  2,643

  2,865

  Commissioned officers

  2,577

  2,678

  2,492

  2,690

  2,747

  2,168

  2,272

  Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point

  1,106

  1,085

  972

  1,183

  1,182

  898

  942

  Premature release at own request1

  1,094

  1,223

  1,121

  1,154

  1,160

  969

  1,044

  Redundancies

  10

  7

  6

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Medical reasons and deaths

  104

  110

  106

  91

  110

  89

  77

  Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons

  263

  253

  287

  262

  295

  212

  209

  46 47

  Financial years

  1 April—31 December

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1988

  1989

  Officers designate

  617

  710

  766

  684

  622

  475

  593

  At own request

  73

  119

  127

  110

  128

  95

  101

  Medical reasons and deaths

  12

  8

  26

  20

  9

  6

  25

  Other reasons

  532

  583

  613

  554

  485

  374

  456

  Servicemen

  28,901

  30,493

  30,936

  30,680

  33,187

  24,304

  26,846

  Before completion of 6 months service

  5,925

  5,437

  6,299

  6,535

  6,676

  4,844

  5,629

  By exercise of right

  4,009

  3,863

  4,414

  4,372

  4,716

  3,379

  3,828

  Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons

  1,695

  1,429

  1,721

  2,030

  1,799

  1,350

  1,637

  Medical reasons and deaths

  215

  144

  161

  132

  157

  114

  154

  Compassionate release

  6

  1

  3

  1

  4

  1

  10

  After completion of 6 months service

  22,976

  25,056

  24,637

  24,145

  26,511

  19,460

  21,217

  Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point

  11,501

  12,383

  13,311

  12,488

  12,922

  9,556

  9,927

  Premature release at own request1

  6,113

  7,215

  6,742

  7,052

  8,774

  6,275

  7,651

  Redundancies

  422

  505

  147

  26

  —

  —

  —

  Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons

  3,538

  3,379

  3,067

  3,182

  3,165

  2,382

  2,260

  Medical reasons and deaths

  1,194

  1,408

  1,197

  1,254

  1,479

  1,122

  1,229

  Compassionate release

  208

  166

  173

  143

  171

  125

  150

  Female officers2

  298

  351

  334

  328

  335

  259

  251

  Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point

  162

  201

  182

  175

  173

  135

  114

  At own request

  108

  110

  120

  120

  129

  102

  112

  Medical reasons and deaths

  12

  3

  7

  5

  7

  4

  6

  Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons

  16

  37

  25

  28

  26

  18

  19

  Servicewomen

  2,161

  2,289

  2,433

  2,556

  2,387

  1,758

  2,025

  Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point

  58

  96

  136

  167

  164

  119

  124

  By exercise of right to give 18 months notice

  305

  349

  459

  451

  486

  351

  425

  At own request

  307

  296

  373

  358

  391

  279

  407

  Marriage, pregnancy

  1,261

  1,325

  1,171

  1,247

  1,079

  822

  833

  Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons

  185

  182

  237

  267

  210

  151

  174

  Medical reasons and deaths

  41

  36

  53

  61

  50

  32

  58

  Compassionate release

  4

  5

  4

  5

  7

  4

  4

  1The numbers shown as premature release at own request, for both officers and servicemen, relate only to trained personnel.

  2As the numbers for female officers designate are small, they have been included in those for female officers.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Gifts
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what procedure exists for documenting gifts received from foreign powers; and what becomes of them.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office follows well-established and recognised procedures, applying to both Ministers and officials, for dealing with the receipt of gifts.

  These are that either:

  (i) the gift may be placed on the inventory of the British mission concerned or the Foreign Commonwealth Office as appropriate; or

  (ii) it may be given to another appropriate institution, eg a museum, or

  (iii) the direct recipient may either keep or buy the gift depending on its value; or

  (iv) it may be disposed of by public auction.

  In all cases, the receipt and eventual disposal of the gift is recorded centrally within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

  Administrative Grade
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the number of persons recruited to the administrative level of the Foreign Office(a) in the past year, (b) on average each year during the past decade and (c) on average each year during the previous decade; and how many he intends should be recruited in the coming year.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  We have recruited the following number of persons into the administrative level of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office:

  Number

  (a) In the past year

  19

  (b) On average each year during the past decade

  20·5

  (c) on average during the previous decade

  19

  Our recruitment target for 1990 is 30.

  Diego Garcia
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with the United States the future of the Diego Garcia base in the
  49
  British Indian Ocean Territory, and the possibility of the Ilois people, living in Mauritius, being given the chance of returning home.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  No. The defence facilities in British Indian ocean territory continue to make a vital security contribution. The former plantation workers were resettled in Mauritius in the early 1970s and their future lies there.

  Armoured Personnel Carriers
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department made of the human rights implications when it was consulted about the sale of 24 Shorts Shortland S55 armoured personnel carriers to Pakistan's Sind police.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  It is not our custom to give information on specific sales, but the hon. Member can be assured that the human rights implications of any such contract would be carefully considered along with the full range of other issues.

  Ivory
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to negotiate a purchase on behalf of Her Majesty's Government of all stocks of elephant ivory held in Hong Kong by traders after midnight on 16 July; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  No.

  Visas
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will show the cost charged for a visa to intending visitors to the United Kingdom from each country in eastern Europe, each Commonwealth country and the United States of America; and what requirements are made of such applicants with regard to proof of financial self-support.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The standard worldwide fee for a United Kingdom visitors visa is £20, payable in local currency. This fee is charged to all eastern European visa nationals and to applicants from the following Commonwealth countries:Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
  Visitors from the United States of America do not require visas.

  Applicants for visit visas must show that they are able to meet their living expenses in the United Kingdom. Proof of an applicant's ability to support himself can take the form of cash, travellers cheques, letters of credit or other similar bank guarantees. Where the major costs of a visit are to be borne by the host in this country evidence of the sponsor's ability to do so is required. Copies of bank statements, building society or other savings accounts, or a bank letter confirming the sponsor's financial standing are all acceptable for this purpose.

  Israel
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet the Israeli Foreign Minister to discuss United Kingdom-Israeli relations.
  50
  Mr. Waldegrave
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs hopes to meet the new Israeli Foreign Minister before too long. We regularly discuss the peace process with the Israelis. They are well aware of our view that a direct dialogue between Israel and representative Palestinians is needed soon as a first step towards an overall settlement.

  Romania
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State For Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter of 9 May from Mr. and Mrs. B. O. Smith of 208 Sheffield Road, Killamarsh, Sheffield, concerning contacts with the British embassy in Bucharest.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  My private secretary replied to Mr. and Mrs. Smith's letter on 5 July. I regret the delay. Her Majesty's embassy in Bucharest is aware of Mr. and Mrs. Smith's interest in adopting a Romanian child and will assist them as much as possible.

  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the aid provided to Romania by the International Red Cross since 1 March; and if he will publish it in the Official Report.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  [holding answer 11 June]: The information is not available for the precise period requested by the hon. Member. However, I understand that between 1 February and 25 June, contributions to the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' aid programme to Romania totalled approximately £11·6 million. This figure does not reflect numerous donations for which no value was indicated. The contributions, from over 30 national societies and private donors, consisted mainly of medical supplies, medicaments and basic equipment for orphanages, homes for the elderly or disabled, hospitals and dispensaries. Donations also include food, clothing, toys and other supplies.

  Lockerbie Air Crash
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his reply of 4 July,Official Report, column 609, if he will make it his policy to ask the Government of Syria to help to obtain information of relevance to the international investigation into the Lockerbie air disaster.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The investigation into the Lockerbie air disaster is being pursued by the Dumfries and Galloway constabulary, under the direction of my noble and learned friend the Lord Advocate. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office stands ready to assist the constabulary in any way they require in pursuit of international aspect of the investigation.

  Declarations of Interest
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his reply of 4 July,Official Report, column 619, whether advisers to his Department who are not employees of the Crown are asked to declare their pecuniary interests before taking up their responsibilities.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  No.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Intellectual Property Rights
  Mr. Allen McKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a further statement on the Government's position on the patenting of intellectual property rights and on the consequences for developing countries of inclusion in the current general agreement on tariffs and trade round of trade in intellectual property rights.

  Mr. Ridley
  The Government recognise that adequate levels of protection for intellectual property rights, including patents, are a necessary incentive for innovation. A successful outcome to the GATT negotiations on the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights will provide a favourable international climate for innovation from which all trading nations will benefit. Particular benefits for developing countries will include greater confidence for domestic and foreign investors alike and an improved framework for technology transfer. The European Commission is responsible for these negotiations on behalf of the United Kingdom and other member states.

  GATT
  Mr. McWilliam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being proposed in the Uruguay round of the GATT by the European Community; and what practical measures the Government have introduced to ensure transparency in the negotiations and access to information for the public.

  Mr. Ridley
  The European Community plays a prominent role in the GATT Uruguay round, and has submitted proposals from time to time in all 15 areas of the negotiations. The European Commission represents the Community in the negotiations. The Community's negotiating position is regularly reviewed by member states through the article 113 committee of senior officials and the Council of Ministers.

  Her Majesty's Government participate fully in this process, and maintain close liaison with interested business and other organisations in the United Kingdom. A public information point has also been established in the Department of Trade and Industry.

  European Space Agency
  Mr. Andrew MacKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the status of the ERS–2 and DRTM programmes of the European Space Agency.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  These programmes were discussed at the Council of the European Space Agency on 27–28 June. I am pleased to report that the ERS-2 programme has now formally commenced following confirmation of subscriptions from all participating states. ERS-1 and ERS-2 will together constitute a major European contribution to the monitoring of climate and environment. The United Kingdom Government are allocating some £60 million to ERS-2. This will fund inter alia the provision of two major instruments—the active microwave instrument and the along-track scanning radiometer. DRTM (to which the United Kingdom has commited £32 million) has also formally commenced. In the TM element,52
  United Kingdom industry will be active in the development of advanced land mobile services, optical (laser) inter-satellite communications, ion propulsion and nickel hydrogen cells. The data relay satellite system element is in a preparatory phase.

  Girobank
  Mr. Carr
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a further statement on the sale of Girobank to the Alliance and Leicester Building Society.

  Mr. Forth
  I have nothing to add to the reply that I gave on 2 July to my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns).

  Timeshare Operators
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will meet the Timeshare Developers Association to discuss including timeshare owners in its membership.

  Mr. Forth
  I shall be happy to meet the Timeshare Developers Association if the association requests such a meeting. However, the composition of its membership is a matter for the association.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will introduce a mandatory code of conduct for timeshare operators;

  (2) if he will implement the recommendations of the Director General of Fair Trading on timeshares;

  (3) if he will introduce a licensing scheme for timeshare operators.

  Mr. Forth
  The Director General of Fair Trading's report on timeshare was published on 3 July. I shall be looking very carefully at his recommendations for legislation.

  Barlow Clowes
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his statement of 19 December,Official Report, column 203, whether he has taken any action against any of the third parties implicated in the Barlow Clowes collapse.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Department is engaged in an urgent and wide-ranging assessment of possible legal actions against third parties to identify those cases which are worth pursuing in order to reduce the cost to public funds of the payments made to Barlow Clowes investors.

  Research Council
  Mr. Andrew MacKay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Research Council on 29 June.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I represented Her Majesty's Government at the meeting of the Community's Council of Ministers (Research) in Luxembourg on 29 June.

  The Council adopted a research and technological development programme on human genome analysis, which will run for two years with a total budget of 15 million ecu (£10·7 million). The Council agreed common positions on the EURET (transport research) and

  53
  EUROTRA (development of machine translations systems) research and technological development programmes. The council also agreed a resolution on co-operation between COST (European co-operation in scientific and technical research) and the countries of central and eastern Europe.

  There was also a preliminary discussion of two recent communications from the Commission on research co-operation with third countries and with eastern Europe. The Council is likely to have further discussion on this subject later in the year.

  Financial Regulatory Organisations
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in his Department have responsibility for overseeing the workings of(a) the Securities and Investments Board, (b) the Financial Intermediaries, Managers and Brokers Regulatory Organisation, (c) the Life Assurance and Unit Trust Regulatory Organisation, (d) the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation and (e) the Securities Association.

  Mr. Redwood
  Within the financial services division of my Department, the responsibilities of six people include, but are not confined to, oversight of the workings of the Securities and Investments Board. Oversight of the self-regulating organisations is the responsibility of the Securities and Investments Board itself.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the names, annual salaries and terms of contract for(a) the chairman, (b) the chief executive and (c) other directors of the Securities and Investments Board; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  The names of the board of directors of the Securities and Investments Board together with directors' emoluments are given in the Securities and Investments Board annual report which was laid before the House on 6 June. Sir Mark Weinberg and Mr. Eddie Ray retire from the board on 31 July and Mr. John Craven is appointed a director from 1 August. The terms of contract are a matter for the Securities and Investments Board.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and industry what discussions he has had with the Securities and Investments Board regarding the rationalisation of its five self-regulatory organisations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  This subject was among those discussed when I met the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board on 30 April. I welcome the recent announcement that the Securities Association and the Association of Futures Brokers and Dealers are to merge.

  Brewing Industry
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will bring forward legislation to increase the use of guest beers.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Supply of Beer (Tied Estate) Order 1989 already provides that from 1 May 1990 tenants of brewers with interests in more than 2,000 on-licensed premises and those receiving tied loans from such brewers, must be free to sell a cask-conditioned guest beer from any supplier of their choice.
  54
  Mr Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he last met representatives of the large brewers; and what was discussed.

  Mr Redwood
  The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry last met representatives of the six national brewers collectively on 6 July 1989. In addition, the Department had a meeting with representatives of the Brewers Society on 10 November 1989 to hear representations on the draft Supply of Beer Orders.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will arrange to meet the Director General of Fair Trading to discuss the results of his office's monitoring of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report on brewing.

  Mr. Redwood
  I have no plans at present to meet the Director General of Fair Trading. I will do so if and when we think it necessary. However my Department keeps in close contact with the Office of Fair Trading on their monitoring of the implementation of the measures the Government took in response to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report. Monitoring by the Office of Fair Trading will extend at least until the end of 1992, when the Supply of Beer Orders have taken full effect.

  Aldi Stores
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) when the Office of Fair Trading's preliminary report into the alleged refusal of companies to supply Aldi stores will be available;

  (2) if he will detail the allegations of unfair trading practice which the Office of Fair Trading is considering in respect of Aldi stores;

  (3) if he will estimate the time scale for a full investigation into the alleged refusal of companies to supply Aldi stores.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 6 July 1990]: Aldi have made representations to the Director General of Fair Trading that various suppliers of goods withheld supplies to them, within the meaning of section 12 of the Resale Prices Act 1976. I understand that the director general is making exploratory inquiries with a view to establishing the circumstances, following which he will decide what action if any he should take. The present inquiries do not constitute a statutory investigation and will not end in a report.

  Channel 5
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies have been made by his Department of the costs of retuning video recorders associated with the reception of channel 5 output; in respect of how many transmitters have the calculations in respect of such costs been made; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  [holding answer 28 June 1990]: As my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Home Office explained during the Committee stage of the Broadcasting Bill on 15 February 1990, my Department has made a study of the possible cost of retuning video recorders affected by interference from Channel 5 in cases where the user has not arranged to receive the Channel 5 service. This study was

  55
  based on the planned national coverage figure for the service of 70 per cent. The number of transmitters assumed in the study for this planned level of coverage was 25.

  The new service is not expected to commence for about three years. The market is growing and changing rapidly. Any estimate of the costs must therefore be subject to great uncertainty. The study also made a range of other assumptions in addition to that concerning the number of transmitters. It is therefore important that franchise applicants carry out their own studies of the costs.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Civil Servants (Workplaces)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations have been undertaken at workplaces used by civil servants in his Department.

  Mr. Needham
  The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations do not yet apply in Northern Ireland. A consultative document setting out the Department of Economic Development's proposals for controlling substances considered hazardous to health was issued on 5 March 1990.

  An initial assessment of potentially hazardous substances has been made by officials in the Northern Ireland Office and the PSA. This assessment is kept under constant review.

  Terrorism
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish in the Official Report a table to show for each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland the number of deaths from terrorist action since 1 January 1969 until June 1983 and also for each present parliamentary constituency, or as much of such information as is available to him.

  Mr. Cope
  [holding answer 3 July 1990] The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Remand
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the average number of days that prisoners spent on custodial remand for scheduled, non-scheduled offences and both together, in 1989.

  Mr. Cope
  [holding answer 4 July 1990]: The average period on custodial remand for persons tried in 1989 for scheduled offences was 94·5 days; for non-scheduled offences, 61 days; and both together 80 days.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the average period between remand and trial for prisoners refused bail and charged with scheduled offences in Northern Ireland in 1989.

  Mr. Cope
  [holding answer 4 July 1990]: The average period between remand and trial for prisoners charged in scheduled offences and refused bail who were tried in 1989, was 94·5 days.

WALES

  Registered Holdings
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many registered holdings in Wales are eligible for less-favoured area projects.

  Mr. David Hunt
  There is no register of agricultural holdings. Lists maintained for the purpose of collecting agricultural statistics contained at June 1989 20,576 statistically significant agricultural holdings which had some land in the less-favoured areas. The eligibility of a holding for assistance under any project will depend both on the project and on the individual circumstances of the holding.

  Cataract Operations
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will arrange for each health authority to supply him with the waiting lists for cataract operations; and if he will publish the results in the Official Report.

  Mr. Grist
  Information about waiting lists for individual procedures is not collected routinely. The Welsh hospital waiting list bulletin 1990 (No. 1), a copy of which is available in the Library, contains information on each health authority's ophthalmology waiting lists as at September 1989.

  Market Research
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all the market research surveys commissioned by his Department or paid for by his Department in each of the past five financial years.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

  General Practitioners (Prescribing)
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he intendes to issue fresh guidelines(a) to general practitioners in respect of over-prescribing and (b) to family practitioner committees in respect of the operation of regulation 16 of the Service Committee and Tribunal Regulations.

  Mr. Grist
  A working paper will be issued shortly which deals with prescribing in general practice. This will indicate the initiatives being taken to encourage general practitioners to improve the quality of their prescribing. The working paper will also indicate that it is the Government's intention to amend regulation 16 of the Service Committee and Tribunal Regulations.

  Teaching (Language)
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy on the right of parents to have their children taught in their first language.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Our general policy is that all pupils, as part of the national curriculum in schools in Wales, should study both English and Welsh.

  The medium of instruction in an individual school, either Welsh or English, is a matter for determination by the head teacher and governing body within the context of the local authority's curriculum and language policies.

  NHS Reforms
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated total cost to his Department of the Government's proposed publicity campaign in respect of their National Health Service reforms.

  Mr. Grist
  We are preparing a bilingual booklet for circulation in Wales which will explain the main changes taking place in the National Health Service in the Principality. The total cost of preparing and distributing the booklet has yet to be finalised, but we expect the unit cost to be broadly similar to that of the booklet being distributed in England.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those responsibilities which will no longer be exercised by district health authorities in Wales(a) following the passing of the National Health Service and Community Care Act and (b) following the implementation of the Government's plans for reform of the national health service.

  Mr. Grist
  Under our programme of reforms, DHAs will be responsible for securing quality health services for their resident populations. In certain areas of activity this purchasing role will be undertaken by any GP fundholding practices that are set up.

  To the extent that NHS trusts are established and DHAs contract with other agencies for the provision of care, health authorities will not be responsible for the direct delivery of services. They will, however, continue to be responsible for the purchase of quality care under contract.

  Current expenditure on schools 1989–89

  £'s per pupil

  Nursery/primary

  Secondary

  Special

  Clwyd

  1,041

  1,734

  9,449

  Dyfed

  1,151

  1,658

  12,864

  Gwent

  1,123

  1,821

  11,264

  Gwynedd

  1,115

  1,661

  6,818

  Mid Glamorgan

  1,159

  1,686

  8,911

  Powys

  1,409

  1,885

  11,734

  South Glamorgan

  1,021

  1,520

  6,264

  West Glamorgan

  1,174

  1,991

  11,071

  Total Wales

  1,126

  1,730

  9,190

  Land Use (Cardiff)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has undertaken with Cardiff city council and South Glamorgan county council regarding the future use of land and buildings currently used for industrial training purposes at Western avenue, Cardiff.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  None.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning the future use and ownership of the land and buildings occupied by the skill centre at Western avenue, Cardiff.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  None.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what land and buildings he has made available to Astra Training Services at Western avenue, Cardiff for(a) present and (b) future industrial training facilities.

  GP Budgets
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many general practitioners will be equipped with the necessary software to enable them to be responsible for their own budgets from 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Grist
  Discussions are continuing with the computer companies. The details of these discussions are commercially sensitive, but the general objective is to ensure that the necessary software will be available to all those GPs who wish to take part in the scheme.

  Education (Special Needs)
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what is the cost in each local education authority of providing a place for each student between 11 and 18 years; and what additional cost is deemed necessary for each child with special needs in(a) a special school and (b) an integrated unit in a secondary school;

  (2) what is the cost in each local education authority of providing a school place for each child between five and 11 years; and what additional cost is deemed necessary for each child with special needs in (a) a special school and (b) an integrated unit of a school for children under 11 years.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The cost per pupil of providing a school place in 1988–89 for(a) nursery and primary children (b) secondary children and (c) children in these age groups with special needs is shown in the following table. It is not possible to identify expenditure on integrated special units.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  I understand that Astra Training Services Ltd. has taken a three-year lease from my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment for most of the freehold site at Western avenue.

  Nurses' Grading
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what deadline he has set for all clinical grading appeals by nurses in Wales which are currently outstanding to be dealt with.

  Mr. Grist
  Appeals against clinical grading decisions are conducted under complex procedures agreed between the staff and management sides of the general Whitley council. The procedures which provide for three separate levels of hearing are resource-intensive for staff and management sides alike and in view of the unprecedented numbers of appeals it is not feasible for any deadline to be
  59
  set. It is to be regretted that nursing trade unions chose not to pursue the possibility of adopting a simpler and quicker appeals procedures at the time the new structure was negotiated.

  European Single Market
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact of the completion of the single European market on economic growth and employment in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The impact of the single market on Wales will depend on the flexibility with which individual firms and industries respond to the opportunities and challenges which it presents. The Europartenariat forum which was recently hosted in Wales by the Welsh Development Agency, with the support of the European Commission, provided an excellent opportunity for firms, particularly small firms, in Wales to develop the potential for business co-operation with companies elsewhere in Europe and I am delighted that so many Welsh firms took the opportunity to participate.

  Hospital Costs
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the latest information he has on the cost of operations and hospital care in each hospital; and when he expects all hospitals to publish a price list for all operations and treatments available for patients.

  Mr. Grist
  Information on the cost of operations in each hospital is not available centrally. The latest available information on hospital costs is contained in "Welsh Health Costing Returns 1988–89", a copy of which is in the Library. The pricing of services will be included in the contracts for health services which will operate from April 1991. It is intended that these contracts should be made publicly available once agreed.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what figure for inflation his Department advised(a) district councils, (b) county councils and (c) health authorities in Wales to use in the advance planning and estimate-making for the 1990–91 financial year.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Individual local authorities determine their own budgets, including the inflation and other assumptions on which they are based. The appropriate level of local government expenditure for each financial year is set by the Government and it is regrettable that actual spending by local authorities has consistently and unnecessarily exceeded those levels. No record of local authorities' budget assumptions is kept and no estimate of the inflation in local government costs to which they have contributed is made by my Department. I will respond separately to questions raised with respect to health authorities.

  Voluntary Organisations
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, further to his answer of 27 June,Official Report, column 230, if he will list the recipients of the £96,000 grant aid to voluntary organisations; and how much was given to each.
  60
  Mr. Grist
  The entire allocation was to Wales MIND.

  Training
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has of the total amount offered by the Training Agency for 1990–91 in Wales to training providers of(a) youth training and (b) employment training in each training and enterprise council area in Wales.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  All training and enterprise councils in Wales are at present in their development stage and not yet fully operational. This information is not, therefore, available.

  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has of the number of people requiring guaranteed training places within each training and enterprise council area during 1990–91.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  In advance of the formal establishment of training and enterprise councils in Wales I cannot give figures for individual areas, but I am satisfied that sufficient places will be made available to meet the demand.

  Planning
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will call in for decision by himself the current planning application in respect of Rhos-y-Chellis farm, Northop, Clwyd; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales understands that Delyn borough council is meeting today to determine this planning application. Should it be minded to grant planning permission for the proposal development it has indicated that it will refer the application to my right hon. Friend, under the Town and Country Planning (Development Plans) (Wales) Direction 1981, as a material departure from an approved development plan. He will then decide whether to call it in for his determination and I shall ensure that the hon. and learned Gentleman is informed of that decision when it has been taken.

  Mr. Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his policy concerning the relevance of subjective financial criteria affecting the viability of planning applications in Wales.

  Mr. Grist
  Generally speaking, financial considerations play no part in the determination of planning applications, the viability of a proposal being essentially a matter for the developer. There will be occasions, however, when the planning consequences of the financial viability of a development must be taken into account, for example, the likelihood of a development being only partially completed or the viability of a farming enterprise in assessing the need for an agricultural dwelling. The relevance of those factors will depend upon the particular circumstances of individual cases.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Video Recordings (Prosecutions)
  Mr. Archer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought under the Video Recordings Act 1984 in the last convenient period of 12 months for which figures are available.

  Mr. Waddington
  In 1988, 27 defendants were prosecuted under the Video Recordings Act 1984. Information for 1989 will not be available until the autumn.

  Prison Service Headquarters
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the factors involved in the shortlisting of Birmingham, Coventry, Derby and Nottingham for consideration as a location for the prison service headquarters; and if he will make a statement on the decision-making timetable.

  Mr. Mellor
  My right hon. and learned Friend announced on 11 January that he had accepted the recommendation of a joint prison service and PA Consultants Group review team that the headquarters of the service should move from London to the midlands. Since then, further work has been done to identify specific options. Specialist consultants have conducted an evaluation of the area to identify which cities would be best able to support a substantial headquarters operation of around 1,500 staff. Among the criteria which they took into account were the availability of secretarial and clerical staff, the capacity of the local housing market to absorb a significant influx of new residents, the quality of local amenities and infrastructure and ease of access to prison service establishments around the country. In the light of their assessment it was decided that six cities merited further consideration, subject to the availability of suitable sites. Particular options in Birmingham, Coventry and Derby are now being explored. It is likely to be some months before a decision is taken.

  San Salvador Killing (Police Report)
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whose property is the report of the investigation carried out by Detective Chief Inspector Tony Comben into the killing in San Salvador on 16 November 1989; and what plans exist to make it public;

  (2) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the costs arising from sending a team to E1 Salvador to investigate murders by death squads in San Salvador.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Officers from the Metropolitan police went to E1 Salvador at the request of President Cristiani. Their report will be sent to the Government of E1 Salvador. It will be for the Salvadorean authorities to decide on future action, including publication. The costs are a matter for the FCO and the Salvadorean authorities.

  Fire Risk Areas
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many A category fire risk areas there are in each fire brigade area in England and Wales.
  62
  Mr. John Patten
  The information which is available centrally and shown in the following table relates to the number of hectares within the area of each fire authority in England and Wales which that authority has reported as fire risk A.

  Fire authorities in England and Wales Areas categorised 'A' fire risk

  Fire authority

  Hectares categorised 'A' fire risk

  Avon

  975

  Cleveland

  7,222

  Derbyshire

  850

  Devon

  375

  Greater Manchester Fire and Civil Defence Authority

  1,300

  Hampshire

  741

  Humberside

  3,321

  Kent

  106

  Leicestershire

  225

  London Fire and Civil Defence Authority

  14,175

  Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority

  3,259

  South Glamorgan

  125

  South Yorkshire Fire and Civil Defence Authority

  1,010

  Suffolk

  565

  Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority

  900

  West Midlands Fire and Civil Defence Authority

  4,525

  West Yorkshire Fire and Civil Defence Authority

  1,351

  Source: figures provided by fire authorities September 1989.

  The remaining fire authorities in England and Wales have reported no areas of category A fire risk. Areas of fire risk are categorised on the basis of the predominating risk within the area. Areas with fire risk categories other than A may contain individual premises which would otherwise be categorised A risk; isolated higher risks of this kind are generally categorised as special risks.

  Vagrancy Act
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider seeking to amend the sections of the Vagrancy Act 1824 under which young persons sleeping on the streets have been arrested and convicted.

  Mr. Waddington
  The Vagrancy Act 1824 has already been amended, in particular by the Vagrancy Act 1935 and the Criminal Justice Act 1982, so that no one can be convicted for sleeping rough unless it can be proved that he had first refused or failed to apply for free and reasonably accessible accommodation to which he had been directed, or it can be proved that his doing so causes harm. Sleeping rough is not now either an arrestable or imprisonable offence. It is extremely rare for anyone under the age of 18 to be prosecuted for this offence.

  We have no present plans to amend the vagrancy laws.

  Child Migrants
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 25 June from the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East concerning a case of adoption from Romania under his reference 18059/90.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I will write to the hon. Member as soon as I am in a position to take a decision in this case.

  Acid House Parties
  Mr. Andrew Hargreaves
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines his Department has given to regional or other police forces concerning acid house parties.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Home Office has not issued any guidelines to the police specifically concerning acid house parties, but we have discussed the problem and how best to tackle it with the Association of Chief Police Officers.

  Police and Criminal Evidence Act
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to issue revised codes of practice in accordance with section 67(7) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

  Mr. Waddington
  I have today laid before Parliament draft revised codes in accordance with section 67 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. I intend to bring them into operation with effect from 1 January 1991 by order made by statutory instrument and I will seek their approval by resolution of each House of Parliament as soon as possible.

  Remand
  Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the changes in the number of people in police cells on remand in Greater Manchester over the last four weeks.

  Mr. Mellor
  Over the past four weeks the numbers of people in police cells, on remand in the Greater Manchester area, have been as follows:

  Number

  1 June 1990

  505

  8 June 1990

  551

  15 June 1990

  574

  22 June 1990

  569

  29 June 1990

  581

  Constable

  Sergeant

  Inspector

  Chief inspector

  Minimum

  Maximum

  Minimum

  Maximum

  Minimum

  Maximum

  Minimum

  Maximum

  1974

  Salaries

  1,497

  2,349

  2,388

  2,745

  2,808

  3,162

  3,689

  4,097

  1975

  Salaries

  2,202

  3,120

  3,138

  3,651

  3,678

  4,287

  4,341

  4,974

  Percentage change

  (18·4)

  (6·9)

  (5·8)

  (7·05)

  (5·4)

  (9·1)

  (-5·3)

  (-2·3)

  1976

  Salaries

  2,332

  3,276

  3,295

  3,834

  3,862

  4,495

  4,549

  5,182

  Percentage change

  (-9·1)

  (-9·9)

  (-9·9)

  (-9·9)

  (-14·1)

  (-10)

  (-10)

  (-10·6)

  1977

  Salaries

  2,553

  3,603

  3,624

  4,218

  4,248

  4,929

  4,989

  5,688

  Percentage change

  (-5·5)

  (-5·1)

  (-5·1)

  (-5)

  (-5)

  (-5·3)

  (-5·3)

  (-5·2)

  1978

  Salaries

  3,189

  4,809

  4,683

  5,406

  5,406

  6,198

  6,198

  6,966

  Percentage change

  (15·3)

  (23·2)

  (19·3)

  (18·3)

  (17·5)

  (16·1)

  (14·7)

  (13)

  1979

  Salaries

  4,086

  6,471

  6,186

  7,095

  7,095

  8,058

  8,058

  8,967

  Percentage change

  (13)

  (18·6)

  (16·5)

  (15·7)

  (15·7)

  (14·7)

  (14·7)

  (13·5)

  1980

  Salaries

  4,956

  7,848

  7,503

  8,607

  8,607

  9,774

  9,774

  10,875

  Percentage change

  (2·8)

  (2·8)

  (2·8)

  (2·8)

  (2·8)

  (2·8)

  (2·8)

  (2·8)

  1981

  Salaries

  5,610

  8,883

  8,493

  9,744

  9,744

  11,064

  11,064

  12,309

  Percentage change

  (1·2)

  (1·2)

  (1)

  (1·2)

  (1·2)

  (1·2)

  (1·2)

  (1·2)

  64
  The number of prisoners held in police cells was initially a result of the recent prison disturbances but is now largely due to industrial action or lack of good will on the part of prison officers in some establishments.

  There is room to accommodate the majority of these prisoners in prison accommodation. Holding prisoners in police cells is bad for everyone concerned. It draws scarce police resources off the streets and means prisoners are held in unsuitable conditions. I hope prison officers in the establishments concerned will cease this unwarranted action at the earliest opportunity. We are pursuing discussions to bring this about.

  Police Forces
  Mr. George
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to carry out a major restructuring of the police forces in England and Wales in the near future.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No.

  Police Pay and Manpower
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the increase in police pay and manpower since 1979.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Since this Government came to office, the pay of police constables has increased by just over 41 per cent. in real terms. Police manpower has increased by 15,284 to 126,777, an increase of just under 14 per cent.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the money and real terms pay increases of a police constable, sergeant, inspector and chief inspector in each year since 1974.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [holding answer 11 June 1990]: The information requested is as follows:
  65

  Constable

  Sergeant

  Inspector

  Chief inspector

  Minimum

  Maximum

  Minimum

  Maximum

  Minimum

  Maximum

  Minimum

  Maximum

  1982

  Salaries

  6,189

  9,798

  9,369

  10,749

  10,749

  12,204

  12,204

  13,578

  Percentage change

  (1·6)

  (1·6)

  (1·6)

  (1·6)

  (1·6)

  (1·6)

  (1·6)

  (1·6)

  1983

  Salaries

  6,708

  10,620

  10,155

  11,652

  11,652

  13,230

  13,230

  14,718

  Percentage change

  (3·6)

  (3·6)

  (3·6)

  (3·6)

  (3·6)

  (3·7)

  (3·7)

  (3·6)

  1984

  Salaries

  6,708

  11,193

  10,704

  12,282

  12,282

  13,944

  13,944

  15,513

  Percentage change

  (-4·7)

  (0·4)

  (0·4)

  (0·4)

  (0·4)

  (0·4)

  (0·4)

  (0·4)

  1985

  Salaries

  7,212

  12,033

  11,508

  13,203

  13,203

  14,991

  14,991

  16,677

  Percentage change

  (1·3)

  (1)

  (1·3)

  (1·3)

  (1·3)

  (1·3)

  (1·3)

  (1·3)

  1986

  Salaries

  7,752

  12,936

  12,372

  14,193

  14,193

  16,116

  16,116

  17,928

  Percentage change

  (1·1)

  (5·7)

  (5·7)

  (5·7)

  (5·7)

  (5·7)

  (5·7)

  (5·7)

  1987

  Salaries

  8,352

  13,938

  13,332

  15,294

  15,294

  17,364

  17,364

  19,317

  Percentage change

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  1988

  Salaries

  8,352

  15,125

  14,466

  16,593

  16,593

  18,840

  18,840

  20,958

  Percentage change

  (-4·7)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  (3·4)

  1989

  Salaries

  9,900

  16,521

  15,804

  18,129

  18,129

  20,583

  20,583

  22,896

  Percentage change

  (10)

  (1·4)

  (1·4)

  (1·4)

  (1·4)

  (1·4)

  (1·4)

  (1·4)

  Notes: Salaries are based on 1 September for each year. Figures in brackets show yearly percentage change in real terms.

  Prison Disturbances
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the ratio of prisoners to prison officers injured in the recent prison disturbances.

  Mr. Mellor
  During incidents in April and May involving numbers of inmates acting in concert and using violence towards staff or property, the ratio of injuries was approximately one prisoner to two prison officers.

  Animal Experiments
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of experiments conducted on animals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Applications for licences are considered individually on their merits. As figure 5 of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 1988 (Cm. 743) shows, however, the number of experiments has fallen consistently for many years and this trend is continuing under the strict controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

  Prisoners (Payments)
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement setting out the uses to which the general purposes fund was put, the classes of prisoner to whom payments were made and the basis on which the payments were calculated.

  Mr. Mellor
  The general purposes fund is used to provide recreational and sporting facilities for all prisoners in addition to those provided from public funds and to provide facilities for inmates' spouses and families. Cash payments may be made at the discretion of governors on special occasions.

  Prisoners (Deportation)
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are subject to orders for their deportation at the conclusions of their sentences or otherwise liable to be deported; how many of these are held in open prisons; and whether his Department issues any guidelines as to the granting to such prisoners of facilities such as home leave and education at outside establishments and who is responsible for taking decisions on the granting of such facilities.

  Mr. Mellor
  The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Prisoners subject to a court recommendation that they should be deported at the end of their sentence or to a notice of intention to deport issued by the Secretary of State may be granted some leave or temporary release by the governor for a variety of purposes, including education, subject to the agreement of the immigration department. Prisoners who are the subject of a signed deportation order are not eligible for home leave or temporary release.

  Immigration (Carriers' Liability)
  Mr. Mudd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received, and on what dates, from United Kingdom and international airlines suggesting possible changes to the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987; and whether he is considering amendments to the Act.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [holding answer 5 July 1990]: The dates and precise nature of representations received from airlines could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I can, however, say that the only fundamental changes proposed by the airlines or their representatives have been (i) the introduction of a variable charge up to a maximum of £1,000 per passenger, (as opposed to the existing set charge of £1,000 per passenger); (ii) the removal of liability

  67
  in respect of those passengers who, notwithstanding the absence of proper documentation, are granted leave to enter the United Kingdom. British Airways, in particular, has raised a number of issues about the implementation of the Act, and these are under consideration.

  I have no present plans to amend the Act.

  Mr. Mudd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, according to airline, the number of convictions and fines and costs involved, all United Kingdom and international carriers penalised for contraventions of the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [holding answer 5 July 1990]: The Act gives rise to a civil liability in respect of improperly documented passengers brought to the United Kingdom. It is not the practice to disclose information on the record of individual airlines under the Act.

HEALTH

  Radioactive Caesium
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by county, and by year for the last five years, the number of reported cases of radioactive caesium in people.

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

  AIDS
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are his latest estimates of(a) HIV and (b) AIDS cases in the United Kingdom currently; and what are the projected figures on current trends by the year 2000.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  At the end of May 1990, the cumulative United Kingdom total of AIDS cases reported was 3,346 of whom 1,845 are known to have died.

  It is not possible to predict how many HIV-infected individuals or cases of AIDS there will be by the year 2000. The Day report, "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in England and Wales to end 1993" published by the public health laboratory service in January 1990 as a supplement to the communicable disease report, made it clear that AIDS predictions beyond 1993 are subject to great uncertainty, and made no estimate of the number of HIV-infected persons beyond 1990.

  The Day report estimated that there were between 12,250 and 26,400 HIV-infected persons in England and Wales at the end of 1988. On the assumption that the behavioural trends necessary to produce the upper 1988 estimate continued unchanged, the Day report estimated that there could be 46,450 people infected by the end of 1990. From the report, the expected cumulative total of AIDS cases in England and Wales for the period 1979–1993 for planning purposes is 11,360; with a lower band of 8,115 cases and an upper band of 16,390 cases.

  A separate group is currently preparing new estimates of short-term predictions of HIV incidence and prevalence estimates of the numbers of AIDS cases in Scotland as a revision of the projections contained in the report of the national working party on health service implications of HIV infection (the Tayler report). Copies of both the Day and Tayler reports are available in the Library.
  68
  Reported incidence in Northern Ireland is too low to make accurate estimates of the likely spread of HIV infection.

  National Health Service Trusts
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of hospital units interested in self-governing status where(a) a ballot includes more than 50 per cent. of consultants in support of an application, (b) more than 50 per cent. of consultants opposed to an application and (c) no ballot has taken place and is unlikely to do so.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We have consistently made it clear that it would not be appropriate for changes in management of National Health Service services to be subject to ballots, and we have not asked for data on ballots. Regional health authorities will seek the views of community health councils and other parties with an interest, including consultants and other staff, on individual proposals before any decisions are made.

  Family Practitioner Committees
  Mr. Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total financial cost of family practitioner committees nationwide.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The total net administrative costs related to family practitioner committees in England and included in the supply estimates 1990–91 amount to £118.389 million.

  Infant Mortality
  Dame Jill Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of infant mortality rates in 1979; and what they are today.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The information is shown in the table:

  Infant mortality rates1 England and Wales 1979, 1989

  Year

  Rate1

  1979

  12·8

  1989

  8·4

  1 Rate per 1,000 live births.

  Maternity Mortality
  Dame Jill Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of maternity mortality rates in 1979; and what it is today.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The information is shown in the table.

  Maternal mortality rates1, England and Wales 1979, 1989

  1979

  1989

  Maternal mortality including abortion

  11·51

  8·10

  1 Rate per 100,000 total births.

  General Practitioners (Prescribing)
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he intends to issue fresh guidelines(a) to general practitioners in respect of over-prescribing and (b) to family practitioner committees in respect of the operation of regulation 16 of the Service Committee and Tribunal Regulations.
  69
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The recently published working paper, "Improving Prescribing", (a copy of which is available in the Library), describes a range of new initiatives to improve the quality of general practitioner prescribing. It is the Government's intention, as set out in paragraph 10.2 of that working paper, to amend regulation 16 of the Service Committee and Tribunal Regulations.

  National Health Service Reforms
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is the Government's intention to use outside consultants in its proposed publicity campaign in respect of its national health service reforms.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No.

  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated total cost to his Department of the Government's proposed publicity campaign in respect of its national health service reforms.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer the right hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) on 5 July at column 675.

  General Practitioner Budgets
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners will be equipped with the necessary software to enable them to be responsible for their budgets from 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Dorrell
  We are currently engaged in discussions with the computer companies. The details of these discussions are commercially sensitive, but the general objective is to ensure that the necessary software will be available to all the general practitioners wishing to take part in the practice funding scheme.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest estimated cost of developing and supplying the computer software systems for doctors eligible and electing to run their own budgets.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Development and supplying of the software for practice funding is a matter for the general practitioner computer suppliers. The Department does not hold the information necessary to estimate individual companies' costs.

  Hospital Care (Cost)
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the latest information he has on the cost of operations and hospital care in each hospital; and when he expects all hospitals to publish a price list for all operations and treatments available for patients.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Information on the cost of operations and hospital care by individual hospitals is not collected centrally. From 1 April 1991 health authority contracts for health services with both public and private providers will be publicly available once they are signed. This will permit a steady improvement of information on the outcome of contract negotiations in terms of service covered and quality as much as price.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the percentage increase or decrease in the numbers of people waiting for treatment between March 1987 and September 1989 for(a) general surgery, (b) trauma and orthopaedics, (c) ear, nose and throat and (d) obstetrics and gynaecology; and if he will rank each health authority, giving the greatest increase first and the greatest decrease last.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  [holding answer 22 May 1990]: Figures for waiting lists in themselves are of little value unless considered with figures for waiting times, which are far more important for patients and figures for patient cases which are a much better measure of a unit's activity level. Comparisons between waiting lists in one place and another are also unreliable because of variations in referral practice, the acceptance of patients onto lists and the verification of the lists themselves. Changes in individual waiting lists between two points in time in at district level should also be interpreted with care as large changes can for example be due to errors in the data or transfer of responsibility between districts. However, the information requested will be placed in the Library. Nationally, the in-patient waiting lists for these four clinical specialties fell by 3 per cent. over the period March 1987 to September 1989 from 475,000 to 461,000. Over approximately the same period, the number of in-patient cases remained roughly constant at 2,375,000 per year but the number of day cases rose by over 4 per cent. from 530,000 to 552,000. Since 1979 the total number of in-patient cases in these four specialties has risen by 12 per cent. and day cases by 68 per cent. In-patient waiting lists have fallen by 7 per cent. overall and by 18 per cent. for these four specialties, including by more than a quarter for general surgery and gynaecology over the same period.

  General Practitioners (Information)
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been conducted into whether general practitioners read letters from(a) the Committee on Safety of Medicines and (b) pharmaceutical companies.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 27 June 1990]: Inquiries and increases in adverse drug reaction reports (yellow card reports) indicate that general practitioners and hospital doctors read and take appropriate notice of the information they receive.

  The Department does not conduct research into the readership of letters issued by pharmaceutical companies.

  Health Service Spending
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give figures for each financial year of the amount spent on the national health service from 1979–80 inclusive(a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage change after adjustment for medical inflation, and using 1979–80 as a base year; and if he will give similar estimates for 1990 and 1991.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 5 July 1990]: The table shows total National Health Service gross expenditure in cash for 1979–80 to 1989–90 and planned expenditure for 1990–91 and 1991–91 in cash. There is no specific index for medical inflation in the national health service but there is

  71
  a composite National Health Service index of changes in input unit costs and this has been used to adjust the cash figures to a 1979–80 basis. Estimates of changes in unit costs are not made until after the end of the relevant financial year and so it is not possible to put the 1990–91 and 1991–92 figures on this basis.

  Year

  National Health Service expenditure England (cash)

  Adjusted for input unit costs (1979–80 prices)

  Percentage change

  1979–80

  7,755

  7,755

  1980–81

  10,103

  7,887

  1·7

  1981–82

  11,329

  8,180

  3·7

  1982–83

  12,353

  8,372

  2·3

  1983–84

  13,113

  8,455

  1·0

  1984–85

  14,103

  8,592

  1·6

  1985–86

  14,919

  8,645

  0·6

  1986–87

  16,052

  8,700

  0·6

  1987–88

  17,652

  8,816

  1·3

  1988–89

  19,597

  8,858

  0·5

  11989–90

  21,162

  21990–91

  23,552

  21991–91

  24,690

  1 Estimate.

  2 Plan.

  Cholesterol Screening
  Mr. Ashby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to the early introduction of cholesterol screening by general practitioners for those individuals judged to be most at risk; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  [holding answer 5 July 1990]: Opportunistic blood cholesterol testing is already undertaken by many general practitioners. The Standing Medical Advisory Committee has now reviewed the cost-effectiveness of various levels of opportunistic cholesterol testing, and their economic appraisals of these were based upon testing in general practice. I have today issued the committee's report for wide consultation.

  Mr. Ashby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received the Standing Medical Advisory Committee report on cholesterol screening.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  [holding answer 5 July 1990]: In July 1988 I asked the Standing Medical Advisory Committee to consider whether opportunistic cholesterol testing could make a cost-effective contribution towards identifying and treating people at increased risk of coronary heart disease. I have now received the committee's report and have thanked them for their work.

  Copies of the report have been placed in the Library. The report sets out the results of a detailed study which the committee advises is full of scientific complexity. The report explains that opportunistic blood cholesterol testing can make a cost-effective contribution to coronary heart disease prevention in certain circumstances and sets out a number of possible options for consideration.

  In those circumstances, I believe that all those with an interest in the prevention of coronary heart disease should now have the opportunity to consider the report's findings and let me have their comments on them. I am therefore today issuing the report for consultation.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Telephones
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he has any plans to review telephone facilities in the House.

  Sir Geoffrey Howe
  Arrangements are in hand to provide direct dialling access to a limited number of European Community institutions and organisations; plans exist for the Palace of Westminster telephone exchange to be upgraded to make the most economic use of available telephone routes.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Attendance and Mobility Allowances
  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security(a) how many people who apply for mobility allowance are refused after their initial medical; and how many are awarded the benefit, (b) how many appeal against refusal; how many are subsequently awarded the benefit after a further examination at a medical centre, and how many are refused; and (c) how many are awarded mobility allowance resulting from an appeal to a medical appeal tribunal and how many are refused; and if he will express these figures for each region over the past 12 months.

  Mr. Scott
  Information is not available in the form requested. The available information, which relates to decisions made during the year ending 31 March 1990, is as follows:

  Decision in claimant's favour

  Decision adverse to claimant

  Decisions on initial claims

  105,500

  113,590

  Decisions on renewal claims

  29,490

  10,800

  Appeals and references decided by medical boards

  6,989

  18,675

  Appeals decided by medical appeal tribunals

  2,821

  5,980

  As mobility allowance is administered centrally, it is not possible to break those figures down by regions.

  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will commission research into the possibility of extending mobility allowance or the mobility component of the disability allowance to people with a mental handicap and behaviour problems; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  On 10 January we laid before Parliament "The Way Ahead: Benefits for Disabled People", which details our major proposals arising from our review of the balance and structure of social security benefits for disabled people and their carers. One of the proposals concerns the introduction of a new disability allowance for people of working age or below which will extend help to less severely disabled people, and will also subsume the help currently provided through attendance allowance and mobility allowance. The initial rate of the mobility component—set at £10—will be awarded to people who are not independently mobile, for example those with a
  73
  severe mental handicap or behavioural disturbance, and who do not otherwise fulfil the current criteria for mobility allowance. We estimate that 150,000 people will receive this new form of help.

  Benefit Leaflets
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reason his Department has ended the practice of sending sample leaflets on benefits, as they are published to local authorities and welfare rights organisations.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The Department has not ended the practice. The mailing of sample leaflets is carried out by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) on behalf of the Department.

  I understand that HMSO experienced temporary difficulties in providing the service recently but that the service has now been restored. Arrangements are in hand to issue not only future material but those items which should have been sent earlier.

  Pensions
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the percentage of the average wage paid in pensions to single people and married couples in each European Community country, including the United Kingdom; what increase would be required to bring United Kingdom pensions up to the level of the highest pension rate in the European Community; and what that would cost in additional public expenditure in a full financial year.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Pensions in other member states of the European Community are usually related to length of the individual's contribution record and the level of earnings on which contributions have been paid. The relationship with the overall average wage in the country concerned will therefore vary from individual to individual. Details of pensions in all member states are set out in "Tables of Social Benefits in the European Community" published by the Department, a copy of which is available in the Library.

  Discretionary Awards
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list in the Official Report the number and percentage of people who were refused discretion-based awards because the items for which they are requesting assistance are excluded by the social fund directions, by local office in Scotland.

  Mr. Scott
  The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by local office in Scotland the number and percentage of people who were refused discretion-based awards because they had insufficient funds to repay the loan.

  Mr. Scott
  The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Income Support
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number and percentage of households and persons in Scotland below and at 40 per cent. above the income support level for the financial years 1988–89 and 1989–90, by local office in Scotland.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The information requested is not available.

  Social Fund
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the percentage expenditure take-up of the social fund from 0 to 10 per cent. to 90 to 100 per cent. for each of the local offices in Scotland, for the financial years 1988–89 and 1989–90.

  Mr. Scott
  Figures on expenditure in all local offices can be obtained from the information placed in the Library.

  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are repaying social fund loans at(a) 15 per cent., (b) 10 per cent., (c) 5 per cent. and (d) less than 5 per cent. of their income support.

  Mr. Scott
  At 31 May 1990, the latest date for which data are available, 418,604 social fund loans were being recovered. A detailed breakdown of the percentage rates at which loans are being repaid by individual applicants is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  I regret that there was an error in my reply to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 28 June at column 352. The number of social fund loans being recovered at 30 April 1990 should have read 422,055.

  Unemployment Benefit
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to review the payment of unemployment benefit before the next election.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Unemployment benefit, in common with other benefits, is reviewed each year as part of the process of uprating.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether, for students who will still be eligible for housing benefit and non-student partners who are in receipt of housing benefit, he plans any amendments to reflect the new arrangements for grants to be paid for the whole year as opposed to the previous practice of grants awarded for the academic year.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  We propose that the student grant, which is not intended to provide financial support for the long vacation, will continue to be treated as now in the calculation of housing benefit. The new student loans will provide support throughout the whole of the course including the long vacations falling within it. We propose that income from loans will be apportioned over the whole year for the purpose of calculating benefit entitlement. We also propose that income from top-up loans will attract a weekly disregard of £10 so long as the recipient remains a student.

  Student Grants
  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provisions he intends to make within the Social Security Benefits (Student Loan) Amendment Regulations 1990 with regard to students in receipt of discretionary grants from local authorities.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Students are not currently treated differently for benefit purposes on the basis of the type or source of the educational grant or bursary they receive. This will remain our intention under future arrangements.

  Disability and Care Allowances
  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how many women would be entitled to(a) severe disability allowance and (b) invalid care allowance if women could claim these benefits up to the age of 65 years.

  Mr. Scott
  We estimate that the additional number of women who would qualify each year if they could make a new claim between the ages of 60 and 65 is as follows:

  Number

  (a) Severe disablement allowance

  2,000

  (b) Invalid care allowance

  1,800

  Low Incomes
  Mrs. Roe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what help is currently being given to families on low incomes.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  A range of benefits is available to families on low income. Child benefit continues to provide a worthwhile contribution to the costs of bringing up children. Lone parents are also eligible to receive one parent benefit. In addition help is available in the form of a range of income-related benefits—income support, family credit, housing benefit and community charge benefit. Expenditure on each main benefit is set out in "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1990–91 to 1992–93" (Cm. 1014), copies of which are in the Library.

  Income Support
  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list each office and its region making deductions from income support to pay the community charge; and how many claimants are having deductions made by each office for this reason.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The information is collected centrally on a quarterly basis. The latest available figures are for May 1990 and I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist) on 2 July at columns 460–61.

  Fraud
  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how he intends to reorganise fraud resources within his Department into sector teams; and when such reorganisation will be complete.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  We intend, wherever possible, to align the new fraud sectors with our local office network 76
  for benefit payment. Existing fraud resources will be merged to form approximately 170 sector teams, grouped with some 20 areas for line management purposes. We plan to have this new organisation in place by the end of the year.

  Household Incomes
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will revise the data given in his answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths)Official Report, 17 March 1989, column 390, on household incomes, to take into account the errors in the originally published data.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The figures quoted in the answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths) on 17 March 1989 were only marginally affected by the recalculated data.

  The main figures are as follows:

  Real growth in mean net income before housing costs: 1979 to 1985

  by decile group

  by family type

  Lowest

  6

  Married pensioners

  15

  2nd

  5

  Single pensioners

  15

  3rd

  4

  Married with children

  9

  4th

  4

  Married without children

  6

  5th

  4

  Single with children

  10

  6th

  6

  Single with children

  6

  7th

  7*

  8th

  9

  9th

  11*

  Total population

  9

  Highest

  18

  Notes:

  All these figures are as previously published, except the two marked *, which were previously shown as 6 per cent. and 10 per cent. respectively.

  Any changes in the detailed figures contained in the original table are likely to be equally trivial. Moreover, as explained in the original answer, those figures are of limited significance, because the deciles used were for the whole population rather than specific to each family type.

  Water Charges
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to raise benefits to take account of water charge rises above inflation in each of the next five years.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Benefit levels are considered for uprating each year, and we seek to take account of all relevant factors.

  Pensions
  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what he estimates would be the cost to his Department of adding £3 per week to the pensions of pensioners over 75 years of age;

  (2) what he estimates would be the cost of adding £5 per week to the state pension for a single pensioner at current prices;

  (3) how much he estimates it would cost his Department to increase the pension for a married couple by £8 per week at current prices;

  (4) how much it would cost his Department to provide every pensioner aged 75 years and over with £10 per week extra at 1990–91 prices.
  77
  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answers 5 June and 12 June 1990]: The estimated gross and net costs with the accompanying estimated savings in income-related benefits for each of the additions is shown in the table.

  Addition

  Estimated gross cost £ billion

  Estimated net cost £ billion

  Estimated savings in income related benefits £ billion

  £3 per week to all pensioners over 75

  0·61

  0·42

  0·20

  £5 per week to single pensioners

  1·15

  0·73

  0·43

  £8 per week to married couple pensioners

  1·37

  1·10

  0·26

  £10 per week to any pensioner aged 75 or over

  2·03

  1·50

  0·53

  Note: Costs shown use 1990–91 benefit rates.

  Local Councillors
  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance he has issued to his Department's offices with regard to(a) the new arrangements relating to allowances payable to local authority councillors in general and (b) how the new lump sum payments will be treated in calculating councillors' entitlements to means-tested benefits in particular; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 21 May 1990]: The office of the chief adjudication officer is responsible for issuing guidance to the Department's offices and will be doing so shortly on the treatment of the revised allowances payable to local authority councillors.

  These allowances, including any lump sum payments, will continue to be treated as earnings for benefit purposes in the normal way and apportioned on a weekly basis.

  Cohabitees
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his best estimate of the savings made by(a) treating cohabitees as a couple for the purpose of claiming benefit and (b) refusing spouse additions to cohabitees' benefits on the basis that they can be paid only to legally married couples; and what proportion of the savings accrue from national insurance and noncontributory benefits.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 25 June 1990]: Current statistical information does not permit us to make such an estimate other than in relation to widow's benefit. In the 12-month period ending 31 March 1990 widows benefit was disqualified on grounds of co-habitation in 2,313 cases. Resulting benefit savings for the same period are estimated to be approximately £1·9 million. All the estimated savings accrue from contributory benefits.

  The best estimate of the savings arising from non-payment of spouse additions of benefits where a couple are not legally married is £4·3 million per annum; 0·6 per cent. of the estimated savings accrue from non-contributory, non-income related benefits and the rest relate to national insurance benefits.

  Maintenance Orders
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many maintenance orders for the support of children of lone mothers have(a) not been served and (b) have fallen into abeyance because the fathers cannot be traced, for each of the years 1979 to 1989.

  Mr. John Patten
  I have been asked to reply.
  78
  In 1988, 11,280 maintenance orders were made in magistrates courts. The further information sought is not available.

  Grants and Loans
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of local offices in Scotland which received additional allocations of moneys for (i) maternity payments, (ii) funeral payments, (iii) cold weather payments, (iv) community care grants, (v) budgeting and (vi) crisis loans, for the financial years 1988–89 and 1989–90; and what was the additional amount paid for each category and the total additional amount paid.

  Mr. Scott
  Local offices do not receive specific allocations for maternity payments, funeral payments and cold weather payments. Expenditure is demand led within the provisions contained in class XIV, vote 4.

  There were no revised allocations to local offices for the year 1988–89. Information on revised allocations for 1989–90 has been placed in the Library.

SCOTLAND

  Motorway Repairs
  Mr. Allan Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the proposed motorway lane rental repair scheme.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  In June 1989 I announced that lane rental would be adopted as the norm for maintenance schemes on major strategic motorways and trunk roads. Since then over 10 schemes have been identified as suitable for this form of contract, and it will continue to be adopted on all future schemes amenable to this treatment. Although lane rental costs slightly more, the evidence shows that the additional costs are handsomely recouped from the greatly reduced delay costs to traffic at roadworks on our key routes.

  Steel Industry
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if his instruction to the Scottish Development Agency to carry out an analysis of the prospects for the steel industry in Scotland allows it to examine the prospects for an independent steel industry;

  (2) if he will give a specific instruction to the Scottish Development Agency to engage in a study of the feasibility of an independent Scottish steel industry based upon British Steel plant and assets in Scotland.
  79
  Mr. Lang
  The Scottish Development Agency has been asked to examine the prospects for the steel industry in Scotland and to seek to identify any opportunities. It is intended that the analysis will be wide ranging and will seek to identify any present and future opportunities in the sector. It would not be appropriate to restrict the scope of this exercise by imposing any prior assumptions about the ownership or control of existing or potential operations in Scotland.

  Agency Nurses
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many agency-based nursing and auxiliary staff are currently employed in acute wards of hospitals managed by the Greater Glasgow health board; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The board's policy is that agency nurses will be employed to cover for absent staff only when there is no alternative to doing so. The number therefore varies from day to day and I understand that on 5 July, 31·95 whole-time equivalents were employed in acute wards.

  Adult Basic Education
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been spent each year on a constant price basis on adult basic education in the community since 1979.

  Mr. Lang
  This information is not held centrally.

  European Environment Agency
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the Scottish-based organisations which he has recommended for consideration as part of the European Environment Agency network.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The EC regulation establishing the agency was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 7 May 1990 and will take effect once its location has been decided by the Council. Once the agency begins its work, which will not be before that date, we shall be considering the merits of organisations for inclusion in a list of candidates for the agency's information network.

  Hillington Skill Centre
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received representations from M. I. Technologue Ltd. about the sale of Hillington skill centre; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  No such representations have been received.

  Education Costs
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is the cost in each education authority of providing a place for each child between five and 11 years; and what additional cost is deemed necessary for each child with special needs in(a) a special school and (b) an integrated unit of a school for children under 11 years;

  (2) what is the cost in each education authority of providing a place for each student between 11 and 18 years; and what additional cost is deemed necessary for each child with special needs in (a) a special school and (b) an integrated unit in a secondary school.
  80
  Mr. Lang
  The available information is given in the table which has been compiled from local authority financial returns. Information on the cost of special education is not recorded separately for primary and secondary age pupils. Expenditure on special units in primary and secondary schools is recorded under special schools, but is not separately identified.

  Net current expenditure per pupil in primary, secondary and special schools—1988–89

  Primary £

  Secondary £

  Special £

  Region

  Borders

  1,333

  2,188

  8,119

  Central

  1,224

  2,114

  11,289

  Dumfries and Galloway

  1,204

  2,273

  17,922

  Fife

  1,302

  2,251

  3,909

  Grampian

  1,192

  2,281

  8,239

  Highland

  1,284

  2,095

  7,704

  Lothian

  1,175

  2,282

  9,953

  Strathclyde

  1,262

  2,252

  8,910

  Tayside

  1,215

  2,331

  9,385

  Orkney

  1,380

  2,991

  19,750

  Shetland

  1,655

  3,544

  63,778

  Western Isles

  1,580

  2,814

  8,786

  International Literacy Year
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what special initiatives his Department has taken to support International Literacy Year.

  Mr. Lang
  None. The Department does, however, provide resources to the Scottish Community Education Council to co-ordinate and develop provisions in adult literacy in Scotland and, in 1989, for the first time, funds were made available to voluntary organisations towards new development projects concerned with adult basic education.

  Employment Training
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he has taken to safeguard basic literacy and numeracy training from budgetary restrictions in the employment training programme.

  Mr. Lang
  I am satisfied that the Training Agency has sufficient resources to meet the demand for training places for unemployed people with special needs in relation to literacy and/or numeracy.

  Care in the Community
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what contribution the Scottish Education Department is making to plans for care in the community.

  Mr. Lang
  The social work services group, which is part of the Scottish Education Department, is responsible for co-ordinating, within the Scottish Office, work on the implementation of the Government's community care policy. This includes the preparation of guidance for local authorities. Four consultation papers have so far been issued, including one on community care planning, and formal guidance will be issued in the light of the comments received.

  Health Board Members (Payments)
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what payment is made to Mrs Iris Isbister as chairperson of Tayside health board; and whether this is a part-time post.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on Friday 6 July to my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker),Hansard, volume 175, column 733. All health board chairmen are appointed on a part-time basis.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the payments made to each health board member in Scotland.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Health board members currently receive allowances to cover travel, subsistence and loss of remunerative time expenses resulting from board duties.

  Mental Welfare Commission
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether civil servants can be appointed to the Mental Welfare Commission.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Section 2(6) of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 debars serving civil servants from appointment to the Mental Welfare Commission.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the organisations involved in mental illness and mental handicap that he consulted prior to recommending appointments to the Mental Welfare Commission; and if he will give the dates when they were consulted.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Before my right hon. and learned Friend makes recommendations to the Mental Welfare Commission he must, in accordance with section 2(5) of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984, consult such bodies as appear to him to be concerned. Most recently, the following bodies were consulted, on 19 June 1989:

  Scottish Association for Mental Health

  Scottish Society for the Mentally Handicapped

  Royal College of Psychiatrists (Scottish Division)

  Psychiatric Nurses Association of Scotland

  National Schizophrenia Fellowship

  British Medical Association

  Royal College of General Practitioners

  Standing Conference of Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland

  The Faculty of Advocates

  The Law Society of Scotland

  British Association of Social Workers

  Association of Directors of Social Work

  Royal College of Nursing

  Edinburgh Association for Mental Health

  British Psychological Society

  The Church of Scotland Board of Social Responsibility

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what payment is made to Mrs. Iris Isbister as a member of the Mental Welfare Commission.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  As a part-time member of the Mental Welfare Commission, Mrs. Isbister is paid an annual fee, currently amounting to £1,420, together with travelling and subsistence expenses.

TRANSPORT

  Road Safety
  Mr. Stevens
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to improve road safety.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  A wide range of measures to improve road safety have been taken under the umbrella of our "Safety on the Move" campaign. Britain has a good record on road safety. An area of great concern is that of child safety—especially child pedestrians, where there is particular scope for improvement. A sustained programme of measures on child safety was launched in May including proposals to enable local authorities to make residential streets safer. We will be launching a further phase of this campaign concentrating on child pedestrian safety shortly.

  Rail Ramblers
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received regarding rail ramblers.

  Mr. Freeman
  I have received no representations about rail ramblers apart from those from the hon. Member and the Lancashire Rail Ramblers Committee.

  London-North West Rail Service
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on British Rail's proposals to improve the London to the north-west of England main line.

  Mr. Freeman
  I welcome British Rail's recent announcement of its strategic plans for further improvements on the west coast main line, and I look forward to seeing British Rail's detailed investment case when this comes forward in due course.

  London Underground
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much is being invested in London Underground over the next three years.

  Mr. Freeman
  London Underground Ltd. alone is planning to invest approximately £1·7 billion over the next three years. This is more than double in real terms the amount invested over the three years to 1989–90.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of his consideration of foreign investment in underground railways in central London.

  Mr. Freeman
  I am not aware of any significant foreign interest in underground railways in central London beyond the funding contributions to the Jubilee line extension and the Bank extension of the docklands light railway which have been agreed by Olympia and York.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make more resources available to London Underground for improved passenger security.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Government have given London Underground Ltd. £15 million to introduce a programme
  83
  of passenger security measures as recommended in this Department's 1986 report on crime on the London underground. Implementation of this programme is currently under way. London Underground Ltd. will additionally be spending about £80 million over the next 10 years on extending the most successful of these measures throughout the Underground network. London Underground Ltd. funds the Underground division of the British Transport Police, the complement of which has been increased to 400 officers.

  Mr. Summerson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the level of investment in London Underground this year; and what the level was in 1984–85.

  Mr. Freeman
  Investment by London Underground Ltd. will be approaching £400 million in 1990–91. In the financial year 1984–85, when funding was determined by the GLC, the corresponding figure was about £117 million. This represents an increase of 148 per cent. in real terms.

  Privately Financed Roads
  Dr. Michael Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are for privately financed roads in Essex; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Parkinson
  The Dartford-Thurrock crossing will be the first major privately financed road this century. In addition, I recently invited views on the suitability of six further possible privately financed schemes. Three of these would serve Essex if the schemes were taken forward: a lower Thames crossing, a new link between Chelmsford and the M25 and a new route parallel to the A127 from the M25 to Rayleigh.

  Compulsory House Purchases (Compensation)
  Dr. Twinn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to improve present arrangements for compensating house owners where properties are acquired for transport improvement.

  Mr. Freeman
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is presently considering the responses to a consultation paper, containing proposals for improvements to land compensation, issued last year. He intends to bring forward legislation when the parliamentary timetable permits.

  Tankers, West Coast
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to complete his detailed consideration of the findings of the review of tanker traffic in the deep water route west of the Hebrides and in the Minches.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I hope to report my conclusions to the House before the summer recess.

  Submarines
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current state of studies sponsored by his Department into systems to help submarines avoid fishing nets.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  A prototype system, based on specifications prepared by the Admiralty Research Establishment (ARE), to help submarines to avoid fishing nets will be tested this summer.

  Network SouthEast
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the figures for investment in Network SouthEast for 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991.

  Mr. Freeman
  The figures are as follows:

  Network SouthEast investment 1988–89—1991–92

  Cash prices £ million

  1988–89

  300

  1989–90

  325

  1990–91

  1325

  1991–92

  1415

  1 Planned.

  Bus Services
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will consider the introduction of regional and national awards for best bus services.

  Mr. Freeman
  The quality of bus services is a matter for the operators. The Bus and Coach Council already promotes a competition entitled "Britain's Brightest Bus Service".

  Channel Tunnel Rail Link
  Mr. Wray
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to ensure that the cancellation of high-speed train links with the channel tunnel does not damage access of passengers and exports from Scotland to the continent.

  Mr. Freeman
  The recent announcement related to a particular proposal for a joint venture by British Rail and Eurorail. BR is continuing to develop proposals for a new passenger rail link between the tunnel and London to cater for traffic growth in the longer term. It was never intended that the new line or the high-speed link to the tunnel in France should carry freight. British Rail intends to provide both passenger and freight services to cater for the Scottish market from the outset.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to give his approval to British Rail for investment plans in relation to King's Cross being the international terminal linking the North with the channel tunnel.

  Mr. Freeman
  British Rail has not yet submitted its investment plans, which I would not normally expect to see before they get parliamentary approval.

  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received concerning the need for a fast rail link between Scotland and the channel tunnel.

  Mr. Freeman
  I have recently received several representations from various parts of the country, including Scotland, about the desirability of fast and efficient rail links to the channel tunnel.

  Transport, London
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to meet the chair of London Transport to discuss future transport strategy in London.
  85
  Mr. Parkinson
  My hon. Friend the Minister of State and I regularly meet the chairman of London Transport to discuss all aspects of London Transport's operations including its plans for the future.

  Public Transport, Manchester
  Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about public transport in Greater Manchester.

  Mr. Freeman
  This is essentially a matter for the operators and the passenger transport authority and executive. The Government are at present making resources available for two major projects to improve public transport in Manchester, Metrolink and the airport rail link.

  M1 (Junction 21)
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a statement regarding traffic congestion at junction 21 of the M1 motorway.

  Mr. Parkinson
  Works commenced on an interim scheme to reduce congestion at junction 21 of the M1 motorway on 18 June. The scheme will be completed later this year. It will provide relief to the junction until the mid-1990s.

  A longer-term improvement at this junction is being investigated as part of the motorway widening and junction improvement scheme announced in the 1989 White Paper "Roads for Prosperity".

  Roads, London
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a further announcement on the public transport proposals of the London assessment studies.

  Mr. Parkinson
  We asked British Rail and London Transport in March to give further consideration to public transport proposals recommended by the London assessment studies which were not already under active examination. Announcements will be made after this work has been completed.

  British Rail (Land Sales)
  Mr. Arbuthnot
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total income received by British Rail from the sale of surplus land in(a) 1974, (b) 1979, (c)

  Mr. Freeman
  Gross income received by British Rail from the sale of surplus land for each of the years, at constant 1990–91 prices, was as follows:

  1974 £ million

  1979 £ million

  1 1988–89 £ million

  63

  29

  299

  1 British Rail changed the basis for recording this information from calendar to financial years with effect from 1984–85.

  Roads (Environmental Impact)
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has made an assessment of the environmental implications of his Department's road building programme; and if he will make a statement.
  86
  Mr. Parkinson
  The environmental benefits and disadvantages of all schemes are considered carefully. Protecting and enhancing the environment will continue to be a major priority in our plans.

  Inner City Transport
  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are being taken to improve transport in the inner cities.

  Mr. Parkinson
  National road schemes worth £3 billion are under construction or planned to assist the inner cities including major schemes on the A 13 to aid revival of London's docklands, the M66 Denton to Middleton scheme and the A69 Newcastle western bypass. Over 100 major local road schemes to assist inner city areas, costing nearly £1 billion, are supported by 50 per cent. transport supplementary grant; examples are the Birmingham heartlands spine road, the Leeds inner ring road and the Haringey north-south route. We provide grant under the Industrial Development Act 1982 to help build access roads to development sites, such as the Meadowhall development in Sheffield and improvement of Aldwarke lane in Rotherham. In February I announced approval for the electrification of the Birmingham cross-city railway line. We are providing grant under section 56 of the Transport Act 1968 for the Manchester Metrolink. The Docklands Light Railway has contributed greatly to the regeneration of London's docklands. It is now being extended westwards to Bank and eastwards to Beckton and we are consolidating the revitalisation of the area with the Jubilee line extension.

  Marchioness
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received regarding the publication of the final report into the sinking of the Marchioness.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Solicitors representing next-of-kin and survivors, and others, have written to my right hon. Friend urging publication as soon as possible. My right hon. Friend also saw a deputation of representatives of the Marchioness disaster group on 16 May.

  Roads, Yorkshire
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects new trunk road provision to serve east-west transportation and movement in South Yorkshire.

  Mr. Atkins
  There are no proposals at present for a new east-west trunk road in South Yorkshire. Barnsley metropolitan district council has included a proposal for a link between the M1 and the A1, the "Dearne towns link road", in its forward plans. I understand that it hopes to complete the route by the mid-1990s.

  Buses (Official Journeys)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the occasions in the last 12 months when he made an official journey by bus in London.

  Mr. Freeman
  My right hon. Friend and I have travelled by bus, underground and rail in London on a number of occasions in the last 12 months.

  Air Traffic Control, Wales
  Mr. Livsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about air traffic control over Wales.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The control of air traffic in the United Kingdom is the responsibility of the national air traffic services, which is a joint organisation of the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Aviation Authority.

  Air traffic over Wales is controlled in precisely the same manner as air traffic over the rest of the United Kingdom. The controlling centre for en route traffic over Wales and much of England is the London air traffic control centre.

  M40
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement on the construction of the M40.

  Mr. Atkins
  Construction work is progressing quickly and we are now working towards a full opening of the route in the spring of 1991.

  Buses (Passenger Seat Belts)
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he has given the bus and coach industry concerning passenger seat belts; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State promised the House on 5 June, he met representatives of the Bus and Coach Council on 8 June to discuss the fitting of seat belts in coaches.

  The Government believe that operators should provide good quality, easy-to-use retractable seat belts on all seats. Belts are offered for sale by manufacturers, but most operators do not buy them. At the meeting on 8 June, the Bus, and Coach Council undertook to recommend to its members that all new vehicles purchased should in future be equipped with appropriate seat belts on all seats. Officials are meeting the BCC today to explore further how existing vehicles might best be equipped with seat belts.

  Bus Miles
  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of bus miles operated in the United Kingdom in 1974, 1979 and 1989.

  Mr. Freeman
  The table shows the number of vehicle kilometres (in millions) operated by buses and coaches in Great Britain.

  1974

  1979

  1988–89

  Local (stage) Services

  2,360

  2,238

  2,416

  Other Services

  1,102

  1,099

  1,365

  All Services

  3,462

  3,338

  3,781

  Data for 1989–90 will not be available until later in the year.

  Light Rapid Transit Schemes
  Mr. Favell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to light rapid transit, metro and tramway schemes under construction or proposed.
  88
  Mr. Freeman
  The docklands light railway is being extended to Bank and Beckton, the Tyne and Wear Metro is being extended to Newcastle airport and work has begun on the Manchester Metrolink, for which the Government are providing grant. Some 40 other light rapid transit schemes have been proposed or are being considered. These include light rail schemes in South Yorkshire, west midlands, and Avon.

  Jubilee Line
  Mr. Maples
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement on proposals for private finance for the construction of the Jubilee line extension.

  Mr. Freeman
  Olympia and York, Regalian and British Gas have agreed to make contributions towards the costs of construction of the Jubilee line extension.

  British Rail (Rental Income)
  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rental income was received by British Rail in respect of commercial lettings to private companies in(a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c)

  Mr. Freeman
  Gross rental income received by British Rail from commercial lettings to private companies for each of the years, at constant 1990–91 prices, was as follows:

  £ million

  1974

  85

  1979

  91

  1 1988–89

  114

  1 British Rail changed the basis for recording this information from calendar to financial years with effect from 1984–85.

  Road Accidents
  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of people killed on Britain's roads in(a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c)

  Mr. Holt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of people killed on Britain's roads in(a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c)

  Mr. Atkins
  The information requested is as follows:

  Number

  1974

  6,876

  1979

  6,352

  1989

  1 5,282

  1 Latest provisional estimate.

  This 23 per cent. fall in fatalities has been achieved despite an increase of 68 per cent. in total traffic.

  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of(a) fatal accidents, (b) serious accidents and (c) other accidents on the A36 between Wylye and Plaitford in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Atkins
  The personal injury accidents recorded over the last five years are as follows:

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  (a) fatal accidents

  2

  2

  2

  1

  5

  (b) serious accidents

  18

  10

  16

  14

  25

  (c) slight accidents

  89

  54

  53

  55

  74

  89

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Totals

  109

  66

  71

  70

  104

  Unleaded Fuel
  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of vehicles used unleaded fuel in 1987, 1988 and 1989.

  Mr. Atkins
  The percentage market share enjoyed by unleaded fuel in December of each of the years mentioned was as follows.

  per cent.

  1987

  0·13

  1988

  3·14

  1989

  28·34

  We do not have figures relating these percentages to numbers of vehicles.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Nellist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to the petition recently presented to him concerning disabled people's access to public transport; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  We fully support the principle of moving towards more accessible vehicles. However, in view of the operational and technical difficulties to be resolved, we believe that the target date of 1992 is unrealistic.

  We are currently working on the development of a new generation of low floor buses that can accommodate wheelchair users on regular services. We are concerned that for the benefit of both the operators and the potential passengers such vehicles should be able to provide effective and sustainable services. We have some way to go in the development of these vehicles before we can be sure that those concerns have been met. We hope to start trials on what is likely to be the first in a series of low floor accessible demonstration vehicles later this year.

  We are also working with coach manufacturers on design requirements for lifts to be fitted to high floor coaches. For both buses and coaches the most effective way forward is likely to be through Europe-wide legislation.

  Bypasses
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bypasses will be started or completed this year.

  Mr. Atkins
  Some 30 bypass schemes with a works cost of over £500 million are programmed to start or be completed this year, totalling over 110 miles of new road.90
  Whether classified as bypasses or not, nearly all new road schemes bring relief to local communities from intrusive through traffic.

  Vehicle Emissions
  Mr. Moss
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made to reduce vehicle emissions.

  Mr. Atkins
  I have recently laid before the House regulations which will introduce the strict limits on vehicle emissions which have been agreed by the European Community.

  The regulations include for the first time a requirement for the motorist to keep his vehicle in good emissions tune. This has paved the way for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's recent announcement that we propose to include a check on emissions in the MOT test.

  Negotiations are now taking place on a further directive to limit emissions from cars. In addition to setting stricter limits for medium cars, the new directive will include provisions on evaporative emissions, durability of emission control equipment and a longer test cycle which includes a new high speed element. I hope the negotiations can be concluded quickly. The timetable is short if the new requirements are to take effect by the end of 1992.

  When these new requirements are agreed, it will mean that from 1992 virtually all new petrol-engined cars will have to be equipped with three-way catalysts.

  The Commission has also announced recently proposals for tighter limits on gaseous emissions from heavy diesel-engined vehicles and for the introduction of limits on particulate emissions from these vehicles. From what we have seen, the proposals may not go far enough. We are looking for standards similar to the United States 1994 limits by the mid-1990s. These are the strictest standards for heavy diesels being considered anywhere in the world.

  British Rail (Quality of Service)
  Mr. Burt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures the Government are taking to improve the quality of service on British Rail.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Government have agreed quality of service objectives with the board which cover, among other things, train reliability and punctuality and, for most subsidised passenger services, passenger loading standards. The details are set out in my right hon. Friend's letter of 19 November to the chairman (Official Report, 19 December 1989, column 227–31).

  British Rail has plans to invest £3·7 billion over the next three years, much of which is for new rolling stock and infrastructure works to improve quality of service and cater for growth in demand. I shall be discussing progress with British Rail very shortly.

  Rural Transport
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met representatives of local authorities to discuss transport in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Ministers frequently meet representatives of local authorities to discuss a wide range of issues. The provision of rural transport is a matter for the operators and the local authorities concerned. In addition, the Department of Transport provides £1 million a year for the rural transport development fund to support innovative public transport schemes in rural areas.

  A40 Western Avenue
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received concerning the cost of the A40 Western avenue improvement at the junction with Long lane, Hillingdon; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  Since the beginning of May the hon. Member has himself forwarded two letters on behalf of three constituents concerning the estimated cost of the scheme, and the National Farmers Union wrote in support of one of the constituents.

  Trolleybuses
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received any proposals to introduce trolleybus routes.

  Mr. Freeman
  The West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire passenger transport executives have both obtained powers to introduce trolleybus routes in their areas. The West Yorkshire PTE has put worked up proposals to the Department for an experimental route in Bradford, and I recently agreed to provide credit approvals for the costs of the infrastructure.

  Women Travellers
  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to meet the chairman of British Rail to discuss new plans to improve the safety of women.

  Mr. Freeman
  My right hon. Friend has frequently discussed passenger safety with the chairman and his predecessor and expects to do so in further meetings. Much has already been done to improve passenger security including better lighting at stations and station car parks. Closed circuit television has been installed where appropriate. The British Transport Police have increased patrols at likely trouble spots and BR is working on a standard specification for customer security in co-operation with the police.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to make public transport more attractive to women.

  Mr. Freeman
  Such matters are primarily for the transport operators. The Government welcome any efforts to make public transport more attractive to all types of users, and potential users.

  A13
  Mr. Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work to commence on the A13 trunk road improvement between the M25 and Dagenham.

  Mr. Atkins
  In spring 1992, subject to the satisfactory completion of the remaining statutory procedures.

  Transport Investment
  Mr. Dickens
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the level of investment approved by Government in all types of transport for the next three years.

  Mr. Atkins
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Southport (Mr. Fearn) on 23 April this year.

  Rail Links, Europe
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the impact of rail links into Europe on all regions of the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Freeman
  The opening of the channel tunnel will be a great opportunity for the railways to compete more effectively in the international passenger and freight markets and to bring extra choice of services to all parts of the United Kingdom.

  British Rail (Discussions)
  Mr. Gerald Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met the chairman of British Rail; and what was discussed.

  Mr. Freeman
  My right hon. Friend met the chairman of British Rail on 27 June for one of their regular discussions.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to meet the chairman of British Rail; and what matters will be discussed.

  Mr. Freeman
  My right hon. Friend has regular meetings with the chairman of British Rail.

  Central Line
  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total amount of planned investment in new stock on the Central line by London Underground Ltd.

  Mr. Freeman
  About £350 million. This is the biggest rolling stock order ever placed by London Underground, and is part of the £700 million modernisation of the Central line which the Government approved in 1988. The 85 new trains, along with the rest of the programme, will substantially increase peak capacity, improve regularity of services, and reduce journey time.

  Transport Supplementary Grant
  Mr. Viggers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the increase in real terms in transport supplementary grant for
  local authorities in 1990–91.
  93
  Mr. Atkins
  The provision for transport supplementary grant in class VII, vote 5 for 1990–91 is £233,125,000, an increase of 7·3 per cent. in real terms on the corresponding provision for 1989–90.

  Street Works
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further representations he has received concerning his proposals to introduce legislation to implement the recommendations of the Horne committee.

  Mr. Atkins
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 11 June 1990 at column 20.

  British Rail (Investment)
  Mr. David Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the level of investment in British Rail over the next three years.

  Mr. Freeman
  BR plans to invest some £3·7 billion over the three financial years 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93.

  Rail Services
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage further private sector participation in the provision of rail services.

  Mr. Freeman
  In December 1989 the Government set the British Railways Board the objective of increasing further the contribution of the private sector where this enabled more cost-effective and competitive services to be provided. For the longer term we are continuing to consider the privatisation of British Rail.

  Rail Electrification
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of railway line have now been electrified; and what estimate he has as to the amount of electrification due to take place over the next five years.

  Mr. Freeman
  At 31 March 1990, BR had 2,830 route miles electrified. BR's 1989 plan proposed electrification of a further 560 route miles by 1993–94, three quarters of which have already been authorised. Major electrification projects are expected to include Cambridge to King's Lynn, the Birmingham cross-city link and the final stages of the east coast main line electrification.

  Channel Tunnel
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with the chairman of British Rail the sites for channel tunnel depots in the regions.

  Mr. Freeman
  This is a commercial matter for British Rail.

  Mr. Gow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date he expects the first train to travel through the channel tunnel.

  Mr. Freeman
  This is a matter for Eurotunnel. Its projected completion of the tunnel system is 15 June 1993.

  Miss Hoey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Minister last met the chairman of British Rail to discuss the channel tunnel terminal at Waterloo.
  94
  Mr. Freeman
  The Government's approval for BR's investment at Waterloo was announced on 18 May.

  Road Maintenance
  Mr. Andy Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the increase in capital spending on national road maintenance between 1974 to 1979 and 1979 to 1990.

  Mr. Atkins
  Capital spending on motorway and trunk road maintenance in the years 1975 to 1990 is set out in the table below. Before 1975 capital and current expenditure were not separately recorded. Capital spending on road maintenance includes roads renewal, bridges renewal, and the purchase of vehicles and equipment.

  Financial year

  Capital spending £ million (cash)

  1975–76

  26·9

  1976–77

  29·5

  1977–78

  33·5

  1978–79

  46·0

  1979–80

  64·2

  1980–81

  68·4

  1981–82

  111·0

  1982–83

  148·1

  1983–84

  130·0

  1984–85

  154·1

  1985–86

  165·9

  1986–87

  220·4

  1987–88

  264·5

  1988–89

  190·6

  1989–90

  1 330·4

  1 Provisional.

  Aircraft (Vapour Levels)
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 14 June,Official Report, column 302, what advice he has received from Professor Hoskins on vapour levels and aircraft.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  None as yet. The necessary basic data are currently being assembled.

  Fishing Boats
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to station one inspector-surveyor to check small fishing boats at either Lowestoft or Great Yarmouth; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The location of all fishing vessel surveyor posts, including that vacant at the Great Yarmouth office, is presently under review. A decision on the future location of such posts will be made shortly.

  Level Crossings
  Mr. Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each of the last 10 years the number of accidents occurring in the immediate vicinity of automatically opening locally monitored level crossings, specifying for each year the number of such incidents which involved(a) loss of life, (b) personal injury and (c) damage to property; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The following table shows for each year in the period 1979–88, the number of automatic open
  95
  crossings locally monitored (AOCLs) on British Railways only, the number of accidents, and the number of casualties on both BR and other railways. The latter are shown in brackets. Where the information is available, I have shown damage to property. We do not have details of road traffic accidents near a level crossing, which do not affect the operation of the level crossing or the safety of a train.

  The reports on 72 of these accidents show that the road vehicle driver failed to obey the "stop" road traffic signals.

  Year

  Number AOCL

  Number of accidents

  Number dead

  Number injured

  Property damaged

  1979

  84

  1

  —

  1

  1 motorcycle

  1980

  107

  1

  —

  —

  1 motorcycle

  1981

  114

  2

  —

  2

  2 cars

  1982

  122

  4

  —

  3

  1 car, 1 bus, 1 pick-up truck,

  (19)

  (4)

  —

  (4)

  1 dumper-truck (4 cars)

  1983

  128

  4

  —

  7

  1 taxi, 2 cars, 1 van. (1 car, 1 van,

  (3)

  —

  (2)

  1 steam locomotive, 1 bus)

  1984

  144

  4

  1

  7

  1 lorry, 3 cars (2 cars, 1 taxi, 1 tram)

  (3)

  —

  (1)

  1985

  188

  11

  2

  7

  10 cars, 1 motorcycle, 1 lorry

  (1)

  —

  (1)

  1986

  206

  8

  —

  9

  7 cars, 1 van, 1 DMU train, (1 car)

  (1)

  —

  —

  1987

  206

  10

  2

  8

  7 cars, 3 vans (2 cars)

  (2)

  1988

  211

  16

  1

  8

  1 minibus, 15 other vehicles,

  (1)

  —

  (1)

  (1 permanent way trolley, 1 car)

  British Rail

  61

  6

  52

  Other railways

  (15)

  —

  (9)

  Total

  76

  6

  61

  Mr. Snape
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number and locations of uncontrolled pedestrian and vehicular level crossings on the British Rail system; whether he plans any discussions with the chairman of British Rail about additional safety devices at such crossings; if he will make additional funds available for the installation of such devices; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  At the end of 1988, the most recent year for which detailed figures are currently available, there were 2,213 uncontrolled footpath crossings and 5,721 uncontrolled vehicular crossings, the majority of which are on private roads.

  My Department's published requirements for level crossings lay down safety criteria for open crossings on public roads which are lightly but regularly used. Other vehicular crossings used by very low levels of local traffic are provided with user-worked gates or barriers in accordance with the requirements. The requirements do not cover private accommodation or occupation crossings which may be accessible to the public, but the railways
  96
  Of the other four, one accident was caused when a lorry skidded on ice, one was caused when a car drove in front of a Tyne and Wear Metro train proceeding slowly over a crossing as a result of a signal failure, two were caused by train drivers not following the set procedures for crossing a road when there is a signal failure.

  British Rail is undertaking a programme of improvements to AOCLs in accordance with the recommendations made by Professor P. F. Stott to make the signs and signals even more conspicuous.

  inspectorate and British Rail have agreed safety criteria for such crossings and a programme of implementation is in progress.

  The inspectorate will be reviewing the use of footpath crossings with British Rail to define criteria for practical and cost-effective measures to improve safety. The chairman and I meet regularly; safety is his top priority.

  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list incidents involving unmanned level crossings, involving risk to the public, in the past two years.

  Mr. Freeman
  The table shows the number of accidents and "systems failures" at the various types of unmanned crossings during 1987 and 1988, the most recent years for which full figures are currently available, together with total crossing numbers. "Systems failures" are occasions when a controlled crossing fails to operate currently but no accident occurs. Safety procedures for failures, laid down in the authorising statutory orders, are designed to minimise risks to the public. There are, of course, no records of occasions on which crossing users put themselves at risk—for example, by ignoring the flashing red traffic signals which warn of an approaching train—but where no accident occurs.
  97

  Crossing Type

  Number in use

  Number of accidents

  Number of failures

  1987

  1988

  1987

  1988

  1987

  1988

  Automatic half barrier

  323

  357

  3

  4

  7

  3

  Auto half barrier locally monitored

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Auto open remotely monitored

  44

  33

  3

  3

  —

  —

  Auto open locally monitored

  206

  211

  13

  17

  3

  2

  User-worked gates + Min warning lights

  116

  140

  3

  2

  —

  —

  User-worked gates

  4,004

  4,919

  15

  12

  —

  —

  User-worked gates + telephone

  733

  738

  5

  6

  —

  —

  Open crossing

  63

  64

  4

  4

  —

  —

  Footpath crossing

  2,195

  2,213

  5

  6

  —

  —

  Total

  7,684

  28,676

  50

  54

  10

  5

  1 Includes accidents on minor railways.

  2 Figures for 1988 are based on a survey which updated previous records of crossings and for both years are for British Rail only.

EMPLOYMENT

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 26 March,Official Report, column 63, whether any further consultation with chambers of commerce about TECs has taken place; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department liaises closely with the Association of British Chambers of Commerce about the development of training and enterprise councils (TECs). TECs themselves work closely with local chambers of commerce, and a number of business leaders who are also senior office holders from chambers have accepted invitations from TECs to serve on their boards.

  Employment Training
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what will be the date of publication of the study on employment training.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The report of the efficiency scrutiny of take-up of Employment Department programmes, including employment training, will be made publicly available before the summer recess.

  Women Workers
  Mrs. Roe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment has been made of the reasons why mothers undertake paid employment; and what proportion indicate that without such work their family income would fall below poverty levels.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The 1984 British social attitudes survey asked women in paid work (of at least 10 hours per week) with a child aged under 16 to give their main reason for working. The results were as follows:

  per cent.

  Need money for basic essentials

  50

  To earn money to buy extras

  22

  Enjoy working

  17

  To follow my career

  4

  To earn money of my own

  3

  For the company of other people

  2

  For a change from my children or housework

  2

  Working is the normal thing to do

  1

  Percentages total more than 100 per cent. due to rounding

  There is no generally accepted definition of what constitutes a poverty level. No evidence is available on the
  98
  proportion of mothers who indicate that their family income would fall below poverty levels without paid employment.

  Minimum Wage
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 2 February,Official Report, column 375, on minimum wage effects, what other assumptions on the restoration of pay differentials besides that given in the note deposited in the Library have been considered; on what evidence they are based; and what would have been the impact of a minimum wage set at half average earnings on each of these assumptions.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The estimates produced by my Department of the job losses arising from the introduction of a national minimum wage assumed, on a central estimate, that differentials for those employees earning more than the minimum would be half-restored.

  To establish a lower limit for the impact of a national minimum wage on jobs, a second estimate was produced on the basis of there being no restoration of differentials at all. My Department estimates that, in this case, about 100,000 jobs would be lost.

  Also a third estimate, to establish an upper limit, was produced on the basis of there being a full restoration of differentials. My Department estimates that, in this case, about 1·4 million jobs would be lost.

  Both the assumptions of no restoration and full restoration are implausible.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list(a) each of the research studies and (b) all other sources of evidence which his Department used in determining the assumptions contained in the note placed in the Library entitled "Estimating the Effect of a National Minimum Wage"; and if he will identify separately the evidence and research used to formulate the assumption that differentials are half-restored in percentage terms following the introduction of a national minimum wage.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The assumptions made by officials in my Department in constructing the estimate of the effect of a national minimum wage, were derived mainly from the published Treasury paper "The Relationship between Employment and Wages: Empirical Evidence for the United Kingdom" (January 1985) and data from the New Earnings Survey (1989).

  The Treasury paper estimates the relationship between employment and real wages in the United Kingdom, and the relationship expected between increases in money

  99
  wages and real wages given an unchanged nominal framework. The new earnings survey each year indicates the earnings distribution prevailing in the country at a stated time.

  Apart from those reviewed in the Treasury paper, other papers studied included:

  From The Dole Queue to the Sweatshop: Minimum Wages and Government Policy—Henry Neuburger (Low Pay Unit, 1984);

  Minimum Wage Fixing—Gerald Starr (ILO 1981);

  On the Employment Effects of Introducing a National Minimum Wage In the UK—Stephen Bazen (University of Kent Working Paper 88/5, 1988);

  Wages Floors in the Clothing Industry 1950–81—Phillip Morgan, Don Paterson, and Robert Barrie (Department of Employment Research Paper No. 52, 1985);

  Low Pay or No Pay?—David Forrest and S.R. Dennison (Institute of Economic Affairs Hobart Paper 101, 1984);

  The assumption that differentials are half-restored in percentage terms is a justified central estimate. Similar assumptions are made in some of the work listed above.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assumptions about the effects of increased productivity and competitiveness as firms switch to higher wage and higher skill strategies were taken into account in the estimates contained in the note placed in the Library entitled "Estimating the Effect of a National Minimum Wage".

  Mr. Nicholls
  The estimates, produced by my Department, of the job losses arising from the introduction of a national minimum wage were not based on any explicit assumptions about the effects of higher real wages on productivity, competitiveness, and employers' skill strategies.

  However, the estimates utilise results from the Treasury model (published in the Treasury paper "The Relationship between Employment and Wages: Empirical Evidence for the United Kingdom", January 1985), which are based on the past performance of the economy and take into account substitution between labour and capital as their relative prices alter and the consequent effects on productivity and competitiveness.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 2 February, to the hon. Member for Stretford,Official Report, column 375, what assumptions about increased demand for consumer goods by those receiving higher pay, as a result of the introduction of a statutory minimum wage, have been taken into account in reaching the conclusions on the effects of the introduction of a minimum wage.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The estimates, produced by my Department, of the job losses arising from the introduction of a national minimum wage used results from simulations reviewed in the published Treasury paper "The Relationship between Employment and Wages: Empirical Evidence for the United Kingdom" (HM Treasury, January 1985).

  These Treasury estimates of the impact of changes in real wages on employment do take account of the effects on consumer demand of changes in real wages, as well as the offsetting effects on company sector demand which arise from corresponding changes in their costs.

  Training
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what assessment he has made of the financial contribution of employers in 1990–91 to the training of young people with special needs;

  (2) what assessment he has made of employer contributions to youth training since the renegotiation of training contracts; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholls
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 2 July at column 472.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans for an autumn advertising campaign on training.

  Mr. Eggar
  Discussions are continuing within the Department on publicity matters, but no decisions have been taken on an autumn training campaign.

  Youth Training (Payment)
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his Department's policy towards the payment in arrears of voluntary sector training providers of youth training.

  Mr. Nicholls
  Voluntary sector providers make an important contribution to youth training. The level and timing of funding is a matter for negotiation between training providers and Training Agency area offices or training and enterprise councils.

  Community Industry Scheme
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers joining the community industry scheme for the years 1987–88 to 1989–90; and what are the plans for the years 1990–91 to 1992–93.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information is as follows:

  Year

  Entrants

  Agreed places

  1987–88

  9,844

  7,000

  1988–89

  10,793

  7,000

  1989–90

  13,094

  7,000

  An average of 6,200 places nationally have been agreed with the training provider, Community Industry Ltd., for 1990–91. No plans have been made for 1991–92 to 1992–93.

  Publicity
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total estimated expenditure on Employment Department Group publicity in 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93.

  Mr. Eggar
  The total estimated expenditure on Employment Department Group publicity in 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93 is set out in table 6.31 in the Public Expenditure White Paper, Cm. 1006.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make it his policy that the Employment Department Group publicity will continue to be based on the principles set out in the public expenditure White Paper, Cm. 1006, page 27, paragraph 95.
  101
  Mr. Tim Eggar
  It is and will remain my policy that Employment Department Group publicity will continue to be based on paragraph 95 of the Public Expenditure White Paper.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will(a) list the companies involved in the Employment Department Group's publicity in 1990–91 and (b) estimate the total expenditure to be paid to each of them.

  Mr. Eggar
  Companies involved in the Employment Department Group's publicity in 1990–91 are Saatchi & Saatchi; Gold Greenless Trott; Industrial Publicity Services; Ogilvy & Mather; Delaney Fletcher Slaymaker Delaney and Bozell; FCO; BMP DDB; WBH Advertising; Yellowhammer.

  It is not yet possible to estimate how much will be spent with each agency.

  Private Office (Expenditure)
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total expenditure of his private office in 1988–89, 1989–90 and the estimated expenditure in 1990–91.

  Mr. Eggar
  Information on the expenditure of individual Ministers' private offices is not available. Total expenditure on Ministers, senior management and their offices is set out below.

  Year

  Expenditure (000s)

  11990–91

  £1,592

  1989–90

  £1,775

  1988–89

  £1,535

  1 Estimated

  Note: Figures include salary costs of Ministers, the permanent secretary and two deputy secretaries but exclude accommodation costs.

  Youth Training
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the proportion of trainees under the youth training scheme or youth training who fail to complete their full entitlement of training.

  Mr. Nicholls
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Ms. Short) on Monday 30 April at column 541–42.

  Skill Centre Sale, Cardiff
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what instructions he has given to King and Company, chartered surveyors, to sell his interest in the land and buildings occupied by the skill centre at Western avenue, Cardiff; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  King and Company has been instructed to market the Government's remaining skill centre property interests—which includes the freehold site at Western avenue, Cardiff—and to recommend to the Secretary of State which offer or offers to accept. As an aid to marketing the properties, King and Company has also been instructed to advise as appropriate on planning consents, dilapidations and other property matters.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. Ward
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received from small businesses urging prompt payment by Government Departments; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have received a number of representations in the past year on the general subject of prompt payment, some of which referred to Government Departments' payment practices. However, I have received only six representations from small businesses which refer to specific cases of late payment by Government Departments. In only one of these cases has it been shown that a Department was directly responsible for the late payment of a debt. The delay was due to an administrative error.

  The Government as a major purchaser of supplies and services, worth about £15 billion each year, have a good record on prompt payment which demonstrates our commitment to the policy that all payments should be made on time. Furthermore, I am always prepared to take up any specific examples of late payment by Government Departments to small firms that are brought to my attention.

  Employment Service Agency
  Mr. Terry Fields
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the replies to hon. Members' questions from Mr. Mike Fogden, the Employment Service Agency's chief executive; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  Hon. Members are offered the option of having placed in the Library of the House replies from the chief executive of the Employment Service Agency.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Artioposthia Triangulata
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has about the distribution in Britain of artioposthia triangulata; what assessment he has made about its impact on the nature ecosystem; and if he has any proposals for control measures.

  Mr. Curry
  The New Zealand flat worm needs damp conditions and is unlikely to survive in well drained agricultural land. It is sporadically sighted in Scotland but has not been found in England since 1965.

  North Sea (Nitrogen)
  Mr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the percentage of the nitrogen load in the North sea off the British coast which has been caused by(a) agriculture and (b) forestry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  Of the total nitrogen inputs to the North sea from all sources, some 80 per cent. is attributable to the inflow of water from the north Atlantic and English channel. The remainder is attributable to inputs from all countries via the atmosphere and rivers together with a small contribution—1 per cent.—from direct dumping and
  103
  discharges. Of the total inputs of nitrogen, the contribution from United Kingdom agriculture and forestry, both via the atmosphere and rivers is estimated to be around 2 per cent. The greater part of this input derives from agriculture rather than forestry.

  Coastal Protection
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will make a statement on his Department's role in protecting Southwold, Reydon, Walberswick and surrounding villages from the sea(a) currently, (b) in the next financial year and (c) till the year 2000;

  (2) if he will make it his policy urgently to assess the criteria for saving domestic dwellings from the sea to take account equally of environmental factors, cost benefits and housing.

  Mr. Curry
  A scheme under the Coast Protection Act 1949 to protect Southwold harbour is with the Department for approval. Many additional schemes are being undertaken in this financial year following the winter storms and they also have priority, so some schemes approved this year may be delayed into the next financial year.

  I am not aware of any plans to protect Reydon, Walberswick and the surrounding villages. However, if a scheme satisfying our normal technical, economic and environmental criteria is submitted to the Department it will be given full consideration.

  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will bring forward an urgent scheme to compensate people who lost their homes to the sea in cases where environmental considerations outweigh coast protection schemes; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  Works carried out to protect land under the terms of the Coast Protection Act 1949 require my prior consent. In deciding whether to give such consent our policy is to require a proposal to be technically sound, cost effective and environmentally sympathetic, and we have no plans to change that policy.

  We are not aware of any case in which a coast protection authority has decided not to seek our approval

  Division

  Counties covered by division

  Number of items claimed

  Chelmsford

  Essex, Hertfordshire, parts of Greater London

  15

  Huntingdon

  Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire

  7

  Lincoln

  Lincolnshire

  21

  Norwich

  Norfolk and Suffolk

  22

  Crewe

  Cheshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire

  345

  Nottingham

  Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire

  33

  Preston

  Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester

  91

  Worcester

  Warwickshire, West Midlands, Metropolitan County, Hereford, Worcester

  35

  Beverley

  Humberside, South and West Yorkshire

  44

  Carlisle

  Cumbria

  134

  Newcastle

  Northumberland, Durham, Tyne and Wear, Cleveland

  26

  Northallerton

  North Yorkshire

  82

  Guildford

  Hants, IOW, Surrey, West Sussex, parts of Greater London

  39

  Maidstone

  East Sussex, Kent, parts of Greater London

  18

  Oxford

  Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire

  30

  Exeter

  Devon

  237

  Gloucester

  Avon, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire

  86

  104
  for works because environmental considerations were judged to override protection of homes. No proposal submitted to us has been denied our consent solely by reason of environmental considerations. The Coast Protection Act does not provide for compensation to be paid for losses arising from coastal erosion and we have no plans to change our policy in this respect.

  Pollution Control
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much money is allocated under the capital grant scheme for pollution control measures for 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  In England, provision for the farm and conservation grant scheme as a whole in 1990–91 is £23·23 million. There is no separate allocation for pollution control measures which are among several other types of investment eligible under the scheme.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much money has been paid out under the farm capital grants scheme for pollution control measures for(a) February 1989 until March 1990 and (b) April 1990 until the present day; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  Grant paid in England for pollution control measures under the farm and conservation grant scheme for the periods requested is as follows:

  (a) February 1989 to March 1990—£5,252,524.

  (b) April to May
  19901—£2,760,577.

  1Figures for June not yet available.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farms, by county basis, have taken up grants under the capital grant scheme for farm pollution control measures since the scheme was introduced; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  The information is not available in the form requested. The table shows the number of items claimed in the category of waste facilities under the farm and conservation grant scheme in each division of the Ministry.
  105

  Division

  Counties covered by division

  Number of items claimed

  Taunton

  Dorset and Somerset

  117

  Truro

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

  84

  Total

  1,466

  Source: MAFF statistics.
  106

  SEVERE DISABLEMENT ALLOWANCE: ELIGIBILITY
  SEVERE DISABLEMENT ALLOWANCE: ELIGIBILITY
  PROCESSED ANIMAL MATERIAL
  PROCESSED ANIMAL MATERIAL
  CHILDREN ACT 1989
  CHILDREN ACT 1989
  LONDON UNDERGROUND: ASSAULTS
  LONDON UNDERGROUND: ASSAULTS
  CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: PROTOCOL No. 6
  CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: PROTOCOL No. 6
  SHOT GUN AND FIREARMS CERTIFICATES
  SHOT GUN AND FIREARMS CERTIFICATES
  PRISONERS: SUICIDE PREVENTION
  PRISONERS: SUICIDE PREVENTION
  POLICE AND CRIMINAL EVIDENCE ACT: REVISED CODES OF PRACTICE
  POLICE AND CRIMINAL EVIDENCE ACT: REVISED CODES OF PRACTICE
  CAMBODIA: ASSISTANCE
  CAMBODIA: ASSISTANCE