Written Answers of 6 June 1990

NORTHERN IRELAND

  North Eastern Education and Library Board
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what evidence was reported by the Royal Ulster Constabulary investigating team of fraud, misappropriation or financial losses attributable to the management of mechanical and electrical services by the former principal engineer of the North Eastern education and library board;

  (2) what was the total cost of Royal Ulster Constabulary investigation into allegations made against the former principal engineer of the North Eastern education and library board; if he will publish the conclusions arrived at by the Royal Ulster Constabulary investigation team; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Cope
  An RUC investigation into allegations of irregularities in North Eastern education and library board contracting commenced in June 1986. As a result of the investigation, in August 1987 the RUC forwarded a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions who directed "No prosecution". Details of the costs of the police investigation are not available.

  Seat Belts
  Mr. Hague
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the wearing of seat belts by drivers and front-seat passengers in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  Lives should be saved if all drivers and front-seat passengers wear their seat belts. The Northern Ireland seat belt survey, based on data collected in August 1989, indicates a gradual decline in seat belt usage since May 1983 when 92 per cent. of car drivers wore belts compared with the most recent results when 84 per cent. of observed front-seat passengers were wearing seat belts. Seat belts usage overall in Northern Ireland is lower than the rest of the United Kingdom; 81 per cent. of all observed drivers of all vehicle types in Northern Ireland wore seat belts, compared with a 93 per cent. usage rate of all driver observed in Great Britain.

  In addition to the evidence produced by the survey, RUC statistics for 1988 showed that in those cases of front-seat fatalities where it was possible to determine whether seat belts had been worn almost half of those killed were not wearing seat belts.

  Failure by front-seat occupants to wear seat belts is against the law though there are certain exemptions. The RUC, in the light of the recent report, will be increasing its vigilance to detect law breakers and to advise and protect them from the folly of their actions.

  We shall continue to draw attention to the dangers of failing to wear seat belts within our programme of road casualty reduction.

  Departmental Savings
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the value-for-money savings in his Department's operations identified by internal audit and internal efficiency arrangements, and by external audit and by management consultants retained by his Department between 1983–84 and 1988–89; and what is the amount of those savings fulfilled to date.

  Mr. Cope
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: The improvements resulting from inquiries and studies of the kind the hon. Member mentions are taken into account in the setting of annual budgets and internal targets. The results are not collected centrally.

  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what mechanisms exist in his office for identifying and tracking value-for-money savings in its operations.

  Mr. Cope
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: The annual public expenditure round plays a key role in promoting value for money through the top down pressure exerted by taut allocations on programme and administrative expenditure. Departments are required to achieve efficiency savings of at least 1·5 per cent., per annum in their running costs, and to produce management plans detailing how these savings are to be achieved. Potential savings can be identified from a variety of sources such as efficiency studies, audit reports, purchasing studies, market testing of in-house operations and policy reviews, as well as by routine management action. All such activities inform the detailed planning and scrutiny of programme and running cost expenditure.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools in England and Wales have held ballots on grant-maintained status.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Parental ballots have been held at 90 schools in England and four schools in Wales.

  Chalvedon School
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to make a decision on the application of Chalvedon school for grant-maintained status.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The governing body of Chalvedon school has not yet published proposals for grant-maintained status. When it does so my right hon. Friend will consider them carefully, together with any objections that are received.

  Independent Schools (National Curriculum)
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the likely impact on educational diversity and choice of independent schools adopting the national curriculum.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  My right hon. Friend is committed to the breadth and diversity of educational choice
  603
  provided by the independent sector. He is pleased that many independent schools are choosing to adopt the national curriculum.

  Special Schools
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether membership of the joint working party for residential special schools will be affected by any new arrangements for determining the pay and conditions of teachers; what bodies form the membership of the joint working party for residential special schools; and how membership of the joint working party for residential special schools was determined.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to him on 23 March 1990,Official Report, column 760.

  Education Ministers (Meeting)
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the outcome of the meeting of Education Ministers in Brussels on 31 May.

  Mr. MacGregor
  My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I attended the meeting on 31 May of the Council and the Ministers of Education meeting within the Council. The Ministers adopted conclusions on meetings of senior officials in the education sector, on the treatment of equality of educational opportunity in the training of teachers, and on the preparation of a new convention for the European schools. The Ministers also adopted a resolution on the integration of children and young people with disabilities into ordinary systems of education. There were also discussions on education for enterprise and distance education and training.

  The conclusions relating to the European schools invite the commission to draft a new convention which would codify the existing statute and its amending instruments. The conclusions envisage that the draft convention should be finalised with a view to its adoption by the intergovernmental conference to be held before the end of 1991. Unanimity would be required for the adoption of a new convention, which would be subject to ratification by all of the member states. All the member states noted the possibility that the draft convention could incoporate a change in the voting arrangements on the board of governors of the European schools from unanimity to a qualified majority of two thirds, subject to the safeguarding of the specific interests of member states on whose territory European schools are situated. All the member states except the United Kingdom noted the possibility that the Community could become a contracting party to the agreement establishing the European schools alongside the member states. The Government favour the adoption of majority voting in the board of governors, but is not convinced that contracting party status for the Community is necessary or would bring any practical benefit to the management of the European schools.

THE ARTS

  National Museums
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Minister for the Arts how many qualified accountants are employed by each of the national museums; and when each institution was last audited.

  Mr. Luce
  I am advised that the number of qualified accountants currently employed by each of the national museums is as follows:

  Number

  British museum

  nil

  Imperial war museum

  nil

  National maritime museum

  1

  National museums and galleries on Merseyside

  2

  Natural history museum

  1

  Science museum

  3

  Victoria and Albert museum

  1

  All national museums are audited annually by the National Audit Office, the last time being 1989.

  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Minister for the Arts how many staff were seconded from national museums to regional institutions and vice versa during 1989.

  Mr. Luce
  I understand that during 1989 four national museums staff were seconded out to regional institutions; and that two members of staff from regional institutions were seconded to work in national museums. I welcome exchanges of staff of this kind.

  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Minister for the Arts how many outreach programmes by national museums were initiated(a) to schools and (b) to regional museums during 1989.

  Mr. Luce
  Detailed information on outreach programmes by national museums initiated during 1989 are not held centrally, but the following cases are examples of the wide range of programmes undertaken to schools and regional museums last year.

  The British museum provided teachers' packs, training aids and professional advice to about 6,000 teachers individually and in connection with about 2,000 schools groups visiting the museum. The museum's two travelling exhibitions "Celtic Britain" and "Thomas Rowlandson Prints" toured to four regional venues.

  The natural history museum's travelling discovery centre was initiated last year in conjunction with sponsorship from the Clore Foundation.

  The science museum undertook an extensive programme of 10 travelling exhibitions to 29 venues during 1988–89.

  The Victoria and Albert museum loaned a total of 1,875 objects to 184 venues, of which three were schools and colleges, during 1989.

  In addition to these examples the Museums and Galleries Commission's travelling exhibitions unit is actively encouraging national museums to regularly tour their temporary exhibitions to regional venues.

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

  Mr. Luce
  I meet Mr. Palumbo from time to time, to discuss matters of mutual interest.

  MEDIA Programme
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what assessment he has made of the assistance that the European Community's MEDIA programme has given to enable British film producers to work in Europe.

  Mr. Luce
  The MEDIA programme is an initiative of the European Commission. They have not yet produced a full evaluation of the results achieved in film and television distribution, production, training and so on, so it is not easy to assess at this stage the precise assistance given to British film producers.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if the Government will support the European Commission's proposal to increase the budget of its MEDIA 92 programme to 250 million ecu over the next five years.

  Mr. Luce
  The European Commission made proposals last month for an action programme to promote the development of the European audiovisual industry at a cost of 250 million ecu over the years 1991–95. This is based on its existing MEDIA programme, the outcome of which has yet to be evaluated. I am considering with colleagues what our approach should be to its new proposals.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what support he has given to the work of(a) Media Guarantee, (b) Media Venture, (c) Media Investment Club, (d) CARTOON, (e) European Audivisual Entrepreneurs, (f) Euro Aim, (g) Broadcasting Across the Barriers of the European Language, (h) the European Film Distribution Office and (i) the European Script Fund under the MEDIA 92 project.

  Mr. Luce
  The MEDIA programme is a specific initiative of the European Commission which has not been presented to member states for approval. It is funded direct by the Commission from the general budget, to which the United Kingdom is a contributor. Her Majesty's Government do not provide direct support to these individual MEDIA projects.

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will give for each year from 1978 the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by the offices for which he is responsible, expressing the figures in(a) cash terms, (b) 1978–79 money terms and (c) units of consumption for electricity in kilowatt hours, gas in therms, liquid fuel in litres and solid fuel in tonnes.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: The figures requested by the hon. Member are available only in (a) cash terms and (b) 1978–79 money terms, for the following years:

  Electricity

  Gas

  Liquid fuel

  £

  £

  £

  1987–88

  5,069

  1,349

  659

  (2,470)

  (657)

  (321)

  1988–89

  6,717

  970

  845

  (3,056)

  (441)

  (384)

  606

  Electricity

  Gas

  Liquid fuel

  £

  £

  £

  1989–901

  5,877

  872

  778

  (2,511)

  (373)

  (332)

  Note: () denotes 1978–79 money terms.

  1 1989–90 expenditure relates to eleven months consumption only.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will give the number of dedicated energy managers in the offices for which he is responsible and the number of person-years devoted to energy management in the latest year.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: The Office of Arts and Libraries has no dedicated energy manager. It is advised by the Cabinet Office in such matters.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will give the number of energy audits carried out in the offices for which he is responsible in the last five years and for each audit statement of its main conclusions.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 5 June 19901]: No energy audits have been carried out in the Office of Arts and Libraries, but surveys to improve energy efficiency have been undertaken and measures to reduce energy consumption have been, and are being, taken.

  Departmental Savings
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what were the value for money savings in his Department's operations identified by internal audit and internal efficiency arrangements by external audit and by management consultants retained by his Department between 1983–84 and 1988–89; and what is the amount of those savings fulfilled to date.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: Improvements resulting from inquiries and studies of the kind referred to are taken into account in the setting of the office's annual budgets and internal targets. It is not possible, however, to quantify savings fulfilled in the way suggested because of the effect of wider organisational changes within the office.

  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what mechanisms exist in the Office of Arts and Libraries for identifying and tracking value for money savings in its operations.

  Mr. Luce
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: The Office of Arts and Libraries has no mechanisms for identifying and tracking value-for-money savings, but is advised by the internal audit and staff inspection teams of the Cabinet Office.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Unemployment Benefits
  Ms. Short
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide estimates for each of the years 1987–88, 1988–89 and 1989–90 of the amount of income tax collected from the taxation of unemployment benefits.

  Mr. Lilley
  The latest estimates of the yield from taxing unemployment benefit and supplementary benefit or income support paid in lieu of unemployment benefit are as follows:
  607

  £ million

  1987–88

  320

  1988–89

  220

  1989–90

  180

  These estimates are based on national amounts of benefits paid each year to the unemployed and information on income of the unemployed derived from the results of the 1987 family expenditure survey. The figures are subject to revision.

  Inflation
  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he now expects inflation to fall below 5 per cent.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The "Financial Statement and Budget Report" forecast that all-items RPI inflation would be 5 per cent. in the second quarter of 1991 and would fall further thereafter.

  Investment
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on current levels of investment.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  Total investment in 1989 was at record levels. Since 1979 total investment has increased by over 40 per cent. or an average of 3½ per cent. a year. This compares to the last Labour Government's record where investment grew by an average of only ¼ per cent. a year.

  Poor People
  Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal policies the Government have to protect the poorest in society.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The main objective of the Government's fiscal policies is to improve the performance of the economy, which benefits everybody, including the poorest. Since 1979, the basic rate of income tax has been cut from 33 to 25 per cent., benefiting all taxpayers; the main personal allowances have been increased by about 25 per cent. in real terms, taking about 2 million individuals out of tax, compared to the 1978–79 regime indexed for inflation; and the structure of national insurance contributions has been reformed, benefiting in particular the low paid.

  Overseas Financial Assets
  Mr. Hanley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present stock of the overseas financial assets; and what was the level of such assets in 1979.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The estimated level of identified United Kingdom external assets, net of identified liabilities, at the end of 1989 was about £110 billion ("Financial Statement and Budget Report 1990", paragraph 3·39), compared with about £.12½ billion at the end of 1979. Later information will be published in the balance of payments Pink Book in August.

  PAYE
  Mr. Gerald Howarth
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what instructions the Inland Revenue has issued relating to PAYE to be applied on fees paid to one-man service companies; and under what statutory authority such instructions were formulated.

  Mr. Lilley
  Schedule E (PAYE) applies to the emoluments of an individual arising from either an employment or an office. Whether in any particular case there is a contract of employment with an individual, or his services are supplied under a contract with a one-man service company, are questions to be decided by reference to all the facts and circumstances.

  Tax Debts
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the tax debts at the latest date for which figures are available for(a) overall income tax, (b) PAYE and (c) corporation tax.

  Mr. Lilley
  The amounts of tax outstanding at the annual balance date to the end of October 1988 (the latest published figures), together with provisional figures for the year to October 1989, are as follows:

  £ billion

  Assessed taxes

  October 1988

  October 1989 (provisional figures)

  Income tax

  2·3

  2·3

  Corporation tax

  1·5

  1·6

  CGT

  0·1

  0·2

  PAYE

  Closed years

  0·8

  0·8

  Current year

  0·6

  0·7

  Total

  5·3

  5·6

  The outstanding balances at October are equivalent to 7·75 per cent. and 7·25 per cent. respectively of the total tax due for 1988–89 and 1989–90. They include over £1 billion which had only recently become due, and the bulk (about four-fifths) attracts interest. The amounts actually remitted or written off—mostly due to insolvency—in these years were less than 1 per cent. of the tax due.

  Financial Statistics
  Sir Ian Gilmour
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish for each year since 1978–79, including estimates for 1990–91, showing revenue at current and at constant, April 1990, prices from(a) local authority domestic rates/community charge, (b) local authority commercial rates/uniform business rate, (c) employers' national insurance contributions, (d) employees' national insurance contributions, (e) self-employed national insurance contributions and (f) personal income tax.

  Mr. Major
  In so far as it is available, the information requested is given in the tables. In the second table the figures are expressed in constant 1989–90 prices.
  609

  £ billion

  Domestic rates1

  Business rates

  Employers' NICs2

  Employees' NICs3

  Income tax

  1978–79

  2·36

  3·43

  8·24

  4·09

  18·75

  1979–80

  2·84

  3·99

  10·26

  4·85

  20·60

  1980–81

  3·71

  5·04

  12·05

  5·94

  24·30

  1981·82

  4·60

  6·08

  12·77

  7·52

  28·72

  1982–83

  5·21

  6·88

  12·02

  9·20

  30·36

  1983–84

  5·01

  7·25

  12·45

  10·53

  31·11

  1984–85

  5·32

  7·63

  12·20

  11·29

  32·51

  1985–86

  5·65

  8·23

  12·53

  12·11

  35·35

  1986–87

  6·54

  9·16

  13·82

  12·79

  38·50

  1987–88

  7·29

  9·83

  15·33

  14·13

  41·40

  1988–89

  8·35

  10·55

  17·28

  15·65

  43·43

  1989–905

  9·17

  11·29

  18·33

  14·71

  48·69

  1990–9l6

  11·28

  12·14

  20·62

  15·27

  54·98

  1989–90 prices4

  £ billion

  Domestic rates1

  Business rates

  Employers' NICs2

  Employees' NIC3

  Income tax

  1978–89

  5·51

  8·01

  19·24

  9·55

  43·73

  1979–80

  5·68

  7·98

  20·51

  9·71

  41·15

  1980–81

  6·27

  8·52

  20·36

  10·04

  41·01

  1981–82

  7·09

  9·37

  19·68

  11·59

  44·22

  1982–83

  7·50

  9·90

  17·29

  13·24

  43·64

  1983–84

  6·88

  9·96

  17·11

  14·47

  42·69

  1984–85

  6·96

  9·98

  15·95

  14·76

  42·46

  1985–86

  7·02

  10·22

  15·56

  15·04

  43·86

  1986–87

  7·86

  11·01

  16·61

  15·36

  46·21

  1987–88

  8·30

  11·19

  17·45

  16·10

  47·10

  1988–89

  8·89

  11·24

  18·41

  16·67

  46·21

  1989–905

  9·17

  11·29

  18·33

  14·71

  48·69

  1990–916

  10·59

  11·40

  19·36

  14·34

  52·04

  1 Includes community charge.

  2 Includes national insurance surcharge in the period to 1984–85.

  3 Includes national insurance contributions by self-employed for which separate data are only available from 1986–87 to 1988–89.

  4 Treasury estimate of GDP deflator in 1989–90 is used to convert current prices to constant 1989–90 prices.

  5 Estimate.

  6 Budget forecast.

  Sir Ian Gilmour
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish figures, at constant 1990 prices, for each year since 1979, showing(a) revenue from North sea oil and gas, (b) revenue from privatisation, (c)

  £ billion at 1989 prices

  North sea revenues1

  Privatisation proceeds1

  PSBR1

  Current account

  RPI inflation in April

  Interest rates at end of April2

  1979

  4·6

  0·8

  19·9

  -1·1

  10·1

  12

  1980

  6·3

  0·7

  21·2

  4·8

  21·8

  17

  1981

  10·0

  0·8

  13·3

  10·3

  12·0

  12

  1982

  11·3

  0·7

  12·8

  6·6

  9·4

  13

  1983

  12·1

  1·6

  13·3

  5·2

  4·0

  10

  1984

  15·7

  2·8

  13·2

  2·6

  5·2

  8·5–8·75

  1985

  14·1

  3·4

  7·0

  3·9

  6·9

  12·5–12·75

  1986

  5·7

  5·3

  4·3

  -0·1

  3·0

  10·5

  1987

  5·3

  5·9

  -3·9

  -5·0

  4·2

  9·5

  1988

  3·4

  7·6

  -15·4

  -1·60

  3·9

  8

  1989

  2·3

  4·2

  -7·9

  -20·9

  8·0

  13

  1990

  —

  —

  —

  —

  9·4

  15

  1 Data in first three columns are for financial years. A Treasury estimate of the GDP deflator in 1989–90 has been used to convert current price figures to constant 1989–90 prices as the outturn is not yet available.

  2 Base rates of selected retail banks.

  Cannabis
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are taken to minimise environmental pollution when seized cannabis is disposed of.
  610
  public sector borrowing requirement, (d) balance of payments current account, (e) the rate of inflation at April of each year and (f) interest rates at April of each year.

  Mr. Major
  In so far as it is available, the information requested is given in the table. The appropriate figures are expressed in 1989 (or 1989–90) prices.

  Mr. Ryder
  Most cannabis seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise is destroyed by incineration within Queen's warehouses. The incinerators used are designed to
  611
  comply with the emission requirements of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, ensuring total burnout of solid and gaseous material.

  Customs staff are instructed to consult with local authorities for advice where destruction of drugs might lead to environmental hazard.

  Inland Revenue
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether Inland Revenue databanks cover by name people living long term in lodging houses;

  (2) how many individuals are included by name on Inland Revenue databanks;

  (3) whether Inland Revenue databanks include the home as well as place of work addresses of all people recorded in them.

  Mr. Lilley
  The Inland Revenue records an address for all individuals whom it may need to contact in connection with their own tax liabilities or their accountability for PAYE as an employer. The type of accommodation is of no relevance to the Department.

  A taxpayer's computer record will include his personal address. It will not show his place of work address, unless he is a self-employed person working from his home. It is not possible to say at any given time exactly how many individuals are on record, but we would expect currently to have approximately 33 million.

  National Savings
  Mr. Hanley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take further measures to change National Savings products.

  Mr. Ryder
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Budget increases of 1 per cent. in the interest rate on the national savings investment account and income bonds. Changes to the terms of some other key national savings products which encourage long-term savings are being made over the next three to four weeks, as follows:a new fixed interest savings certificate, offering a tax free guaranteed return of 9·5 per cent. a year if held for five years; a similar improvement in the associated regular monthly savings scheme, the yearly plan;
  a new index-linked savings certificate revalued monthly by reference to the RPI, and offering tax free guaranteed extra interest of 4·5 per cent. a year, if held for five years;
  a new series capital bond offering a guaranteed return of 13 per cent. a year (taxable, but credited without prior deduction of income tax), if held for five years.

  These measures show the determination of my right hon. Friend to encourage more people to save, and people to save more. They maintain the momentum of the savers' Budget, and demonstrate that national savings will play a significant part in continuing to stimulate the savings habit.

  Teachers' Salaries
  Mr. Latham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost to public funds in the current financial year and with retrospective effort to 6 April of transferring the total cost of teachers' salaries from local government to the Exchequer but leaving the current level of grant to local authorities unchanged; and what addition that would require to(a) income tax and (b) value added tax if the extra cost were divided equally between them.
  612
  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 23 May 1990]: If local authorities spent in line with the education component of total standard spending in England and Wales, and total current expenditure in Scotland, the total cost of teachers' salaries would be around £9½ billion. If there were no change to revenue support grant and the cost of teachers' salaries were divided equally between local authorities and the Exchequer, this would imply additional central Government expenditure of around £4¼ billion. This is equivalent to an increase of around 3p in the basic rate of income tax or an increase of around two percentage points in the VAT rate.

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the number of energy audits carried out in his Department in the last five years and for each audit a statement of its main conclusions.

  Mr. Ryder
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: Surveys of the lighting efficiency of Treasury buildings were carried out in 1987. The main recommendation was that there was scope for greater lighting efficiency, mainly in the Parliament street building. This is being taken into account in the forthcoming rewiring.

  Income Tax
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his estimates of the numbers of people paying income tax in(a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

  Mr. Lilley
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: The estimated number of individuals resident in England liable to income tax is 20·4 million for 1987–88, the latest available year. The corresponding estimates for Scotland and Wales are 2,160,000 and 940,000 respectively. Married women are included where their earned income exceeds the wife's earned income allowance and any personal allowances and reliefs unused against the husband's income.

PRIME MINISTER

  Greek Prime Minister
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister what subjects she discussed during her meeting with the Prime Minister of Greece in London on 16 May.

  The Prime Minister
  We discussed a wide range of topics including East-West relations, Cyprus, Greece's relations with Turkey, South Africa, the European Community, the case of Mr. Paul Ashwell, and the opportunities for strengthening bilateral links between our two countries.

  South Africa
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister if, during her discussions with the President of South Africa on. 19 May at Chequers, she or Mr. De Klerk raised the matter of the prospects of South Africa joining the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.

  The Prime Minister
  No. But my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised the nuclear non-proliferation treaty with the South African Foreign Minister.

  Executive Agencies
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer on 15 May,Official Report, column 375, whether Ministers will continue to give substantive answers to questions on matters delegated to executive agencies where the Member concerned has indicated that he or she does not wish in the first instance to deal directly with the agency chief executive.

  The Prime Minister
  As I told the hon. Member on 15 May, Ministers remain fully accountable to Parliament for the work of their Department, including executive agencies and are, therefore, ready to reply to questions about any aspect of this work. But one of the objectives of establishing executive agencies is to respond better to the concerns of hon. and right hon. Members. Chief executives and agency managers will have the immediate detailed knowledge which the hon. Member is seeking, as well as the necessary delegated authority to take appropriate action. Where right hon. and hon. Members' concerns relate to an operational matter for which the Minister has delegated authority to the chief executive under the agency's published framework document, they will therefore best be met by going direct to the chief executive or, as appropriate, the local agency manager to get a prompt and effective response.

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer of 30 April,Official Report, column 385, whether the figures quoted on energy consumpton for the Cabinet Office include accommodation occupied by the Privy Council Office.

  The Prime Minister
  No.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer of 11 May,Official Report, column 256, what energy consumption figures are available for the buildings occupied by the Cabinet Office.

  The Prime Minister
  Energy consumption figures for 1989–90 are available for approximately 76 per cent. of Cabinet Office holdings. The consumption was:

  Consumption

  Electricity

  3,497,992

  kWh

  Gas

  34,092

  therms

  Liquid fuel

  488,110

  litres

  Efficiency Unit
  Mr. Amos
  To ask the Prime Minister what topics have been covered in the efficiency unit's central scrutiny programme in the last financial year; and how many of the scrutiny reports have been published.

  The Prime Minister
  Twenty-three efficiency scrutinies have been undertaken by Departments in 1989–90 in association with the efficiency adviser and the efficency unit. The programme of scrutinies, including those which are not yet completed, is as follows:614

  Department and title of scrutiny

  Report publicly available

  Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Entry Processing Arrangements (Import and Export Freight)

  No

  Department of Employment Take-up of Employment Department Programmes

  No

  Department of Energy UKAEA Programme Letters for Nuclear R&D and other nuclear work

  No

  Department of Education and Science Education Support Grants and LEA Training Grants Scheme

  Yes

  Department of the Environment Housing Management Training

  No

  Departments of Health and Social Security Provision and Cost-effectiveness of External Consultancy

  Yes

  Department of Social Security Departmental Debt

  No

  Department of Trade and Industry Charging for Central Services

  Yes

  Department of Transport Vehicle Excise Duty Enforcement

  No

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office Financial Management at FCO Headquarters

  No

  Home Office Government Funding of the Voluntary Sector

  Yes

  Prison Medical Service

  No

  Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce Middle Management Structure

  No

  Inland Revenue Repayment Claims

  No

  PAYE Payment Dates

  No

  Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food EC Product Classifications for Export Refund Purposes

  Yes

  Ministry of Defence Married Quarters in London Area

  No

  NAAFI

  No

  Fixed Wing Aircraft Maintenance

  No

  Overseas Development Administration Aid Expenditure Management

  No

  Property Services Agency Cost-competitiveness Initiative

  No

  Scottish Office Roads Directorate

  No

  Welsh Office Education Grants (Welsh Office)

  No

  Decisions on the publication of scrutiny reports are taken by the Ministers responsible for the scrutinies concerned. In a number of cases, where a scrutiny has been recently completed or is not yet complete, no decision on publication has been made.

  A number of other scrutinies have also been conducted according to full scrutiny disciplines and with guidance from the efficiency unit:

  Metropolitan Police Scrutiny Programme

  Thames Division

  Other Police Forces

  Communication

  Training

  Force Administration

  Recruitment

  Police Hostel Accommodation

  Criminal Investigation Department

  Community Relations

  Prosecution Process

  Accident Reporting Procedures

  Force Inspectorate

ENERGY

  Mines
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how many people were employed in(a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales in (i) British Coal opencast mines, (ii) licensed private opencast coal mines, (iii) British Coal deep mines and (iv) licensed private deep coal mines in each of the last five years;

  (2) how many (a) British Coal opencast mines, (b) licensed private opencast coal mines, (c) British Coal deep mines and (d) licensed private deep coal mines were in operation in (i) England, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Wales in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Baldry
  These are matters for the British Coal Corporation.

  Radioactive Wastes
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes) of 21 May,Official Report, column 11, if he will set out those suggestions made by the International Atomic Energy Agency which have been incorporated by Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive into the future research programme.

  Mr. Baldry
  This is an operational matter for UK Nirex Ltd.

  British Gas
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Riddick) of 14 May,Official Report, column 315, if there are any issues discussed at his regular meetings with the chairman of British Gas which he does not consider fall within his responsibility in so far as he is ready to give answers to parliamentary questions.

  Mr. Peter Morrison
  Yes. My right hon. Friend and I discuss a range of matters relating to the gas industry and its development; such discussions are no different from those we also have routinely with representatives of other major United Kingdom energy companies.

  Research
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give for each year from 1979–80 to 1991–92 inclusive the outturn estimate, provision or planned expenditure on research funded by his Department into(a) coal technology, (b) nuclear power and (c) energy efficiency expressing these figures in (i) money terms, (ii) 1990–91 real terms and (iii) as a percentage of his Department's total research expenditure.

  Mr. Peter Morrison
  Figures for the years up to and including 1990–91 are given in the table. Figures for 1991–92 are not available separately but are incorporated in table 5.1 of chapter 5 of the 1990 public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 1005).
  616

  Money terms £ million

  1990–91 real terms £ million

  Percentage of total R and D expenditure

  (a) Coal technology

  1979–80

  1·8

  3·8

  1·0

  1980–81

  2·7

  4·9

  1·2

  1981–82

  4·9

  8·0

  2·1

  1982–83

  3·4

  5·2

  1·4

  1983–84

  3·4

  5·0

  1·4

  1984–85

  0·9

  1·3

  0·4

  1985–86

  0·8

  1·1

  0·4

  1986–87

  1·9

  2·4

  1·0

  1987–88

  1·4

  1·7

  0·8

  1988–89

  0·9

  1·0

  0·5

  1989–90

  2·6

  2·8

  1·5

  1990–91

  7·6

  7·6

  4·2

  (b) Nuclear energy

  1979–80

  145·5

  310·6

  83·6

  1980–81

  188·0

  339·1

  84·7

  1981–82

  203·2

  333·8

  85·1

  1982–83

  212·4

  325·4

  86·9

  1983–84

  203·8

  298·3

  85·7

  1984–85

  196·2

  273·6

  84·6

  1985–86

  189·6

  250·9

  85·4

  1986–87

  159·7

  204·4

  83·0

  1987–88

  141·0

  171·4

  79·9

  1988–89

  159·3

  180·7

  83·8

  1989–90

  140·9

  150·1

  74·5

  1990–91

  128·9

  128·9

  72·0

  (c) Energy efficiency

  1979–80

  1·4

  3·0

  0·8

  1980–81

  3·1

  5·6

  1·4

  1981–82

  2·5

  4·1

  1·0

  1982–83

  4·5

  6·9

  1·8

  1983–84

  7·0

  10·2

  2·9

  1984–85

  6·2

  8·6

  2·7

  1985–86

  3·3

  4·4

  1·5

  1986–87

  3·8

  4·9

  2·0

  1987–88

  4·1

  5·0

  2·3

  1988–89

  2·9

  3·3

  1·5

  1989–90

  8·0

  8·5

  4·5

  1990–91

  11·0

  11·0

  6·1

  Notes:

  1. 1979–80 and 1980–81 figures include some non-R and D expenditure but do not include associated Departmental staff costs.

  2. 1981–82 to 1987–88 are taken from the "Annual Review of Government Funded R and D" and cover R and D plus associated Departmental staff costs (ie Frascati R and D). 1988–89 figures are calculated on the same basis.

  3. 1989–90 figures are forecast outturn and 1990–91 figures are taken from Estimates. These are R and D only and do not include associated Departmental staff costs. The 1989–90 figure may be subject to end year adjustment.

  Generation Fuels
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give, for the latest available year, a regional breakdown of figures consistent with those on fuel used for generation in table 53 of the "Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 1989".

  Mr. Wakeham
  Information on fuel used for electricity generation by region is not collected by the Department.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give 1988–89 figures consistent with the figures for previous years on the fuel used for generation in table 53 of the "Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 1989".

  Mr. Wakeham
  The quantities of fuel used for electricity generation by the public supply system in 1988–89 were as follows:
  617

  Type of fuel

  Million tonnes of coal or coal equivalent

  Coal1

  80·69

  Oil for firing boilers2

  6·81

  Oil for lighting up boilers3

  1·47

  Natural gas4

  0·01

  Nuclear

  19·67

  Hydro

  2·33

  Other5

  0·16

  Total fuel used

  111·14

  1 Used in coal fired stations, and coal fired sections of mixed fired stations.

  2 Used in oil fired stations, and oil fired sections of mixed fired stations, plus all oil used in Northern Ireland.

  3 Used in coal fired stations, and pulverised coal fired sections of mixed fired stations. Also used for flame control and overburning. Oil used at coal fired power stations in Northern Ireland is included with oil for firing boilers.

  4 Used in mixed fired stations.

  5 Includes oil used in diesel engine and gas turbine stations or sections (excluding Northern Ireland—see footnotes 2 and 3).

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give, for the latest available year, figures for each power station on the fuel used for generation consistent with those in table 53 of the "Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 1989".

  Mr. Wakeham
  Information on fuel used for electricity generation by individual power stations is not collected by the Department.

  Electricity Privatisation
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether any individual who has advised the Conservative party on advertising or public relations was involved in selecting the company awarded the advertising contract for electricity privatisation.

  Mr. Wakeham
  In deciding which company to appoint as advertising agency for the flotation of the regional electricity campaign, I and the companies were advised by a panel of officials and advisers of Government Departments and the regional electricity companies. One of these advisers was Mr. Tim Bell the chairman of Lowe Bell Communications who are the Department's marketing advisers. Mr. Bell has provided general advice to the Conservative party.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what budgetary provision has been made for the cost of the advertising campaigns to promote the flotation of the electricity supply industry in England and Wales.

  Mr. Wakeham
  All expenses in respect of the advertising campaigns for the sale of the electricity supply industry will be met from the proceeds of the sale.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether any individual who has advised the Conservative party on advertising or public relations is involved in the company awarded the advertising contract for electricity privatisation.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The Government and the regional electricity companies have already announced the appointment of WCRS Mathews Marcantonio as advertising agency for the flotation of the companies. The 618
  chairman of the agency is Mr Robin Wright who provided some advice on advertising issues to the Conservative party over two years ago.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy in the case of each of those companies advising him and also advising electricity boards on electricity privatisation what is the percentage of fees borne by his Department; and what was the equivalent percentage in 1988–89 and 1989–90.

  Mr. Wakeham
  Where the appointment is solely by the Department it meets 100 per cent. of the costs involved. Where, however, the appointment is made jointly by the Department and the industry, the costs are apportioned between the parties. The precise split in costs varies from contract to contract and is commercially confidential between the Department, the company or companies concerned and the firm of advisers appointed.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether before entering into a binding contract with an advertising agency for the campaigns to privatise the electricity supply industry on the basis of competitive tenders, the agency was given an indication of the likely budget for the campaigns.

  Mr. Wakeham
  No indication of the likely budget lor the campaigns was provided.

  Electricity Generation
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the cost of one kilowatt hour of electricity generated by(a) coal, (b) oil, (c) gas and (d) nuclear power, respectively; and what are his Department's latest estimates for (i) wind power, (ii) wave power and (iv) tidal power.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The costs of generating electricity from coal, oil, nuclear and gas are a matter for the industries. The Department's latest estimates for wind, wave and tidal power are as contained in Energy Paper No. 55, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Mr. Andrew Balfour
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Don Valley on 6 March,Official Report, column 559, whether he has yet made a decision in respect of the future career of Mr. Andrew Balfour.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Mr. Balfour was informed by letter dated 16 March that he had been suspended from his duties in accordance with departmental regulations pending inquiries into what further action should be taken. Mr. Balfour has now replied formally. The case will be dealt with under internal diplomatic service procedures.

  Bulgaria
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what commitment he has made on the provision of economic aid to Bulgaria following the elections on 10 June.
  619
  Mr. Waldegrave
  We have made no commitment. What assistance we offer will depend on whether the elections on 10 and 17 June are free and fair and how far the new Government are committed to economic and political reform.

  Civil Nuclear Affairs
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent changes there have been in the responsibilities of his Department for international civil nuclear affairs and safeguards matters.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The overall responsibilities of this Department have not changed. There has, however, been an internal reorganisation, as a result of which non-proliferation and safeguards matters are handled by the non-proliferation department and civil nuclear matters are handled by the environment, science and energy department.

  Hong Kong (Laboratory Tests)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to discuss with the appropriate authorities in the Crown territories of Hong Kong the introduction of a standardised laboratory testing scheme along the lines of the United Kingdom national measurement accreditation service.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  No. The Hong Kong Government have already introduced a laboratory accreditation scheme along the lines of the United Kingdom national measurement accreditation service (NAMAS) and this has entered into a mutual recognition agreement with NAMAS.

  Nuclear Energy Safeguards
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which states, party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, have nuclear energy programmes not within the safeguards regime of the International Atomic Energy Agency; and what steps have been taken to encourage such states to conclude such agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The only party to the non-proliferation treaty—the NPT—which has significant nuclear facilities and has not concluded a safeguards agreement with the IAEA is North Korea. We do not recognise North Korea as a state, but we have made clear our concern about the absence of a safeguards agreement, as required under article III of the NPT, at the International Atomic Energy Agency.

  Libya
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any information concerning(a) the possession of and (b) attempts to produce nuclear weapons by Libya.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  No. Libya is a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and, as such, has undertaken not to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons.

  NATO Foreign Ministers
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all the items on the agenda for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Foreign Ministers meeting in Scotland on 7 and 8 June.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  This meeting will be an important opportunity to discuss the Vienna negotiations on conventional forces in Europe, and options for further conventional arms control; developments in east-west relations and the CSCE process; the security aspects of German unification; the need to adapt NATO in response to changes in Europe; and preparations for the NATO summit, to be held in London in early July. Ministers are also likely to consider the negotiations in confidence and security-building measures and "open skies"; nuclear issues; and NATO science, environment and fellowship programmes.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Council of Industry Ministers
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals he intends to put forward at the next European Ministers Industry Council.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  An Industry Council meeting was held on 28 May to discuss steel, shipbuilding, small and medium-sized enterprises and semiconductors. The next meeting is scheduled for 21 September, and at present I have no plans for the United Kingdom to table any proposals.

  Environmental Audits
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to meet the chairman and the officials of the Co-op to discuss the utility of the recent Co-op decision to conduct a full environmental audit of its own brands.

  Mr. Forth
  Ministers have no plans to meet the chairman and officials of the Co-op to discuss their environmental audit. The Government have made clear their commitment to introduce an official environmental labelling scheme for consumer goods as soon as possible and recently announced the establishment of an advisory group to assist its development. In the meantime, the initiative of the Co-op to audit its own brand products is to be welcomed.

  Rolls-Royce
  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has recently exercised his powers as special shareholder in Rolls-Royce plc.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Consent was given on behalf of the special shareholder to a resolution passed at the company's annual general meeting on 30 May amending article 43 of the articles of association which deals with United Kingdom control of the company. The amendment will facilitate the setting up of a depositary receipts programme by the company enabling foreign investors to purchase an interest in shares in Rolls-Royce more easily while maintaining the overall limit on foreign shareholdings of 29·5 per cent.

  Securities and Investments Board
  Mr. Burt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has received a report from the Securities and Investments Board on the exercise of its functions under the Financial Services Act.

  Mr. Redwood
  A copy of the board's report, made in accordance with section 117 of the Act, was laid before Parliament yesterday. The report covers the period from I April 1989 to 31 March 1990. Copies are now available in the Library.

  Departmental Savings
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the value-for-money savings in his Department's operations identified by internal audit and internal efficiency arrangements and by external audit and by management consultants retained by his Department between 1983–84 and 1988–89; and what is the amount of those savings fulfilled to date.

  Mr. Forth
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: In my answer to another question from the hon. Member today, I described the mechanisms for identifying and tracking value-for-money savings within my Department. These mechanisms have been refined over the period referred to in the question. Prior to 1988–89, follow-up was specific to each of the mechanisms. Since 1988–89 the Department has been committed to achieving efficiency savings averaging at least 1·5 per cent. of departmental running costs each year over three years from these and other sources. In 1989–90 it is estimated that the Department achieved savings on running costs from all sources of 3·2 per cent. Savings aggregated centrally are not attributed to specific mechanisms: the figures requested cannot therefore be given.

  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanisms exist in his Department for identifying and tracking value-for-money savings in its operations.

  Mr. Forth
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: The Department has a variety of efficiency review mechanisms such as efficiency scrutinies, staff inspection and internal audit. These include arrangements for follow-up action where they identify efficiency savings. In addition, the Department conducts an annual review of activity and resource management which takes into account in the allocation of resources the outcome of these reviews and other efficiency savings identified.

  Research and Development
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the amount of money manufacturing industry spends on research and development, excluding military research, in the United Kingdom and its major industrial competitors.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Collection of separate figures for United Kingdom non-military research and development performed by manufacturing industry began only this year, relating to calendar year 1989. An analysis of the returns, prepared by the Central Statistical Office, is scheduled to he published during 1991. Data in the form requested are not available for the United Kingdom's major industrial competitors.

  Bankruptcy
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many licences have existed to enable persons to act as trustees for the purposes of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 for each year since 1985–86.

  Mr. Redwood
  The information is as follows:

  Schedule of authorisations under the Insolvency Act 1986

  Totals at the year end

  1987

  1988

  1989

  Competent authority Secretary of State

  48

  62

  84

  Recognised professional bodies

  Insolvency Practitioners Association

  226

  225

  265

  Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

  790

  860

  970

  Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland

  175

  184

  205

  Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland

  85

  93

  100

  Chartered Association of Certified Accountants

  95

  99

  111

  Law Society

  63

  70

  97

  Law Society of Scotland

  25

  31

  33

  1,507

  1,624

  1,865

  Food Storage (Temperature)
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received about the refrigeration industry's ability to meet statutory temperature requirements for storage of food; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  My Department has participated in discussions between the refrigeration industry and the Department of Health, which is responsible for temperature requirements for food storage. Decisions about these will take account of the timely availability of suitable refrigeration equipment.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Tobacco Exports
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of the Minister for Overseas Development on Monday 14 May,Official Report, column 596, what action his Department is taking to look into the matter of British American Tobacco exports of cigarettes to the third world.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Hughes) on 24 May, at column 370, which set out the Government's policy on aid to the tobacco sector. Aid funds are not used to finance imports of cigarettes and tobacco into developing countries. The Government have no plans at present for an inquiry into their export from the United Kingdom.

  Brazil
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were discussed with the Brazilian Environment Minister, Dr. Josè Lutzenberger, during his recent visit to the United Kingdom.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I had a very useful meeting with Dr. Lutzenberger. We discussed Brazil's environmental problems, including the preservation of the rain forests and the protection of the Indian population, the role of sustainable agriculture in conservation, and progress with the United Kingdom environmental co-operation programme with Brazil.

  Nicaragua
  Mr. Franks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further assistance he proposes to provide to the new Government in Nicaragua.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We plan to provide a grant of £600,000 in support of one or more sectors of the Nicaraguan economy. The offer will be made at the conference of aid donors to Nicaragua which is being held in Rome on 6 and 7 June.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Immigration
  Mr. Hayward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to make changes in the immigration rules.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has today laid before Parliament a "Statement of Changes in the Immigration Rules", which removes Argentina and the German Democratic Republic from the list of countries whose nationals need visas for the United Kingdom. The changes come into effect on 8 June.

  IBA (Transmission Functions)
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Torridge and Devon, West (Miss Nicholson) of 8 May,Official Report, columns 32–33, by what criteria it will be judged appropriate to remove the restrictions on British Telecom and the Channel 3 and 5 franchises.

  Mr. Mellor
  It is our intention to remove the ownership restrictions on British Telecom and the Channel 3 and 5 franchisees as soon as the United Kingdom broadcasting and telecommunications markets are sufficiently competitive to guard against the dangers of market domination and vertical integration.

  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on his proposals to introduce ownership restrictions in respect of the transmission company which will replace the Independent Broadcasting Authority's transmission functions.

  Mr. Mellor
  We have received three representations in connection with the proposed ownership restrictions which were announced on 8 May.

  Dog Fighting
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions were taken against those involved in dog fighting activities in 1989 and so far in the current year.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Information is not available centrally.

  Wandsworth Prison
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Wandsworth branch of the Prison Officers Association on staffing levels at Wandsworth prison; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  My right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Lord Ferrers, visited Wandsworth in January and staffing levels were included in discussion with the local POA branch secretary. Since then, staffing levels have been discussed in the normal course between the governor and the local branch of the POA.

  Television Licences
  Mr. Hanley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) black and white and (b) colour television licences were issued in 1989.

  Mr. Mellor
  Licence issues are recorded by financial year. A total of 17·4 million colour and 2·2 million monochrome licences were issued in 1988–89. Figures for 1989–90 are expected in several weeks time.

TRANSPORT

  School Buses
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the consultation paper, referred to in his answer of 14 November 1989 to the hon. Member for Torridge and Devon, West (Miss Nicholson),Official Report, column 111, on the requirement for a distinctive sign to be carried on school buses, will be issued; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  Today. Draft regulations are being circulated to interested parties and their comments invited by 31 August.

  The proposed regulations would require all buses—except those running scheduled services for the general public—to display a distinctive sign while carrying children to or from their school. They would also permit the fitting of flashing amber lights near such signs, and their use when children are getting on or off the bus.

  The use of these signs will make a significant contribution to improving the safety of children using school buses. They will alert motorists to the fact that children are about and might be crossing the road. Motorists should exercise extra caution every time they overtake a stationary bus displaying the sign, whether or not it is equipped with the additional flashing lights.

  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced recently a wide programme of steps to promote safety of children on roads. We hope that, taken together, all these measures will help to bring about the reduction in child road deaths that we all want to see.
  625
  The regulations would also require better reflective rear markings on new large lorries in future. The new markings are much brighter than those required by the present British standard. They would have to meet the latest European standard, ECE regulation 70. The new markings would also he permitted on existing vehicles as an alternative to the Btitish standard markings, which were introduced nearly 20 years ago.

  Rush-hour Traffic
  Mr. Gerald Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the saving in costs of road building, road maintenance, policing and congestion if the volume of rush-hour traffic in our major cities were reduced by 10 per cent.

  Mr. Atkins
  I am not aware of any estimates which have been made on this matter.

  Motor Insurers Bureau
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the number of claims registered with the Motor Insurers Bureau in each year since the operation of the voluntary agreement; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he has any plans to review the operation of the voluntary agreement entered into by the Motor Insurers Bureau; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) if he will list the average period of time taken to deal with claimants applying to the Motor Insurers Bureau in each year since the operation of the voluntary agreement; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  The numbers of claims submitted to the Motor Insurers Bureau each year under its agreements with the Secretary of State are listed in the table. The figure for 1989 includes 3,154 claims for property damage only, which are admissible under the revised uninsured drivers agreement which came into force on 31 December 1988.

  Year

  Number

  1946

  547

  1947

  1948

  436

  1949

  320

  1950

  357

  1951

  402

  1952

  400

  1953

  448

  1954

  434

  1955

  503

  1956

  581

  1957

  592

  1958

  667

  1959

  808

  1960

  943

  1961

  1,131

  1963

  1,207

  1964

  1,393

  1965

  1,883

  1966

  1,930

  1967

  2,106

  1968

  2,443

  1969

  2,208

  1970

  2,759

  1971

  2,618

  1972

  3,172

  1973

  3,164

  1974

  3,718

  626

  Year

  Number

  1975

  3,667

  1976

  3,669

  1977

  4,153

  1978

  4,462

  1979

  4,409

  1980

  5,312

  1981

  5,098

  1982

  5,363

  1983

  6,326

  1984

  6,028

  1985

  7,000

  1986

  8,854

  1987

  9,596

  1988

  10,208

  1989

  14,392

  I understand that claims to the bureau settled in the first three months of 1990 took on average approximately 10 months from receipt to settlement. The agreements have been revised from time to time since the bureau was formed in 1946. I have no plans to revise the present arrangements.

  Transport Fuels
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to commission a study along the lines of that undertaken by the United States Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratories, published by the United States national technical information service, on the potential for reducing atmospheric pollution from transport vehicles through the introduction of alternative transport fuels.

  Mr. Atkins
  The options, including the potential for using alternative fuels, to further reduce pollution from motor vehicles are currently being reviewed. This may lead to the commissioning of more detailed assessments to complement the results of existing national and international research.

  Reprocessed Waste (Transport)
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies have been commissioned by his Department in regard to the design and development of transport flasks or other containers for the movement of vitrified high-level waste back to its countries of origin, following reprocessing.

  Mr. Atkins
  Design and development studies are undertaken by the consigners, who then submit them to the Department for independent assessment. Shipments of vitrified high-level waste by any mode of transport will be required to be carried in containers which have been approved and certified by my Department as fully complying with stringent national and international safety regulations.

  Roads
  Mr. Blair
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's planned expenditure on road construction and repair for(a) the United Kingdom, (b) the north of England and (c) County Durham in the present financial year.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: Planned expenditure on trunk road construction and repair in 1990–91 is as follows:

  627

  £ million

  England

  1,808·1

  North of England

  342·1

  County Durham

  5·2

  Figures for any single year are a poor indicator of the geographical balance of the programme. The road programme contains schemes in the north worth £2·9 billion (works cost, November 1987 prices) amounting to one quarter of the total for England. Major improvements to the A167 in County Durham form part of this programme.

HEALTH

  Medicines Control Agency
  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Medicines Control Agency is included among those autonomous agencies, as defined by Treasury documents Cm. 914, on "The Financing and Accountability of Next Steps Agencies", published in December 1989.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No.

  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) under what statutory authority he has ruled that the Medicines Control Agency may not charge turnover-related fees;

  (2) whether the Medicines Control Agency may charge turnover-based fees;

  (3) why a system of turnover-related fees has not been adopted by the Medicines Control Agency, as authorised by the Medicines Act 1988.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No ruling has been given prohibiting the MCA from charging turnover-related fees. In order to meet the criteria for exemption from gross running cost control the agency has to be self financing from receipts which vary in line with the demand for its services. Another requirement was that such fees had to be seen as related to the cost of the services provided: a turnover-related levy could not satisfy this criterion.

  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what statutory authority the Medicines Control Agency budget for 1990–91 is projected to make a net profit.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The Medicines (Fixing of Fees Relating to Medicinal Products for Human Use) Order 1989 SI 1989 No. 684 sets out the matters to be taken into account in setting fees under the Medicines Act 1971. There is no statutory requirement to make a net profit, but any past deficit is subsequently recovered.

  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will define the interpretation and meaning of the exemption from gross running costs control, applied to the operation of the Medicines Control Agency.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The meaning of running cost control and of exemption from such control is explained in paragraph 21.3.10 of the 1990 public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 1021). The Medicines Control Agency, while remaining part of the Department of Health, may be exempted from gross running cost control provided 628
  certain conditions are met, one of which is that its costs, excluding British Pharmacopoeia Commission activities, are recovered from fees payable by licence holders and applicants. Like other parts of the Department, the MCA is required to submit a bid for funds each year. The effect of exemption from gross running cost control is that, once funds have been voted by Parliament, the MCA will not be subject to a reduction in those funds, otherwise than by supplementary estimates submitted to and approved by Parliament or other parliamentary instructions.

  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the statutory instruments or other legislation which sets out the establishment and basis of the existence of the Medicines Control Agency.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No statutory instrument or other legislation was needed to establish the Medicines Control Agency.

  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the projected revenue, gross running costs and net profit or loss for the Medicines Control Agency for 1990–91.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The latest published figures are contained in the Department of Health supply estimates 1990–91 dated 20 March 1990, copies of which are available in the Library. The forecast net profit or loss figures for 1990–91 are not yet available. They await the completion of the agency's accounts for the year to 31 March 1990.

  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when, and by what authority, the Medicines Control Agency became, or is proposed to become, an autonomous agency.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The Medicines Control Agency is not an autonomous agency but remains part of the Department of Health. No decision has been taken on whether in due course it might become a next steps agency.

  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department has applied the provisions of the Health and Medicines Act 1988 in relation to the charging of licence fees for medicines on the turnover of a company and of a product as well as on a fixed basis, and authorisation of the Medicines Control Agency to fix charges on those criteria.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Until 31 March 1989 fees in relation to applications for licences or certificates under the Medicines Act 1968 were charged on two bases—an annual fee or turnover levy related to the turnover of licensed products and capital fees in relation to particular applications payable on submission of the application. From 1 April 1989 the annual fee was abolished.

  Section 21 of the Health and Medicines Act 1988 clarified the basis under which regulations could be made in relation to an annual fee and also validated the basis on which previous annual fees had been charged.

  Mr. Rost
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines setting out their relationship and terms of reference for the operation of the Medicines Control Agency have been issued by him.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The Medicines Control Agency was set up from 1 April 1989 following the
  629
  recommendations of the Evans Cunliffe report on the control of medicines. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the then Minister for Health gave my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Maples) on 14 April 1988 at column 206, indicating the particular recommendations which were accepted as the basis of the agency's operations.

  Nurses (Regrading)
  Mr. John Garrett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses are awaiting decisions on their regrading nationally, and in the Norwich health authority; and in each case, what percentage they are of total nurse employment.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Operating Theatre Closures
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give by region the number of operating theatres closed in 1989.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

  Hospital Closures
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give by region the number of hospitals closed(a) wholly and (b) partly during 1989.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The table gives the numbers of hospitals or facilities which we are aware were approved for closure in total or in part in 1989. It is important to bear in mind that closures are often balanced by openings or other reprovision.

  Region

  (a) Whole

  (b) Part

  Northern

  2

  5

  Yorkshire

  4

  2

  Trent

  13

  7

  East Anglia

  1

  —

  North West Thames

  1

  1

  North East Thames

  2

  —

  South East Thames

  4

  5

  South West Thames

  2

  3

  Wessex

  4

  —

  Oxford

  2

  11

  South Western

  4

  2

  West Midlands

  6

  5

  Mersey

  5

  3

  North Western

  5

  2

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis he will set the annual financing limit for each national health service hospital trust.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State will set the external financing limit for each trust annually in the light of the trust's business plan and available resources.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the target number of national health service trusts to be developed for ministerial approval set by the national health service management executive in its 1990–91 operational programme.
  630
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The NHS management executive has indicated that it aims to develop for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State's approval approximately 50 NHS trusts. There is no firm target and some 80 Health Service units currently intend to prepare applications for NHS trust status in April 1991, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary legislation.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the financial proformas to be submitted by national health service trust status applicants.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No. The supporting financial statements to be submitted by applicants for NHS trust status will include detailed information on their financial plans which it would not be appropriate to make publicly available.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those potential first-wave trusts identified by the Department's analysis of regions short-term programmes as having problems eliminating underlying deficits in 1990–91.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No. The NHS management executive is engaged in continuing discussions with regional health authorities. Such information is not yet available.

  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to employ outside consultants to evaluate national health service trust applications.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Outside consultants will assist the Department in the analysis of financial management and information systems in potential NHS trusts as part of the assessment of trust applications when the necessary legislation has been passed.

  District Health Authority Allocations
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each district health authority its(a) population, (b) revenue allocation, (c) capital allocation, (d) revenue allocation expressed as a sum per head of population and (e) capital allocation expressed as a sum per head of population.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Financial allocations are made to regional health authorities. Information is not held centrally about allocations made by regions to their districts.

  Blood
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will identify for each national health service region the value of sales of blood and blood products outside national health service services.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 23 May 1990]: Health authorities make a handling charge designed to recover the costs of supplying whole blood and blood components to non-NHS hospitals. No charge is made for the blood itself which is freely donated by volunteer donors.

  Information derived from the annual accounts of health authorities for 1988–89 (the latest available) is as follows:

  631

  Income from blood handling charges

  Region

  (£)

  Northern

  17,930

  Yorkshire

  61,198

  Trent

  66,069

  East Anglia

  67,564

  North West Thames

  621,618

  North East Thames

  82,686

  South East Thames

  474,276

  South West Thames

  Essex

  87,733

  Oxford

  92,085

  South Western

  92,833

  West Midlands

  203,333

  Mersey

  19,597

  North Western

  93,725

  Totals

  1,980,647

  Information on the sales of blood products manufactured by the bio-products laboratory, whether to NHS or non-NHS hospitals is commercially confidential.

  Net weekly income

  Net weekly income after housing costs and community charge

  Marginal deduction rate

  October 1989

  April 1990

  October 1989

  April 1990

  October 1989

  April 1990

  Single person

  Gross earnings (per week)

  50

  65·49

  68·19

  39·69

  41·77

  86

  82

  100

  82·4

  83·67

  56·6

  57·25

  34

  34

  150

  115·4

  116·67

  89·6

  90·25

  34

  34

  200

  148·4

  149·67

  122·6

  123·25

  34

  34

  Married couple

  Gross earnings (per week)

  50

  72·81

  79·17

  47·01

  46·04

  90

  90

  100

  92·88

  102·92

  67·08

  69·79

  90

  87

  150

  123·04

  127·08

  97·24

  93·95

  34

  44

  200

  156·04

  157·94

  130·24

  124·81

  34

  34

  Married couple, two children (assumed aged 5 and 12)

  Gross earnings (per week)

  50

  131·86

  143·05

  101·06

  106·15

  86

  82

  100

  134·22

  146·55

  103·42

  109·65

  84

  80

  150

  143·57

  154·96

  112·77

  118·06

  80

  80

  200

  170·54

  173·14

  139·74

  136·24

  34

  34

  Note — The methods and assumptions are those used in the published Tax/Benefit Model Tables except that from April 1990 community charge is assumed at £350 per annum and assumed national average rents have been inflated for 1990.

  Residential Care
  Miss Widdecombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he intends to publish the Government's response to the second report of the House of Commons Social Services Committee of the current Session, on the future funding of private and voluntary residential care.

  Mr. Newton
  The response was laid before Parliament yesterday.

  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will give figures for spending on income support for people living in private residential care in Sunderland for each year from 1985 including the first quarter of 1990;

  (2) if he will give the number of people in Sunderland who are in receipt of income support and who are living in private residential care for each year since 1985 including the first quarter of 1990

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Community Charge
  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will set out the net weekly and marginal tax rate spending of(a) a single person, (b) a married couple, one working, (c) a man and wife and two children, one parent working, whose wage was £50, £100, £150 and £200, respectively, after taking into account income tax and national insurance and any benefits or rebates to which they could be entitled (i) before 1 April and (ii) after 1 April, to show the effect of the introduction of the community charge.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The answer is set out in the tables. It should be noted that the results in the tables remain arbitrary. They cannot reflect, except by chance, the actual circumstances of particular people and cannot claim to be representative of the population at large. The tables use hypothetical community charges and rents, so they do not reflect the full range of community charge and housing costs which people can pay.

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

  Attendance Allowance
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the number of people in Sunderland who are in receipt of attendance allowance for 1988, 1989 and the first quarter of 1990; and how many receive payments from the independent living fund.

  Mr. Scott
  The information requested is not available.

  Severe Disability Premium
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the number of people in Sunderland who are in receipt of severe disability premium for 1988 and 1989.
  633
  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. O
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the reasons for the delays in resolving the case of Mr. O reference RM173P/C0999/71/ 83/3; and what steps have been taken to resolve this case.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  I regret that we are unable to identify this case from the information supplied. If the hon. Member will let me have full details I shall be pleased to look into the matter.

  Disallowed Unemployment Benefit
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information is available regarding the duration of periods of unemployment benefit disqualification imposed in each quarter since April 1989.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  No information is available on the duration of periods of unemployment benefit disqualification since April 1989.

  Hardship payments of income support to claimants who were not available for full time work or who had not actively sought work

  Social Security Region

  North East

  Midlands

  London North

  London South

  Wales and South West

  North West

  Scotland

  National Total

  Number of hardship payments where claimant:

  October 1989

  Was unavailable1:

  Awards made

  20

  12

  37

  32

  41

  23

  13

  178

  Awards refused

  12

  10

  12

  15

  38

  15

  10

  112

  Did not actively seek work:

  Awards made

  4

  5

  12

  2

  5

  3

  12

  43

  Awards refused

  1

  4

  0

  5

  3

  3

  11

  27

  November 1989

  Was unavailable1:

  Awards made

  17

  16

  78

  71

  27

  13

  19

  241

  Awards refused

  17

  13

  14

  16

  35

  15

  11

  121

  Did not actively seek work:

  Awards made

  3

  8

  16

  14

  8

  3

  29

  81

  Awards refused

  1

  2

  1

  11

  6

  3

  14

  38

  December 1989

  Was unavailable1:

  Awards made

  41

  17

  223

  35

  33

  14

  16

  379

  Awards refused

  12

  8

  10

  16

  15

  10

  6

  77

  Did not actively seek work:

  Awards made

  5

  5

  23

  9

  7

  3

  7

  59

  Awards refused

  3

  3

  2

  1

  4

  1

  1

  15

  January 1990

  Was unavailable1:

  Awards made

  30

  18

  56

  42

  61

  11

  17

  235

  Awards refused

  9

  7

  17

  11

  39

  12

  19

  114

  Did not actively seek work:

  Awards made

  5

  5

  29

  7

  10

  4

  6

  66

  Awards refused

  1

  3

  5

  1

  2

  4

  7

  23

  February 1990

  Was unavailable1:

  Awards made

  33

  10

  70

  28

  28

  21

  23

  213

  Awards refused

  9

  5

  12

  4

  26

  8

  23

  87

  Did not actively seek work:

  Awards made

  7

  11

  19

  6

  9

  2

  4

  58

  Awards refused

  6

  3

  3

  1

  2

  0

  2

  17

  Income Support
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Birkenhead, (Mr. Field), on 8 May,Official Report, column 87, what was the proportion and number of income support and unemployment benefit claimants who (i) successfully and (ii) unsuccessfully claimed reduced income support under the hardship rules in each month since 9 October 1989 and, for each category, the numbers whose claim was in doubt due to (a) actively seeking work, (b) availability and (c) restricted availability, and the numbers in each case whose claim was awaiting adjudication, had been disallowed, or was subsequently allowed; and if he will break the figures down by region.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The statistics kept are given in the table. The remainder of the information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
  635

  Social Security Region

  North East

  Midlands

  London North

  London South

  Wales and South West

  North West

  Scotland

  National Total

  March 1990

  Was unavailable1:

  Awards made

  27

  10

  78

  24

  29

  24

  30

  222

  Awards refused

  8

  7

  17

  7

  20

  10

  12

  81

  Did not actively seek work:

  Awards made

  11

  3

  27

  10

  18

  3

  14

  86

  Awards refused

  0

  3

  4

  2

  8

  3

  1

  21

  April 1990

  Was unavailable1:

  Awards made

  37

  13

  39

  13

  41

  20

  13

  176

  Awards refused

  18

  9

  3

  4

  16

  8

  4

  62

  Did not actively seek work:

  Awards made

  5

  3

  15

  10

  8

  3

  1

  45

  Awards refused

  1

  0

  5

  15

  4

  4

  3

  32

  1 Includes unavailability for total or part week, and unreasonable restriction on occupation where appropriate.

  Notes:1. All figures are provisional and subject to amendment.

  2. No individual figure in the table exceeds 0·01 per cent. of the latest available number of Income Support claimants.

  Actively Seeking Work Test
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps have been and are being taken to improve liaison between adjudication officers in the Departments of Employment and Social Security in respect of adjudication on actively seeking work; and if he will make a statement on the process of adjudication in both Departments on claimants whose actively seeking work is brought into question, and the benefit sanctions which can be imposed by the staff in each Department before and after adjudication.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Instructions are in place to ensure close liaison between the Department and the employment service. These instructions are kept under review.

  When a doubt arises as to whether a claimant is actively seeking work unemployment benefit is suspended for the weeks of doubt, usually the two weeks since the claimant was last paid. The case is then referred to an employment service adjudication officer to make a decision on title to unemployment benefit. If only income support is in payment he gives an opinion. If he decides that the claimant did not actively seek work, unemployment benefit will be disallowed. His decision/opinion is passed to the Department of Social Security adjudication officer to help him decide what income support should be paid. This happens for each fortnight during which the claimant fails to fulfil the actively seeking work condition.

  The Department of Social Security adjudication officer has to decide entitlement to income support, and, if awaiting the employment service adjudication officer's decision/opinion, will assume it to be adverse to the claimant. Income support will then be withdrawn until such time as he satisfies the adjudication officer that he is again actively seeking work. If, in the adjudication officer's opinion, hardship will result, income support reduced by 40 per cent. of the personal allowance element can be paid. If the employment service adjudication officer's subsequent decision/opinion is that the claimant did actively seek work, arrears of benefit can be paid.

  Wath upon Dearne Office
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what expenditure has been incurred in the maintenance or improvement of the Wath upon Dearne office of his Department during the last five years; and what further expenditure on this office is planned.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Expenditure incurred over the last five years has been as follows:

  Year

  Expenditure

  (£)

  1985–86

  10,581

  1986–87

  39,444

  1987–88

  53,173

  1988–89

  65,530

  1989–90

  103,713

  Total

  272,441

  The projected expenditure for 1990–91 is around £18,000.

  Rotherham Offices
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total number of persons employed at each of the offices of his Department within the metropolitan borough of Rotherham.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The total number of such persons employed on 30 May 1990 was 278. This figure consists of 74·5 staff employed in Rotherham North and 203·5 in Rotherham South local offices.

  Unemployment Benefit
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each month since October 1989 the number of(a) successful and (b) unsuccessful appeals by unemployed claimants against benefit sanctions arising from (i) actively seeking work, (ii) refusal of employment and (iii) restricted availability by social security region; and if he will make arrangements to place these decisions and future decisions in the Library.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Information on unemployment benefit appeals is not available for any period later than
  637
  the quarter ending 30 September 1989. Moreover statistics are not routinely produced showing the breakdown of decisions within an overall benefit category.

  The publication of decisions of the social security appeal tribunals is a matter for the president of the social security and medical appeal tribunals, his Honour Judge Holden, and the hon. Member may wish to contact him direct.

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the number of energy audits carried out in his Department in the last five years and for each audit a statement of its main conclusions.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: Information is not readily available for the years 1985–86 and 1986–87. During the subsequent three years energy surveys were carried out in 30 DH/DSS buildings. The main conclusions are shown as follows:

  1. Convert tungsten lighting to compact fluorescent lighting.

  2. Adjust boiler controls to avoid overheating during occupancy.

  3. Adjust boiler controls to eliminate unnecessary heating
  during silent hours.

  4. Install water meters.

  5. Install controls to restrict the flow of water to taps and urinals.

  6. Change fluorescent tubes to a high efficacy type.

  7. Improve number of switches available to staff to enable them to control their lighting.

  8. Remedy defects to window frames.

  9. Maintain records of the utilities.

  10. Display "Energy Management" posters for publicity

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give for each year from 1978 the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by his Department, expressing the figures in(a) cash terms, (b) 1978–79 money terms and (c) units of consumption for electricity in kilowatt hours, gas in therms, liquid fuel in litres and solid fuel in tonnes.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: Information is only available for DH/DSS jointly, from the financial year 1985–86. The figures are in the table.

  Year

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  1988–89

  Cash terms (£ million)

  11·76

  9·68

  9·8

  9·95

  1985–86 money terms (£ million)

  11·76

  10·09

  10·73

  9·86

  Therms (million)

  13·54

  8·5

  8·4

  7·8

  kWh (million)

  110

  110

  130

  130

  Litres (million)

  9·5

  9·05

  9·05

  4·6

  Tonnes

  7,314

  8,230

  7,077

  4,250

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Duchy intends to appoint a dedicated energy manager devoted to energy management; and what advice he provides to leaseholders of Duchy-owned buildings about energy efficiency.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The Duchy has no plans to appoint a dedicated manager devoted to energy management, or to 638
  offer advice to its leaseholders about energy efficiency. Under the terms of lease Duchy tenants are responsible for their own energy management and consumption.

ENVIRONMENT

  Water Supplies (North-East)
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households in the north-east were disconnected from their water supplies in 1987–88 and 1988–89.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Information on disconnections is available by water company areas only. The numbers of household disconnections by the former Northumbrian and Yorkshire water authorities and by the statutory water companies (SWCs) operating in their areas were as follows:

  1987–88

  1988–89

  Northumbrian WA

  480

  770

  Yorkshire WA

  560

  945

  SWCs1

  Hartlepools

  n/a

  120

  Newcastle

  n/a

  558

  Sunderland

  n/a

  70

  York

  n/a

  79

  1 Total disconnections, household and non-household.

  Clinical Waste
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for he Environment how many local authorities have facilities for the collection of clinical waste.

  Mr. Trippier
  My Department is currently conducting a review of clinical waste management systems, but there is no comprehensive information available at present. Every waste collection authority has a duty to collect all clinical waste that is also household waste and a duty to collect any such commercial waste if requested to do so.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities charge for the collection of clinical waste from(a) private nursing homes, (b) voluntary sector residential homes and (c) private dwellings under the Collection and Disposal of Waste Regulations 1988; and on what basis each local authority charges for its collections.

  Mr. Trippier
  Information on local authority charges is not held centrally. DOE circular 13/88 (Welsh Office circular 19/88) advises local authorities that charges should be realistic and should have a direct relationship to the cost of providing the service.

  Local Government Officers
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what number of people will be excluded by the change of qualifying date to 1 April 1986 from buying back reckonable service under the local government officers' superannuation scheme.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  This information is not available.
  639
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the total cost of providing pensions for part-time local government officers who retired between 1974 and 1 April 1986.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  It is not possible to provide an estimate, since the number of retired officers concerned is not known.

  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what reason the original qualifying date of 1974 for the superannuation scheme for local government officers was replaced by a new qualifying date of 1 April 1986.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  When pensions for part-time employees in local government were first established by the Local Government Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1987 it was not possible to backdate them beyond 1 April 1986 because of the destruction of pay records for earlier years and the need to avoid double payment of pensions where employees had been contributors to SERPS. For similar reasons, it will not be possible to apply the new draft regulations now being circulated for purchase of added years before that date.

  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to finalise the regulations to permit part-time local government officers to join the superannuation scheme.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Part-time local government officers were first admitted to the local government superannuation scheme under the terms of the Local Government Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1987. Further regulations to allow these employees to purchase additional service at a concessionary rate are currently the subject of consultation with local government. It is hoped to make them as soon as possible once the responses to the consultation have been considered.

  Shetland Seabirds
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the research projects commissioned by the Nature Conservancy Council into the breeding failure of Shetland seabirds, together with relevant dates and sums allocated.

  Mr. Trippier
  The information is as follows:

  Funds allocated

  £

  1986–87

  Survey of Skuas in Shetland

  700

  Development of monitoring methods

  24,700

  Breeding performance of terns in Shetland

  2,000

  1987–88

  The role of food supply in the breeding success of arctic terns in Shetland

  10,800

  Breeding performance of Hermaness seabirds

  300

  Development of monitoring methods

  28,300

  1988–89

  The role of food supply in the breeding success of arctic terns

  8,348

  Seminar on Shetland sandeels and seabirds

  500

  Breeding performance of Hermaness seabirds

  400

  640

  Funds allocated

  £

  Skua breeding performance in Shetland

  2,000

  Development of monitoring methods

  29,993

  1989–90

  The role of food supply in the breeding success of arctic terns

  8,000

  Breeding performance of Hermaness seabirds

  400

  Skua breeding performance in Shetland

  3,500

  Seabird monitoring programme

  33,600

  1990–91

  Study of sandeel biology in waters around Shetland

  35,000

  Seabird monitoring programme

  35,000

  Breeding performance of Hermaness seabirds

  465

  Skua breeding performance in Shetland

  300

  Attlebridge Tip, Norfolk
  Mr. John Garrett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what toxic substances are dumped in the tip at Attlebridge, Norfolk.

  Mr. Trippier
  The responsibility for determining which substances may be deposited at waste disposal facilities rests with the disposal authority who exercise this control through the conditions of the site licence. The Control of Pollution Act 1974 requires that each disposal authority maintains, for public inspection, a register containing copies of all disposal licences issued by that authority and currently in force. I suggest, therefore, that the hon. Member should apply to Norfolk county council for the information he seeks.

  Toxic Wastes
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the text of the recent letter sent to the Major of Rotherham, Councillor Ron Hughes, by his right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside concerning his Department's involvement in the problem of toxic wastes imported to Wath Recycling in Rotherham.

  Mr. Trippier
  Councillor Hughes wrote to me, at the close of his year of office as Mayor of Rotherham, seeking an announcement about a solution to the problem of imported wastes at Wath Recycling. I replied to him on 18 May explaining that we have been working closely with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to secure a settlement between the parties to avoid lengthy litigation. This involves a programme of action to secure the return of as much waste as possible to the USA and to deal with the remainder in an environmentally sound manner. Agreement to any such programme still depends on a number of aspects under investigation.

  I invited Councillor Hughes and local hon. Members to make my letter public if they wished and I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

  Electro-osmosis
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he possesses on the process developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and recently made public, to clean up contaminated soils of hazardous waste substances using a technique called electro-osmosis.
  641
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My officials are aware of the MIT process and have been monitoring its progress. There have been commercial applications involving electro-osmosis in the United Kingdom but not so far involving the treatment of contaminated land.

  Landslides
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment has been made by his Department, or consultants to his Department, of the dangers posed from potential landslides; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The Department has been actively commissioning research on landslides since the mid-1970s and is continuing so to do. A list of relevant projects is appended to this answer. Initially work was concentrated in the valleys of the south Wales coalfield, where landslides had been known to cause problems for many years.

  However, in 1984, it was recognised that the information on landsliding in Britain as a whole was deficient and a national review of research into landsliding in Great Britain which aimed to discover what work had been done on landslides in Britain, to assess its general applicability and to identify any gaps in knowledge and priorities for any further work needed was undertaken. This review was completed towards the end of 1987. The detailed results are available in the Department's library and a summary report will shortly be published.

  The results of this work have assisted in providing the basis for planning policy guidance (PPG 14) on development on unstable land which was issued by my Department and the Welsh Office on 30 April.

  Research on landslides funded by the Department of the Environment

  South Wales coalfield landslip survey Institute of Geological Sciences 1977–80

  A study of two landslipped areas in the South Wales coalfield Institute of Geological Sciences 1981–83

  East Pentwyn and Bournville landslips research project Sir William Halcrow and Partners 1983–85

  Assessment of landslip potential South Wales Sir William Halcrow and Partners 1984–86

  Stability and hydrogeology of deep mineral Workings The Geoffrey Walton Practice 1984–86

  Review of research into landsliding in Great Britain Geomorphological Services Limited 1984–87

  Landslides database and publications Geomorphological Services Limited 1988–90

  Rhondda landslip potential assessment Sir William Halcrow and Partners 1988–90

  Landslips and undermining Sir William Halcrow and Partners 1987–90

  642

  Coastal landslip potential assessment Isle of Wight Undercliff, Ventnor Geomorphological Services Limited 1988–90

  Handbook on the design of tips and backfilled areas in quarries

  The Geoffrey Walton Practice 1989–90.

  Greenhouse Effect
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research is being undertaken for his Department on the greenhouse effect by the James Rennel centre for ocean circulation at Southampton university.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The Department is not commissioning any research at the James Rennell centre for ocean circulation at this time. The centre is currently being established by the natural environment research council at Southampton university with funding from the science budget. It will open in October 1990.

  Romanian Oil Refineries
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to making available pollution control expertise gained in the United Kingdom oil industry to Romania to assist in environmental clean up of the oil refineries in Ploiesti.

  Mr. Trippier
  The extent of the environmental damage by the communist regimes in eastern Europe requires international assistance. The United Kingdom is acting primarily through a joint programme co-ordinated by the European Commission. This programme is expected to extend to Romania. In the United Kingdom the oil industry would no doubt consider requests by the Romanian Government where it could offer practical assistance.

  Atmospheric Conditions (Monitoring)
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) pursuant to the answer of 1 May,Official Report, columns 502–3, if he will give comparable figures on nitrogen dioxide, ozone and acidity of rain at each of the monitoring sites then in operation for each year since 1979; (2) pursuant to the answer of 1 May, Official Report, columns 502–3, if he will give comparable figures for suphur dioxide concentrations in each region for every year since 1979.

  Mr. Trippier
  The information requested is in the table. Additional data have been published in the relevant Department of the Environment scientific review group and other reports: "Ozone in the United Kingdom" (United Kingdom photochemical oxidants review group), "Acidity in United Kingdom Fresh Waters" (United Kingdom acid waters review group second report), "Acid Deposition in the United Kingdom" (United Kingdom review group on acid rain second report) and "Lake Acidification in the United Kingdom" (paleoecology research unit, University College London). Copies of these publications have been placed in the Library of the House.
  643

  A. NO2 annual mean (am) and 98th percentile (98 percentile):

  Units: parts per billion (ppb).

  Site

  1979

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  EC Directive sites

  Central London

  am

  34

  33

  35

  43

  39

  43

  32

  35

  39

  35

  39

  98 percentile

  64

  66

  71

  110

  73

  81

  63

  64

  85

  74

  80

  West London

  am

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  35

  37

  42

  98 percentile

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  84

  92

  112

  Glasgow

  am

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  31

  30

  27

  98 percentile

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  69

  57

  61

  Manchester

  am

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  29

  28

  25

  98 percentile

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  65

  67

  62

  Walsall

  am

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  30

  26

  29

  98 percentile

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  62

  54

  59

  Billingham

  am

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  23

  21

  22

  98 percentile

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  63

  58

  60

  Non Directive sites:

  Cromwell Road

  am

  36

  —

  —

  46

  68

  50

  48

  40

  —

  —

  45

  98 percentile

  82

  —

  —

  117

  209

  119

  128

  109

  —

  —

  105

  Stevenage

  am

  24

  18

  19

  22

  20

  23

  —

  21

  27

  24

  25

  98 percentile

  71

  43

  50

  54

  47

  57

  —

  52

  72

  53

  56

  B. Ozone: exceedances of 60pph hourly average

  Site

  1979

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  Stevenage

  64

  11

  7

  242

  178

  324

  108

  89

  36

  10

  85

  Central London

  29

  15

  31

  10

  6

  6

  146

  68

  9

  3

  74

  Sibton

  66

  2

  358

  157

  207

  72

  63

  —

  46

  76

  212

  Aston Hill

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  47

  45

  83

  143

  Lullington Heath

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  0

  106

  112

  401

  Strath Vaigh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  32

  53

  28

  High Muffles

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  0

  49

  184

  Lough Navar

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  34

  49

  74

  Yarner Wood

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  21

  51

  360

  Ladybower

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  20

  173

  Harwell

  —

  —

  —

  —

  117

  173

  70

  77

  51

  16

  170

  Bottesford

  503

  458

  54

  238

  138

  201

  94

  93

  59

  10

  82

  Bush

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  11

  53

  33

  63

  Eskdalemuir

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  30

  49

  28

  99

  Great Dun Fell

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  96

  167

  131

  204

  Wharley Croft

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  21

  36

  34

  129

  Glazebury

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  22

  39

  C. Acidity of rain as precipitation weighted mean acidity in microgramme equivalents per litre:

  Site

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  Achanarras

  —

  19

  25

  25

  Strath Vaigh Dam

  —

  16

  16

  13

  River Mharcaidh

  22

  22

  21

  20

  Glen Dye

  —

  45

  46

  36

  Balquhidder

  21

  32

  24

  20

  Whiteadder

  40

  36

  47

  35

  Eskdalemuir

  21

  25

  27

  20

  Redesdale

  41

  44

  52

  33

  Loch Dee

  29

  23

  19

  15

  Cow Green Reservoir

  27

  31

  34

  23

  Bannisdale

  30

  27

  28

  24

  High Muffles

  —

  63

  72

  55

  Thorganby

  75

  73

  88

  84

  Jenny Hum

  89

  100

  85

  64

  Driby

  42

  43

  42

  47

  Wardlow Hay Cop

  29

  45

  33

  37

  644 645

  Site

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  Beddgelert

  17

  19

  17

  15

  Bottesford

  61

  76

  81

  48

  Plynlimon

  —

  15

  11

  14

  Stoke Ferry

  35

  36

  30

  40

  Preston Montford

  18

  25

  25

  36

  Llyn Brianne

  16

  21

  18

  19

  Tycanol Wood

  16

  17

  15

  18

  Woburn

  45

  51

  37

  37

  Flatford Mill

  33

  43

  35

  35

  Compton

  25

  28

  16

  25

  Barcombe Mills

  19

  22

  13

  15

  Yarner Wood

  17

  20

  14

  20

  Goonhilly

  20

  23

  15

  19

  Lough Navar

  11

  10

  10

  10

  Hillsborough Forest

  —

  —

  —

  13

  Isle of Man

  28

  34

  27

  24

  D. SO2 concentrations by region

  Units: microgrammes per cubic meter

  Region

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  Scotland

  60

  49

  53

  40

  40

  43

  38

  36

  32

  North

  54

  42

  43

  35

  33

  30

  30

  33

  35

  North West

  84

  63

  63

  49

  48

  44

  39

  38

  41

  Yorks/Humber

  86

  69

  78

  68

  67

  59

  57

  51

  50

  East Midlands

  76

  58

  65

  54

  54

  47

  45

  47

  46

  West Midlands

  73

  61

  64

  54

  57

  49

  44

  44

  39

  Wales

  48

  41

  39

  35

  35

  36

  28

  26

  24

  East Anglia

  51

  50

  50

  35

  34

  28

  25

  27

  24

  London

  78

  68

  66

  55

  47

  48

  39

  42

  37

  South East

  57

  50

  46

  39

  37

  38

  37

  37

  31

  South West

  49

  45

  43

  37

  35

  34

  37

  34

  25

  Northern Ireland

  47

  40

  47

  56

  46

  58

  64

  70

  67

  Parish Councils
  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to apply section 28 of the Local Government Act 1972 to England.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer, 5 June 1990]: No: there seem to be no compelling reason to change the present arrangements in England for creating or dissolving parish councils.

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give for each year from 1978 the energy consumption broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by his Department, expressing the figures in(a) cash terms, (b) 1978–79 money terms and (c) units of consumption for electricity in kilowatt hours, gas in therms, liquid fuel in litres and solid fuel in tonnes.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  [holding answer 5 June 1990]: Information on my Department's energy consumption is not available in the form requested. New monitoring systems not in place will ensure that detailed consumption information will be available in the future and will assist in measuring the success of our energy conservation programme.

  Sewage Works
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all outstanding applications for(a) long sea outfalls, and (b) sewage treatment works.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 17 May 1990]: Responsibility for granting consents for discharges made
  646
  by the water services companies rests with the National Rivers Authority. This responsibility includes the determination of all undetermined applications submitted to the Department by the former water authorities which, under the transitional provisions of the Water Act 1989, are treated as if they had been made by the water services company to the National Rivers Authority.

  The only exceptions to these are applications that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has called in for his own consideration. In the case of sewage treatment works, these were applications from the former water authorities for time-limited consents for those works covered by the accelerated improvement programme announced by my hon. and learned Friend the then Minister for Housing and Planning on 7 December 1988 at column 199. All but those listed have been determined and my Department will shortly be writing to all objectors informing them of the outcome of each application.

  Anglian Water Authority—Bletsoe and Newton Blossomville

  Severn Trent Water Authority—Baschurch

  North West Water Authority—Rossendale and Rochdale

  Details of all outstanding applications are available from the public registers held by the National Rivers Authority.

  The Department has no outstanding applications in respect of discharge consents for long sea outfalls.

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the information collected by the Property Services Agency about the use of energy in Government buildings.

  Mr. Chope
  The PSA collects no information about the use of energy in Government buildings, apart from that
  647
  required for its own energy management purposes. Responsibility for energy management rests with individual Departments and, centrally, with the Department of Energy.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will confirm the charge cap of Hillingdon borough council.

  Mr. Chris Patten
  I have today laid before the House of Commons a draft order under section 104 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 stating that the amount ("the cap") which Hillingdon's budget for 1990–91 is not to exceed is £141,700,000. If the House approves the draft I shall make the order and serve on the council as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter a notice confirming the amount of Hillingdon's final cap. The way will then be clear for the council to set a new, lower budget within the capped amount and for the charge payers of Hillingdon to benefit from the lower charge that will ensue.

WALES

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (Chief Executive)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what advice or instructions were given by his Department to the board of the Cardiff Bay development corporation concerning the appointment of a chief executive in 1987–88; and if he will list his powers and responsibilities in relation to such appointments.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Under the provisions of schedule 26 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 sole responsibility for the appointment of the chief executive rests with the Cardiff Bay development corporation.

  Wrexham Maelor Hospital
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will decide whether to authorise a subsidiary dialysis unit at Wrexham Maelor hospital; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Grist
  Agreement in principle to fund a subsidiary renal unit at Wrexham Maelor hospital was announced on 21 May and Clwyd health authority has been invited to submit appropriate proposals to the Welsh Office.

  Operating Theatre Closures
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the number of operating theatres closed in 1989.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Figures on numbers of operating theatres were first collected as at 31 March 1989. Subsequently, quarterly figures have been collected. Provisional figures show a net gain of two operating theatres during the period from 1 April to 31 December 1989.

  Hospital Closures
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the number of hospitals closed(a) wholly and (b) partly during 1989.
  648
  Mr. David Hunt
  There were no closures of hospitals in 1989. 13 permanent partial closures were implemented in the year on service rationalisation and policy grounds.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will identify the location and status of waste disposal sites in Wales by waste disposal authorities, waste type, town, location of facility, name of facility and land size.

  Mr. Grist
  Information on waste disposal sites is held on the public registers required to be maintained by district councils in Wales, and I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the relevant authority of authorities.

  Insulation
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of dwellings in each district in Wales are insulated to the standard recommended by his Department.

  Mr. Grist
  All new houses have to meet the standards of insulation specified in building regulations. No information is available centrally giving the number of houses which meet these standards.

SCOTLAND

  National Health Service
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many health boards in Scotland will remain within budget in the current year.

  Mr. Rifkind
  All health boards are required to remain within resources made available to them.

  Mr. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet the chairman of Lothian health board to discuss the financing of the board.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Yes.

  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what new investment and improvements his Department has made to health services in Scotland so far this year.

  Mr. Forsyth
  I do not wish to detain the House with a lengthy list, but improvements include the helicopter ambulance, the commitment of a heart transplant service and a number of new hospital projects including a maternity unit for Moray.

  Sir Heċtor Monro
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what new developments he is proposing for the national health service in Scotland.

  Mr. Rifkind
  My hon. Friend the Minister responsible for health recently announced six substantial new developments for the national health service in Scotland. First, he has asked Grampian health board to prepare detailed proposals for a new specialist maternity unit in Elgin and for a new cottage hospital in Peterhead. Both units are to be developed on the existing hospital sites. Tayside health board's proposals for a new hospital in Crieff to replace outdated facilities at Crieff cottage
  649
  hospital and Bridge of Earn hospital have been approved. Together these three capital projects represent an investment of some £20 million in the NHS estate.

  The helicopter ambulance services based on Inverness will be centrally funded to serve the more remote parts of Scotland and allow rapid transfer of patients requiring urgent hospital treatment. This will cost some £600,000.

  A new national service for the rehabilitation of brain-injured patients is to be established to complement and enhance the work already being carried out in the NHS and the private sector. It is estimated that there are around 500 patients in Scotland who would likely to benefit from intensive specialised rehabilitation services, many of whom are young people whose quality of life could be vastly enhanced if these facilities were available.

  Finally, I am delighted that Scotland is to get its first heart and heart/lung transplant unit so that Scots patients do not have to travel to England for transplant surgery. Many Scots have benefited from the service in England but the long journeys are distressing for very ill patients and their relatives. A new Scottish unit will be much more accessible and will build on the considerable improvements in cardiac surgery in Scotland, which now carry out 2,500 cardiac operations a year.

  Mr. Robert Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with Grampian health board on its 10-year development strategy.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Health Boards are required to submit strategic plans and my officials meet boards regularly to review and monitor progress.

  Mr. Ron Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met Lothian health board to discuss its funding problems; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The chief executive of the NHS in Scotland has been in regular contact with the Lothian health hoard chairman and officials over recent weeks about the board's financial problems.

  Newbattle Abbey College
  Mr. Eadie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland following receipt of the proposals from the governors of Newbattle Abbey college to the Scottish Education Department meeting the points raised by the Secretary of State when he withdrew grant aid to that college last year, whether he is now in a position to announce his intention to restore grant aid to the college.

  Mr. Lang
  My right hon. and learned Friend has considered the plan submitted to him recently by the governors of Newbattle Abbey college and has concluded that it does not represent a basis for reopening his decision to withdraw direct funding for the college. The trustees and the board of governors have been advised of this decision.

  Community Care
  Mr. Hood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has met the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss the Government's community care proposals.
  650
  Mr. Lang
  I have had two wide-ranging and constructive discussions with representatives of the convention's social work committee on this subject—one on 8 September 1989 and the other on 15 May 1990.

  Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Sick Children
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the waiting time between arrival of emergency cases and examination of those cases at the Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I understand that Lothian health board is taking action to minimise delays by increasing the number of doctors and changing the doctors' rota system.

  Passenger Ferry Services
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met both the chairman and the chief executive of Caledonian MacBrayne to discuss passenger ferry services in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: My right hon. and learned Friend has not met the chairman or chief executive of Caledonian MacBrayne since he took the company into his direct ownership on 2 April. However, my noble Friend the Minister of State and I met the
  to meet the full board of the company on 25 June. Regular and frequent discussions take place between officials of the Scottish Development Department and Caledonian MacBrayne.

  Self-governing Schools
  Mr. Graham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many schools in Scotland have formally expressed interest in opting out.

  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many schools in Scotland have expressed interest in opting out.

  Mr. Lang
  At one school, Holm primary school in Orkney, parents have presented the school board with a formal request seeking a ballot on self-governing status.

  Local Government
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to devolve more powers to Scottish local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  We propose to delegate to local authorities further powers to issue relaxations of the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations. This would take effect early next year at the same time as proposed new building standards regulations come into force.

  Housing
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what initiatives he intends to take with respect to solving Scotland's housing problem.

  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what initiatives he intends to take with respect to solving Scotland's housing problem.
  651
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) and for Moray (Mrs. Ewing).

  Ancillary Staff
  Mr. Moonie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received any representation on the reimbursement of ancillary staff costs via general practitioners in Scotland.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Eight general practitioners in Scotland have made representations.

  Incomes
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland by how much average real incomes in Scotland have risen since 1979.

  Mr. Lang
  It is estimated that between 1979 and 1989 the average earnings of full-time employees on adult rates in Scotland grew by a quarter (25 per cent.) in real terms.

  Steel Industry
  Mr. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet trade union representatives from the Scottish steel industry to discuss investment in the Scottish steel industry.

  Mr. Lang
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer which my right hon. and learned Friend gave today to the hon. Member for Motherwell, North (Dr. Reid).

  Nuclear Waste
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the siting of a nuclear waste repository in the Highlands.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. and learned Friend received a number of representations about the siting of a nuclear waste repository during his consideration of the appeal lodged by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority against Highland regional council's decision to refuse planning permission for the drilling of two test boreholes at Dounreay. However, these representations were not relevant to that appeal, which related only to the application for test drilling. Any proposal for a nuclear waste repository would be the subject of a separate planning application and any objections which it attracted would be considered in that context.

  Education Funding
  Mr. Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he has given to removing the funding of education from local authority control.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  None.

  COSLA
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss local government.
  652
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer the hon. and learned Member to the reply which my right hon. and learned Friend gave to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 2 May.

  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss the first year of the administration of the poll tax.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. and learned Friend and I met the president and other senior officers of the convention on 6 April. This was the first of this year's meetings to discuss Government support for local authority current expenditure in 1991–92. There was also some discussion of a progress report prepared by the convention on the first year of the administration of the community charge.

  Coronary Care
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to secure improved coronary care.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Cardiac surgery funding has been increased; a heart transplant unit is planned; and further educational initiatives will focus on the prevention of coronary heart disease.

  Freightliner Working Party
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet the Freightliner working party to discuss job prospects for Scotland, including those arising from the Channel tunnel project.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The remit of the Scottish Freight working group, one of a number of advisory groups set up by British Rail to advise it on the preparation of its plans for the provision of freight and passenger services to the Channel tunnel, has now been completed and there are no plans for the group to reconvene. My right hon. and learned Friend is not aware of the existence of a Freightliner working party.

  Head Teachers
  Mr. Buchan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many head teachers of mixed-sex secondary schools in Scotland are women; what is the total number of head teachers in such schools; and what percentage of that total are women.

  Mr. Lang
  Of 419 head teachers of public sector mixed-sex secondary schools in Scotland recorded in the school census of September 1988, 15 (4 per cent.) were women.

  Infertility Clinics
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average waiting time for a first appointment at an infertility clinic.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Lowland Scottish Bus Group
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State if he will make a statement on the privatisation of the Lowland Scottish bus group.
  653
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. and learned Friend announced on 1 June 1990 that he has given his consent to the sale by the Scottish Transport Group of Lowland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. to the company's management-employee buy-out team.

  Scottish Assembly
  Mr. Gow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received about the setting up of an assembly in Edinburgh.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Five letters in the past six months.

  Training
  Mr. Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will detail the information on training matters, hitherto available through Parliamentary questions, which will be restricted under the heading of commercial confidential following the establishment of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

  Mr. Lang
  To the extent that information on training matters is regarded as commercial in confidence at present, it is likely to be so regarded in future; and conversely where such information is not presently regarded as commercial in confidence, it is not likely to be so regarded in future.

  Flooding, Tayside
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the aid which his Department has given to flood victims in Tayside; and what assistance his Department has received from the Tayside regional council and the Tay purification board.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  No claims have yet been received from farmers in Tayside in respect of the special assistance for the repair of elevated floodbanks. Similarly, claims from local authorities from assistance under the Bellwin arrangements are still awaited.

  The Scottish Office received valuable assistance from the Tay river purification board in the form of situation reports and detailed information on river levels and flows. The board also concluded that a flood warning system for the River Tay should be completed as soon as practicable. The Scottish Office endorsed this proposal by adjusting the board's borrowing consent to permit the necessary expenditure to be incurred this year.

  Tayside regional council acted as co-ordinators for the emergency services during the flood. Council staff operated the emergency control centre arid teams of workmen and equipment were supplied to meet problems as they arose. In addition, situation reports were provided to the Scottish Office.

  In response to a suggestion by my noble Friend the Minister of State, the regional council has taken the lead in co-ordinating the various interests concerned with river corridor management in the Tay area. The council has identified a need for an independent survey by expert hydrologists and has already interviewed consultants in this field about the terms of a possible brief for such a study. A meeting of interested parties is currently being arranged and will be held shortly.
  654
  For our part, the Government have agreed to contribute up to £10,000 towards the costs of the study and Scottish Office officials will continue to co-operate in these initiatives.

  Barrhead
  Mr. Allan Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish Development Agency about the regeneration of Barrhead.

  Mr. Lang
  My right hon. and learned Friend has had no recent discussions with the SDA about the regeneration of Barrhead. However, following the meeting I had with my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart), the agency is participating in the Barrhead regeneration study. A meeting to discuss the results of that study is planned for the middle of this month.

  The agency continues to be involved in plans to develop the vacant land on the Armitage Shanks site. It has also provided advice to the management on its recent buy-out of the stainless steel operation at Barrhead.

  A92–94
  Mr. Buchanan-Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the dualling of the A92–94 road Perth to Aberdeen to be completed and in operation: and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Rifkind
  During the past decade the Government have given high priority to the upgrading of the Perth to Aberdeen route to dual carriageway. During this period, 12 schemes have been completed on the route at a total cost of £75 million. Three further schemes valued in total at nearly £20 million are currently under construction and are all programmed to be completed during this financial year. The penultimate improvement on this route is the £10 million Tarbrax to Forfar scheme, which is due to start construction later this year, leaving the Brechin bypass as the final improvement scheme to be undertaken. The necessary preparatory work and statutory procedures for this scheme are expected to be completed later this year and it will then be considered for a start date in light of its relative priority and available resources.

  Low flying
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he proposes to take in the light of the recommendations of the Defence Select Committee's recent report into low flying by the Royal Air Force.

  Mr. Neubert
  I have been asked to reply. The Government are considering very carefully the report on low flying by the House of Commons Defence Commit tee and will respond to all its recommendations in their reply to the Committee.

  Bankruptcy
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each year since inception of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 the names of the 10 trustees who were most frequently appointed in sequestrations, and for each year the number of cases in which each was appointed.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is set out in the table:
  655

  Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985

  Appointments held by Individual Trustees 1986–1990

  Year and Permanent Trustee

  Number of Cases

  1986

  P. Armour, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Edinbugh

  25

  D. Jackson, Douglas Laing & Jackson, Glasgow

  22

  R. S. MacGregor, Pannell Kerr Forster, Edinburgh

  18

  P. C. Taylor, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Edinburgh

  17

  O. Balfour, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Aberdeen

  17

  R. Blin, Pannel Kerr Forster, Glasgow

  16

  F. Blin, Cork Gully, Glasgow

  14

  A. Thomson, A. C. Thomson & Co, Dunfermline

  12

  R. B. Graham, Cork Gully, Edinburgh

  11

  G. I. Rankin, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Glasgow

  11

  1987

  O. Balfour, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Aberdeen

  65

  R. S. MacGregor, Pannel Kerr Forster, Edinburgh

  43

  P. C. Taylor, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Edinburgh

  42

  F. Blin, Cork Gully, Glasgow

  38

  R. B. Graham, Cork Gully, Edinburgh

  31

  J. C. Readman, Arthur Young, Glasgow

  30

  D. Jackson, Douglas Laing & Jackson, Glasgow

  28

  K. Ross, Kenneth A Ross & Sharkey, Glasgow

  26

  G. I. Rankin, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Glasgow

  24

  R. L. Forbes, D. M. Campbell & Co, Dumfries

  24

  1988

  R. S. MacGregor, Pannell Kerr Forster, Edinburgh

  206

  P. Campbell, Pannell Kerr Forster, Aberdeen

  129

  B. Jackson, Pannell Kerr Forster, Glasgow

  81

  J. C. Readman, Arthur Young, Glasgow

  50

  D. B. Jackson, Douglas Laing & Jackson, Glasgow

  33

  W. Cleghorn, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Edinburgh

  32

  T. Dyer, Scott Oswald & Co, Dundee

  30

  F. Blin, Cork Gully, Glasgow

  29

  G. I. Rankin, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Glasgow

  29

  P. C. Taylor, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Edinburgh

  27

  1989

  R. S. MacGregor, Pannell Kerr Forster, Edinburgh

  383

  J. C. Readman, Ernst & Young, Glasgow

  244

  B. Jackson, Pannell Kerr Forster, Glasgow

  209

  N. Robinson, Kidsons, Glasgow

  177

  P. Campbell, Pannell Kerr Forster, Aberdeen

  162

  N. Sharp, Ernst & Young, Dundee

  55

  N. J. McNeil, BDO Binder Hamlyn, Glasgow

  55

  C. A. Hastings, C. A. F. Hastings & Co, Glasgow

  48

  A. O'Boyle, F. L. Walker, Glasgow

  44

  G. Ritchie, Ernst & Young, Edinburgh

  41

  1990 To Date

  R. S. MacGregor, Pannell Kerr Forster, Edinburgh

  72

  J. C. Readman, Ernst & Young, Glasgow

  57

  N. Robinson, Kidsons Impey, Glasgow

  37

  P. Campbell, Pannell Kerr Forster, Aberdeen

  24

  B. Jackson, Pannell Kerr Forster, Glasgow

  22

  N. J. McNeill, BDO Binder Hamlyn, Glasgow

  18

  N. Sharp, Ernst & Young, Dundee

  13

  G. Ritchie, Ernst & Young, Edinburgh

  13

  A O'Boyle, F. L. Walker & Co, Glasgow

  12

  J. D. Laurie, Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte, Edinburgh

  11

  Nursery Education
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of three and four-year-old children were receiving nursery education at local authority maintained nursery schools in each education authority area in Scotland(a) during the present academic year and (b) in 1979–80.

  Mr. Lang
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Garscadden (Mr. Dewar) on 15 May.

  Operating Theatre Closures
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give by health board the number of operating theatres closed in 1989.

  Mr. Rifkind
  Forth Valley health board closed and relocated five old theatres in 1989. Argyll and Clyde closed one pending refurbishment.

  Hospital Closures
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give by health board the number of hospitals closed(a) wholly and (b) partly during 1989.

  Mr. Rifkind
  There were no partial closures in 1989 but two hospitals in Lothian health board and two hospitals in Highland health board were wholly closed.

  During the same period six major hospital developments were completed, including phase 1 of St. John's hospital, Livingston.

  ICI (Explosives Dumping)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce), of 17 May,Official Report, column 517, what steps he is taking to ensure no omission will occur in future publications of reports on disposal of waste at sea.

  Mr. Lang
  The figures previously given for 1986 and 1987 are being checked against the detailed Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland records of all dumping operations licensed under part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985. Figures for 1988 and 1989 are being checked on the same basis. The corrected figures will be published as soon as possible.

  Appropriate instructions have now been issued to ensure that any figures given in future are derived directly from the records of licences issued. This should avoid unintended omissions.

  Sodium Leak, Dounreay
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what dangers were posed to the work force and local public in Caithness by the sodium leak at Dounreay nuclear power development establishment on 26 April.

  Mr. Lang
  There was no danger to either the work force or the general public from the incident at Dounreay on 24 April.

  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what considerations lay behind the decision not to make public the leak of sodium at Dounreay nuclear power development establishment on 26 April.

  Mr. Lang
  I understand that the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority included information about the incident which had occurred at Dounreay on the previous day in the site newsletter which was issued on 25 April, copies of which were deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Dumping, Firth of Clyde
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what findings have emerged from the survey of the dump site for explosives at Birch Point in the Firth of Clyde; and if he will make a statement.
  657
  Mr. Lang
  A report on the survey, by a DAF research vessel from 14–17 May, and other investigations on the explosives dumped at the Birch Point site is in preparation and will be published as soon as possible. The visual evidence and observations of trawlers in the area confirm that there has been recent and continuing trawling of fishing gear across the dump site. A warning to steer clear of the area, with guidance on what to do if explosives are encountered in fishing nets, was given by notice to fishermen on 8 May and on 18 May. My right hon. and learned Friend will consider what further action may be necessary in the light of the final report.

  Local Enterprise Companies
  Mr. Allan Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what decisions he has reached about the bids submitted to him from local enterprise companies wishing to run training credits pilot schemes; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Rifkind
  I am delighted to announce that, of the three bids submitted to me, two have been approved for further development.

  The two successful bids are from Fife Enterprise and Grampian Enterprise, each of which will receive £10,000 to work up detailed bids by 27 July. Both successful bids offered imaginative approaches to mounting training credits pilot schemes in their area, and were able to demonstrate wide-ranging support from both the private and public sectors locally.

  I regret that the third bid—from Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise—was not successful. However it too had interesting elements, and I have therefore asked that the Training Agency Highland area office explore with the consortium the extent to which its ideas can be developed within the existing training framework.

  That two out of the three bids submitted from Scottish local enterprise companies succeeded on merits (as compared with 15 out of 29 bids submitted from England and Wales) clearly demonstrates the quality of these Scottish bids.

  I congratulate the two successful local enterprise companies on their efforts to date, and look forward to receiving their detailed bids in due course.

  Redundancies, Glasgow
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many notified redundancies there have been in the former GEAR area/east end of Glasgow in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 to date.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 24 May 1990]: Information is not available for the whole area specified but the numbers of redundancies, involving 10 or more workers, notified to the Department of Employment in the Parkhead jobcentre area are as follows:

  Numbers

  1987

  489

  1988

  1,074

  1989

  417

  11990

  146

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Spongiform Encephalopathy (Cats)
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the number of cats awaiting diagnostic tests for spongiform encephalopathy at Bristol university.

  Mr. Gummer
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 5 June 1990.

  Bees
  Mr. Mills
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consultations he has held concerning European and national control of diseases affecting bees.

  Mr. Curry
  The EC Commission has recently issued proposals for EC controls on bee health to replace national measures after 1992. The Department is in close touch with United Kingdom beekeeping associations and other interested organisations on these proposals. Our aim in the forthcoming negotiations will be to obtain the best safeguards possible to protect United Kingdom bee health.

  Rabies
  Mr. Mills
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has received concerning the control of rabies after the completion of the channel tunnel.

  Mr. Maclean
  This year the Department has received 31 letters concerning rabies controls for the channel tunnel. The inquiries have been assured that planned control measures will ensure that the channel tunnel presents no greater rabies risk than other forms of cross-channel transport.

  Topsoil
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tons of topsoil are being lost per acre due to overcultivation, improper irrigation, ploughed grassland, and deforestation in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Curry
  This information is not available.

  I am, however, concerned that good agricultural practices are followed to contain soil losses through erosion on susceptible land. There has been considerable research, much of it funded by this Department, and Agricultural Development and Advisory Service staff and their counterparts in Scotland and Northern Ireland are well equipped to provide advice on the means of minimising soil losses.

  Pet Food
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure those pet food manufacturers not represented by the Pet Food Manufacturers Association do not include those offals specified in the Bovine Offals Order in their pet food products; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  This is a commercial matter. There is no scientific justification for not using the specified bovine offals in pet food.

  Mink Farms
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the disposal of carcases from mink farms; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  I understand that most are disposed of on licensed toxic waste tips.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will send to Manchester city council and Trafford council the same information given by Her Majesty's Government to Westminister city council in relation to BSE.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 17 May.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the likely total number of cattle which have consumed scrapie-infected feed and which are still alive.

  Mr. Maclean
  This information is not available.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will update the reply given to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 1 May,Official Report, column 465, concerning the youngest confirmed case found of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a calf.

  Mr. Maclean
  The youngest confirmed case remains the 22-month-old cow.

  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of cattle slaughtered because of bovine spongiform encephalopathy by their specific breeds.

  Mr. Maclean
  The total number of confirmed cases in each breed up to 23 May is as follows:

  Breed

  Number

  Aberdeen Angus

  1

  Aberdeen Angus ×

  17

  Aberdeen Angus × Friesian

  25

  Ayr × Charolais

  1

  Ayrshire

  182

  Ayrshire ×

  12

  Ayrshire × Shorthorn

  1

  Blonde d'Aquitaine

  1

  Blue Grey

  0

  British White × Aberdeen Angus

  1

  Brown Swiss

  4

  Charolais

  17

  Charolais ×

  7

  Devon

  1

  Devon × Friesian

  3

  Friesian

  10,747

  Friesian × Ayrshire

  3

  Friesian × Galloway

  1

  Friesian × Guernsey

  1

  Friesian × Holstein

  455

  Friesian × Red Poll

  1

  Friesian × South Devon

  0

  Galloway ×

  3

  Gelbvieh

  1

  Guernsey

  146

  660

  Breed

  Number

  Guernsey ×

  5

  Guernsey × Murray Gray

  1

  Hereford

  39

  Hereford ×

  110

  Hereford × Ayrshire

  0

  Hereford × Friesian

  173

  Hereford × Simmental

  2

  Holstein

  262

  Jersey

  115

  Jersey × Charolais

  1

  Jersey × Friesian

  7

  Limousin

  13

  Limousin ×

  3

  Limousin × Friesian

  20

  Longhorn

  1

  Marchigiana

  1

  Merse Rhine Issel

  1

  Merse Rhine Issel ×

  1

  North Devon

  0

  North Devon × Friesian

  2

  Red Friesian

  12

  Red Poll

  3

  Shorthorn

  24

  Shorthorn ×

  7

  Shorthorn × Friesian

  1

  Shorthorn × Highland

  0

  Shorthorn × Lincoln Red

  0

  Shorthorn × Red Friesian

  1

  Shorthorn × Welsh Black

  0

  Simmental

  18

  Simmental × Angus

  1

  Simmental × Friesian

  15

  South Devon

  7

  South Devon × Limousin

  0

  Sussex

  2

  Sussex ×

  1

  Sussex × Friesian

  2

  Unknown

  1,361

  Welsh Black

  5

  Welsh Black × Hereford

  1

  Total

  13,849

  Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish in the Official Report the names of the members of his Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes; and whether he has required any of them to give an undertaking about secrecy in respect of the Committee's work.

  Mr. Maclean
  A listing of the current membership of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes is set out in the table. Members are requested to observe the confidential nature of the commercial information put before them. However, they are not asked to give a specific undertaking on secrecy.

  Membership of the advisory committee on novel foods and processes

  Chairman

  Professor Derek C. Burke, BSc, PhD, HonLLD. Vice-Chancellor, University of East Anglia.

  Members

  Professor G. E. Adams, BSc, PhD, DSc. Director of Medical Research Council Radiobiology Unit, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire.

  Professor T. Atkinson, BSc, PhD. Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Microbial Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

  Dr. A. C. Baird-Parker, OBE, BSc, PhD. Head of the Microbiology Division, Unilever Research.
  661
  Professor W. P. T. James, MA, MD, DSc, FRCP, FRCP (Edin), FRSE. Director of the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen.

  Professor B. E. Moseley, BSc, PhD. Head of Reading Laboratory, Agricultural and Food Research Council, Institute of Food Research, Reading, Berkshire.

  Professor D. J. Naismith, BSc, PhD. Head of the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, King's College, University of London.

  Professor P. Richmond, BSc, PhD, DSc, CPhys FInstP. Head of Norwich Laboratory, Agricultural and Food Research Council, Institute of Food Research, Norwich.

  Dr. P. J. Rodgers, MA, DPhil. Research and Regulatory Affairs Manager at ICI Biological Products.

  Professor J. E. Smith, DSc, FIBiol, FRSE. Head of the Applied Microbiology Division, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, University of Strathclyde.

  Dr. J. W. G. Smith, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, FFCM, FIBiol, DipBact. Director of the Public Health Laboratory Service, London.

  Professor D. A. T. Southgate, BSc, PhD. Head of the Nutrition Division of Norwich Laboratory, Agricultural and Food Research Council, Institute of Food Research, Norwich.

  Dr. A. J. Swallow, PhD, DSc, ScD, CChem, FRSC. Head of the Biophysical Chemistry Department, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute, Manchester.

  Professor P. Turner, MD, BSc, FRCP. Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College, University of London.

  Professor R. Walker, BSc, PhD. Professor of Food Science, University of Surrey.

  Bass
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he proposes to proceed with plans to designate nursery areas for the protection of juvenile bass stocks; and if he will make a statment.

  Mr. Curry
  [pursuant to his reply, of 19 April 1990, c. 980]:Regulations establishing 34 nursery areas in the coastal waters of England and Wales and prohibiting fishing for bass from vessels for all parts of the year were laid before Parliament today. The Bass (Specified Sea Areas) (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 1990, SI 1990 No. 1156, will take effect from 27 June this year.

  The nursery areas are those announced on 19 April with one modification so as to exclude a portion of the eastern areas of Poole harbour. The regulations complete the

  England

  Scotland

  Wales

  British Coal deep mines

  Licensed coal mines

  Opencast coal quarries

  British Coal deep mines

  Licensed coal mines

  Opencast coal quarries

  British Coal deep mines

  Licensed coal mines

  Opencast coal mines

  11984–85

  17

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1

  2

  2

  —

  1985–86

  22

  —

  2

  3

  —

  —

  3

  1

  —

  1986–87

  11

  1

  —

  1

  2

  —

  3

  —

  1

  1987–88

  8

  2

  —

  1

  —

  1

  —

  1

  1

  1988–89

  14

  1

  —

  —

  1

  1

  4

  —

  —

  1Covering a 15 month period January 1984 to March 1985.

  It is not possible to separate major injuries for England, Scotland and Wales without incurring disproportionate cost. National figures are as follows:

  British Coal deep mines

  Licensed coal mines

  Opencast coal quarries

  11984–85

  365

  13

  19

  1985–86

  715

  17

  29

  21986–87

  952

  30

  49

  1987–88

  729

  27

  48

  1988–89

  685

  25

  45

  662
  package of measures that the Fisheries Departments a re adopting for the long-term conservation and management of the bass fishery. The other parts of the package, an increase in the minimum landing size from 32 to 36 cm and the introduction of mesh size controls for gill and similar nets, came into operation in January.

  An advisory leaflet, "Bass: Nursery Areas and Other Conservation Measures", will be issued by the Department and the Welsh Office within the next fortnight. Copies will be sent to fishermen's organisations, sea anglers' associations, sea fisheries committees and the National Rivers Authority and will also be available on request from this Department and the Welsh Office.

EMPLOYMENT

  Low Pay
  Mr. Allen Adams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any proposals to improve the financial circumstances of low-paid workers.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The best way to help the lower paid is through continuing economic and employment growth and greater prosperity for all.

  Mines
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many(a) fatal accidents and (b) major accidents there were in (i) British Coal deep mines, (ii) licensed private deep coal mines, (iii) British Coal opencast mines and (iv) licensed private opencast coal mines in (1) England, (2) Scotland and (3) Wales in each of the last five years;

  (2) what was the number of (a) fatal injuries and (b) major injuries in (i) British Coal deep mines, (ii) licensed private deep coal mines, (iii) British Coal opencast mines and (iv) licensed private opencast mines in (1) England, (2) Scotland and (3) Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Nicholls
  It is not possible to determine the number of accidents that resulted in(a) fatal injuries or (b) major injuries without incurring disproportionate cost.

  The numbers of fatal injuries at the premises listed are:

  1Covering a 15 month period January 1984 to March 1985.

  2The introduction of the RIDDOR Regulations on 1 April 1986 widened the coverage of the "serious" injury category. Major injury figures from 1986–87 are therefore not directly comparable with those from earlier years.

  Adjudication Officers
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of unemployed claimants in Great Britain, each region, London and each
  663
  London employment service area who have been referred to an adjudication officer on grounds of voluntary unemployment, for each month since 9 October 1989, categorised according to each reason for disqualification; and how many in each case have (i) been disqualified; (ii) not been disqualified and (iii) are awaiting adjudication.

  Mr. Eggar
  The employment service, which is responsible for the administration of unemployment benefit, became an executive agency on 2 April 1990. Mr. Mike Fogden, the employment service's chief executive, will be replying in writing to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will update the information on decisions by adjudication officers he gave in the Official Report, 25 October 1989, columns 501–2, for each month since 9 October 1989, and including information on the number of referrals to adjudication officers;

  (2) what information he has on the average time between the submission of cases to adjudication officers on (i) actively seeking work, (ii) refusal of employment and (iii) availability, and on adjudication decision, in London and its employment service areas, and throughout Great Britain; and if he will make a statement on adjudication officer staffing levels.

  Mr. Eggar
  The employment service, which is responsible for providing statistical information on claims for unemployment benefit, became an executive agency on 2 April 1990. Mr. Mike Fogden, the employment service's executive, will be replying in writing to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list his Department's area adjudication sections in London and the number and physical location of adjudication officers; and if he will make a statement on their relocation, indicating where they will be located in the future and the methods that will be used to ensure that adjudication officers have the necessary local labour market knowledge required to adjudicate on questions of availability and actively seeking work.

  Mr. Eggar
  The employment service, which is responsible for the location of adjudication officers, became an executive agency on 2 April 1990. Mr. Mike Fogden, the employment service's chief executive, will be replying in writing to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has on the percentage of (i) refusal of employment, (ii) actively seeking work, (iii) availability and (iv) restricted availability questions decided within four weeks of referral to an adjudication officer for each employment service area, for the last four quarters.

  Mr. Eggar
  The employment service, which is responsible for collating statistics on claims for unemployment benefit, became an executive agency on 2 April 1990. Mr. Mike Fogden, the employment service's chief executive, will be replying in writing to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the information collected on the 5 per cent. sample of adjudication officers' cases referred to in his answer of 8 January,Official Report, column 490,
  664
  with regard to the average time between receipt of a referral and an adjudication decision on (a) refusal of employment and (b) actively seeking work.

  Mr. Eggar
  The employment service, which is responsible for collecting statistics on claims for unemployment benefit, became an executive agency on 2 April 1990. Mr. Mike Fogden, the employment service's chief executive, will be replying in writing to the hon. Member.

  Employment Service Office Managers
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the names, addresses and telephone numbers of each employment service area office manager.

  Mr. Eggar
  The employment service, which is responsible for the network of local and area offices, became an executive agency on 2 April 1990. Mr. Mike Fogden, the employment service's chief executive, will be replying in writing to the hon. Member.

  Restart
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many restart interviews were conducted, and how many people were(a) referred to each menu option at the restart interview, (b) what numbers actually took up their referral, (c) what numbers were referred to the unemployment benefit service for (i) failure to attend the restart interview, (ii) refusal of employment, (iii) actively seeking work, (iv) non-availability and (v) restricted availability, for the quarters ended September 1989, December 1989, and March 1990; and in each case what number had their benefit suspended or withdrawn; and if he is able to give a regional breakdown of the figures.

  Mr. Eggar
  The employment service, which is responsible for the restart programme, became an executive agency on 2 April 1990. Mr. Mike Fogden, the employment service's chief executive, will be replying in writing to the hon. Member.

  Mines and Quarries Inspectors
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many inspectors from Her Majesty's mines and quarries inspectorate were based in(a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The information requested is shown in the table. Figures relate to the locations of district or area offices; some mines inspectorate district offices cover areas which extend over territorial boundaries and mines and quarries inspectors may work in more than one district or area.

  Number of inspectors in HSE's Mines and Quarries Inspectorates1 based in:

  England2

  Scotland

  Wales

  Total

  (1 April)

  1985

  70

  9

  13

  92

  1986

  65

  7

  10

  82

  1987

  66

  7

  11

  84

  1988

  56

  5

  11

  72

  665

  England2

  Scotland

  Wales

  Total

  1989

  51

  6

  10

  67

  1990

  47

  32

  9

  58

  1 On 1 October 1989, the quarries inspectorate transferred to HSE's factory and agricultural inspectorate division.

  2 The totals for England include inspectors based in the inspectorates' headquarters.

  3 The mines inspectorate's Scottish and north eastern district office moved from Edinburgh to Gosforth in September 1989.

  Toxic Chemicals
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the work of the working group on the assessment of toxic chemicals, in so far as it affects the health and safety of industrial work forces.

  Mr. Nicholls
  The working group on the assessment of toxic chemicals undetakes scientific assessments of the toxicological, epidemiological, and other data relating to hazardous substances to which persons may be exposed in workplaces. It makes recommendations to the Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances, which advises the Health and Safety Commission, on the assignment of occupational exposure limits for such substances. These limits are for use in determining the adequacy of the control of exposure under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988.

  Advisory Committee on Dangerous Substances
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to expand his Advisory Committee on Dangerous Substances by inviting professional environmentalists to become members.

  Mr. Nicholls
  No. This is an advisory committee of the Health and Safety Commission and its terms of reference and membership are matters for the commission to consider.

  Labour and Social Affairs Council
  Mr. Stevens
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Labour and Social Affairs Council meeting held in Brussels on Tuesday 29 May.

  Mr. Howard
  The meeting was very constructive. The main business was the adoption of a resolution put forward by the Irish Presidency on action to assist the long-term unemployed.

  The council also adopted a resolution on the fight against racism and xenophobia; and a proposal for an action programme on continuing training. I expressed my support for the objectives of this decision; but made clear our objections to the inclusion of the social charter in the recital.

  There was a discussion of how we should amend existing regulations governing the freedom of movement for workers within the Community; and of a proposal for a new regulation on eligibility of migrant workers and their families to non-contributory benefits. It was agreed both issues needed further consideration.

  The council also adopted a resolution on the protection of the dignity of women and men at work, which is concerned with protection against sexual harassment; the third joint programme to encourage the exchange of young workers within the Community; and two directives on minimum health and safety requirements for workers in these areas: handling heavy loads where there is a risk of back injury for workers; and for work with display screen equipment. A common position was reached on a third directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to biological agents at work.

  In informal discussion, we considered how we might support the efforts of Poland and Hungary to move to a free market economy. Their Ministers for Employment had addressed Community Employment Ministers at an informal meeting on 28 May.

  Finally, Commisssioner Papandreou gave a first informal report on member states' implementation of measures already agreed in the social area. This was in response to my request for regular reports on implementation; and I have asked her to let member states have her report in writing.

  OIL SPILLAGES: LIABILITY
  OIL SPILLAGES: LIABILITY
  NATIONAL SAVINGS
  NATIONAL SAVINGS