Written Answers of 16 July 1991

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Value Added Tax
  Mr. Lord
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, following the meeting of European Community Finance Ministers on 24 June, it remains his intention to continue the existing VAT zero rating of printed matter.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The Economic and Finance Council has agreed that, for a transitional period to December 1996, member states that currently apply zero rates of VAT will be able to retain them provided they are in accordance with current Community law. United Kingdom zero rates are therefore safeguarded.

  While this agreement is without prejudice to what happens after the transitional period, the Government have always stressed the importance of the existing United Kingdom zero rates and will continue to oppose any proposals which would not allow for the permanent retention of our ability to apply them.

  Public Expenditure
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the public expenditure in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively, for each year since 1985.

  Mr. Mellor
  Data on identifiable general Government expenditure in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the years 1985–86 to 1989–90 are given in table 2.7 of the "Statistical Supplement to the 1990 Autumn Statement"—Cm. 1520.

  Resources (Allocation)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis it is determined what amount of new money should be allocated to Wales when new money is made available for Government expenditure in England; and if he will make a statement on the policy for allocation of such resources which has been followed by the Government over the past five years.

  Mr. Mellor
  Provision for central Government expenditure in Wales falls into two main categories: programmes within the so-called Welsh block and those outside it. Provision for programmes outside the block —agriculture, fisheries and food, industry and employment—is a matter for negotiation in the public expenditure survey in the normal way. Provision for programmes within the block is largely determined by the application of a formula to the increments accruing to comparable programmes in England. Decisions about the allocation of resources within the overall total are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Building Societies
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the tax raised by the transitional regulations on building societies appears in each of the financial years in the published Inland Revenue statistics.

  Mr. Maples
  The following amounts were included in published Inland Revenue statistics. They do not reflect credit allowed under regulation 12.

  £ million

  1986–87

  79

  1987–88

  21

  1988–89

  1

  1989–90

  13

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will calculate for a building society starting business on 1 May 1982, paying or crediting interest in the period between 1 January and 5 April, up to April 1986, the total period of business, the total period on which interest would be taxed if clause 50 is enacted and the excess period of taxation.

  Mr. Maples
  [holding answer 1 July 1991]: I am not aware of any building society starting business on 1 May 1982.

  Inland Revenue (Nottingham Headquarters)
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the revised cost estimates of the new Nottingham headquarters building for the Inland Revenue; and what are the anticipated annual savings to the Treasury.

  Mr. Maude
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: The project to build a new Inland Revenue centre in Nottingham is currently being reappraised. Until a decision on the future of the project has been taken, revised cost estimates are not available.

  Training
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will review the circumstances whereby payments made in respect of training supplied by a person who is not under direct contract with a training and enterprise council or local enterprise company are subject to value added tax; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: I have no current plans to do so. Vocational training supplied by persons not contracted to training and enterprise councils or local enterprise companies is exempt if it is provided otherwise than for profit; otherwise it is chargeable with the standard rate of VAT. This has been the tax treatment of vocational training for many years.

CIVIL SERVICE

  Occupational Health Service
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service (1) how many staff were in post on the date that the Occupational Health Service was established as an executive agency; and how many staff are in post now;
  103
  (2) if he will list those new facilities for staff including nurseries and health care schemes, which have been introduced in the Occupational Health Service since its establishment as an executive agency;

  (3) what group bonus schemes are in operation in the Occupational Health Service; and if he will state the cash amount per person awarded in the last year for which figures are available, and the conditions attached to its award;

  (4) if he will list the new forms of alternative working patterns introduced into the Occupational Health Service since its establishment as an executive agency; and a break-down by grade of the numbers of staff taking up each new working pattern;

  (5) what appointments from the private sector have been made to the Occupational Health Service at grade 7 or above since its establishment as an agency; and if he will list the post, grade and maximum salary payable including any performance-related element.

  Mr. Renton
  I am advised that the chief executive of the OHS has replied to the hon. Member.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will state the maximum salary payable to the chief executive of the Occupational Health Service, including any performance-related element, and the length of time of the chief executive's contract.

  Mr. Renton
  The chief executive of the Occupational Health Service is on the standard civil service grade 3 pay range and is eligible for the performance-related element appropriate to that grade. His contract is for three years.

  Civil Service (Morale)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what further initiatives he is planning to raise morale in the civil service.

  Mr. Renton
  Our aim is to have an efficient, effective and well-motivated civil service. Managers in departments and agencies continually work to achieve this.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Maxton
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service how many civil servants, at what grades and identified by United Kingdom departments, are(a) currently and (b) in each of the last three years on secondment to European Community institutions.

  Mr. Renton
  In April 1991, the latest comprehensive figures, 91 civil servants were on secondment. At 1 April 1990, the number was 52. Information on the two previous years is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  The grades of the secondees were:

  Grade

  Number

  April 1991

  April 1990

  5

  10

  4

  6

  6

  3

  7

  40

  19

  SEO

  9

  9

  HEO/HEO(D)

  14

  9

  EO

  3

  —

  Other (specialists etc)

  9

  8

  104

  The secondees came from the following departments

  Department

  Number

  April 1991

  April 1990

  Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

  9

  7

  Cabinet Office

  3

  2

  Crown Prosecution Service

  1

  —

  HM Customs and Excise

  14

  11

  Ministry of Defence

  1

  —

  Equal Opportunities Commission

  1

  —

  Department of Education and Science

  1

  —

  Department of Employment

  10

  3

  Department of Environment

  6

  2

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  3

  2

  Department of Health

  1

  —

  Northern Ireland Office

  1

  —

  Northern Ireland Civil Service

  8

  2

  Overseas Development Administration

  2

  1

  Scottish Office

  4

  3

  Department of Social Security

  1

  1

  Department of Trade and Industry

  18

  14

  Department of Transport

  4

  3

  HM Treasury

  1

  —

  Treasury Solicitor's Department

  1

  —

  Welsh Office

  1

  1

WALES

  A470
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many outstanding objections exist to the present line of the A470 Pentrebach to Cefn Coed, Merthyr Tydfil.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  We have not yet published the draft orders that will invite objections to the proposals.

  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will list the outstanding statutory procedures and preparation required before the construction of the A470 Pentrebach to Cefn Coed can begin.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Line, side roads and compulsory purchase orders have to be drafted and published in the local press and London Gazette. Any objections received are considered and invariably on schemes of this size, a public inquiry held. Following receipt of the inspector's report, the orders may be made, at which stage, tenders for the construction works may be invited.

  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will outline the current timetable for the completion of procedures and preparation for the construction of the A470 Pentrebach to Cefn Coed, Merthyr Tydfil.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  As indicated in the February 1991 supplement to "Roads in Wales", construction is scheduled to begin before April 1994, subject to completion of the statutory procedures and the availability of finance. We anticipate that draft orders will be published later this year.

  Dentistry
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what criteria his Department specifies that community dental officers should employ to decide as to whom in the general dental service patients should be referred.
  105
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  Criteria and arrangements for referrals by the community dental service are a matter for local determination.

  Engineering Courses
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many students are enrolled on Business and Technical Education Council engineering courses for Methyr Tydfil and Rhymney.

  Mr. David Hunt
  In 1989–90 there were 23 students at Merthyr college and 78 students at Ystrad Mynach college following Business and Technical Education Council engineering courses.

  Hospital Waiting Lists
  Mr. John Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the current waiting lists for admissions in each of the main specialties in West Glamorgan and Neath hospitals respectively; and what are the comparable figures in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  Information on the numbers of patients waiting for in-patient admissions in five specialities, general surgery, including urology, ear, nose and throat, traumatic and orthopaedic surgery, ophthalmology, and gynaecology, at Neath general hospital and West Glamorgan as a whole is published in the "Welsh Hospital Waiting List Bulletin" series. Neither of the other two hospitals in Neath, Cymla and Tonna, treat patients in these specialties. The bulletins are published twice a year giving figures as at March and September and copies are in the Library of the House.

  Mr. John Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the current waiting lists for patients to have their final consultation with consultants in each of the main specialties in West Glamorgan and Neath hospitals respectively; and what are the comparable figures in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  This information is not available centrally.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Poverty
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how his Department assesses which developing countries are using their resources most effectively to tackle poverty; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The relevant criteria are whether there is economic growth in which poor people are sharing and which is creating income and livelihoods for them; whether policies and institutions are conducive to private sector and individual development and to employment and self-employment for the poor. Recipient Government priorities, as demonstrated by the pattern and effectiveness of public expenditure, are also important. Expenditure on basic social and economic services should enable sustainable progress to be made in providing a wide spread of the population with access to basic schooling, health and family planning services, safe water and access roads.

  Good Government
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how he intends to assess, when implementing his policies on good governance, whether developing countries have excessive military expenditure.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The Government will assess the level of military expenditure in individual developing countries in the context of their domestic and regional situations and taking account of their public expenditure and wider economic policies.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how his Department monitors the performance of countries on the criteria set out for good government.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The Government refer to a range of information on individual country policies and performance including reports from British diplomatic posts, reports by non-governmental organisations and assessments by international and regional organisations.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have received more support from Her Majesty's Government because they have improved their performance on good government criteria.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Countries that are receiving increased support include some of the world's poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, which are implementing reform programmes relating to economic policy and the organisation of government. We also intend to increase support to some of the emerging democracies of Latin America.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Telephone Message Services
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many prosecutions have been proceeded with by British Telecommunications, OFTEL or ICSTIS against operators of premium rate overtly sexual telephone message services.

  Mr. Redwood
  ICSTIS—the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services—has taken effective action by closing down more than 350 premium rate telephone services so far this year because of their offensive nature. There have been no prosecutions against providers of such services so far.

  Insolvency Service
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many reports and complaints of the unfit conduct of directors were submitted to the Insolvency Service in 1990; in how many cases legal proceedings were undertaken; and how many disqualification orders against directors were made in 1990.

  Mr. Redwood
  During 1990 the Insolvency Service received 4,062 reports alleging aspects of unfit conduct by
  107
  directors of insolvent companies. Proceedings were commenced in 488 cases, disqualification orders were made against 286 persons and at 31 December 1990 a total of 527 cases were waiting to be heard by the courts.

  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many court cases the Insolvency Service has been successful.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 20 June, Official Report, columns 283–84. I would point out however that the figure of 672 given in the second line of the second paragraph of that answer was wrongly printed and should have been 627.

  In addition to the criminal matters detailed in that answer the Insolvency Service had, at 30 June 1991, obtained 1,009 disqualification orders against individual directors of failed companies.

  Retail Grocers
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 4 July,Official Report, column 177, what examination the Director General of Fair Trading has made in respect of companies in the retail grocery sector of (a) gross and net margins relative to overall retail margins in the United Kingdom and to retail grocery sector margins in other EC countries, (b) prices paid to suppliers, and (c) return on capital employed and on net assets, relative to the figures for the overall retail sector in the United Kingdom and for the retail grocery sector in other EC countries.

  Mr. Redwood
  In keeping the retail grocery sector under review the director general has regard to all the factors set out by the right hon. Member. He last examined the position earlier this year. As I said in my answer of 4 July, he has no evidence at present of abuse that would justify a reference to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

  Bank of Credit and Commerce International
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was learned from his Department's inquiry into Barlow Clowes about the use made by Barlow Clowes of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International and about the properties of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International's role in that case.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: The Companies Act inspectors appointed to investigate the affairs and membership of James Ferguson Holdings plc and the affairs of Barlow Clowes Gilt Managers Limited have not yet submitted their report.

  Accounting Practices
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has drawn to the attention of the Accountancy Standards Board the treatment of merger and acquisition costs in company accounts and the opportunities for comparison between company performance in this matter to be made by investors.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: No. The treatments of the costs in acquisitions and mergers are covered by two exposure drafts issued by the Accounting
  108
  Standards Committee in 1990. In due course, the Accounting Standards Board will be considering the exposure drafts and the comments received in formulating its own proposals. If the hon. Member has any observations to make, I suggest that he provides them to the board.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Director General of Fair Trading has completed his report on the application of bodies to become qualifying and supervisory bodies under part 1 of schedule 14 to the Companies Act 1989.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Riddick) on 18 April, (Official Report, column 222). I expect to receive shortly the director general's reports on the amendments which the applicants have made to their rules and guidance.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to introduce legislation to require auditors to declare in company reports to shareholders whether they also offer tax advice to the company.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: None.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it has been the practice of his Department to refer criticisms of auditors in his inspectors' reports to the Auditing Practices Committee and its successors.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: No. The Auditing Practices Committee had no regulatory functions in respect of auditors whose conduct was criticised by inspectors, nor does its successor body the new Auditing Practices Board.

PRIME MINISTER

  Citizens Charter
  Mr. Burt
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will ensure that the forthcoming White Paper on the citizens charter addresses the resource implications for advice agencies.

  The Prime Minister
  The White Paper on the citizens charter will be published later this summer, but I would remind my hon. Friend that the Government already provide considerable funding for advice agencies.

  Engagements
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I have been asked to reply.

  My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is hosting the economic summit.

ENERGY

  Electricity Industry
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the turnover, in the last year before privatisation, of each of the electricity distribution companies.
  109
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  This is a matter for the companies. However, this information is contained in the companies' annual reports and accounts for the year ending 31 March 1990, copies of which were placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what record he has of or what representations he received from the electricity supply and distribution industries, before their privatisation, about their inability to recruit the most suitable applicants for posts in top and middle management or skilled scientific and professional grades, owing to inadequate or non-competitive salaries.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  In the run-up to privatisation I received representations that, in order to recruit the most suitable applicants, certain appointments of PLC designate directors were necessary at salaries above the then existing scales in the industry, and a number of appointments were so made. The salary entitlements of executive directors were set out in the prospectuses.

  North Sea
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will make a statement about North sea developments.

  Mr. Wakeham
  I have today agreed to make a royalty refund under certain circumstances to the Columba—Ninian B and D terraces—licensees, making the first use of my discretionary powers under section 41(3) of the Petroleum and Submarine Pipeline Act 1975 to facilitate North sea development.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Gabon
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the annual cost of maintaining a post in Gabon; and what is the estimated net savings of closing it.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The total cost of maintaining a post in Libreville, Gabon was approximately £420,000. Estimated annual net savings of closing the post are £330,000.

  Flags (10 July)
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the flags, and the countries they represent, which were flying on 10 July on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building, Whitehall, in order from the left hand side of the Whitehall elevation.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The flags displayed on the FCO building in Whitehall on 10 July were national flags and the union flag. In order from the left hand side of the Whitehall elevations they were:

  Year

  Fatal

  Serious

  Slight

  Total

  Commercial vehicles

  Private vehicles

  1980

  —

  4

  —

  4

  —

  5

  1981

  —

  1

  6

  7

  3

  9

  1982

  1

  1

  5

  7

  1

  13

  1983

  —

  2

  9

  11

  1

  19

  1984

  —

  3

  9

  12

  6

  19

  110
  Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, United Kingdom, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, United Kingdom, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya.

TRANSPORT

  Taxis (Rear Seat Belts)
  Mr. Butcher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the European countries which require rear seat belts to be worn in taxis where these are fitted.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Information is not available about seat belt wearing requirements in all European countries. Six of the twelve European Community countries require rear seat belts to be used, but no details are available of specific requirements for vehicles used as taxis.

  Cross-channel Ferries
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints he has received in the last six months of cross-channel ferries leaving port with their stern doors open.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Only one complaint referring to cross-channel ferries leaving port with their stern doors open has been received in the past six months. That complaint referred to observations made prior to March 1987.

  Motor Coaches
  Mr. John Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will establish a system of monitoring the timetable of long distance motor coaches and their actual times of departure and arrival.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  No. Long-distance coach services were deregulated by the Transport Act 1980 and their times of arrival and departure are a matter for the operators concerned.

  A167
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of(a) accidents, (b) fatalities and (c) injuries and the factors for the accidents, if known, on the A167 between the Cock o' the North roundabout and the Sniperley roundabout for each year since 1980; and the number of commercial and private vehicles involved.

  Mr. Chope
  The accident figures for the period 1980 to 1990 are listed in the table. It should be noted that traffic using this section of road has increased by over 30 per cent. during the period. The information requested about the factors leading to each individual accident can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
  111

  Year

  Fatal

  Serious

  Slight

  Total

  Commercial vehicles

  Private vehicles

  1985

  —

  2

  7

  9

  6

  15

  1986

  —

  4

  10

  14

  4

  24

  1987

  —

  1

  4

  5

  2

  9

  1988

  —

  5

  12

  17

  5

  26

  1989

  —

  1

  12

  13

  1

  27

  1990

  —

  1

  19

  20

  4

  36

  TOTAL

  1

  25

  93

  119

  33

  202

  Traffic Accidents
  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many traffic accidents for the last 12 months for which figures are available were tyre related; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  The Department does not have comprehensive information on traffic accidents in relation to tyre defects. However, during the year 1988–89 the vehicle inspectorate investigated some 1,600 accidents. Tyre defects were considered to have contributed towards less than 1 per cent. of these accidents.

  Red Routes
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his evaluation of the effect on traffic speeds, volume, road safety, pollution and small businesses, of the priority route scheme on the Archway road, Holloway road and Upper street since January; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Chope
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 3 June 1991,Official Report, column 116.

  Dock Workers (Redundancy)
  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the original estimate of contributions towards payments to former registered dock workers made redundant under the terms of the Dock Work Act 1989; what has been the total cost to date of such contributions; what is the current estimate of the final total cost; in how many cases payments of 100 per cent. have been made consequent upon a liquidation and at what cost; and what recoveries have been made from liquidators.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: The explanatory and financial memorandum to the Bill which became the Dock Work Act 1989 estimated that the dockworkers' compensation scheme might cost £25 million over three years. It also made clear that no precise forecast could be given. To date, the actual cost to the Government has been £128 million. The final cost is not expected to exceed £141 million. In 18 cases, where employers were in liquidation or receivership, the Department has met the full cost of compensation at a total cost of £33 million, of which nearly £0·5 million has so far been recovered.

EMPLOYMENT

  Employment Training
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what change in the number of Government-sponsored places there has been for retail, computer, office skills and information technology training in 1990–91 and 1991–92 in east London.

  Mr. Jackson
  Provision of training in east London is a matter for East London training and enterprise council. I understand that the number of training places available in these occupational areas is about the same in 1991–92 as the previous year.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what sums of money have been contributed from the European social fund towards employment training for the years 1989, 1990 and 1991; and what percentage contribution to the total costs of ET this represents for each year.

  Mr. Forth
  European social fund contributions towards ET were as follows:

  £ million

  1989

  81·7

  1990

  144·5

  1991

  161·48

  Employment training expenditure is determined by financial year and a direct comparison is therefore not possible. The most recent figures are as follows:

  £ million

  1989–90

  1,097

  1990–91

  1,066

  11991–92

  915

  1 Estimated

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what the average unit cost is for employment training per trainee/week.

  Mr. Jackson
  It is estimated that the overall gross Exchequer unit cost for employment training in Great Britain in 1991–92, including trainee allowances, will be some £119 per trainee per week.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what average unit cost is assumed for the additional employment training places which were announced on 19 June.

  Mr. Jackson
  Changes to training and enterprise council and local enterprise company business plans,
  113
  including payments per trainee week and per output, as a result of the additional £35 million made available for employment training on 19 June are currently the subject of renegotiation.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what consideration has been given to uprating employment training allowances in line with increases in the retail prices index; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  The training allowance paid to non-employed employment training—ET—trainees is equivalent to their previous entitlement to benefit plus a training premium of £10. The benefit element of the ET trainee allowance is increased each year in line with increases in social security benefits which are linked to the retail prices and Rossi indices.

  Training and enterprise councils and local enterprise companies are also responsible for other trainee allowances, such as travel, lodging and child care.

  Since its beginning in September 1988, more than 1 million people have been trained on ET. The Government are satisfied that the allowances paid to trainees offer sufficient incentive for individuals to take up training.

  Genetic Modification Sites
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of sites licensed under the procedures of the Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification; what is the distribution of these sites by region; and what is the number of visits carried out each year by the Health and Safety Executive to these sites.

  Mr. Forth
  There are currently 372 active centres that have notified the Health and Safety Executive of their intention to undertake work on genetic modification. The distribution of these centres by HSE regions is as follows:

  Number

  Midlands

  48

  Wales and South West

  24

  North East

  36

  North West

  25

  Scotland

  51

  Home Counties

  72

  London and South West

  116

  During the calendar year 1990 inspectors from HSE's technology division visited 100 of these centres to carry out site inspections. The number of centres visited in calendar years 1989 and 1988 were 77 and 89 respectively.

  Pop Concerts
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects the guidance of the Health and Safety Executive on pop concerts and similar events to be available.

  Mr Forth
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 7 February,Official Report, column 238. Regrettably, there have been some delays in the preparation of this guidance, but it is now hoped that a draft will be available for consultation in the early autumn this year.

  Crown Suppliers (Remploy Factories)
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the value of orders placed by the Crown Suppliers with Remploy factories in each of the past three years of the Crown Suppliers' existence; and what currently is the annual value of orders placed by Government Departments and agencies, previously purchased through the Crown Suppliers, with Remploy factories.

  Mr. Jackson
  The value of orders placed by Crown Suppliers with Remploy factories in each of the last three years of Crown Suppliers' existence was

  Year

  £ million

  1988–89

  7·4

  1989–90

  6·6

  1990–91

  3·6

  No figures are available either centrally or in Remploy itself on the annual value of orders placed by Government Departments and agencies with Remploy factories, which would previously have been purchased through the Crown Suppliers.

  Employment Contracts (Jurisdiction)
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he proposes to introduce the regulations to transfer jurisdiction from courts to industrial tribunals over claims by dismissed employees in respect of alleged breaches by their employers of their contracts of employment.

  Mr. Forth
  Further consideration will be given to this matter when the House of Lords has given its decision in a case which is expected to clarify existing industrial tribunal jurisdiction under the Wages Act 1986.

  Construction Training
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what change in the number of places for construction industry training on employment training in east London has taken place in 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  Mr. Jackson
  Provison of ET in east London is a matter for East London training and enterprise council.

  Holloway Job Club
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the Employment Service guarantees the funding of the Holloway job club.

  Mr. Jackson
  Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service executive agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the agency's chief executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.

  Youth Training
  Mr. Rooney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he received the statement on youth training schemes by the British Printing Industry Federation; what assessment he has made on its implications for training and enterprise councils; and if he will make a statement.
  115
  Mr. Jackson
  My right hon. and learned Friend, the Secretary of State for Employment, has received no formal notification of future withdrawal from YT from the British Printing Industry Federation, the BPIF. I am however aware of the British Printing Industry Federation's letter to the Financial Times of 8 July in which it expressed its intention to cease operating as a YT managing agent in 1992. Responsibility for contracting for youth training in England and Wales rests with the training and enterprise councils, which have the authority and resources to apply local solutions to local needs. The implications for TECs if BPIF withdraws from YT would be a matter for individual TECs to address in the light of local demand for training in printing occupations.

  Chest Diseases
  Mr. Caborn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what research projects have been undertaken or funded by the Health and Safety Executive since 1975 in relation to emphysema, chronic obstructive airways disease, asthma and chronic bronchitis and in particular to the incidence of each disease amongst(a) coal miners and ex-coal miners and (b) foundry workers and ex-foundry workers.

  Mr. Forth
  The majority of research into emphysema, chronic obstructive airways disease, asthma and chronic bronchitis in coal miners, ex-coal miners, foundry workers and ex-foundry workers in the United Kingdom has been sponsored by the relevant industry in collaboration with the European Coal and Steel Community which is now conducting its fifth programme of medical research into occupational ill health. The HSE is consulted about the contents of this research and is closely following the programme's progress. On this basis the HSE has not directly funded any separate research projects.

  However, the HSE has recently undertaken a review of research on chronic non-malignant respiratory disease in ferrous metal manufacturing and production workers and has also commissioned a wider ranging review of the health effects of airborne substances in the ferrous foundry industry. The results are expected to be available early next year.

  Full details of HSE's research are listed in their "Programme of research and related services" which is published annually. Copies are available from the House of Commons Library.

  Training
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to regionalise the management and development of the vocational training programmes which are supported by the European social fund; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  The training and enterprise councils—and the local enterprise companies in Scotland—already have responsibility for the delivery of vocational training programmes such as employment training and youth training and they carry out this task so as to take full account of local circumstances and needs.

  Employment Action
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether travel costs for individuals who participate in employment action will be reimbursed.
  116
  Mr. Jackson
  Training and enterprise councils and local enterprise companies will have the discretion to offer travel costs to participants on employment action. The arrangements will be similar to those that apply for employment training.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Contributory Benefits
  Mr. Mallon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are used to identify the relevant tax years for the purposes of processing a claim for any contributory benefit.

  Mr. Hanley
  For unemployment, sickness and invalidity benefit, the relevant tax years are the last two complete tax years before the start of the benefit year. The benefit year which starts on the first Sunday in January is determined by the first day of a period of interruption of employment.

  For retirement pension, the relevant tax years are those in the working life from the year in which age 16 is reached to the tax year ending immediately before pension age which is 65 in the case of a man and 60 in the case of a woman.

  For widows' benefit, the relevant tax years are those in the working life of the late husband which run from the year in which he reached age 16 to the tax year ending immediately before he died or reached age 65 whichever is the earlier.

  RU486
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidelines he has issued to medical practitioners on the use of RU486 in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  [holding answer 8 July 1991]: None. The product licence recently granted in respect of the drug known as RU486 does not extend to Northern Ireland, and therefore it will not be available in the Province.

  Police Authority
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the names of new members of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland were the subject of consultation with the Government of the Republic of Ireland in accordance with the provisions of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 12 July 1991]: It is policy not to disclose whether any views have been put forward under article 6 of the Anglo-Irish Agreement on the composition of public bodies.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Foreign Prisoners
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many foreign national prisoners who have been granted home leave have returned to prison after home leave in the last five years;

  (2) how many foreign national prisoners have (a) requested, (b) been granted and (c) been refused home leave in each of the last five years.
  117
  Mrs. Rumbold
  This information is not readily available.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who makes the decision on home leave for foreign national prisoners.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  As in the case of other applications for home leave, it is for the governor to decide, on the recommendation of the home leave board, whether the request can be approved.

  Electoral Registration
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to increase resources available for electoral registration in October.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Central Government support for local authority expenditure on electoral registration is provided through the revenue support grant system. There is no provision for increasing that level of support in the current financial year.

  Firefighters
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is his policy on the future role of retained firefighters; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what proposals he has to ensure that retained firefighters play a part in the overall provision of fire and rescue services.

  Mr. John Patten
  We are committed to the continuation of the retained fire service in England and Wales. Retained firefighters perform a vital and extremely cost-effective role in the provision of fire cover, particularly in the more rural areas. We have encouraged fire authorities to make arrangements for whole-time firefighters to undertake retained duties in their spare time if they so wish. This will help to ensure that the retained fire service continues to play an important part in the provision of fire cover in England and Wales.

  Prisoners
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to ensure that all prisoners are able to exercise their entitlement to a fortnightly visit.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  This is being monitored by area managers—who have to seek my right hon. Friend's approval for any temporary reduction in the visiting allowance—as part of their line management responsibilities.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those prisons which do not allow prisoners more than one visit a month.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Convicted prisoners are normally able to receive at least two visits every four weeks, and sometimes more, at all establishments except Swansea.

  Political Asylum
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has made to the letter from the hon. Member for Nottingham, North concerning the request of Mr. Gabrielle Purendea, currently held in Exeter prison, for political asylum.
  118
  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I shall be writing to the hon. Member shortly.

  Prison Officers
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why rest days are now counted for the purpose of assessing whether a prison officer has suffered more than 365 days of absence through illness over a period of four years; and whether the counting of rest days in this way is applied retrospectively to the period before the introduction of fresh start.

  Mr. Rumbold
  The rules governing sick absence and pay for civil servants, including prison officers, are detailed in the civil service pay and conditions of service code. Under these rules, the first six months of sick absence—182 days —during any period of 12 months are on full pay thereafter pay drops to half rate. This is subject to a maximum of 12 months—365 days—sick absence in any period of four years or less.

  During a period of sick absence, all days, including Saturdays, Sundays, public and privilege holidays and rest days, count. However if they occur at the beginning or end, they are not included or reckoned.

  These rules were not altered in any way by the introduction of fresh start pay and working arrangements in 1987.

  Woolf Report
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the timetable for full implementation of each of the measures announced in his statement on 25 February following publication of the Woolf report on prison disturbances.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  My right hon. Friend's response to the Woolf report, in the form of a White Paper on the future direction of the prison service in England and Wales, will review the progress of all the measures referred to in his statement of 25 February. The extension of arrangements for financially assisted visits was introduced on 1 April; opportunities for home leve were increased from 7 May; the abolition of routine censorship in all except dispersal prisons came into force on 16 May; the increase in the level of visits for convicted prisoners took effect from 17 June; and the programme for installing cardphones in all establishments which do not already have them is scheduled to be completed in May 1992.

  Car Thefts
  Mr. Mills
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to recommend stronger penalties for those who steal cars and then use the vehicle recklessly.

  Mr. John Patten
  We have no plans at present to increase the maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment for taking a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. When those who have taken a car are convicted of reckless driving, they are liable to up to two years' imprisonment, or five years, if they have caused a death.

  Homosexuals (Isle of Man)
  Mr. Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) by what date he expects homosexual activity to be decriminalised in the Isle of Man;
  119
  (2) what consultations have taken place with the Isle of Man Government over the wording of the Sexual Offences Bill currently before Tynwald; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) if he will make a statement on the consequences of the action of the Manx Parliament in amending the Sexual Offences Bill to remove clauses decriminalising homosexual activity on the Isle of Man.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Isle of Man Government sent the Home Office drafts of its Sexual Offences Bill, including clauses providing for the decriminalisation of homosexual activity between consenting adults in private, as part of the usual consultative procedures. The Bill remains subject to possible amendment in Tynwald, where consideration is expected to resume after the island's general election in November.

  If the island were demonstrably to refuse or to fail to amend its law satisfactorily, Her Majesty's Government would have no alternative but to introduce the requisite legislation in Parliament at the earliest suitable opportunity.

  Mr. Karamjit Singh Chahal
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement concerning the case of Mr. Karamjit Singh Chahal.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 25 June at columns 405–6.

  Shop Squatting
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the growth of illegal shop squatting and the speed of repossession procedure; and what response he is making.

  Mr. John Patten
  We have received a number of representations from hon. Members and others about squatting in vacant shops and problems with the speed of repossession. The effectiveness of the remedies available under the civil law is a matter for my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor, but I understand that accelerated procedures are available to deal with squatters.

  We are currently reviewing the criminal law as it affects the unlawful occupation of premises, including shops, and my right hon. Friend will announce the outcome of this review in due course.

  Child Sex Offences
  Mr. Rooney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were convicted of child sex offences in the last year for which figures are available; and, of these, how many were allowed bail prior to trial, how many pleaded guilty and how many pleaded not guilty.

  Mr. John Patten
  Information on the number of persons convicted of child sex crime in England and Wales is given in the table. It is only possible from the information held centrally to identify sex offences where the victim is know to be aged under 16. Reliable information is not available centrally on the numbers given bail prior to trial or how they pleaded.
  120

  Number of persons convicted of child sex offences. 1989 England and Wales

  Offence

  Convictions

  Buggery with a boy under the age of 16 or with a woman or an animal

  183

  Attempt to commit buggery with a boy under the age of 16 or with a woman or an animal

  26

  Indecent assault on a male aged under 16 years

  406

  Indecent assault on a female aged under 16 years

  1,657

  Unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl aged under 13 years

  96

  Unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl aged under 16 years

  262

  Incest with a girl under 13 years

  100

  Inciting girl under 16 years to have incestuous sexual intercourse

  5

  Householder permitting unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 years

  3

  Person responsible for girl aged under 16 causing or encouraging her prostitution, etc

  1

  Abduction of unmarried girl aged under 16 years

  13

  Gross indecency with children

  219

  Mr. Paul Vickers
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he proposes to reply to recent correspondence from the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central about the sentence of Mr. Paul Vickers;

  (2) when he expects to conclude his review of the further medical evidence on Paul Vickers's sentence submitted by Mr. Vickers solicitors in October 1990;

  (3) whether he has concluded his inquiries into the review of the sentence of Paul Vickers referred to in the answer given to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 1 November 1988, Official Report, column 576.

  Mr. John Patten
  Dr. Vickers' solicitors made representations on his behalf in August 1988 suggesting that his conviction was unsafe. I wrote to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central on 6 August 1990 informing him that these representations did not provide sufficient ground to justify my right hon. Friend intervening in Dr. Vickers' case. The further representations made by Dr. Vickers' solicitors in October 1990 are under consideration and my right hon. Friend hopes to reach a decision on Dr. Vickers' case shortly. I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as a decision has been reached.

  Medical Advisers
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the scale rate of fees for pathologists and other medical advisers called in to advise his Department in the years 1988–89 to 1990–91, and currently; what sums have been expended by his Department on this in these years; what internal audit procedures there are to ensure timeliness and value for money in the tendering of such advice; and whether any such audit procedures were put into action in these years.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The information is not available centrally in the form requested. I shall write to the hon. Member.

  Regional Public Services
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regions the police service in England and Wales is divided into; what area is covered by each region; and if he will publish a map showing the relevant areas.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  There are eight regions, divided along force boundaries. A map is being placed in the Library.

  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regions the fire service inspectorate in England and Wales is divided into; what area is covered by each region; and if he will publish a map showing the relevant areas.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Brigade inspections in England and Wales are carried out by four regionally-based territorial inspectors. Details of the inspection areas covered by each region are given in the table. I have placed a map showing these areas in the Library.

  London Area

  Bedfordshire

  Buckinghamshire

  Cambridgeshire

  Essex

  Hertfordshire

  Leicestershire

  Lincolnshire

  London (coordinator)

  Norfolk

  Northamptonshire

  Suffolk

  Wiltshire

  Northern Area

  Cleveland

  Cumbria

  Derbyshire

  Durham

  Greater Manchester

  Lancashire

  Northumberland

  Nottinghamshire

  Tyne and Wear

  North Yorkshire

  South Yorkshire

  West Yorkshire

  Southern Area

  Avon

  Berkshire

  Cornwall

  Devon

  Dorset

  Gloucestershire

  Hampshire

  Humberside

  Kent

  Oxfordshire

  Somerset

  Surrey

  East Sussex

  West Sussex

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  Isle of Wight

  Isles of Scilly

  Western Area

  Cheshire

  Clwyd

  Dyfed

  Mid Glamorgan

  South Glamorgan

  West Glamorgan

  Gwent

  Gwynedd

  Hereford and Worcester

  Merseyside

  Powys

  Shropshire

  Staffordshire

  Warwickshire

  West Midlands

  Regional Public Services
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regions the civil defence service in England and Wales is divided into; what area is covered by each region; and if he will publish a map showing the relevant areas.

  Mr. John Patten
  For many civil defence purposes England and Wales are divided into nine regions. These cover, broadly, north-east England, the east midlands, East Anglia, London, south-east England, south-west England, Wales, the west midlands and north-west England. I am placing a map in the Library.

  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regions the prison service in England and Wales is divided into; what area is covered by each region; and if he will publish a map showing the relevant areas.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The regional tier of the prison service of England and Wales disappeared as part of the reorganisation of management structures which took place on 25 September 1990. The service is now divided into 15 geographical areas each including seven to nine prison establishments. A copy of a map depicting these areas has been placed in the Library.

  Category A Prisoners
  Sir John Wheeler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review security arrangements under which category A inmates are held in prisons.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  I have asked Mr. G. H. Lakes CB MC, former deputy director general of the prison service and Mr. R. Hadfield QPM, Chief Constable of the West Midlands, to conduct a security audit of arrangements for holding and managing category A prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons and to report to me as soon as possible.

ENVIRONMENT

  Pentachlorophenol Contamination
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to ensure the reduction of pentachlorophenol concentrations in rivers in the constituency of Rossendale and Darwen.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Environmental quality objectives have been set for all inland waters in relation to discharges of
  123
  dangerous substances, including pentachlorophenol and its compounds. So far as is practicable, those objectives must be achieved at all times.

  Applications and reviews relating to consents for trade effluent discharges containing PCP to sewers have to be referred to me for my determination. On the advice of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, conditions are being set requiring the use of the best technical means available to minimise as soon as practicable the adverse effects of such discharges.

  Letting Statistics
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how the level of letting in public and private rented sectors is estimated; and if he will provide a breakdown of the constituent components of the total flow of lets on a yearly basis from 1980 to 1990;

  (2) how many estimated private dwelling lets there were in each year from 1980 (a) in England and (b) in Great Britain.

  Mr. Yeo
  Total lettings of local authority dwellings, including transfers by existing tenants, are reported each year by local authorities in their housing investment programme returns.

  Since 1986–87 housing associations have reported lettings annually to the Housing Corporation. For earlier years they can be estimated from the Labour Force Survey.

  Lettings by other private landlords are also estimated from the Labour Force Survey.

  Estimates of the number of lettings in England are given in the table:

  thousands

  Local authorities

  Housing associations1 2

  Other private1

  1980–81

  3440

  65

  380

  1981–82

  415

  4‥

  4‥

  1982–83

  439

  70

  420

  1983–84

  429

  60

  470

  1984–85

  429

  65

  430

  1985–86

  437

  80

  410

  1986–87

  430

  77

  480

  1987–88

  426

  70

  520

  1988–89

  410

  72

  480

  1989–90

  390

  76

  540

  1 Source of housing associations estimates (for years prior to 1986–87) and other private lettings (all years) is the Labour Force Survey. LFS is a sample survey, and so some of the year-to-year fluctuations in numbers may be the result of sample variability. The LFS will tend to understate the number of lettings by private landlords because what is recorded is whether the household had been at the address for under 12 months; the estimate does not allow for any multiple moves in the previous 12 months.

  2 Housing association lettings from 1986–87 onwards are based on returns to the Housing Corporation. Internal transfers by tenants have only been reported from 1989–90 and figures for 1986–87 to 1988–89 include estimates of these lettings.

  3 For 1980–81 includes estimate of non-secure and mobility lettings which were not included on local authority returns.

  4 ‥ Not available.

  For information about Scotland and Wales I refer the hon. member to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales.

  Crown Suppliers
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the assets sold or used to reduce the closure costs of Crown Suppliers contract furnishing.

  Mr. Yeo
  The following assets were sold during the closure of Crown Suppliers Contract Furnishing.

  Freehold Property—Wellington House

  Surplus Computer Equipment—Microcomputers, Terminals and Printers

  Stores Equipment—Fork Lift Trucks

  Contract Furnishing Stocks

  Miscellaneous Office Furniture and Equipment

  Two Antique Clocks

  Intellectual Property rights—IKON range

  The published costs of closure include only the differences between amounts realised and the book value of the assets.

  Canary Wharf
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps the London Docklands development corporation is taking to ensure employment of local people at Canary Wharf.

  Mr. Portillo
  LDDC, in conjunction with the London borough of Tower Hamlets and London East TEC, is developing a programme of customised training to develop the skills of local people to match identified employment opportunities. Schemes like the Tower Hamlets construction training centre are specifically aimed at helping local people to gain employment in construction schemes in London docklands.

  Property Services Agency
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish for each of the last 10 years the number of complaints he has received on the Property Services Agency from(a) hon Members, (b) members of the public and (c) registered companies.

  Mr. Yeo
  Such statistics are not available centrally and could not be brought together without disproportionate costs. PSA Services investigates any complaint received and, where appropriate, takes action to improve the quality of services it offers.

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will arrange for an auditor's report to be prepared for him on the payment practices of the accounts department of Property Services Agency Services, Heol Pentre, Felen, Morriston, Swansea.

  Mr. Yeo
  No. The payment systems of all PSA offices are subject to regular cyclical audits by both the Comptroller and Auditor General and by the Department's own internal audit division. Reports of internal audits are available to the Comptroller and Auditor General.

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to reduce delays before the Property Services Agency Swansea office sends the invoices from creditors to the Property Services Agency accounts office at Hastings.

  Mr. Yeo
  From the autumn of 1991, it is planned for the payment of all PSA Building Management creditors in
  125
  South Wales to be made by the Manchester office. This represents the implementation of the new decentralised bill payment and accounting system to improve the bill payment service offered.

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that the Property Services Agency pays interest to any creditor when payment has been delayed beyond 28 days from the receipt of an invoice for work completed.

  Mr. Yeo
  There is no general entitlement in law to interest on the late payment of contract debts, and it is not the normal practice of the Government to pay interest in respect of such debts unless the circumstances of a particular case give rise to a legal entitlement.

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the number of civil actions for damages initiated against the Property Services Agency for non-payment and delays in meeting its liabilities to clients.

  Mr. Yeo
  Records are not maintained centrally of any civil actions against PSA Services for the non-payment of bills and delays in meeting its liabilities to clients. I am not, however, aware of there being any current ones.

  Housing Departments
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will introduce legislation to permit local authority housing departments to operate as independent charitable trusts;

  (2) how many representations he has received in favour of local authority housing departments being permitted to opt for charitable trust status.

  Mr. Yeo
  Local authorities may already transfer their housing stock to any stable organisation that is independent of the local authority, and able to demonstrate a long-term commitment to the needs of existing and future tenants. Fifteen authorities have so far transferred their stock to registered housing associations and one authority to an industrial and provident society. No applications have so far been made for transfer to independent charitable trusts.

  Poplar Baths Training Centre
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much the London Docklands development corporation has spent on Poplar Baths training centre.

  Mr. Portillo
  LDDC has contributed £1·2 million towards the cost of the Tower Hamlets construction training centre.

  London Docklands Development Corporation
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the employment aims of the London Docklands development corporation; and what changes there have been in those aims since 1988.

  Mr. Portillo
  LDDC's education, enterprise and employment programme aims to support and encourage the development of existing and new business and facilitate 126
  ready access to a skilled work force; and in collaboration with education and training providers, TECs and the LEAs, to improve education, training and employment opportunities for people living in or near the UDA and assist them to enter the employment market.

  Since 1988, the number of permanent jobs in the UDA has increased from around 40,000 to 53,000 with more jobs in construction. LDDC has contributed £7·6 million to the provision of training over the period April 1988 to March 1991, supporting an estimated 15,000 training places.

  Local Government (Access to Information) Act
  Mr. Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what resources have been committed by the Government since 1 April 1986 to promote the provisions of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

  Mr. Portillo
  The circular issued by my Department in 1986 (DoE Circular 6(86)) drew to the attention of local authorities the provisions of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

  Since then, it has been for local authorities to decide what resources they need to allocate to ensure that they fulfil the duties placed on them by the Act.

  Irish Peatlands
  Sir Fergus Montgomery
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Conservation of Irish peatlands to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

  Mr. Trippier
  I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Services Committee, arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from 9 December to 13 December.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the council tax is proposed to he a tax for the purpose of section 28 of the Data Protection Act; and whether he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  The interpretation of the Data Protection Act 1984 on this point will be a matter for the Data Protection Registrar, and ultimately for the courts, in the light of the legislation establishing the council tax.

  Concrete Batching Plant
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to be able to announce the results of the public inquiry into the proposal to construct a concrete batching plant at Monnery road, London N19; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  It is hoped to issue a decision very shortly.

  Holcombe Moor Training Area
  Mr. Burt
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will quantify the costs of the public inquiry into the application by the Ministry of Defence for an extension of its dry training area on Holcombe moor, Bury, in 1988.
  127
  Mr. Yeo
  The Department's costs of employing the inspector to conduct the inquiry and to write his report were about £10,000.

  Sewage Treatment Works
  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will be writing to those people who objected to the applications for time-limited discharge consents for sewage treatment works.

  Mr. Trippier
  My Department has now written to those who made objections to the applications made by the then water authorities, setting out the decisions taken, and explaining the reasons for those decisions. I have placed a copy of the letters in the Library. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales intends to write shortly to those who objected to applications made by the then Welsh Water Authority.

  Detailed information about the individual consents granted is already available on the public registers held in the National Rivers Authority's regional offices. Summary information concerning all the applications submitted was contained in Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution 1989–90 annual report published last year. Around 15 per cent. of the applications submitted were rejected, or were withdrawn by the applicants, and many were granted only subject to tighter conditions than the water authorities had sought.

  Time-limited consents were granted in connection with the water industry's current £1·2 billion improvement programme. The latest figures available from the National Rivers Authority demonstrate that significant improvements have been made in the operational performance of sewage treatment works throughout England and Wales. In 1990, the proportion of works complying with their current consents was 92 per cent. Time-limited consents are superseded by long-term performance measures as the improvements work through. The proportion of works which already meet these long-term measures has risen from 77 per cent. in 1986, and 83 per cent. in 1988 to some 88 per cent. in 1990.

  The National Rivers Authority is continuing to monitor the performance of sewage treatment works and has the necessary enforcement powers to take action against works that fail to meet fully the requirements of their consents. The Director General of Water Services is also monitoring the progress being made by the companies towards the timely completion of their improvement programmes so that customers' interests are fully protected.

  Advertising Campaigns
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Emvironment if he will list the advertising, promotional or public relations companies employed by, or on behalf of, his Department who are involved in the campaigns given in his answer of 4 July,Official Report, column 182.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 11 July 1991]: My Department and the Department of Energy have not yet selected any companies to carry out the work in respect of the home energy efficiency campaign. An announcement will be made soon. My Department has not yet selected a company for the duty of care campaign.
  128
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the commencement dates and duration of each of the publicity campaigns given in his answer of 4 July,Official Report, column 182.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 11 July 1991]: My right hon. Friend and I propose to launch the home energy campaign this autumn. It will continue until 1994. The duty of care campaign will commence in November 1991 and continue until the end of the current financial year.

  London Custody Service
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those public buildings currently guarded by the London custody service(a) on a 24-hour basis and (b) during silent hours, indicating the numbers employed at each.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: On security grounds, I am unable to release details of the buildings served by the London Custody Service or the number of guards at each location. However, I can advise that the London Custody Service currently services 17 buildings on a 24-hour basis using 137 guards and 90 buildings on a silent hours basis using 455 guards. The staff figures exclude reserves and inspectors.

  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the sums received in respect of the London custody service together with the total expenditure for each of the last five years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: The following figures are derived from the London custody service's memorandum trading accounts for the past five years.

  Year

  Expenditure

  Receipts

  (£)

  (£)

  1986–87

  10,582,135

  10,854,012

  1987–88

  11,092,774

  11,105,993

  1988–89

  11,451,805

  11,532,647

  1989–90

  12,015,201

  12,256,055

  1990–91

  12,959,623

  13,135,296

  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff are currently employed by the London custody service; and on what terms and conditions.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: The London custody service operates on a repayment basis underpinned by a memorandum trading account. All clients are billed for the service they receive and charges are calculated to recover full costs.

  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what basis other Government Departments and public bodies are charged for the services of the London custody service.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: As at 10 July 1991, the London custody service employed 11 non-industrial staff and 720 industrial staff. All employees are civil servants.

  Beccles Maltings
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to complete determination for listed building consent to demolition of the Beccles Maltings, reference E1/73535/4/2/4.

  Mr. Yeo
  [holding answer 15 July 1991]: The application for listed building consent to demolish the Maltings at Beccles has been referred by the Department to English Heritage for advice on whether the application should be called in for the Secretary of State to decide or left for decision by the local planning authority. There has been some delay in dealing with the case while English Heritage has obtained a structural engineers' report on the building and sought the views of the national amenity societies on the proposed demolition.

  This information is now with English Heritage and the Secretary of State expects to receive a recommendation on call-in shortly. I will write to the hon. Member when the recommendation is received.

  Departmental Failures
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the failures of his Department in the past 12 months.

  £ million

  1983–84 outturn

  1984–85 outturn

  1985–86 outturn

  1986–87 outturn

  1987–88 outturn

  1988–89 outturn

  1989–90 outturn

  1990–91 estimated outturn

  Government Expenditure (all housing benefits):

  England

  3,053

  3,399

  3,762

  4,094

  4,288

  4,066

  4,299

  3,734

  Great Britain

  3,600

  4,001

  4,459

  4,869

  5,150

  4,936

  5,046

  4,430

  Local Authority Expenditure:

  England rent rebate (council tenants)

  1,659

  1,789

  1,902

  1,979

  2,028

  2,168

  2,301

  2,590

  rent allowance

  483

  614

  784

  877

  892

  912

  1,094

  1,417

  rate rebates

  1,044

  1,159

  1,251

  1,389

  1,425

  1,157

  1,212

  0

  Great Britain

  rent rebate (council tenants)

  1,980

  2,145

  2,296

  2,420

  2,506

  2,714

  2,882

  3,192

  rent allowance

  536

  687

  881

  998

  1,030

  1,051

  1,258

  1,610

  rate rebates

  1,218

  1,354

  1,479

  1,635

  1,701

  1,373

  1,263

  0

SCOTLAND

  Youth Training
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many(a) applications and (b) available places for youth training there have been in Strathclyde this year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Allan Stewart
  The information sought is not collected centrally. It is unlikely to be available from any source in the form requested, partly because there is no standard application process and partly because provision is calculated on the basis of the number of trainee weeks available rather than the number of places.
  130
  Mr. Heseltine
  I have failed to persuade the Labour party to put the interests of citizens and consumers above the interest of trade unions and producers.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the total amount of housing benefit in each financial year paid by local authorities in(a) England and (b) Great Britain to council tenants since the scheme began;

  (2) what is total Government expenditure on housing benefit on a financial year basis in (a) England and (b) Great Britain;

  (3) what is the total amount of housing benefit reimbursed (a) to local authorities and (b) private tenants in each financial year in (i) England and (ii) Great Britain in respect of rent rebates granted to council tenants since the beginning of the scheme.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I have been asked to reply.

  The table sets out housing benefit expenditure for central and local government from 1983–84 to 1990–91:

  Agency Nurses
  Mr. Maxton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the expenditure of the national health service in Scotland, identified by health board, on employing agency nurses in each of the last five years in(a) cash and (b) constant prices.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information requested is not held centrally.

  Charities
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the statutory requirements covering the preparation and presentation of accounts by charities in Scotland; and what information he has on the charities which have failed to meet these requirements in the last two years, five years and 10 years respectively.
  131
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Section 4 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 empowers the Secretary of State to make regulations concerning the preparation and presentation of accounts by charities which are recognised bodies under the provisions of that Act and which are not companies. Section 4 has not yet come into force.

  There is no prior statutory requirement for Scottish charities to keep accounts.

  Braille Examination Papers
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what arrangements his Department is making to ensure that blind and partially sighted students have adequate access to the standard grade and higher examination process; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what arrangements are being made by his Department to ensure that examination papers for higher grade examinations are available in Braille.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  It is already the practice of the Scottish Examination Board to modify its stipulated arrangements for candidates who, because of visual impairment, are unable to satisfy the normal requirements. The facilities provided can include the services of a reader and/or scribe and the availability of examination papers in Braille.

  Flood Warnings
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to introduce a statutory requirement for river purification boards to provide advance flood warnings covering both river and coastal areas; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  River purification boards and islands councils already have powers under the Agriculture Act 1970, as amended by the Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982, to provide and operate flood warning systems in their areas after consulting the chief constables and local authorities in whose areas it is proposed to exercise these powers. This procedure ensures that decisions about flood warning systems are taken by those best able to consider local needs and I have no plans to alter the statutory basis of these arrangements.

  Mental Illness Services
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, by health board,(a) the sums spent on capital projects in psychiatric hospitals in Scotland, and (b) the revenue expenditure on mental illness services in Scotland, for the last three years.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  This information is not held centrally.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money is being made available to new schemes to be funded under the specific grant for mental illness for 1992–93; and if he will make a statement about the future of the scheme.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The Government's spending plans provide for an increase to £5 million in the provision of the mental illness specific grant scheme in 1992–93. This will, along with all Government spending plans, be reviewed in the course of this year.
  132
  The scheme is set to run for an initial three years and extension of the scheme will be subject to review at the end of that period.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide the latest available figures on the level of registered supported accommodation for people affected by mental illness by health board area and per 100,000 population.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Information is not held in the form requested.

  Craigtoun Hospital St. Andrews
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the future use of Craigtoun hospital, St. Andrews.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 11 July 1991]: Fife health board has forwarded a proposal to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to close Craigtoun hospital, St. Andrew's which is currently being considered. As with all hospital closures, the board's proposals will be considered on their merits and views of the public and other interested parties taken into account in reaching a decision.

  Working with St. Andrew's GPs a study is currently under way at St. Andrew's memorial hospital to determine the most appropriate use of beds. The outcome of this study will be known in September when we will be in a position to consider further the proposals to close Craigtoun hospital.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Executive Agencies
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the first degree obtained by the chief executive of the Resettlement Agency; and from which university or polytechnic it was awarded;

  (2) what was the first degree obtained by the chief executive of the Contributions Agency; and from which university or polytechnic it was awarded;

  (3) what was the first degree obtained by the chief executive of the Benefits Agency; and from which university or polytechnic it was awarded;

  (4) what was the first degree obtained by the chief executive of Information Technology Services Agency; and from which university or polytechnic it was awarded.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The chief executive of each of the Department's executive agencies will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

  Pension Age
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent representations he has received from the United Kingdom Federation of Business and Professional Women regarding equalisation of the state pension age.

  Miss Widdecombe
  We have received two letters.

  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list those organisations and individuals which have made representations on equalisation of the state pension age since 1 January.
  133
  Miss Widdecombe
  Since 1 January 1991 we have received representations from the following organisations:

  Age Concern

  Asda Stores Ltd.

  Association of British Insurers

  British Aerospace

  British Hardware Federation

  BP

  Campaign for Equal State Pension Age

  Comet Group PLC

  CBI

  Co-operative Union Ltd.

  Dolland and Aitchison Group PLC

  Electrical Engineering Federation

  Equal Opportunities Commission

  European Federation for Retirement Provision

  Help the Aged

  ICI

  Joint Working Group

  Life Insurance Council

  Marks and Spencer PLC

  Mars Confectionary

  National Association of Pension Funds

  Nat West Bank

  Noble Lowndes and Partners

  Occupational Pensions Board

  The Retail Consortium

  Royal Insurance

  J. Sainsbury

  Social Security Advisory Committee

  Spar (UK) Ltd.

  Specialeyes PLC

  TUC

  United Kingdom Federation of Business and Professional Women

  R. Watson and Sons

  In addition, 150 letters have been received from hon. Members and 124 from members of the public.

  Water Bills
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what benefits are now available to those in receipt of invalid care allowance and disability benefits in respect of assistance with water bills.

  Mr. Scott
  There is no specific social security benefit available to help people pay their water charges. However, income support is an income-related benefit for people not in full-time work whose income is below a certain level. It is intended to cover all normal day-to-day living expenses and beneficiaries are expected to budget for their water charges in the same way as any other commitment.

  Industrial Injuries
  Mr. Ken Hargreaves
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will add reactive dyes to the list of substances which are held to be asthma causing in respect of claims for industrial injuries disablement benefit:, and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  We shall be laying regulations shortly which will extend the coverage for occupational asthma under the industrial injuries scheme. Nine further named agents, including reactive dyes, will be added to the prescribed list of sensitising agents encountered at work.

  Independent Living Fund
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security under the proposals for the future of the independent living fund, how the present arrangement 134
  whereby direct payments are made to severely disabled people to make their own personal assistance arrangements will continue after 1993.

  Mr. Scott
  I refer my hon. Friend to the announcement I made during consideration of Lords amendments to the Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance Bill, on 21 May at col 794. We are still considering the form the successor body may take.

  Severe Disablement Allowance
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what review he has undertaken of the different residency rules for severe disablement allowance compared to attendance allowance, mobility allowance or disability living allowance; what plans he has to unify the residency qualifications; what other plans he has to review the severe disablement allowance; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to review residency rules for severe disablement allowance; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  We recognise that there has been some criticism of the residence qualifying condition for severe disablement allowance, which is more stringent than those which apply to other non-contributory benefits for sick and disabled people. The general issue of the acceptable length of residency conditions is being considered by the European Court of Justice. We believe that it would be sensible to be informed by their view before reaching any conclusions on the test for claimants generally.

  In the meantime, regulations were laid before the House on 4 July which will help members of the armed forces and their families with the residence condition. We believe that this approach is wholly justified in advance of any more general consideration of the test. We have no current plans to conduct a wider review of severe disablement allowance.

  Occupational Diseases
  Mr. Caborn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps are being taken to review the list of prescribed diseases and the occupations for which they are prescribed, as defined by the Social Security Act 1975 and subsequent amendments, to harmonise with the European Schedule of Occupational Diseases (Annex I) and with the Additional List (Annex II), in relation to European Commission recommendation of 22 May 1990 (90/326/EEC) for the adoption of a European schedule of occupational diseases.

  Mr. Scott
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr. Crowther) on 10 June at columns 396–97.

  Benefit Provision
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Esher (Mr. Taylor) of 26 July 1990,Official Report, columns 494–95, when he now expects to be able to publish the results of the research into the way in which benefit provision for 16 and 17-year-olds is working.

  Mr. Jack
  [pursuant to the reply, 30 April, column 161]: I have today placed a copy of the report on 16 and

  135
  17-year-old applicants for severe hardship payments in the Library. The research focuses on the very small proportion of 16 and 17-year-olds, 0·4 per cent., who are not in full-time education, work, or youth training and who claim income support under the severe hardship provision.

  The research was commissioned in July 1990 by the DSS to gather more data on young people who claim under the severe hardship provision, their understanding of and attitudes towards the benefit system and their experience of training and the labour market.

  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment is also publishing today a report "Finding Youth Training Places for 16 and 17 Year Old Applicants for Severe Hardship Payment".

  Almost two thirds of those interviewed during the MORI research said that they found youth training useful. The report also shows that severe hardship payments are, as intended, going to those young people seeking YT places who are most at risk: and in particular that the system provides a safety net both for those who have to live independently and to those at risk of homelessness or the break-up of the family.

  The research coupled with the Department's own monitoring has been taken into account in putting in hand further improvements in the arrangements for dealing with claims from young people, which build on those already announced in November 1989 and March 1990. Accordingly the Government are implementing the following measures:

  (1) The service to 16 and 17-year-olds in Benefits Agency offices is being improved by:

  Making a specific assistant manager in each district personally responsible for service to 16 and 17-year-olds.

  Further staff training to reinforce the importance of 16 and 17-year-olds being handled positively and sympathetically both at reception and in the course of their personal interview.

  Ensuring that interviews with young people are conducted in private, wherever possible.

  Introducing priority handling for claims and strengthened procedural guidance.

  A review of the leaflets and other information available to 16 and 17-year-olds.

  (2) Measures have already been taken to improve the procedures for arranging YT placements, including the introduction of guarantee liaison arrangements in each TEC, with contractual obligations on TECs to investigate individual cases. All those in receipt of severe hardship payments for more than eight weeks are now automatically referred to the TEC under the liaison arrangements. This procedure is to be further strengthened by referring at an earlier stage those young people whose personal circumstances make it particularly important to find a place quickly: care leavers, rough sleepers, pregnant girls.

  (3) The Employment Service will improve the guidance to unemployment benefit offices on handling claims for income support.

  The Children Act 1989, which comes into force with effect from October 1991, makes clear the duty on local authorities to prepare children for the time when they leave their care and simplifies the existing powers and duties of local authorities to care for children formerly in their care. These provisions recognise the importance of helping children to become established in the community.

  However, concern has been expressed about some children leaving care who claim income support under the severe hardship provisions: this creates an uncertainty which can cause difficulty in making positive plans for the future. Accordingly we intend to introduce legislation to give eligibility for income support to all those 16 and
  136
  17-year-olds who live independently on leaving care while continuing in full-time non-advanced education. And we further intend to make income support available for a period of up to eight weeks to all 16 and 17-year-olds leaving care who have to live independently and who are registered for work and YT.

  Those 16 and 17-year-olds who have been sleeping rough in London will already have benefited from and will continue to benefit from the bed spaces being made available by the Department of the Environment under its rough sleepers initiative. Of these, 180 hostel bed spaces are specifically earmarked for young people.

  These measures, taken with the improvements already made, will ensure the effective operation of the safety net that the severe hardship provision provides to those most at risk while seeking a YT place without detracting from the positive options of education, work or training which are pursued by the vast majority of young people in this age group.

HEALTH

  Plastic Surgery
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if, when he next meets the chairman of the North West regional health authority, he proposes to discuss the provision of plastic surgery in the north-west region.

  Mr. Dorrell
  When I meet the chairman of North Western regional health authority this evening I shall congratulate him on his region's record in undertaking record numbers of treatments in plastic surgery and on the decision to appoint additional medical consultant and teaching staff.

  Operations (Waiting Lists)
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients awaiting operations in the Wessex regional health authority area wait for longer than one year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  At September 1990, the latest date for which information is available on numbers awaiting operations, 23 per cent. of patients waiting for an operation in the Wessex region waited over a year.

  Bexley Health Authority
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to pay an official visit to Bexley health authority to look at health provision.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I have no plans to visit Bexley health authority at present.

  Diabetics
  Mr. Irvine
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will consider introducing national health service prescription of injection pen needles for diabetics requiring insulin treatment.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I am considering whether injection pen systems including needles for diabetics requiring insulin treatment should be available on prescription. The pricing and cost implications of various systems are under examination.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to obtain information on the salary increases of the national health service trust general managers together with a job description; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  There are no plans to collect this information. However, annual accounts will include details of the salary of the highest paid board member. This would normally be the chief executive.

  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to monitor the development of NHS trusts.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We are appointing local monitoring officers in five regions to assist the existing finance team of the NHS management executive in ensuring that NHS trusts meet their financial duties.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals have applied for trust status at the latest available date.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  In England, 107 hospitals and other units have applied for NHS trust status for April 1992.

  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications have now been submitted for self-governing status for hospitals and other NHS units.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  To date, 107 hospitals and other units have applied to become NHS trusts in April 1992.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will require regional health authorities to give a favourable response to requests from hon. Members and others for public debate on proposals for the establishment of particular NHS trusts.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Each national health service trust application is the subject of consultation under the terms of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. It is up to regional health authorities to decide whether public debates would be appropriate.

  Deprivation Formulae
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what approval formulae was used by health authorities to take account of relative levels of local deprivation; how these are tabulated into sums of money; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Our guidance invites regional health authorities to consider allowing for social deprivation when they fund their districts. A number of them do so, using several approaches. Details of the monetary effect of allowing for social deprivation are not held centrally.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about progress in implementing initiatives to reduce waiting lists.
  138
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The waiting list initiative is progressing well. The number of patients waiting over one and two years is continuing to fall and we intend to secure further major reductions in the year ahead.

  GP Fundholders
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next plans to meet the chairman of the BMA to discuss general practice fund holding; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We regularly meet representatives of the medical profession, including the BMA. My hon. Friend will welcome the announcement which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was able to make recently of the agreement with the General Medical Services Committee to set up a joint working group on NHS review issues including the evaluation of GP fundholding.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish for community health councils rights of access to information on, and for monitoring of, the manner in which Exchequer money allocated to fundholding general practitioners for the purpose of purchasing services is used, similar to those afforded community health councils in relation to expenditure by district health authorities as purchasing authorities.

  Mr. Dorrell
  District health authorities retain overall purchasing responsibility for all patients, including those on the lists of fundholding GPs. This provides the mechanism for the community health council to raise any concerns or questions it may have.

  Organ Donor Scheme
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the current results of the organ donor scheme.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The best measure of the effectiveness of the organ donor scheme is the number of transplants performed. According to information provided by the United Kingdom transplant support service the number of transplants, including corneas, performed in the United Kingdom in 1990 was 4,938. This represents an 11 per cent. increase over 1989.

  Further expansion of the transplant programme, to which this Government are committed, depends entirely on the availability of donor organs. We warmly welcome the "Transplants in Mind" initiative being taken this year by voluntary organisations, with the support of the Department of Health, to raise public awareness. It is very important that everyone is aware both of the success of organ transplantation and of the need to make a positive decision, involving the family, about becoming a donor.

  NHS Reforms
  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next plans to meet the BMA to discuss health service reforms.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I met the BMA earlier this week. We have not set a date for our next meeting.

  Preventive Medicine
  Mr. Sayeed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to encourage family doctors to focus on preventive medicine.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton, South (Mr. Devlin) on 18 June at column 134.

  In-patients
  Mr. Page
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the cost per bed of keeping and treating an in-patient in West Hertfordshire hospital for the last three years for which figures are available and what is the average for the North West Thames region;

  (2) what is the cost per head of keeping and treating an in-patient in Watford General hospital for the last three years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Since 1987–88 the financial returns submitted by health authorities have focused on the cost of treating patients by specialty on a district basis. The overall cost of in-patient care by hospital is therefore not held.

  NHS Drugs
  Mr. Michael Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the estimated figure for savings on the national health service drugs bill in 1989 attributed to more economical prescribing by general practitioners following the introduction of prescribing analyses and costs data.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  From 1979 to 1988 the net ingredient cost of drugs—the cost before any discounts and pharmacy costs and fees—prescribed by GPs increased by an average of 13 per cent. each year. In 1989 this increase was reduced to 8 per cent., representing an estimated saving of around £80 million relative to the previous trend. The introduction of PACT has been a major factor. Encouragement to cost-effective prescribing will be maintained by the indicative prescribing scheme.

  Pharmaceuticals
  Mr. Michael Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated percentage increase in cost to the national health service drugs budget of the European Commission's proposed regulation on patent term restoration for medicinal products; and how any such increase would be affected by the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The precise cost would depend on the number and sales value of products benefiting in the future from extended protection. An estimate based on historical data, in a study commissioned by the industry, suggests the net effect could rise to around 1 per cent. of the drugs bill. The industry accepts that the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme could be used to mitigate the effect. However, as an indirect profitability control, on its present basis, it would be unlikely to produce an exact offset.

  Postgraduate Medical Education
  Mr. Irvine
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his assessment of the combined effect of article 1(3) and article 9(1) of the draft European Community directive on the advertising of medicines upon the funding of post-graduate medical education by the pharmaceutical industry.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 18 June at column 141.

  Hospital Food
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will exclude better food from the extra services for which national health service patients may be charged; if he will ensure that all food served to all patients is of(a) good quality, (b) varied and (c) suitable for their medical condition; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Health service managers are responsible for offering good quality, varied meals which meet the nutritional requirements of patients. As part of their income generation initiative health authorities are encouraged to offer additional services to patients. The provision of an à la carte menu offering a wider choice and luxury food items for a charge is a good example of this.

  Fertility Treatment
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average cost of a course of fertility treatment for a woman to become pregnant.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not held centrally.

  Prescribing Costs
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue guidelines on who has the responsibility to meet prescribing costs once a national health service patient has been discharged from an(a) national health service directly-managed unit to a fund-holding general practitioner practice, (b) national health service directly-managed unit to a non-fund-holding general practitioner practice, (c) self-governing trust to a fund-holding general practitioner practice and (d) self-governing trust to a non-fund-holding general practitioner practice.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The general principle is that the doctor who has clinical responsibility has prescribing responsibility.

  Protocols may also be made between consultants and general practitioners to care for particular categories of patients on a shared-care basis.

  Cervical and Breast Cancer
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what policies have been introduced to reduce the death rates amongst women from cervical and breast cancer since 1979.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Sir D. Price) on 21 February at columns 241–42.

  NHS Funding
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for the current financial year, how much funding has been made available to the national health service to(a) meet the real cost of inflation, (b) meet the specific costs of medical inflation, (c) target towards reducing inequalities in public health and health care provision, (d) allow for positive health measures through health promotion and education and (e) allow community care proposals to be fully implemented.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Expenditure on the NHS in England for all purposes this year is expected to amount to some £26·6 billion. This represented a real-terms increase of nearly 5 per cent. over spending last year, and of 51 per cent. over spending in 1978–79. We do not identify sums separately for the purposes listed.

  Mental Health Services
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue guidelines to all district health authorities acute mental health services to provide a service for people with mental health problems, similar to the service currently provided by accident and emergency departments for people with medical problems.

  Mr. Dorrell
  It is for district authorities to assess the psychiatric needs of their populations and to provide, in the light of available resources, a range of mental health services to meet those needs, including emergency services in whatever form is deemed to be most suitable to the locality.

  Artificial Limbs
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average life of an artificial limb before it requires complete replacement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Five years.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many artificial legs are supplied annually by the national health service.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Approximately 16,600 per annum.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of St ate for Health which companies supply artificial legs to the national health service and what proportion of this market each company holds.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The names of the companies and the proportion of the market each holds is as follows:—

  Per cent.

  Chas A Blatchford & Sons Ltd

  28

  F H Cossins & Son (Leeds) Ltd

  2

  Dorset Orthopaedic Co Ltd

  2

  John Drew (Midlands) Ltd

  4

  LIC Care Ltd

  9

  Oxford Prosthetics Ltd

  4

  Prostech Ltd

  3

  Prosthetics UK Ltd

  2

  Rehabilitation Services Ltd

  5

  Hugh Steeper Ltd

  12

  James Stubbs & Sons Ltd

  3

  Technology World Incorporated (UK) Ltd

  12

  Vessa Limited

  14

  142
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost to the national health service, on an annual basis, of the provision and service of artificial legs.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The cost to the National Health Service of the provision and service of artificial legs in 1989–90 was £31·401 million and in 1990–91 it was £33·236 million.

  Community Health Councils
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to provide funding for community health councils which would allow a standardised level of service across England and Wales(a) related to the population served taking into account the distribution of areas of high dependency and (b) containing a standardised element for the training of community health council staff and members.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Regional health authorities, as establishing authorities, are responsible for the funding of community health councils. CHCs essentially provide a local service, and RHAs are therefore best placed to make funding decisions taking account of local needs. We see no reason, and have no plans, to change this policy.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will abolish the upper age limit of 70 years for appointment to community health councils.

  Mr. Dorrell
  There is no regulation limiting the age of a community health council member. Guidance issued to health authorities advises that appointing bodies should not appoint people over 70 unless there is a special reason, but it has no statutory force.

  Menopause
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, further to his answer of 2 July,Official Report, column 117, what provision is made under the national health service for treatment of severe menopausal symptoms.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Health authorities are responsible for assessing local health care needs and ensuring a comprehensive range of services for local people, including menopause services. Treatment of menopausal symptoms in any individual remains a matter for the clinical judgment of the doctor concerned.

  Family Planning
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the change in real terms since 1979 on spending on family planning facilities.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Estimated total expenditure on NHS family planning services in England was £94·6 million in 1988–89, the latest year for which figures are available. This represents an increase in real terms of 33 per cent. since 1979.

  Private Ambulance Services
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce legislation (i) enabling the setting up of a registration and/or regulatory body to lay down and enforce standards governing(a) staffing, (b) training, (c)

  143
  vehicles and (d) equipment of all private ambulance services and (ii) requiring that these standards should be no lower than those applying to health authority ambulance services.

  Mr. Dorrell
  There are no plans to introduce such legislation.

  Mental Illness
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish, in respect of his Department's circular HC(90)24, details of the way in which the specific grant is being utilised nationally; what steps have been taken to ensure that it is not being used to support or replace the appointment of staff or the provision of services; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The social services inspectorate issued a document in November 1990 "Mental Illness Specific Grant Monitoring Arrangements" setting out fully the way the inspectorate intends to undertake the monitoring, and the information and action required from each social services authority.

  The social services inspectorate will produce a report of its findings of the use of the grant, including the social care services which have been developed for people with mental illness including those with dementia, in relation to national objectives as outlined in "Caring for People" and to the care programme arrangements as referred to in HC(90)23. Copies of both the report and the circular are available in the Library.

  Public Consultation
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the(a) national health service trusts, (b) district health authorities and (c) regional health authorities which have (i) commenced or (ii) are about to commence negotiations with community health councils leading to the adoption by regional and district health authorities and trusts of codes of practice on public consultation.

  Mr. Dorrell
  This information is not held centrally. NHS trusts are not required to consult directly with community health councils, but have been encouraged to establish informal relations with them. Guidance has been issued to health authorities on the principles of consultation. It is for the regional health authorities and district health authorities themselves to ensure that these principles are adhered to.

  Drugs Research
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the terms of reference of the research being carried out by Professor Conrad Harris and funded by the Department in relation to his indicative prescribing scheme; where this research is being undertaken; what account is taken by the project of the generics of the drugs; how many representatives of drug companies are working as part of this research team; and how much of the funding of the project comes from drug manufacturers.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The remit of the research is to analyse patterns of prescribing in general practice and to develop indicators to provide the NHS with information about the normal range of prescribing for certain types of 144
  drugs. The research is being undertaken at the department of general practice at Leeds university. No representatives of drug companies are working as part of the research team. The project is wholly Government funded. Generic prescribing is one of the factors which the team may address during its research.

  Women NHS Employees
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the number of women employed by the national health service as (1) consultants and (2) general practitioners since 1979; and what proportion of the totals women now form.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The latest available information on the number and proportion of female consultants and general practitioners in England is given in the table. Medical staffing in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, for Wales and for Northern Ireland.

  1979

  1989

  Hospital consultants (medical and dental) numbers

  1135·4

  2027·7

  Female consultants as proportion of the whole percentage

  10·3

  14·4

  General medical practitioners (GMPs) numbers

  3,865

  6,886

  Female GMPs as a proportion of the whole percentage

  16·8

  24·8

  Health Authorities (Elections)
  Sir Michael Neubert
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will bring forward proposals for the direct election of regional and district health authorities.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  There are no such plans. Regional and district health authorities are responsible for ensuring that the health needs of the local population are assessed and met at local level. The direct election of members of these authorities would not materially aid that process.

  Births
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the estimated national percentage of women whose deliveries were conducted by(a) a hospital doctor, (b) a general practitioner, (c) a midwife and (d) other, for each year between 1985 and 1991.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Information along the lines requested was collected for the first time in 1988–89 and the latest available figures are for 1989–90.

  The estimates given in the table are derived from incomplete data and, particularly in the case of 1988–89, should be regarded as approximate.

  Person conducting delivery—percentages

  England

  1988–89

  1989–90

  Hospital Doctor

  22

  24

  General Practitioner

  10

  10

  Midwife

  72

  72

  Other

  1

  2

  Not Known

  4

  2

  1 Less than 0·5 per cent.

  Source SMI2: Hospital Episode Statistics

  Cervical Smear Tests
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for every month since March 1990 the district health authorities not reaching the one month target for cervical cancer test turnround time; and if he will state the time taken in each of those authorities.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not available in the form requested. At June 1991, 31 district health authorities reported that they were not meeting the one-month target for processing cervical smear tests. These were as follows:

  Regional Health Authority

  District Health Authority

  Number of weeks

  Northern

  S. W. Durham

  6·0

  Yorkshire

  Bradford

  6·0

  Trent

  South Derbyshire

  6·5

  East Anglian

  Cambridge

  6·0

  North East Thames

  Mid Essex

  7·0

  Waltham Forest

  9·0

  Basildon and Thurrock

  5·0

  South East Thames

  Brighton

  8·0

  Tunbridge Wells

  6·0

  Bromley

  8·0

  Wessex

  Bath

  8·5

  North Western

  Stockport

  13·0

  Tameside

  7·0

  Medicines Commission
  Mr. David Martin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive the annual report of the Medicines Commission for 1990.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  We have received the report and copies have today been laid before both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the requirements of section 5(2) of the Medicines Act 1968.

  Bound volumes have been placed in the Library containing the 1990 reports of the Medicines Commission, the Committee on Safety of Medicines, the Veterinary Products Committee, the British Pharmacopoeia Commission, the Committee on the Review of Medicines and the Committee on Dental and Surgical Materials.

  We are glad to pay tribute to the valuable work done by the distinguished members of the Medicines Act advisory bodies and thank them warmly for the time and effort which they contribute to the public interest in this most important field.

  Leukaemia
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in following up the advice on chemicals of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment contained in recent reports on leukaemia incidence in young people resident in west Cumbria and other areas.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The Department of Health referred both the recommendation and the advice to the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COM).

  Its study into the chemicals used at Dounreay and Sellafield is nearing completion and I will arrange publication of the results in due course. A summary of its advice on whether there is evidence that potential exposure to chemicals may result in malignancies in the first generation offspring follows.
  146
  The results from a limited number of laboratory animal studies suggest that paternal exposure to certain mutagenic chemicals and radiation can result in malignancies in their first generation offspring. Although the limited data available from humans exposed to cytotoxic agents used therapeutically have not indicated any such effect, the committee nevertheless felt it prudent to assume that a chemical that has been shown to be mutagenic in germ cells in laboratory animals has the potential to induce malignancies in the first generation offspring.
  Regarding the excess leukaemias at Sellafield COM considered possible mechanisms that could be involved if the effects were indeed a consequence of the mutagenic effects of a chemical. It was difficult to explain the observed incidence by any known mutational mechanism, but the committee felt that there was a need for a better understanding of the mechanistic basis of tumour induction following paternal exposure. They advised that further work was needed, involving both radiation and chemicals, in particular urethane.

  The Government are grateful to COM for this advice and will implement its recommendations.

  A copy of the full text of the Committee's statement has been placed in the Library.

DEFENCE

  Household Cavalry (Hunts)
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers and men of the Household Cavalry and of what rank and trade were involved in the transportation of horses to the(a) Quorn hunt, (b) Belvoir hunt and (c) Cottesmore hunt in January, February and March.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  A lance-corporal, who is a trained horse box driver, and a trooper, who accompanies the horses to ensure their welfare and safety, were involved in transporting horses to the three hunts during the periods mentioned.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many duty hours members of the Household Cavalry were involved in foxhunting, including transportation to and from fox hunts, in October 1990, November 1990, December 1990, January 1991, February 1991 and March 1991.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The information is not available in the form requested and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence horses have been injured while hunting in the last five years; and if he will provide details of the regiments, the hunt and the injury.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Minor injuries to horses are not uncommon in any form of arduous training, including hunting, but are not separately recorded. There is no record of serious injury to Ministry of Defence horses attributable to hunting.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the costs incurred by the Household Cavalry in hunting with the(a) Quorn, (b) Belvoir and (c) Cottesmore hunts in 1990 and 1991; and how many riders and horses were involved.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No additional costs to public funds were incurred as a result of members of the Household Cavalry taking part in these hunts. Forty-three riders and 25 horses were involved during the season.
  147
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Ministry of Defence equipment armed forces personnel are permitted to use in off-duty hours to participate in hunting; and if he will provide details of the hire charges.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Personnel from non-mounted units using Army horses off-duty are required to pay £10 per hour for the hire of the horse. They would normally provide their own equipment.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who is responsible for veterinary fees following an injury to a Ministry of Defence horse used for hunting by armed forces personnel in off-duty hours.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Personnel from non-mounted regiments riding Army horses off-duty are required to pay a full cost hire charge and to take out comprehensive insurance to cover the cost of damages to the unit, the horse and any third parties. The hire charge covers the costs of veterinary services.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) which mounted regiments of the armed forces are permitted to take part in(a) fox hunting, (b) deer hunting and (c) hare hunting in duty hours;

  (2) whether any military personnel have any involvement in deer hunting during duty hours;

  (3) if he has any plans to restrict armed forces personnel's participation in hunting in duty hours.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Hunting in duty hours is permitted in mounted regiments only at the Commanding Officer's discretion, when it is not to the detriment of any military task. Personnel in non-mounted regiments are not normally permitted to hunt in duty hours. No further restrictions are planned.

  Army horses and personnel do not participate in deer hunting in duty hours.

  Military and Naval Hospitals
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary Of State for Defence if there have been any recent changes in the entitlement of retired services personnel to receive medical treatment in military and naval hospitals.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No.

  Military Exports
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the value of new contracts approved for military exports in 1990; and what was the value of actual deliveries of military equipment which passed through the United Kingdom Customs for approved export in 1990.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  New contracts approved for military export in 1990 were worth approaching £3,000 million. For the value of deliveries passing through Customs, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1991, Volume 2, table 2·7, which was published last week.

  W88 Warhead
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the concerns expressed by the Defence Committee and the Drell report about weaknesses in the United States W88 warhead designed for the Trident D5.
  148
  Mr. Alan Clark
  We intend to publish a formal response to the Defence Committee's report on the Trident programme in due course.

  Weapons Transportation
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now ensure that the missile and warhead are at all times transported separately.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I assume that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the UK Trident II missile and its associated warheads, which will normally be handled and transported separately. We plan to transport operational missiles only within the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport. No final decisions have been taken, or are yet needed, on whether the missile and warhead should be handled together within the depot.

  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now state what notification is given to local police and fire authorities prior to the transport of nuclear warheads or missiles through the centre of a city.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The local police force is always informed when a nuclear weapons convoy passes through their area of responsibility.

  Holcombe Moor Inquiry
  Mr. Burt
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will quantify the cost to his Department of the inquiry into the extension of a dry training area on Holcombe moor, Bury, in 1988.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No. it is not our normal policy to provide such costs.

  Butterflies (Porton Down)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to protect rare species of butterfly on Porton Down by his Department in areas under the jurisdication of his Department.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  This is a matter for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment under its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive of the CBDE, Dr. G. S. Pearson, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

  Royal Navy (Support Infrastructure)
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on developing plans for the rationalisation of the Royal Navy's support infrastructure.

  Mr. Tom King
  The Government have been examining all aspects of the armed forces' support, in order to achieve the most efficient support infrastructure and to make savings in line with the front-line force level reductions confirmed in the Statement on the Defence Estimates "Britain's Defence for the 90s". The closure of the RN leadership school, HMS Royal Arthur, the RN diesel repair depot at Blackbrook Farm, and the accommodation and administrative headquarters, HMS St. Vincent, at Furse house, London, have already been announced,Official Report, 16 January 1991, column 500.
  149
  Following a thorough review of basing arrangements, I have decided that when the new force structure is in place ships of the Royal Navy will continue to be based at each of the naval bases at Portsmouth, Devonport, Rosyth and Faslane. Although Portland is not a base port but an operating base, I see a continuing need for a naval presence there also. We will now proceed to rationalise the support activities in each of these naval base areas, and changes will also be made to the current arrangements for basing ships at Rosyth.

  The Rosyth-based squadron of four type 42 destroyers —HMS York, Glasgow, Liverpool and Edinburgh—will be redeployed to Portsmouth, which will become their base port. This will allow the support activity for type 42s to be concentrated in Portsmouth with consequent economies. This move to Portsmouth will take place progressively from mid-1993 to late-1994. In addition, the four ships of the Northern Ireland squadron will move to Faslane in 1993. Rosyth remains the base port for the 1st, 3rd and 4th minecounter measure squadrons together with the fishery protection squadron. As a result of these changes, about 1,100 service personnel will relocate to Portsmouth and 100 to Faslane. Some 900 civilian posts will also be affected with a number moving to other establishments, but also with some inevitable redundancies. Employment at Rosyth will then number around 8,500 including employees at the dockyard. Current plans to conduct major refits of submarines, including Vanguard class SSBNs, and surface vessels, at Rosyth remain unchanged. The substantial investment currently being made in the dockyard in new refit facilities for Trident submarines will itself provide a further significant number of jobs.

  A range of other measures designed to rationalise support facilities elsewhere in the naval shore infrastructure have also been decided. These include the closure of the royal naval air station HMS Daedalus at Lee-on-Solent and the relocation of the air engineering school and other units to other establishments in the Portsmouth area; the closure of the royal naval stores depots at Lathalmond in Scotland and Copenacre in Wiltshire, although some offices will remain in Copenacre, the closure of the royal naval armaments depot at Trecwn in Wales and the partial closure of the armament depot at Ernesettle, Plymouth; closure of the oil fuel depot at Invergordon and withdrawal of Royal Navy facilities at the Finnart oil fuel depot; and the sale of the Gunwharf site at HMS Nelson, Portsmouth. Some 1,900 civilian posts will be affected with some inevitable redundancies, but it is hoped about a third will be relocated to other establishment. These closures will take place progressively over the next five years.

  These measures carry forward the policy already announced of making reductions in the support area proportional to those in the front line. They are an essential part of ensuring the best use of defence resources and providing a structure appropriate to the needs of our Navy in the 90s and beyond.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Herbs and Spices
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has made any evaluation of the masterspice process for the reduction of microbial contamination in herbs and spices as an alternative to irradiation.

  Mr. Maclean
  Evaluation of food processing methods generally is a matter for the industry. My responsibility is to be satisfied as to the safety and wholesomeness of foods treated by novel processes, as is the case with food irradiation.

  Sheep Dips
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to announce the results of his review into the safety of sheep dips.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 12 June at column 602 to my hon. Friend the Member for Devon, North, (Mr. Speller).

  Angling
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will take steps to ensure the retention of regional licences for angling under the new licensing arrangements being sought by the National Rivers Authority.

  Mr. Curry
  The National Rivers Authority is currently consulting all interests about its proposals for a national angling licence structure for salmon and freshwater fish in England and Wales. This consultation process ends on 31 August, after which the NRA will develop its final proposals, advertise them and submit its proposed licence duties for the consideration of my right hon. Friends the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Wales. Clearly, it would be quite wrong for Ministers to give any undertaking of the kind sought about regional licences and indeed it would be a breach of the procedures set out in the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 (as amended).

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those persons representing fishing interests on the National Rivers Authority regional committee; and what is the basis on which selection of nominees is made.

  Mr. Curry
  Appointment by the National Rivers Authority to the regional fisheries advisory committees are made on the basis of informal nominations. Members are drawn from among angling and commercial fisheries interests, fish farming interests, sea fisheries committees, aquarian owners' associations, conservation interests, and academic/professional bodies. Normally, there will be no more than 15 members in total.

  A full list of the current chairmen and members of each of the regional fisheries advisory committees appears in the table.
  151

  Regional Fisheries Advisory Committees

  Region and member's name

  Suggested by

  Interest

  Anglian

  Mr. P. Tombleson, OBE

  NRA

  Chairman

  Mr. S. Alden

  Eastern Area

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. S. Amos

  Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee

  Sea Fisheries Committee

  Mr. K. Ball

  Central Area

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. L. Cass

  Northern Area

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. C. Clare

  Central Area

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. M. Foster

  —

  Commercial Fishing

  Mr. C. Groome

  NRA

  RRAC

  Mr. M. Labern

  NCC

  Conservation

  Mr. D. Lloyd

  National Anglers Council

  Angling

  Mr. J. Martin

  NRA

  RFDC

  Mr. P. Peachey-Edwards

  Eastern Area

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. C. Rollinson

  Northern Area

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. A. Wheeler

  IFM

  Fisheries

  Northumbria

  Mr. P. Tennant

  NRA

  Chairman

  Mr. J. Browne-Swinburne

  NRA

  RRAC

  Dr. T. Crisp

  —

  Academic

  Mr. J. Evans-Freke

  —

  Riparian Owners

  Mr. J. Fry, JP

  —

  Angling

  Dr. S. Haile

  —

  Academic

  Mr. D. Hall

  —

  Angling

  Mr. D. Heselton

  —

  Commercial Fishing

  Mr. K. Hewitson

  —

  Angling

  Mr. R. Kirton-Darling

  —

  Riparian Owners

  Dr. M. Owen

  —

  Conservation

  Mr. E. Pratt

  —

  Riparian Owners

  Mr. E. Thomas

  —

  Commercial Fishing

  Mr. C. Warwick

  —

  Commercial Fishing

  Mr. E. Wrangham

  NRA

  RFDC

  Mr. K. Young

  —

  Commercial Fishing

  North West

  Mr. T. Barnes, OBE

  NRA

  Chairman

  Mr. R. Bailey

  National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations

  Commercial Fishing

  Dr. R. Broughton

  Ribble Fisheries Association

  Other Industry

  Mr. A. Brown

  —

  Other Industry

  Mr. F. Bunting

  —

  Other Industry

  Mr. J. Croft

  —

  Other Industry

  Mr. E. Ecroyd

  Salmon and Trout Association

  Game Angling

  Mr. J. Fell

  —

  Other Industry

  Mr. C. Holland

  Mersey Basin Campaign

  Conservation

  Mr. B. Irving

  —

  Academic

  Mr. K. Lambert

  North West Federation of Sport and Recreation

  Sport/Recreation

  Mr. E. Le Cren

  IFM

  Academic

  Mr. J. Lovell

  Association of Sea Fisheries Committees

  Sea Fisheries Committee

  Mr. P. Neal

  —

  Other Industry

  Mr. W. Wannop, OBE

  NRA

  RFDC

  Mr. R. Weston

  NRA

  RRAC

  Severn Trent

  Mr. F. Jennings

  NRA

  Chairman

  Dr. P. Bottomley

  National Federation of Anglers

  Academic

  Mr. W. Casey

  Severn Fisheries Conservation Council

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. G. Chambers

  Salmon and Trout Association

  Game Angling

  Mr. T. Clowes

  CLA

  Riparian Owners

  Mr. B. Crawford

  National Association of Specialist Anglers

  Angling

  Mr. K. Fisher

  British Waterways

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. W. Hardy

  Severn Estuary Fishermen's Association

  Commercial Fishing

  Mr. C. Hawthorne

  NRA

  RFDC

  Mr. H. Howarth

  Trent Consultative

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. A. Jones

  Trent Consultative

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. D. Morgan

  Severn Consultative

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. D. Orton

  Angling Foundation

  Angling

  Dr. A. Richards

  Trent Consultative

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. R. Sparrow

  National Farmers Union

  Fish Farming

  Mr. A. Stephens

  National Federation of Anglers

  Angling

  Dr. H. Tebbutt

  NRA

  RRAC

  Mr. R. Williams

  Severn Consultative

  Area Fisheries

  152 153

  Region and member's name

  Suggested by

  Interest

  Southern

  Mr. A. Humbert

  NRA

  Chairman

  Mr. B. Aldrich

  Hampshire Water Keepers Association

  Special

  Mr. D. Brunwin

  Kent Anglers

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. A. Costen

  Southern Counties Federation Angling Clubs

  Angling

  Dr. J. Cotton

  Salmon and Trout Association

  Coarse Angling

  Mr. M. Drummond

  NRA

  RRAC

  Mr. I. Gay

  NFU

  Fish Farming

  Dr. B. Lindsay

  Sussex Anglers

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. C. Neame

  NRA

  RFDC

  Mr. J. Parkman

  —

  Other Industry

  Mr. J. Potter

  Isle of Wight and Hampshire Anglers

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. F. Reader

  National Federation of Anglers

  Angling

  Mr. B. Stott

  IFM

  Fisheries

  Major J. Thomas

  Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee

  Sea Fisheries Committee

  South West

  Mrs. A. Voss-Bark

  NRA

  Chairman

  Lt. Col. G. Badham

  —

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. A. Baker

  Netsmen

  Commercial Fishing

  Lord Clinton

  South West Riparian Owners Association

  Riparian Owners

  Mr. S. Day

  Devon Sea Fisheries Committee

  Sea Fisheries Committee

  Mr. P. Edwards

  NRA

  RRAC

  Miss J. Edwards

  Devon Wildlife Trust

  Conservation

  Professor C. Kennedy

  Exeter University

  Academic

  Mr G. Manning

  NRA

  RFDC

  Mr H. Maund

  South West Riparian Owners Association

  Fish Farming

  Mr. M. Mountjoy

  North Devon Commercial Fishermen's Association

  Commercial Fishing

  Mr. T. Mutton

  Salmon and Trout Association

  Game Angling

  Mr R. Retallick

  —

  Coarse Angling

  Mr. J. Stevens

  Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee

  Sea Fisheries Committee

  Mr. M. Weaver

  West Country Tourist Board

  Sport/Recreation

  Mr. B. Wilson

  Liskeard and District Anglers

  Area Fisheries

  Thames

  Mr H. Parry

  NRA

  Chairman

  Dr. J. Alabaster

  —

  Academic

  Mr. M. Davies, OBE

  NRA

  RFDC

  Professor J. George

  —

  Conservation

  Mr M. Gregory. OBE, LLB

  CLA

  Riparian Owners

  Mr A. Hodges

  Thames Consultative

  Fisheries

  Dr. D. Jamieson

  Thames Water Utilities Limited

  Water Industry

  Mr. B. Knights

  —

  Commercial Fishing

  Mr. D. Komrower

  NFU

  Fish Farming

  Mr. G. Lee

  Thames Consultative

  Angling

  Mr. T. Mansbridge

  Thames Consultative

  Fisheries

  Mr A. Meddle

  Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee

  Sea Fisheries Committee

  Mr D. Wales

  Thames Consultative

  Fisheries

  Mr. A. Williams

  Thames Consultative

  Fisheries

  Mrs. J. Wykes

  NRA

  RRAC

  Welsh

  Lord Moran

  NRA

  Chairman

  Mr. I. Edwards-Jones

  Wye Salmon Fishery Owners' Association

  Riparian Owners

  Dr. J. Fish

  North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee

  Sea Fisheries Committee

  Mr. W. Hardy

  National Federation Fishermen's Organisations

  Commercial Fishing

  Mr. M. Johnston

  —

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. M. Matthews

  —

  Fisheries

  Mr. J. Mayers

  Welsh Federation of Coarse Anglers

  Coarse Angling

  Mr. M. McLaggan

  NRA

  RFDC

  Mr. I. Milichamp

  IFM

  Fisheries

  Mr. M. Morgan

  Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association

  Game Angling

  Colonel P. Ormrod

  —

  Riparian Owners

  Sir I. Raikes

  United Usk Fishermen's Association

  Riparian Owners

  Mr. A. Rees

  —

  Area Fisheries

  Mr. J. Rhydderch

  South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee

  Sea Fisheries Committee

  Mr. G. Roberts

  —

  Area Fisheries

  Dr. W. Roscoe Howells

  NRA

  RRAC

  Mrs. J. Spence

  NFU

  Fish Farming

  Mr. W. Williams

  —

  Fisheries

  154 155

  Region and member's name

  Suggested by

  Interest

  Wessex

  Mr. C. Rothwell

  NRA

  Chairman

  Mr. R. Baker

  NRA

  RFDC

  Mr. R. Corbett

  —

  Game Angling

  Mr. D. Gifford

  —

  Game Angling

  Mr. K. Hall

  —

  Coarse Angling

  Major A. Hill

  —

  Fish Farming

  Mr. P. Lacey

  NRA

  RRAC

  Mr. K. Lacey

  —

  Coarse Angling

  Dr. M. Ladle

  Institute of Freshwater Ecology

  Conservation

  Mr. J. Mathrick

  —

  Coarse Angling

  Mr. J. Parker

  —

  Coarse Angling

  Major D. Rasch

  —

  Game Angling

  Mr. M. Stoodley

  —

  Coarse Angling

  Colonel C. Tarver, MBE

  Trout Fishermen

  Game Angling

  Mr. G. Topp

  —

  Coarse Angling

  Yorkshire

  Mr. J. Fawcett

  NRA

  Chairman

  Mr. J. Austerfield

  IFM

  Academic

  Mr. T. Collier

  NRA

  RFDC

  Mr. A. Dalby

  Ouse Consultative

  Angling

  Mr. A. Evans

  Don Consultative

  Angling

  Mr. P. Hayton

  Aire/Calder Consultative

  Angling

  Mr. W. Jackson

  Esk/Derwent Consultative

  Angling

  Mr. H. Mackrill

  CLA

  Riparian Owners

  Mr. J. Mitchell

  East Riding FCA

  Angling

  Mr. A. Noble

  National Federation of Anglers

  Angling

  Mr. M. O'Donnell

  NFU

  Fish Farming

  Dr. R. Ormond

  —

  Conservation

  Mr. M. Stewart

  Salmon and Trout Association

  Angling

  Mr. G. Traves

  National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations

  Commercial Fishing

  Mr. J. Whitworth

  NRA

  RRAC

  Notes:

  NRA—National Rivers Authority.

  NCC—Nature Conservancy Council.

  IFM—Institute of Fisheries Management.

  RRAC—Regional Rivers Advisory Committee.

  RFDC—Regional Flood Defence Committee.

  CLA—Country Land Owners Association.

  NFU—National Farmers Union.

  Land Settlement Association
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, by county, the number of small holdings and orchards and the amount of land

  Sold

  Unsold

  Smallholdings

  Land including Orchards (Hectares)

  Smallholdings

  Land (Hectares)

  Bedfordshire

  94

  278

  8

  18

  Cambridgeshire

  80

  392

  2

  4

  Essex

  60

  159

  —

  —

  Gloucestershire

  51

  137

  —

  —

  Lincolnshire

  26

  51

  —

  —

  Suffolk

  47

  152

  1

  5

  West Sussex

  120

  234

  —

  —

  Humberside

  38

  118

  —

  —

  Total

  516

  1,521

  11

  27

  I am pleased that more than 90 per cent. of tenants have been able to purchase their holdings.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons(a) his Ministry was unable to sell the land of the Land Settlement Association, and (b) land had to be given to the association's tenants and ex-tenants.
  156
  operated by the Land Settlement Association, which (a) has been sold since 1982 and (b) has yet to be sold; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  The details requested are as follows:

  Mr. Gummer
  Eleven holdings are still in Ministry ownership because the tenants declined the opportunity to purchase them. No holdings or land have been given to association tenants or ex-tenants.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, by county, the number of smallholdings and orchards and the area involved in
  157
  hectares, that were operated by the Land Settlement Association prior to the termination of the arrangements with his Ministry in 1982; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  The details requested are as follows:

  Small holdings

  Land including orchards (Hectares)

  Bedfordshire

  102

  296

  Cambridgeshire

  82

  396

  Essex

  60

  159

  Gloucestershire

  51

  137

  Lincolnshire

  26

  51

  Suffolk

  48

  157

  West Sussex

  120

  234

  Humberside

  38

  118

  Total

  527

  1,548

  Most of the holdings and land have now been sold to the tenants.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much his Ministry has received for each year since 1982 for the sale of land operated by the Land Settlement Association; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  The details requested are as follows:

  £

  1982–83

  Nil

  1983–84

  2,007,890

  1984–85

  11,250,088

  1985–86

  5,084,205

  1986–87

  1,704,469

  1987–88

  325,966

  1988–89

  209,226

  1989–90

  209,545

  1990–91

  590,000

  TOTAL

  21,381,389

  I consider that fair prices were obtained for all the holdings and land sold. Tenants who purchased their holdings and land paid the tenanted value for the property.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Local Management
  Mr. Page
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have applied for local management for schools status in England and Wales and in the South West Hertfordshire education division; and what are their relevant percentages of the total schools.

  Mr. Fallon
  Seventy-eight per cent. of secondary and 30 per cent. of primary schools in England already have delegated budgets; none of these is in Hertfordshire. All secondary and those primary schools with a pupil population of 200 or more must have delegated budgets on or before 1 April 1993; primary schools with fewer than 200 pupils must have delegated budgets by 1 April 1994.

  Schools which are dissatisfied with the timing of delegation proposed by their local education authorities may apply to the Secretary of State for accelerated delegation, to take effect from as early as 1 April 1992. We have had a number of informal inquiries from schools but no formal applications to date.

  Educational Psychology
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if hospital psychologists will be allowed to offer their services to schools in the educational psychology discipline under local management for schools.

  Mr. Fallon
  It will be open to anyone to offer their services to schools under LMS. Where budgets for support services such as educational psychology have been delegated, it will be for schools to ensure that the services they purchase fully meet their requirements and offer value for money.

  Private Golf Clubs
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the categories of Government funding for which private golf clubs are eligible.

  Mr. Atkins
  Government funding for golf is channeled through the Sports Council. Golf clubs with open memberships are eligible for Sports Council regional grants, usually capital grants, towards facilities or a grant towards promotional development of the sport, but their activities must be deemed a priority in terms of the Sports Council's regional targets. Private golf clubs with closed memberships are not eligible for Sports Council funding.

  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to ascertain whether private golf clubs in receipt of Government grants deny membership to women.

  Mr. Atkins
  Sports Council grant conditions stipulate open membership: no one will be denied access to use a facility on grounds of race, creed, colour, sex, occupation, religious or political persuasion. Any golf club applying for funding would have its constitution scrutinised before any grant was made in order to ensure it met these conditions.

  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list each Government grant to private golf clubs for the past five years.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information requested is not held centrally.

  Royal Lifesaving Society
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the 100th anniversary of the Royal Lifesaving Society to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

  Mr. Atkins
  I have considered, and approved in principle, an application for an exhibition relating to the 100th anniversary of the Royal Lifesaving Society to be mounted in the Upper Waiting Hall under the sponsorship of my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Mrs. Winterton). This approval in principle was given in a letter from my office on 24 June.

  Conservation Biology
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that research in the field of conservation biology is included within the terms of reference of an appropriate research council.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  Research into nature conservation is included in the charter of the Natural Environment Research Council. Nature conservation embraces conservation biology.

  South-West London College
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has received from the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council concerning the next academic year's arrangements for the staff and students of South-West London college; and what other contacts he has made with the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council concerning the future of the college's staff and students.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  My right hon. and learned Friend has received the results of the consultations with students at the college about their future study carried out by an independent assessor, and which the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council published on 11 July. The Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council are currently discussing with college staff the location of their future employment. It will be for the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council to take account of the views of staff and students in preparing further advice on the transfer of the college's property, rights and liabilities to other institutions.

  "Education and Training"
  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a breakdown of the responses received to the White Paper "Education and Training", Cm. 1536, giving(a) the total number of responses and (b) the number received from (i) governing bodies of colleges, (ii) local education authorities, (iii) bodies representative of business and commerce, (iv) bodies representative of teaching staff and (v) others, with the proportion of responses in favour, and against, the proposals for a central funding council.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  My Department has so far received more than 1,500 letters commenting on the recent White Paper on education and training. Responses are still coming in. I invited comments on the proposals to enable 160
  me to arrive at better informed decisions in due course. I do not believe that the responses will lend themselves to analysis in the way that the hon. Member requests.

  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will deposit in the Library copies of all responses received to the White Paper "Education and Training", Cm. 1536.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  My Department has received over 1,500 responses to the White Paper, "Education and Training for the 21st Century". Responses are still coming in. I did not invite those responses on the basis that they would be public documents. I do not believe that the process of consultation will be helped if they were now turned into public documents.

  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment has been made of the implications for non-vocational adult education, of the proposals in the White Paper "Education and Training for the 21st Century".

  Mr. Eggar
  The proposals in the White Paper will increase educational opportunities for adults. The further education funding councils will have a duty to secure adequate provision of education leading not only to vocational qualifications, but to GCSEs, AS and A levels, access to other further education or higher education, acquisition of basic skills, English for speakers of other languages and education for adults with special educational needs. Local education authorities will retain the duty to secure adequate provision of other kinds of further education. Our proposals will make it easier for secondary schools to admit adults to their classes or to put on courses for adults on their own initiatives.

  Assisted Places Scheme
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will list the number of children participating in the assisted places scheme in each school;

  (2) if he will list the schools now participating in the assisted places scheme;

  (3) what are the fees at each school that is part of the assisted places scheme;

  (4) if he will list the number of pupils who receive a grant through the assisted places scheme in each participating school;

  (5) if he will list the number of pupils in each school participating in the assisted places scheme.

  Mr. Fallon
  I have today placed copies of the table in the Library.

  LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT, HOUSE OF LORDS
  LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT, HOUSE OF LORDS
  MR. ANDREW TOWELL: FALL FROM TRAIN
  MR. ANDREW TOWELL: FALL FROM TRAIN
  FALLS FROM PASSENGER TRAINS
  FALLS FROM PASSENGER TRAINS
  THAMES BRIDGES: DAMAGE BY SHIPPING
  THAMES BRIDGES: DAMAGE BY SHIPPING
  NORTH CIRCULAR ROAD IMPROVEMENT
  NORTH CIRCULAR ROAD IMPROVEMENT
  AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING: JUSTIFICATION
  AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING: JUSTIFICATION
  AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING: COST
  AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING: COST
  NORTHERN IRELAND: RUC AND UDR MEDICAL AND WELFARE OFFICERS
  NORTHERN IRELAND: RUC AND UDR MEDICAL AND WELFARE OFFICERS
  NAVAL SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
  NAVAL SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
  DIAMORPHINE: IMPORT BAN
  DIAMORPHINE: IMPORT BAN
  WHITCHURCH JUNIOR SCHOOL
  WHITCHURCH JUNIOR SCHOOL
  PRODUCT SAFETY: RESPONSE TO ECC REPORT
  PRODUCT SAFETY: RESPONSE TO ECC REPORT
  BEER DISPENSING
  BEER DISPENSING
  BEER GLASS SIZES
  BEER GLASS SIZES