Written Answers of 17 June 1991

TRANSPORT

  British Rail (Investment)
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement on British Rail investment for 1991–92, updating the information given in his answer to the right hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Channon) of 22 February,Official Report, column 306.

  Mr. Freeman
  Since 22 February we have approved the following further specific British Rail investment schemes:

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  Double-deck

  335

  200

  60

  5

  36

  34

  Single-deck

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  20

  Minibuses

  3

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Midibuses

  —

  48

  101

  89

  203

  371

  Total

  338

  248

  161

  94

  239

  425

  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in tabular form for each year since 1985, the number of double-decker, single-decker, minibuses and midibuses, respectively, owned by London

  Age range(years)

  Year and type

  0–4

  4–8

  8–12

  12–15

  15+

  Total fleet

  1985

  Double-deck

  1,551

  674

  331

  —

  1,939

  4,495

  Single-deck

  —

  441

  34

  —

  —

  475

  Midibuses

  8

  —

  —

  —

  —

  8

  1986

  Double-deck

  1,323

  1,197

  346

  —

  1,640

  4,506

  Single-deck

  —

  69

  381

  —

  —

  450

  Midibuses

  27

  —

  —

  —

  —

  27

  1987

  Double-deck

  1,121

  1,680

  385

  —

  1,227

  4,413

  Single-deck

  —

  69

  414

  —

  —

  483

  Midibuses

  56

  2

  —

  —

  —

  58

  1988

  Double-deck

  755

  1,539

  1,055

  50

  918

  4,317

  Single-deck

  —

  69

  416

  —

  —

  485

  Midibuses

  168

  2

  —

  —

  —

  170

  1989

  Double-deck

  461

  1,551

  1,337

  50

  813

  4,212

  Single-deck

  7

  —

  362

  80

  —

  449

  Midibuses

  370

  2

  —

  —

  —

  372

  2
  Network SouthEast

  59 coaches for Paddington line express services.

  86 coaches for south London and north Kent inner suburban services.

  Research and Development Grants
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many(a) applications and (b) grants have been made under section 57 of the Transport Act 1968.

  Mr. Freeman
  Two and one respectively.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if private organisations looking into railway reopenings are eligible for grants under section 57 of the Transport Act 1968.

  Mr. Freeman
  Yes.

  Buses
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new double-decker, single-decker, minibuses and midibuses, respectively, have been bought by London Buses Limited in each year since 1985.

  Mr. Freeman
  The information is as follows:

  Buses Limited that were (a) under four years old, (b) four to eight years old, (c) eight to 12 years old, (d) 12 to 15 years old and (e) over 15 years.

  Mr. Freeman
  Information in this form is not available for minibuses. For other bus types, the information is as follows:
  3

  Age range (years)

  Year and type

  0–4

  4–8

  8–12

  12–15

  15+

  Total fleet

  1990

  Double-deck

  270

  1,323

  1,399

  394

  784

  4,170

  Single-deck

  12

  —

  250

  54

  —

  316

  Midibuses

  486

  20

  —

  —

  —

  906

  London Underground
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the agreed expenditure for investment in the Northern Line of London Underground which will take place over the next three years.

  Mr. Freeman
  Only major investment projects which are called in are agreed by Ministers. We have approved the reconstruction of Angel station, at a total cost of £72 million, which will be completed in that period. The hon. Member should approach London Underground for details of other investment on the Northern line. None of it has been called in for approval.

  Bus Companies (Prosecutions)
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions have been brought against bus companies for(a) drivers' hours violations and (b) vehicle standards violations in each year since 1985.

  Mr. Freeman
  Since 1985 the Department of Transport enforcement staff have brought the following prosecutions against bus companies for drivers' hours violation:

  Number

  1985–86

  786

  1986–87

  369

  1987–88

  492

  1988–89

  814

  1989–90

  116

  Prosecutions for drivers' hours and roadworthiness offences are also undertaken by the police, but the statistics are not broken down between individual categories of vehicles.

  The vehicle inspectorate undertakes roadside checks of passenger carrying vehicles and prohibitions are placed on vehicles which are found to be unroadworthy, banning the further use of the vehicles on a public road until faults have been rectified. The number of checks and rate of prohibitions since 1985 are:

  Vehicles checked

  Prohibition rate per cent.

  1985–86

  12,575

  10·7

  1986–87

  17,767

  10·3

  1987–88

  19,649

  11·8

  1988–89

  17,747

  11·6

  1989–90

  19,495

  11·9

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Hospitality Fund
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the expenditure covered by his Department's hospitality fund for the financial years(a) 1989–90, (b) 1990–91 and (c) 1991–92 to date.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  £

  1989–90

  55,169

  1990–91

  67,012

  11991–92

  14,014

  1To date.

  Civil Servants (Retirements)
  Mr. Michael Spicer
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual number of retirements by civil servants under rule 3.10a of the principal civil service pension scheme since that rule became effective on 1 April 1987.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  It is estimated that the number of non-industrial members of the home civil service who have retired early with actuarially reduced pension and lump sum benefits is as follows:

  Year

  Number

  1987–88

  632

  1988–89

  486

  1989–90

  362

  Complete figures for 1990–91 are not yet available.

  Video Recordings
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the titles of the video recordings purchased by his Department during the financial year 1990–91 and 1991–92 to date.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The titles of the video recordings purchased during 1990–91 are listed in the table. No recordings have been purchased in 1991–92 to date.

  Video recordings purchased in 1990–91

  Constructive Criticism

  Positive Time Skills

  Next Steps—First Agencies

  Let's Be Fair

  Better Customer Care/The People Factor

  Pests on the Menu

  Exceptional Customer Service—Volumes 1 and 2

  The Way Ahead

  Public Sector Pay
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider establishing an independent arbitration tribunal to decide on pay award disputes between the Government and the National Union of Civil and Public Servants and other unions representing civil and public employees.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  The terms of the long term pay agreement between the Treasury and the NUCPS allow, subject to the agreement of both parties, for differences to be referred to the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal— CSAT. Other long-term pay agreements between the Treasury and other unions representing non-industrial civil servants contain similar provisions.

  The CSAT, which is an independent tribunal established under the provisions of the civil service arbitration agreement, consists of an independent chairman and one member drawn from a panel of persons appointed by the Secretary of State for Employment as representing the Minister for the Civil Service and one member drawn from a panel of persons appointed by the Secretary of State for Employment as representing the trade union side of the national Whitley council.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the range and scope of his current inquiries into the effect of actions by banks on small businesses; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  Officials from Her Majesty's Treasury and the Bank of England are looking at the banks' interest rates and charges to businesses, and the way that lending policies are being applied.

  National Farmers Union
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many ministerial meetings have been held with the National Farmers Union between 1 May 1990 and 30 April 1991; what matters were discussed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maples
  No ministerial meetings were held between Treasury Ministers and the National Farmers Union between those dates.

  Interest Rates
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take action to prevent the establishment of a cartel of clearing banks with regard to the interest rate margins afforded to small businesses.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  [holding answer 6 June 1991]: As is well known, the Treasury and the Bank of England are looking at the concerns that have been raised about the interest rates charged to small businesses. If anyone has any evidence of collusion between the banks, they should submit it to the Office of Fair Trading, which will of course consider it.

  Building Societies
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place a copy of his clause 50 explanatory chart in the Library, after adding a bar for each year to illustrate the financial year for which each annual tax payment satisfied the Revenue.

  Mr. Maples
  [holding answer 13 June 1991]: I have placed in the Library a copy of the explanatory chart referred to in the Standing Committee debate on clause 50.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Hampton Schools
  Mr. Jessel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will ask Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools to investigate the long-term consequences of the offer in 1987 by Richmond-upon-Thames borough council of 30 more places to children aged five at Hampton infants school than there was room for and the extent to which the undertaking by the headteacher an employee of the local education authority that this group of children would be funded for all their infant and junior years has been adhered to;

  (2) what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of local management of schools at Hampton school, particularly relating to the funding of a fourth full-time teacher for the remaining children admitted to Hampton junior school in 1987.

  Mr. Fallon
  I understand that for the September 1987 intake Richmond education authority decided that 120 places should be offered at the Hampton infant school rather than the normal 90. The authority also gave an undertaking that additional teaching, welfare and capitation resources would be made available to meet the needs of the children in that year group; and that no other children at the school would be disadvantaged because of the larger numbers being admitted.

  I also understand that the authority is of the view that it has honoured these undertakings by providing additional accommodation at the Hampton infant and junior schools and at the Hampton Hill school; and that it has also provided the additional teaching and welfare resources it promised. Since April 1990, the school has been operating under the authority's scheme for the local management of schools.

  Under LMS, the Hampton junior school receives a budget based mainly on the number and age of its pupils. It therefore receives additional funding for the extra pupils who were admitted to Hampton infant school in 1987 and who have since transferred to Hampton junior school. This is also the case for those children from that year group who subsequently transferred to the Hampton Hill school.

  Within the national statutory framework and subject to the conditions in their LEA's scheme, it is a school's governing body which determines how to make best use of their funding to meet the particular educational needs and priorities of the school. Accordingly, it is for the governors of Hampton junior school to determine the level of staffing and the need for a fourth full-time teacher for this particular age group cohort.

  Local Management of Schools
  Mr. Jessel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what effect the introduction of local management of schools has on the ability of local education authorities to fulfil undertakings given to provide extra funding for an additional teacher for a cohort of pupils which is more numerous than the other cohorts in the school, due to an original error by the local education authority in allocating children to the school in a particular year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Fallon
  Under LMS, funds are allocated to schools through a formula on a clear and objective basis. This means that the funding available is distributed fairly: similar schools receive similar budgets which will depend mainly on the numbers and ages of the pupils. As LMS funds pupils, a school with a cohort of pupils which is larger than its other cohorts will receive additional funding on the basis of those extra pupils.

  Children Act 1989
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice he has offered through his Department to local education authorities about the implementation of the Children Act 1989; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Fallon
  The Department, in consultation with the Department of Health, is issuing comprehensive guidance

  Science group staff

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991 (est)

  IACR

  803

  783

  789

  774

  750

  680

  557

  523

  480

  477

  449

  433

  IAH

  328

  311

  314

  310

  299

  307

  252

  283

  282

  264

  292

  283

  IAPGR

  343

  330

  338

  327

  326

  345

  331

  270

  254

  266

  337

  321

  IER

  131

  129

  138

  129

  124

  122

  133

  123

  97

  115

  115

  103

  IFR

  380

  394

  420

  434

  451

  447

  496

  473

  450

  435

  381

  245

  IGER

  431

  432

  441

  425

  435

  442

  388

  378

  381

  364

  308

  285

  IHR

  443

  430

  440

  438

  452

  425

  353

  323

  326

  318

  (295)

  (260)

  IPSR

  266

  282

  278

  274

  282

  279

  309

  373

  274

  271

  234

  234

  Total

  3,125

  3,091

  3,158

  3,111

  3,119

  3,047

  2,819

  2,746

  2,544

  2,510

  2,116

  1,90

  Non scientific staff

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991 (est)

  IACR

  401

  402

  411

  390

  368

  323

  273

  253

  229

  233

  251

  246

  IAH

  451

  448

  443

  440

  401

  359

  321

  281

  268

  237

  228

  227

  IAPGR

  338

  331

  330

  326

  288

  275

  258

  234

  224

  219

  222

  208

  IER

  240

  246

  263

  257

  252

  254

  237

  214

  208

  205

  194

  163

  IFR

  284

  290

  290

  284

  284

  223

  213

  211

  198

  192

  171

  131

  IGER

  324

  315

  329

  324

  316

  302

  291

  266

  260

  253

  224

  209

  IHR

  359

  364

  362

  361

  339

  325

  304

  286

  265

  269

  (269)

  (245)

  IPSR

  159

  166

  164

  160

  153

  145

  140

  137

  90

  93

  92

  92

  Total

  2,556

  2,562

  2,592

  2,542

  2,401

  2,206

  2,037

  1,182

  1,742

  1,701

  1,382

  1,276

  (1,651)

  (1,521)

  Notes:

  1. Abbreviations:

  IACR—Institute of Arable Crops Research.

  IAH—Institute of Animal Health.

  IAPGR—Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Research.

  IER—Institute of Engineering Research.

  IFR—Institute of Food Research.

  IGER—Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research.

  IHR—Institute of Horticultural Research.

  IPSR—Institute of Plant Science Research.

  2. IHR became part of the British Society for Horticultural Research (BSHR) on 1 April 1990. The BSHR has recently been remaned as Horticulture Research International (HRI). The figures in brackets show the number of AFRC staff seconded to HRI.

  3. The figures for IACR for 1980–84 include the former Letcombe Laboratory and the Weed Research Organisation, which closed in 1985
  8
  on the implementation of the Act, all of which is going to local education authorities. Copies will be placed in the Library. Advice of particular interest to LEAs is contained in the Department's circulars 2/91 and 3/91, about the approval of independent schools to admit children with statements of special educational need and the approval of special schools, and in the document "Family Support, Day Care and Educational Provision for Young Children". Guidance on the operation of education supervision orders will be published shortly.

  Agricultural and Food Research Council
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the total numbers for staff employed at each of the AFRC institutes since 1980 and his estimates up until 1993; and, in each case, which are(a) scientists and (b) non-scientist; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  Agricultural and Food Research Council-funded institutes were restructured during the period 1985 to 1987. For ease of reference, the figures for staff in post are shown on the basis of the present institutes of research.

  The figures for actual numbers employed at 1 April in the relevant years to 1990 and an estimate for 1991 are shown in tables 1 and 2.
  9
  and 1986 respectively. They also include the former Soil Survey and Land Resource Centre, which was transferred to the Cranfield Institute of Technology in 1986–87.

  4. The figures for IPSR for 1980–86 include that part of the former Plant Breeding Institute which was purchased by Unilever plc in 1986–87.

  The number of staff employed on 1 April 1992 and 1 April 1993 will depend on a number of factors, including the funding available to the AFRC through the science budget and the extent of commissions from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and external funded research. The present estimate is that the number of scientific staff employed at the AFRC at its institutes and Horticulture Research International will be about 1,935 and the number of non-scientific staff will be about 1,300 on each date. No breakdown of anticipated staffing levels at each AFRC institute is available. These figures are expected to remain constant into 1993–94.

PRIME MINISTER

  Foundation for Sports and the Arts
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about progress towards the establishment of a Foundation for Sport and the Arts.

  The Prime Minister
  I am pleased to say that the three members of the Pools Promoters Association have now confirmed that they will set up the Foundation for Sport and the Arts. I understand that the pools promoters are now working hard to finalise the trust deed under which the foundation will operate, and will soon be appointing the first trustees. The way is now clear for the Government to make the reduction in pool betting duty announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget speech and new clauses to the Finance Bill have been tabled.

  Holy Loch
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Prime Minister what agreements there are between the United States of America and United Kingdom Governments concerning the establishment and use of the United States base at Holy Loch.

  The Prime Minister
  Details of the agreements between the United Kingdom and United States Governments for the use of the Holy Loch by the United States Navy are confidential between the two Governments.

ENVIRONMENT

  Hostel Deficit Grant
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was paid out in hostel deficit grant to housing associations in England in the last five years for which figures are available; and how many units of accommodation were covered by hostel deficit grant in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total number of units of accommodation provided for from hostel deficit grant in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Yeo
  Hostel deficit grant payments to housing associations in England in each of the last five years were as follows:
  10

  £'000

  1986–87

  6,628

  1987–88

  9,457

  1988–89

  19,005

  1989–90

  28,494

  1990–91

  38,500

  Information relating to the number of units of accommodation covered by hostel deficit grant payments in each of these years is not available, but currently there are approximately 37,000 bed spaces in respect of which housing associations are able to claim hostel deficit grant.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the Statutory Instruments on local government finance he intends to publish prior to the summer adjournment; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  The Department will be laying before Parliament the following statutory instruments before the summer adjournment:The Non-Domestic Rating (Transitional Period) (Further provision) Regulations

  These will make amendments to the transitional arrangements for non-domestic rating in respect of statutory changes of occupier.
  The Non-Domestic Rating (Payment of Interest) (Amendment) Regulations

  These will amend the rules governing the payment of interest in respect of overpayments arising as a result of alterations to the non-domestic rating list.
  Repeals and Consequential Amendments Order

  This will make a number of repeals and amendments to previous Acts, especially the Local Government Act 1972.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place copies in the Library of the responses he has received on his consultation paper on local government finance; and if he will list in the Official Report all those organisations which have expressed opposition to his proposal for seven property bands.

  Mr. Portillo
  It is the Department's policy to place in the Library a list of all those who have responded to consultation. Copies of the responses themselves are normally deposited in the Department's library, and made available for inspection. We are currently studying the representations which have been received.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement before the summer adjournment on the results of his consultation exercise on local government finance.

  Mr. Portillo
  We are currently studying the representations which have been received. The next steps will be made clear in due course.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to make an announcement on his proposed outline financial settlement for local authorities for 1992–93.

  Mr. Portillo
  When he is ready to do so.
  11
  Mr. Viggers
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he offers to local authorities on the legal processes necessary to enforce the payment of community charges.

  Mr. Key
  The Local Government Finance Act 1988 widened the methods available to local authorities, compared with domestic rates, to recover community charges if a chargepayer does not respond to a reminder, summons or the issue of a liability order. Authorities may now attach the chargepayer's earnings, obtain deductions from income support or distrain and sell goods. Authorities can also, of course, come to an arrangement with the chargepayer for paying off his debt. If these methods fail to produce payment of the debt, an authority can apply for a warrant for committal to prison. If the court decides that a chargepayer's failure to pay was due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect it can impose a prison sentence of up to three months. My Department has issued a practice note and a series of letters which give guidance on all aspects of the operation of the community charge enforcement system.

  Local Government Commission
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to establish the local government commission; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  We are currently consulting on our proposal to establish a new local government commission. We intend to introduce legislation to establish the commission in the next Session of Parliament.

  Power Station, Isle of Man
  Mr. Carr
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to undertake an assessment of the potential environmental effects on mainland Britain of the proposed power station sited in the River Neb valley, Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  I am advised that the proposed power station at Peel in the Isle of Man is small in size—40 MW—and will replace an existing power station on an adjacent site. I am further advised that the Manx Electricity Authority has taken Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution's published guidance into account in formulating its proposals and that there is expected to be an overall environmental improvement.

  Drinking Water
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the current water treatment plants in England and Wales producing drinking water, whose aluminium content is above the European Community limits; and by how much each treatment plant is in excess of these limits.

  Mr. Baldry
  The information is not held centrally. Summary information on aluminium in water supplies throughout England and Wales during 1990 is being collated and will appear in the report of the chief inspector of the drinking water inspectorate, to be published in July.

  Local Government (Sick Days)
  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many days were lost through sickness in local government in the last available year, and what is the number of statutory sick days allowed in each sector.

  Mr. Key
  My Department does not collect information on time off through sickness in local government. The terms and conditions of employment of local authority staff, including time off through sickness, are, by section 112 of the Local Government Act 1972, a question to be settled by each local authority.

  Video Recordings
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the titles of the video recordings purchased by his Department during the financial year 1990–91 and 1991–92 to date.

  Mr. Heseltine
  My Department does not keep central records of such purchases and the information could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

  House Building
  Ms. Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the figures for house building in 1990 for each local authority, breaking down the figures into private, local authority, housing association and new town units.

  Mr. Yeo
  The figures requested are shown in Table I(a) of "Local Housing Statistics: England and Wales", No. 97—April 1991—a copy of which is in the Library.

  Homelessness
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish statistics listing the number of homeless applicants and the number of people housed under the homeless persons legislation by each local authority in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which statistics are available.

  Mr. Yeo
  The available information relates to the number of households on whom inquiries have been completed by local authorities under the homelessness legislation and, of these, the number accepted and found accommodation. This is already published.

  The reported figures for individual local authorities appear quarterly in "Local Housing Statistics: England and Wales". Annual totals for 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 are given in table 9(b) of volume Nos. 82, 86, 90 and 94, respectively. The 1990 totals are not yet published but figures for the four quarters separately are in table 9(a) of No. 94 and in table 9 of Nos. 95 to 97 of the same publication. Copies are in the Library.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was responsible for each of the past five years together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Information about full-time and part-time public appointments and levels of remuneration
  13
  for the past five years for which my Department was responsible is given in the annual HMSO publication "Public Bodies" and "Public Appointments: A Handbook for Women's Organisations". Copies of these publications are held in the Library of the House.

  Environmental Action Guide
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to produce the "Environmental Action Guide"; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  The "Environmental Action Guide" is now being printed and should be published by HMSO, on behalf of the Department of the Environment, in July. Copies will be placed in the Library. The more detailed advisory notes on specific technical and management topics will follow as soon as possible.

  Hospitality Fund
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the expenditure covered by his Department's hospitality fund for the financial year(a) 1989–90, (b) 1990–91 and (c) 1991–92 to date.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Within my Department responsibility for expenditure on hospitality is delegated to senior managers, subject to detailed rules. No central record is kept of the individual items. Total expenditure for my Department, including the Property Services Agency services, the Building Research Establishment agency, the Historic Royal Palaces agency and the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre agency, is as follows:

  £

  1989–90

  83,500

  1990–91

  1145,000

  1991–92

  220,000

  1 Provisional.

  2 To date.

  Local Government Review
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action would be necessary for a parish or town council in England to be dissolved.

  Mr. Key
  A parish or town council in England can only be dissolved while the parish or town remains as a local government area, if there are fewer than 150 local government electors in the parish or town. In such cases the district council, on the application of the parish meeting, may by order dissolve the council.

  A district council may review a parish or town and propose that its area should cease to form part of any parish. Such a proposal, if endorsed by the Local Government Boundary Commission and implemented by an order of the Secretary of State, would result in the end of the parish or town as a local government area, and with it the end of the parish or town council.

  Tribunals
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given for a new title of the present valuation and community charge 14
  tribunals once the new council tax comes into effect; if he will be issuing new guidance notes; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  The Government's consideration of the council tax appeal arrangements will include the matters mentioned by the hon. Member.

  Community Charge (Students)
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether students normally resident in Northern Ireland but who spend approximately nine months of term time attending university in England, Scotland or Wales are required to pay community charge for July, August and September, when residing in their parents' homes in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Key
  Full-time students in England, Scotland and Wales are treated as having their sole or main residence at the place where they are resident for the purpose of undertaking the course. They are therefore liable to pay the community charge at their term time address from the day the course commences until the day it ceases, including vacations.

  Housing Statistics
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many(a) self-contained units and (b) bed spaces in housing association rehabilitation schemes received initial project approval for housing association grant in each of the years 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91 and are planned for 1991–92 excluding re-improvements to existing properties owned by housing associations or local authorities for (1) Greater London, (2) inner London and (3) each London borough;

  (2) how many units or bed spaces in housing association rehabilitation schemes received project approval under the Housing Corporation's new programme for rent in each of the years 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91 and are planned for 1991–92 excluding re-improvements to existing housing association properties for (a) Greater London, (b) inner London and (c) each London borough distinguishing between self-contained units and bed spaces.

  Sir George Young
  These are matters for the Housing Corporation. I have therefore asked the corporation to respond to the hon. Member direct. The subsequent reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Cavity Wall Insulation
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals for improved standards of thermal insulation in building regulations in respect of cavity wall insulation; and if he will revise the approved document entitled "Conservation of Fuel and Power" so as to require U values to be calculated on a more realistic basis.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Building Research Establishment is carrying out a study to see how the higher standards for the conservation of fuel and power in the building regulations, which came into force last year, are working in practice. The results of this study, together with other work, will be used as a basis for considering how the standards in the building regulations can be further strengthened.
  15
  I have received from Eurisol a copy of its report of an investigation into the heat loss through certain cavity wall constructions. I have asked the Building Research Establishment to examine the report, and its supporting evidence, and advise on any implications for the building regulations.

  Aggregates
  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the length of time that will be available for public consultation on the draft of a revised mineral plan guidance note 6.

  Mr. Yeo
  It is not the intention to publish draft guidelines for consultation until the end of this year at the earliest. A decision will be taken at that time over the time length for public consultation but it is expected to be three months.

  Press and Public Relations
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total expenditure by his Department on press and public relations, including staff and running costs, in 1979–80 and in each following year; and what is his estimate for 1990–91 and budget for 1991–92.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Further to the answers which I gave to the hon. Member on 25 and 30 April,Official Report, column 492, and column 137, respectively, the latest estimate of outturn for 1990–91 is £7·7 million and the current budget for 1991–92 is £6·8 million; the latter figure excludes Property Services Agency services and the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre where budgets have not yet been finalised.

  Drought Precautions
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures have been taken to secure water supplies in the event of a hot, dry summer; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  While skilful resource management and average rainfall last winter restored the levels of most surface water reservoirs, the cumulative effect of two hot, dry summers, and three relatively dry winters has severely reduced the levels of water stored underground in aquifers. In parts of the south-east and east, some groundwater levels are at the lowest recorded for the time of year.

  The prime responsibility for ensuring the adequacy of water supplies rests with the water companies, under the Water Act 1989. But the National Rivers Authority is responsible for abstraction licenses and for ensuring that water resources are used judiciously. I have therefore been consulting Lord Crickhowell, chairman of the National Rivers Authority, about the measures that have been taken to secure water supplies should we see a return to hot, dry weather this summer. This statement reflects these consultations.

  Contingency planning to overcome potential difficulties has been carried out, drawing on experience gained over the past two years. Supported by the Government, the NRA has placed particular emphasis on the need for close liaison with the water undertakers and other interested parties, such as the National Farmers Union. A number of
  16
  ad hoc groups are also in place for assessing the situation and developing plans to alleviate possible difficulties. In accordance with the contingency plans developed in this way, appropriate measures are being phased in as the situation demands.

  Among the first steps aimed at conserving resources has been the widespread use of publicity campaigns to alert the general pubic, industry and agriculture to possible shortages of water. Such campaigns have been promoted both by the NRA and water supply undertakers through the press, radio, television and also the distribution of leaflets, public meetings and visits to schools. These campaigns are planned to continue throughout the summer in areas at risk and are generally aimed at increasing awareness of the situation and encouraging the wise use of water.

  Plans to use water resources to best effect are being implemented as necessary by reducing abstractions from sources that are running low, such as aquifers in the south-east, while increasing supplies drawn from rivers and reservoirs. Where appropriate, existing pipeline links have been supplemented by advancing the construction of those planned for the future or by laying temporary pipes. Also, in some cases water companies and the NRA have applied to my right hon. Friend for drought orders authorising increased abstractions or reduced discharges, which has helped to refill reservoirs during the winter and secure additional resources for the summer, and water companies in some areas have been able to develop new bore holes or recommission previously abandoned sources.

  To reduce demand, water companies have introduced hosepipe or sprinkler bans in the affected areas and these have been shown to produce worthwhile savings. A sprinkler can use in one hour as much water as an average family in one day, or even more; indeed, when demand is high in summer, bans are sometimes necessary because distribution systems cannot cope.

  In collaboration with the NRA, and in consultation with NFU and others, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has sought improvements in the way that water is applied to crops and the manner in which restrictions should best be imposed. The result is a leaflet on good irrigation practice. Apart from the potential savings in the use of water, the guidance provides for early warning by the NRA of the need to impose restrictions on spray irrigation. It is now being applied in the NRA's Anglian region.

  In the longer term, the NRA is making plans to ensure that resources are developed to meet demand into the next century. As a first step, the NRA has published a preliminary survey of the prospects for public water supplies to the year 2011, in a report entitled "Demand and Resources of Water Undertakers in England and Wales", copies of which are available in the Library.

  In addition, the NRA is investigating options for the strategic development of water resources including major new water transfer schemes. It is taking a fresh look at options hitherto considered uneconomic, such as a national grid and desalination, and expects to publish initial results this autumn. These results will then contribute to the NRA's development of a broad national development strategy to meet expected demand from all sources.

  Mineral Workings
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps he proposes to take to protect the environment, in addition to any schemes of working that may be agreed by local planning authorities, in those areas where (i) a dormant Interim Development Order —IDO—permission is re-activated following registration or (ii) mineral working continues to take place under active IDO permissions, in the period before the introduction of any changes to the powers of local authorities established under the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981 as a result of the current review of that Act;

  (2) when he will publish the findings of the working group currently undertaking the review of local authorities' powers under the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981;

  (3) what steps he proposes to take to compensate property owners who suffer blight as a result of discovering they live in or adjacent to prospective mineral workings following registration of IDO permissions;

  (4) what plans he has to include environmental and amenity organisations in the working group currently undertaking the review of local authorities' powers under the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981; and if he will make a statement;

  (5) if he will list the members of the working group currently undertaking the review of local authorities' powers under the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981, and if he will state the basis on which members were appointed.

  Mr. Yeo
  The amendments that the Government introduced in the Planning and Compensation Bill at Report stage on 16 May to deal with IDOs, provide that a dormant IDO permission cannot be reactivated until a scheme of operating and restoration conditions has been approved by the mineral planning authority. In any other case, such a scheme must be submitted for the mineral planning authority's approval within 12 months of the permission being registered.

  These amendments will ensure that in a relatively short period of time the details of all valid IDO permissions will be known, that the permissions are brought up to acceptable standards and that dormant sites cannot be reactivated without warning or proper conditions.

  It would not be appropriate to make provision for compensation for property owners who find themselves living adjacent to mineral working sites. However, the proposals in the Planning and Compensation Bill will ensure that all sites operate to acceptable standards. Statutory blight provisions only apply where there is a formal indication that land may need to be acquired by a body possessing compulsory powers. Where nuisance arises from development carried out under statutory powers, legislation is in place to compensate affected landowners for depreciation. Where land is affected by nuisance from private development, it is open to any owner to take action against those causing the nuisance or for him to seek damages through the courts.

  The amendments we have introduced to deal with 1DOs do not preclude the mineral planning authority from taking action under their existing powers, introduced by the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981. The Government have announced that they are reviewing these powers and this review is being undertaken by officials
  18
  with the assistance of a small informal working group comprising three representatives of the County Planning Officers Society and three representatives of the minerals industry. The review, which is already under way, is examining the technical details of the provisions. The Government have no plans to change the membership of the working group. However, interested bodies are welcome to submit representations, and any proposed changes arising from the review will be the subject of full public consultation, including environmental and amenity groups, before decisions are taken. I hope that this consultation exercise will take place next year.

  Heveningham Hall
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conclusions he has drawn from his recent visit to Heveningham hall.

  Mr. Yeo
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: My right hon. Friend visited Heveningham hall on 2 June. His impression was that, while much remains to be done, good progress has been made with the restoration work recently. English Heritage will continue to monitor the situation and keep us informed.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Bovine Offal
  Mr. Hague
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the spreading on land of protein material derived from specified bovine offal.

  Mr. Gummer
  The specified offals may not be used in human or animal feed, and therefore normal commercial outlets have disappeared for the small quantity of material resulting when these offals are rendered—some 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes per year, out of the rendering industry's total annual output of some 400,000 tonnes of protein material.

  The Government asked the Tyrrell committee to advise on its possible use as a fertiliser. The committee's view was that it should not be used. The risk of the agent being present or transmitted was remote, but it was better to be super-safe. There were alternative means of disposal — burning, burial or use as fuel. So on balance it would be wise not to use material derived from specified offal as fertiliser.

  It is therefore intended to make an order under the Animal Health Act to require that the protein material obtained from specified bovine offal should be disposed of either on licenced landfill sites, by incineration, or by such other means as may be licensed by the agriculture Departments.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was responsible for each of the past five years together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

  Mr. Curry
  The readily available information about the appointments for which the Department is responsible, all
  19
  of which are part time, is given in "Public Appointments: A Handbook for Women's Organisations" and annually in "Public Bodies", copies of which are in the Library.

  Oil-seed Rape
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the market for the expected harvest of the oil-seed rape crop this year; and what estimates he has made of the likelihood of a surplus.

  Mr. Curry
  There is crushing capacity for some 1·5 million tonnes of rape seed in the United Kingdom, and significant quantities of rape seed are also incorporated directly into animal feed. There is an export market for United Kingdom rape seed elsewhere in the European Community. It is too early to predict how the market for the 1991 crop will develop.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence there is that the production of oil-seed rape is injurious to the health of humans or to the ecological interest of the immediate locality.

  Mr. Curry
  In common with other agriculturally grown or naturally occurring vegetation, the pollen of oil-seed rape may affect some species, including human beings. However, I am not aware of any conclusive scientific evidence that this crop is injurious to the ecology of the immediate locality. Matters concerning human health are for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. Like any other crop, cross-pollinisation can occur and it is quite normal to protect crops by zoning where purity is needed.

  Year

  Guarantee section1

  Guidance section

  Other CAP expenditure2

  Total expenditure on the CAP1

  mecu

  £ million

  mecu

  £ million

  mecu

  £ million

  mecu

  £ million

  1985

  19,728

  11,601

  690

  406

  52

  31

  20,470

  12,037

  1986

  22,119

  14,330

  727

  471

  47

  30

  22,893

  14,831

  1987

  22,950

  16,508

  863

  621

  32

  23

  23,845

  17,152

  1988

  27,640

  18,749

  1,142

  775

  58

  39

  28,840

  19,564

  1989

  25,849

  16,925

  1,349

  883

  49

  32

  27,247

  17,840

  1990

  26,426

  18,416

  1,825

  1,272

  77

  54

  28,328

  19,742

  1991

  33,326

  23,225

  2,011

  1,401

  363

  253

  35,701

  24,879

  1992

  36,470

  25,416

  2,704

  1,884

  364

  254

  39,538

  27,554

  1 Figures for 1991 and 1992 include 1,000 mecu monetary reserve (£697 million).

  2 Other agricultural expenditure comprises mainly 50 per cent. of set-aside (since 1989) and income aids (since 1991).

  Sources:

  1985 to 1990: Outturn figures.

  1991: Budget.

  1992: Preliminary draft budget.

  Thames Estuary (Marine Aggregates)
  Mr. Moate
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the Kent and Essex sea fisheries committee and other fishing interests about proposals for an increase in extraction of marine aggregates in the shallow coastal waters of the Thames estuary; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  The Kent and Essex sea fisheries committee and other fishing interests have expressed concern that an increase in extraction of marine aggregate from the outer Thames estuary would harm fisheries.
  20
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the area devoted to the cultivation of oil-seed rape this year; and what was the area so used in 1990 and 1989.

  Mr. Curry
  The information sought is as follows:

  1991: 450,000 hectares (estimate)

  1990: 390,000 hectares

  1989: 321,000 hectares.

  Surpluses
  Mr. Latham
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the current level of surplus produce in British intervention stores; and what proposals he has for disposing of them.

  Mr. Curry
  Tables showing EC and United Kingdom intervention stock levels are deposited in the Library of the House each month. Any disposal of intervention stocks has to be approved by the European Commission and a number of schemes are currently operating for the commodities held in United Kingdom stores.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give figures for the common agricultural policy budget for each year since 1985, including the amount set for 1992, giving figures separately for(a) the guarantee section and (b) the guidance section.

  Mr. Curry
  The information requested is given in the table:

  The Government's policy is that licences will be granted for extraction of aggregate only where this is possible without unacceptable damage to sea fisheries and the marine environment. The fishing industry will be fully consulted on any application. The Ministry will ensure that any application for a licence will be given a careful scientific scrutiny to ensure the protection of fisheries.

  Agricultural and Food Research Council
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the amounts spent by his Department on the Agricultural and Food Research Council for each year since 1979 in(a) cash and (b) real terms.
  21
  Mr. Gummer
  MAFF commissions with the Agricultural and Food Research Council since 1979–80, in both cash and real terms, are as set out in the table.

  Year

  cash £ million

  1real terms (1979–80=100)

  1979–80

  30·4

  100·0

  1980–81

  37·4

  104·3

  1981–82

  44·3

  114·8

  1982–83

  48·6

  117·4

  1983–84

  51·3

  118·1

  1984–85

  52·8

  114·8

  1985–86

  51·8

  107·6

  1986–87

  47·9

  96·7

  1987–88

  44·2

  84·5

  1988–89

  46·4

  82·6

  1989–90

  46·0

  76·3

  1990–91

  45·6

  69·7

  1 Using the GDP deflator.

  Blue Ear Pig Disease
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of his veterinarians have been drafted into(a) the Lincoln veterinary centre and (b) other areas, as a result of blue ear disease; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  One veterinarian spent two days on detached duty at the Lincoln veterinary investigation centre and veterinarians have spent a total of 38 man days on detached duty in other areas as a result of blue ear pig disease.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  "The Feldberg Inquiry"
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reasons his Department's inspectors gave for persuading Professor Feldberg to use rabbits rather than cats for the experiments detailed in the Medical Research Council report "The Feldberg Inquiry".

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Section 5(6) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requires special justification for the use of cats, dogs, primates and equidae. Following implementation of the Act, it became standard practice for inspectors to require research workers who were using cats to change, whenever possible, to alternative species. As a result, during the summer of 1989, when Professor Feldberg's research reached a stage when his use of cats was no longer considered essential, the inspector urged Professor Feldberg to change to rabbits, so that his authority to work on cats could be withdrawn.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the experiments detailed in Medical Research Council report "The Feldberg Inquiry" were justified under section 5(4) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  In September 1989, Professor Feldberg sought the inspector's permission for a change to his project licence in connection with research he was undertaking into the regulation of blood sugar. He wished to replace a procedure involving the injection of drugs into the brain with one which he considered could produce a similar effect but involved the heating of the abdomen of the rabbit.
  22
  Contrary to the comments made in the Medical Research Council's report, the licence amendment would not have been granted unless the adverse effects had been weighed against the potential benefit of the work, as required by section 5 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The change proposed involved replacing a procedure with a less invasive technique. The inspector's judgment that the proposed change to Professor Feldberg's work was justifiable was an opinion confirmed some months later by two of the three independent experts consulted by the Medical Research Council.

  Fox Hunts
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will seek a report from the chief constable of(a) South Yorkshire and (b) West Yorkshire on the total number of police involved in policing fox hunts during the last 12 months; and if he will give the cost involved;

  (2) if he will seek a report from the chief constable of (a) South Yorkshire and (b) West Yorkshire listing the number of occasions during the last 12 months, when police video cameras were used to film hunt protesters, showing the locations where they were used.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The policing of hunts and the deployment of officers are operational matters entirely for the discretion of the chief officer. I understand that, over the past year, a total of about 25 officers from South Yorkshire Police have at various times attended fox hunts to deal with disorder. The costs involved are not readily available and could not be determined at disproportionate cost. West Yorkshire police has not deployed officers specifically to police fox hunts. Neither force has used video cameras at fox hunts on any occasion.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was responsible for each of the past five years together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The readily available information about the appointments of which my Department was responsible in the past five years, including salary details, is given in "Public Bodies" which is published annually and in "Public Appointments: A Handbook for Women's Organisations" which also gives information as to when appointments fall for renewal. Copies of both publications are in the Library.

  Animal Experiments
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he accepts the Medical Research Council's recommendations that(a) the establishment of Home Office inspectors needs to be increased, and (b) their role to be re-examined with a view to their being more involved in the monitoring of the treatment of animals during experiments.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 11 March 1991 to a question from the hon. Member for Glasgow, Pollok (Mr. Dunnachie) at column 335.
  23
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-purpose bred animals were supplied to the Charing Cross and Westminster medical schools within the last year; by whom they were supplied; and for what specific experiments they were supplied.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  It is not normally our practice to provide such detailed information about individual scientific procedure establishments, but I have the agreement of the medical school to say that no such animals were supplied within the last year.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he plans to take in order to detect contraventions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 by personal and project licence holders.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The controls to ensure the proper conduct of animal procedures within scientific user establishments operate at a number of levels. Certificate holders for establishments designated under section 6 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are answerable to my right hon. Friend for ensuring that the requirements of the Act are fully observed. In addition, the management of research projects and the control of the application of procedures to animals are achieved through conditions attached to project and personal licences. In many cases, project licences are discussed with inspectors

  Table A: Number of deaths in prison by year and by ethnic origin 1 January 1981–14 June 1991

  Year

  White

  West Indian

  Indian

  Pakistani

  African

  Arab

  Mixed

  Total

  1981

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  58

  1982

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  61

  1983

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  64

  1984

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  65

  1985

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  59

  1986

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  58

  1987

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  80

  1988

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  80

  1989

  71

  3

  3

  1

  —

  1

  —

  180

  1990

  82

  3

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  87

  19912

  27

  2

  —

  —

  —

  2

  1

  32

  1 Ethnic origin not recorded for one prisoner.

  2 To 14 June.

  Table B: Deaths in police custody or otherwise with the police 1 January 1981–14 June 1991

  Year

  Metropolitan Police

  Other forces (England and Wales)

  Total

  1981

  27

  22

  49

  1982

  27

  28

  55

  1983

  18

  25

  43

  1984

  15

  19

  34

  1985

  14

  23

  37

  1986

  15

  26

  41

  1987

  28

  26

  54

  1988

  30

  38

  68

  1989

  37

  36

  73

  1990

  20

  41

  61

  19911

  8

  16

  24

  1 To June 14.

  24
  and advice is given before a formal application is made. Project licence holders and personal licensees are answerable to certificate holders and to the Home Office.

  Infringements of the Act, or of licences issued under it, come to light generally during visits made by inspectors, when they observe procedures being carried out, discuss the progress of the research and examine the records which are required to be kept. Most visits by inspectors are unannounced.

  The appendix to the "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain", gives the number of infringements dealt with each year, together with details of the action taken.

  Deaths in Custody
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by ethnic group, and by year for the last 10 years, the number of deaths that have occurred whilst a person was held in(a) prison and (b) police custody.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The total number of deaths in prison in each year since 1981 and the number of deaths by ethnic origin since 1989 are shown in table A. Information on ethnic origin for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The total number of deaths in police custody in each year since 1981 is shown in table B. Information on ethnic origin is not available.

  Prisoners
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners have ever been in care.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The information requested is not recorded centrally.

  Police (Sick Leave)
  Mr. Soames
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the Sussex constabulary on the number of hours lost through sick leave by the Sussex police; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  In the calendar year 1990, the Sussex police recorded a total of 30,163 days sick leave—based on an eight-hour day. This amounts to 4·4 per cent. of available working days or an average of 10·1 days per officer. Both figures are below the national average.
  25
  Accounts of positive action being taken by the Sussex police to control and monitor sick absence appear in the chief constable's report for 1990 and in a report by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary on the force inspection undertaken in November last year. Copies of these are available in the Library. A further interim inspection is due to take place in November 1991. My right hon. Friend does not propose to call for a separate report.

  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of days lost through sickness by the police for the last available year, and the number of statutory sick days allowed in each section.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  In the calendar year 1990 an average of 11·6 days per officer were lost through sickness in provincial forces and 12·5 days in the Metropolitan police. In line with general legislation, regulation 34 of the Police Regulations 1987 (as amended) provides for officers to take seven days self-certificated leave per year. This is at the discretion of the police authority. Thereafter, a doctor's certificate is required.

  Red Cross Report (Detainees)
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, further to the reply to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury on 7 June, he intends to make any changes to the conditions under which detainees would be held in future in the light of the comments made in the Red Cross report.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Any exceptional detention arrangements which might be necessary in a future emergency would be considered in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the time.

  Criminal Convictions
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of males aged 15, 20, 25 and 30 years, respectively, have had a serious criminal conviction.

  Mr. John Patten
  The information is in the table. This information has been produced from a series of cohort studies of persons born in 1953, 1958 and 1963, published in Home Office statistical bulletin 32/89.

  Males born in 1953, 1958 and 1963 and convicted of a Standard List1 offence.

  Convicted before age

  Percentage Year of birth

  1953

  1958

  1963

  15

  11

  11

  10

  20

  23

  25

  25

  25

  29

  31

  2ֵ

  30

  33

  2ֵ

  2ֵ

  1 All indictable offences plus aggravated assault, assault on a constable and cruelty to a child.

  2 Not available.

  Community Charge
  Mr. Martin Redmond (Don Valley)
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been heard and found proved for non-payment of(a) the community charge and (b) the uniform business
  26
  rate at magistrates' courts in (i) Doncaster, (ii) Kensington and Chelsea and (iii) Wandsworth for the latest date he has available; and if he will show in his Answer what percentage of the population this represents.

  Mr. John Patten
  The information requested is set out in the table.

  Community Charge

  Uniform business rate

  per cent.

  Doncaster

  9,429

  4·3

  21

  Kensington and Chelsea

  8,830

  8·3

  423

  Wandsworth

  19,342

  9·8

  751

  The percentages of the population these figures represent, as shown in brackets, are based on the number of persons entered on the relevant community charge registers. The figures for Kensington and Chelsea and Wandsworth cover the period 1 April 1990 to 12 June 1991 while those for Doncaster cover the period 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991.

  Local Radio
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on the indirect ownership of independent local radio stations by local authorities.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Under the provisions of schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Act 1990, local authorities, and any body corporate in which a local authority is a participant with more than 5 per cent. interest, are disqualified from holding an independent local radio licence.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local authorities have investments in holding companies with shares in independent local radio stations.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  It is for the Radio Authority, and not the Government, to enforce the provisions in the Broadcasting Act 1990 relating to ownership of independent local radio stations. It is, therefore, a matter for the authority to monitor investment by local authorities in such stations.

  Police Training
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to the training needs of the police in relation to the provisions of the Road Traffic Bill; and what guidance he expects to give on this new legislation.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Home Office will be issuing guidance to chief officers of police on the provisions of the legislation. The guidance is being prepared in consultation with the Association of Chief Police Officers and training needs will be identified in that process.

  Wolds Remand Prison
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many companies have been invited to tender for the Wolds remand prison contract.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Nine.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases for the non-payment of poll tax are awaiting trial at Crown courts.

  Mr. John Patten
  None. Community charge enforcement proceedings in England and Wales are conducted in the magistrates courts and the Crown court has no jurisdiction.

  Sunday Trading
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the advice he is giving to local authorities regarding enforcing Sunday trading provisions before the House of Lords' appeal on the European defence is determined.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  We have not generally considered it either appropriate or necessary to issue guidance to local authorities about enforcement of the law on Sunday

  Principal applications for asylum in the United Kingdom, by nationality

  1988

  11989

  1 21990

  1*1991

  Number of principal applicatiokns excluding dependants

  Zaire

  150

  470

  860

  2,580

  Angola

  40

  210

  630

  2,320

  Sri Lanka

  400

  1,780

  3,250

  1,770

  Pakistan

  330

  230

  1,240

  1,240

  Uganda

  410

  1,230

  1,580

  1,000

  Ghana

  170

  320

  530

  1,000

  Turkey

  330

  2,350

  800

  960

  Somalia

  300

  1,850

  1,480

  850

  India

  290

  600

  1,360

  740

  Ethiopia

  230

  550

  1,640

  720

  Lebanon

  150

  180

  1,080

  550

  Togo/Ivory Coast

  —

  10

  n.a.

  400

  Iraq

  160

  210

  940

  380

  Iran

  390

  330

  340

  220

  Other African nationalities

  230

  320

  550

  3850

  Other non-African nationalities

  510

  730

  1,230

  1,420

  Nationality not yet recorded

  —

  —

  4,500

  —

  Total—all nationalities

  3,950

  11,200

  22,000

  17,000

  Total number of applicants including dependants4

  5,570

  16,400

  30,000

  n.a.

  1 Provisional and estimated figures.

  2 The 1990 estimates for specific nationalities are likely to understate because of delays in recording, particularly for African cases. The estimate of cases not yet recorded, and the 1990 total, may also understate.

  3 Figures may understate.

  4 Includes dependants applying with the principal applicant, and those, to date, arriving subsequently but before the principal application was decided.

  * January to April.

  Fighting Dogs
  Mr. David Young
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what specific action he proposes to safeguard the public from breeds of fighting dogs, including the pit bull terrier; and if he will consider banning the importation, breeding and sale of these breeds in the United Kingdom.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  [holding answer 20 May 1991]: As the hon. Member will know, the Government have recently introduced the Dangerous Dogs Bill aimed at the control of fighting dogs like the pit bull terrier and Japanese tosa and their eventual elimination from this country. An import ban on these dogs took effect from midnight on 21 May.
  28
  trading. The recent decision of the House of Lords to adjourn its consideration of the appeal against the decision of the High Court in the cases of Stoke-on-Trent and Norwich city councils v. B&Q plc in order to seek further clarification of certain aspects of the law from the European Court of Justice has not caused us to alter this stance.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the available statistical information in the origin of asylum seekers and the change in pattern over recent months and years.

  Mr. John Patten
  [holding answer 7 June 1991]: Information for 1991 is only available for the number of principal applicants excluding dependants. The number of such applications by the main nationalities since 1988 is given in the table.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many civil servants from each Government Department are currently working in the office of the United Kingdom permanent representative to the European Community.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The number of civil servants from each Government Department currently working in the office of the United Kingdom permanent representative to the European Community at Brussels is:
  29

  Number

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  145

  Department of Trade and Industry

  6

  Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

  5

  Her Majesty's Treasury

  2

  Her Majesty's Customs and Excise

  2

  Department of Employment

  2

  Scottish Office

  1

  Overseas Development Administration

  1

  Department of Transport

  1

  Northern Ireland Civil Service

  1

  Bank of England

  1

  1 including all support staff.

  Africa
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make it his policy to request the United Nations Secretary General to re-establish the office for emergency operations in Africa.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The office for emergency operations in Africa provided excellent inter-agency co-ordination from 1984 to 1986. Since its experiences are reflected in current United Nations working practices, re-establishing it now does not automatically guarantee improved co-ordination. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the German Foreign Minister launched a joint initiative on 9 June to improve and support the way the United Nations responds to humanitarian disasters and emergencies including those in Africa.

  Libya
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his response to the recent proposals to the Foreign Secretary of Libya for the improvement of relations with the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We have no plans to respond to these proposals. There is a wide gap between us and the Libyans over conditions that will allow for an improvement in relations.

  Gibraltar
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy regarding the frontiers of the European Community as far as it relates to Gibraltar.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Gibraltar is part of the Community by virtue of article 227(4). Gibraltar's frontier with Spain is therefore an internal EC frontier for all purposes except as regards free trade in goods where Community rules do not apply because Gibraltar is not part of the Community customs territory.

  Hong Kong
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what areas of interest he has in the future Hong Kong airport that are not matters for the Hong Kong Government.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The British Government's interest in Hong Kong's new airport is to assist in doing everything possible to make it a success and thereby promote Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.

  Vietnamese Boat People
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recommendations for camp conditions which(a) have and (b) have not been adopted for each of the camps in which Vietnamese boat people are currently detained.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: The UNHCR's recommendations on food, nutrition and water standards have been adopted, or in some cases exceeded, in all detention centres in Hong Kong. The recent influx of new arrivals has made UNHCR recommendations for toilet provisions and space standards difficult to achieve in all camps.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the statistics kept regarding the boat people detained in the camps in Hong Kong.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: The Hong Kong Government maintain basic statistics on the total number of Vietnamese in the camps in Hong Kong, the number of men and women over 16 and the ages of those who are determined not to be refugees or who wait screening. Statistics that require further research and processing of information are not readily available.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Serious Fraud Office
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the work of the Serious Fraud Office.

  The Attorney-General
  Since its inception the Serious Fraud Office has brought 54 cases involving 123 defendants to trial, 85 of whom—over two thirds—were convicted. In 1990–91 the average duration between acceptance of a case for investigation by SFO and its committal or transfer to the Crown court was 11·8 months. I believe that we are making good progress in reducing the time taken to deal with such cases.

  Confessions
  Mr. Grocott
  To ask the Attorney-General what weight the Crown prosecution service gives to uncorroborated confessions obtained in police custody.

  The Attorney-General
  The code for Crown prosecutors requires that the prosecution be satisfied that confession evidence has been properly obtained and has not been obtained by oppressive behaviour. A prosecution may be brought on the basis of an uncorroborated confession provided that the Crown prosecutor is satisfied that it was properly obtained and that there is a realistic prospect of a conviction.

  Medical Negligence
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of impending changes in the legal aid system on access to legal redress for patients in Wales who believe they have suffered through medical negligence.
  31
  The Attorney-General
  The safety net proposal which is canvassed in the Lord Chancellor's recent consultation paper on eligibility for civil legal aid would extend legal aid to those who may currently be ineligible but who face high costs. It could be of particular help to litigants in medical negligence cases in which costs may be high.

  Judge Pickles
  Mr. Rathhbone
  To ask the Attorney-General whether the Lord Chancellor has obtained a recording or a transcript of Judge Pickles' comments on the application of the law on a BBC TV programme on Tuesday 11 June; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  The Lord Chancellor has seen reports of the judge's comments. The judge is to retire at the end of the month and the Lord Chancellor therefore proposes to make no further comment.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Myanmar
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to increase overseas aid to Myanmar; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  All aid to the Burmese Government was suspended in a joint decision by the EC Twelve following the repression of dissent in 1988. Other major donors acted similarly. We have no plans to resume aid until there is an improvement in the human rights position in Burma and significant movement towards democracy.

  Environmental Pollution
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place between the Minister for Overseas Development and her European counterparts to tackle environmental pollution in central and eastern Europe.

  Mrs. Chalker
  None. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and his Ministers have held many discussions with EC colleagues on environmental improvement. We have already been able to help both through multilateral channels like the EC PHARE programme and the British know-how fund which has so far funded nine environment projects.

  Development Aid
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes he envisages in the level or orientation of United Kingdom development aid in the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Planned expenditure on the aid programme is set out in the FCO departmental report Cmnd. 1502. In allocating our aid, increased attention is being given to supporting good government, including economic reform, alleviating poverty, protecting the environment, and population programmes.

  British Aid for the Kurds
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the level of mutual assistance between his Department and the voluntary organisation British aid for the Kurds.

  Mrs. Chalker
  British aid for the Kurds has been successful. The ODA has extended considerable help, including the provision of transport for relief goods which it has collected.

  Aid
  Mr. Hain
  to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the breakdown for the latest year for which figures are available of the proportion of overseas aid as a percentage of gross domestic product allocated to Africa, Asia, Latin America and the remaining areas of the world.

  Mrs. Chalker
  In 1989 the proportion of United Kingdom gross national product devoted to official development assistance was 0·31 per cent. There is no geographical breakdown for the destination of official development assistance. In 1988, the latest year for which figures are available, the geographical distribution of gross public expenditure on aid including our contributions through multilateral agencies, was as follows: Africa 44 per cent.; Asia 31 per cent.; Latin America 4 per cent.; other 8 per cent.; unallocated 13 per cent.

  Medical Aid (The Gulf)
  Mr. Dalyell
  to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what medical aid has been given to combat typhoid, cholera, hepatitis and water-borne diseases in southern Iraq and Kuwait.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The United Nations agencies and the Red Cross and Red Crescent have begun health programmes in Iraq as well as in neighbouring countries. Britain has contributed US$16 million to the UN appeal for the region launched last month and £2·5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

  Liberian Refugees
  Sir David Steel
  to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance Her Majesty's Government are currently giving to Sierra Leone, in particular to help with the influx of Liberian refugees.

  Mrs. Chalker
  I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave on 12 June to the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd).

  Somaliland Republic
  Mr. Cartwright
  to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to the people in the area of the self-declared Somaliland republic.

  Mrs. Chalker
  We do not recognise the "Somaliland Republic". We want to help Somalis in need wherever they
  33
  are in the country, but insecurity hampers the relief effort. So far this year we have made available £2 million and 8,000 tonnes of food directly to Somalia.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Consultancy Contracts
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total amount spent by his Department in the 1990–91 financial year on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; and if he will list each

  Firm

  Subject of assignment

  B. G. Adams

  Reconviction study.

  A. M. and T.

  ISS Ltd.

  Aims Ireland

  Strategic Studies. Implementation of SSADM.

  Airstream Finance

  Aircraft Sales Financing.

  G. Alexander

  Preparation of 30 maps for criminology society.

  Anderson Advertising Ltd

  NI Trade Directory.

  Aviation Business Consultants

  CEM. Aircraft Furnishing.

  W. S. Atkins Control Engineering

  Review of markets for solar heating devices. Support for HRM Project. Technical Advice on New Computer System—Roads Service.

  BDO Binder Hamlyn

  Delta Enfield Cables. Isocardia and Isomeria. Killyhevlin Hotel. Baronscourt Inn. Fort Lodge Hotel.

  Nigel Beacom

  Ballievey Bleaching.

  BIS Beacom International

  Catholic Family Care Society (NI).

  BIS Beacom

  Use of Oracle in NIO. Racal Chubb Feasibility Study.

  Drs. Bennets, Lowe and Kinsgman

  Technical appraisal of 3 DED/TBNI Science and Technology applications.

  S. Birley

  Networking by business support agencies in NI.

  Leslie Black

  Octopus Sportswear. Sperrin Metal Products. Maydown Precision. John Cleland.

  Clive Boot

  Perfecseal.

  Bradford Hospital Trusts

  HSS Trusts.

  Richard Brightwell

  Aims Ireland Ltd.

  British Ceramics Research

  Technical appraisal of tableware production.

  British Society of Criminology

  Donation towards criminology conference.

  Sandy Brown Associates

  Insurance companies relocation study follow up research.

  Alastair Browne

  International Leathers. Ballymena Construction. Glenbrook Foods.

  Burson Marsteller

  Business co-operation visit to Singapore arrangements. Consultancy mission to Pittsburgh.

  Business and Economic Initiative(s) Ltd

  Development of purchasing links with Irish Republic. Evaluation of Construction Board-managed JTP.

  Chris Byrne

  R. A. Irwin.

  CASPE Healthcare Knowledge Systems Ltd.

  Training in Medical Information Systems Coding Procedure.

  CCTA

  General advice and consultation relating to computer projects and methodology.

  CIPFA CSL Group Ltd.

  Management Accounting Advice for Roads Service.

  Advice in connection with the use of the new financial package in Roads Service.

  CM Computers

  Computerisation of PSTC Office Function.

  CSL NI

  To assist Rating Division to establish the changes required to meet the responsibility of Agency Accounting in the Rate Collection Agency.

  Frank Caddy

  Clarence Clothing.

  Brockhaven Ltd.

  Bespoke Shirt Co. Ltd.

  W. J. Cairns

  Landscape consultancy.

  Alastair Campbell

  R. A. Irwin.

  Dr. R. Campbell

  Infant Mortality Study.

  R. J. Campbell and Din Ghani

  MARI/DED awareness, targeting and tendering support on EC R and D programmes.

  34
  management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1990–91, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm, the subject of the assignment and, if appropriate, the executive agency for whom the contract was carried out.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The total amount spent by the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments in the financial year 1990–91 was £5,350,401. Due to way in which data are stored, it has not been possible to provide the "subject of assignment" details in respect of each consultancy beyond the name of the client company involved; to attempt to do so in every case would involve disproportionate cost.
  35

  Firm

  Subject of assignment

  Capita Muir Addy

  Financial System Strategy.

  Charging System.

  Superannuation Tender Evaluation.

  Community Schools Study.

  Dungannon Park Ltd.

  Pace Ltd.

  Belmont Photocopy.

  Moypark.

  Sak Marketing.

  Blackers Mill.

  Spence Bryson.

  Platform Ltd.

  Lismona Wear Ltd.

  David Clarke

  Unipork Ltd.

  Class Ltd.

  PRINCE Consultancy Services.

  David Clements

  Cantrell and Cochrane.

  Prof. M. Collins

  NIO survey review.

  Community Economic Ltd.

  Effectiveness audit of community technical aid.

  Component Supply System

  Component Sourcing Study.

  John Compton

  Elastic Berger (2).

  Adria.

  Avery Label.

  NI Spinners.

  Computer Search and Selection

  Consultancy on Oracle.

  Configurate D Computer Systems

  Development of EIS System.

  Mrs. M. Conroy

  Manpower Planning.

  Consultancy and Inspection Services Division, HMT

  Review of the top structure of:

  —Ulster Museum.

  —Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

  —Ulster American Folk Park.

  Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte

  General Ledger Project.

  Financial Consultancy.

  Provide guidance on Formula Funding, based on experience of LEAs in England and Wales.

  Monitoring Northern Ireland Milk industry agreement.

  To assist with compilation of in-house departmental bids in respect of grounds maintenance at Crawfordsburn and Castle Archdale County Parks.

  Advice on the finance functions of the Water Service.

  Audit of market testing exercise—Works Service Reprographic Unit.

  To examine for Transport Division, the ferry service currently operating between Ballycastle and Rathlin Island .

  Study of IT Training Provision.

  Review of NIE performance aim targets.

  Research Salary Costs in Northern Ireland.

  Boxmore Plastics.

  Ballymena Constructions.

  Maydown Precision.

  Galen Ltd.

  Cordiner Windows.

  Dungannon Meats.

  Software Industry.

  Electronics Strategy.

  CSD Strategic Plan.

  Marketing Appraisal Texmo Ltd.

  Appraisal Clarence Clothing.

  James Mackie Ltd.

  McQuillan Meats.

  Condit and McCaul.

  Middletown Foods.

  Market Testing Feasibility Study.

  Markroyelle (Factories) Ltd.

  Cork Gully

  Personal bankruptcy.

  David Cowan

  BM.

  Double Glazing Supplies.

  I. Crow

  Paper on British Society of Criminology.

  DBE Associates

  To prepare an Information Systems Strategy for Roads Service.

  DBI Associates Ltd.

  Review of departmental IT strategy.

  David Andrea

  VS Automative Components Industry Study.

  J. Davis

  NI Dairy Industry.

  De Montfort Management Ltd.

  Japanese automative industry research study.

  36 37

  Firm

  Subject of assignment

  Digital Equipment Co. Ltd.

  Organisational development.

  Dimension Exhibition

  Water Office Exhibition.

  MBW Exhibition (Shankill).

  Angela Doggart

  Spanboard.

  J. W. Dunn

  NIADE Proposal.

  ECS (NI) Ltd.

  Technical and manufacturing of press brake project.

  Economic and Social Research Council

  Parents Advice Centre Assessment of suitability for using IT.

  A. Edwards

  Pay Negotiations.

  Ekono Cy

  Lees Pulpmill.

  Elite Consultancy

  Project Cost Monitoring System.

  Energy Contract Co. Ltd.

  Gas Adviser to DED

  Ernst and Young

  Computer Audit Needs.

  James Mackie.

  Platform Ltd.

  Keith Prowse.

  Superdine Ltd.

  Juiceco.

  Thrigge Scott.

  Silicom Systems.

  Blackers Mill.

  Munster Simms.

  Niex Ltd.

  McQuillan Meats.

  Clarence Clothing.

  Condit and McCaul.

  Elizabeth Alexander.

  Burrendale Hotel.

  Ewbank Preece

  Marketing investigation.

  Peter Ewing

  Sperrin Metal Products.

  Extern Organisation

  Self-reported delinquency study.

  Dr. B. Farrington

  Contractual advice for Roads Service.

  John Fielden Consultancy

  Review of University/Industry Links.

  First Management Business Consultants

  Circaprint Ltd.

  Flynn Moore

  Moy Central Manufacturing.

  Perfecseal.

  Dr. C. H. J. Fox

  Technical appraisal of 3 TBNI/DED Science and Technology applications.

  Prof. McVey

  Dr. N. A. Saunders

  Tom Fulford

  Phoenix Picture Frames Ltd.

  Graham Galbraith

  Silverlea.

  Patricia Gilleece

  SB Chemicals.

  R. Grills

  Texmaco.

  Stephen Gunning

  Blackers Mill.

  Halcrow Fox

  Belfast Cross Harbour Road and Rail Links Investment appraisal update.

  Hanna Thompson

  Concrete Flooring Systems.

  Michael Hanna

  Fruit of the Loom.

  CFD Advice.

  E. C. Harris

  Project management landscape advisory.

  Hedra Ltd.

  Market testing Bureau—general support.

  Hill, Vellacott and Bailey

  Slieve Donard Hotel.

  Stormont Hotel.

  FW Trees Hotel.

  S. M. Holt

  Glenbrook Foods.

  Robin Horner

  Double Glazing Supplies.

  Stephen Hughes

  Shergrim Ltd.

  Regency Marine.

  Diamond Sawmills.

  Peter Hyde

  Communications study for Works Service.

  ICL (UK) Ltd.

  Payroll.

  Girocheque Reconciliation Project.

  Industrial Society

  Management awareness.

  Input

  Software Strategy Research.

  Institute for Counselling and Personnel Development

  Evaluation of NI Council on Alcohol.

  Evaluation of Northland Centre, Londonderry.

  38 39

  Firm

  Subject of assignment

  Institute of Manpower Studies

  Advice on appropriateness and adequacy of an analytical approach to the monitoring of equal opportunities in NICS.

  Investment Bank of Ireland

  Francis Dismore.

  Intersect Ltd.

  Oracle.

  MHM International.

  Software Ireland.

  D. C.Ives

  Webtech (NI) Ltd.

  Moypark Ltd.

  Lovell and Christmas.

  Farm Fed Chickens.

  Keith Jess

  Douglas and Graham.

  John Johnston Associates

  Heat exchange facilities and products.

  Kerman Associates

  NICS Telecoms Project.

  S. Kingon

  Maydown Precision.

  Kings Fund College, London

  Contracting for Health Authorities.

  R. Kinsella

  Sourcing of financial services.

  Helen Kirkpatrick

  SPD Swann.

  Vision.

  R. J. Hall.

  Kroll Associates

  C. S. Brooks.

  Kurt Salmon

  Cannontex—blouse costing analysis.

  LBMS Plc

  Selling PRINCE to senior managers.

  Tom Lenehan

  Spanboard.

  Lees Pulpmill.

  Lindsay Marketing

  Acheson and Glover.

  Concrete Flooring Systems.

  Liverpool Health Authority

  Quality of Service.

  Logical Choice

  Open Systems.

  Pickmigration.

  Donald McRitchie

  Presseast/Fleming Poultry.

  Wilsons Plastics.

  Report on Red Meat Sector.

  Kernohan Joinery.

  Financial appraisal of IFI Applications.

  Development of management ratios and analysis of Balmoral Credit Union Ltd.

  Examination of accounts and administrative systems of 12 Credit Unions.

  Michelin.

  F. P. McCormack & Co.

  Park Avenue Hotel.

  Wyncrest Guest House.

  Miscellaneous forward investment projects.

  G. Moss

  Technical appraisal of Fibre Laser Project (IFI).

  Institute of Advanced Micro Electronics.

  A. Moloney

  Harland & Wolff.

  Martin McBride

  International Leathers.

  James McGibbon

  Vision.

  SPD Swan.

  Kockum Computers.

  Rowenda Mills

  Wilson's Plastics.

  Stratter Plastics.

  Noel Moore

  BM.

  Perfecseal.

  Synthetic Industries.

  J. T. McCullins

  ETI Ltd.

  McClure Watters

  Kainos Software Ltd.

  Acheson & Glover.

  John McVeigh

  Software Ireland.

  Circuits and Systems.

  McCullough Research

  Sherwood Medical.

  Market Research (Scotland)

  Copeland Clothing.

  Market Solution (NI)

  HITEC Hydraulic.

  Laser International.

  Wm Turkington & Sons.

  Francis Dinsmore.

  M. McAulay

  Attendance Centre Review.

  Moran Management Consultant

  Interpersonal Skills Training.

  Timothy Morris

  Job Satisfaction Survey.

  40 41

  Firm

  Subject of assignment

  McDonnell Douglas Information Systems Ltd.

  Technical appraisal of Software Product.

  Les McKeown

  Sylvan Spawn/Safe.

  Belleek

  R. McClure

  Acheson & Glover.

  Michael Morrow

  MSO.

  National Economic Research Associates

  Economic Consultants for Privatisation of NIE.

  North West Marketing

  Local Sourcing Project.

  North East Thames Regional Health Authority

  Job Evaluation Scheme for Senior Management Posts. Review of above.

  Richard Osborn

  Circuits and Systems.

  J. Owens

  Maydown Precision.

  Harland & Wolff/Kawasaki.

  Hyster.

  Oracle UK

  Use of 4K Generation Language.

  Assist in Quality Assurance of Completed Software Products for Work Service Management Accounting Information Systems (MAIS).

  Oracle Corporation UK Ltd.

  Consultancy on Oracle.

  OSI Ltd.

  NICS Telecoms Project.

  Price Waterhouse

  GTS—Project Management, Quality Assurance and Technical Evaluation.

  Business Plan.

  Review of Funding for Belfast Law Centre.

  Review of Belfast Law Centre.

  Taxation.

  Entry into Management:

  —Junior Management Development Programme.

  —Graduate Attachment Programme.

  —Industrial Scholarship Scheme.

  Evaluation of Job Training Programme.

  Review Training Arrangements Springfield/Falls.

  YTP Development Programme—Review of Block Funding.

  Memo prepared in relation to Abbott Laboratories.

  Survey of Business Capital in Northern Ireland.

  Study of the Software and Related Service Market.

  Northern Ireland Software Market Survey.

  Superdine.

  Erne Eggs.

  Getty Connections.

  Taxation.

  Review of activities Lambeg Industrial Research.

  Unipork Limited Strategic Planning.

  Milk Marketing Board.

  Sterlitz Ltd. Business Plan.

  Strategic Planning Review for Plashapes Ltd.

  Peat Marwick McClintock

  Study of Revenue Generation from Sale of Statistics.

  Independent Grading Review of Principal Professional Post at National Board for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting for Northern Ireland.

  Technical Advice new Computer Sytem—Roads Service.

  Back Office Study.

  Belmont Photocopy.

  Research Study for XRT (USA).

  Performance Evaluation of Industry Matters.

  Para Technology Ltd.

  Plastics and Composites Sectoral Review.

  PE International

  Plastic Customs Mouldings Research Study.

  Market Research on Thermo Plastics Custom Injection Moulding.

  PIEDA

  Angling Equipment Study.

  Paul Associates

  Travel Reservations Industry Study.

  Prospect Management

  Dungannon Meats.

  Safe Management.

  PM Consultants

  Unidare Engineering.

  PA Management Consultants

  Total Quality Management Project.

  PA Cambridge Economic Consultants

  BATs—Policy Evaluation.

  Dr. S. Port

  Work Design Compute r Study, Technical Computer Configurations—Roads Service.

  PA Consultancy Group

  HRM Advice.

  Project—Re-Agentisation.

  Geographical Information System for Roads Service.

  Professor K. Pease

  Multiple Victimisation and NI Research Report Addressing.

  42 43

  Firm

  Subject of assignment

  Criminology Seminar.

  Paric Place Training

  PRINCE:

  —Project Management.

  —Training and Consultancy.

  PI

  Oil Fuel Price Monitoring and Advice Monitoring and Advice on GSI.

  Tony Payne

  Diamond Sawmills.

  Stephen Prenter

  Clearway Disposals.

  Lionel Platteuw

  Bemac Engineering.

  Brendan Quinn

  Farm Fed Chickens.

  Quinn and Co

  Desmond & Sons W D Meats.

  Queen's University Belfast

  Review of Social Work in General Hospitals.

  Quadrangle Communications Ltd

  Catching the Tide—Feasibility Study—The Corporate Image of Northern Ireland.

  N. M. Rothchild & Sons

  Financial Consultants for Privatisation of NIE.

  D. Ritchie

  Financial appraisal of IFI Science and Technology Applications.

  Roy Roper

  Lucas Stability.

  Irlandus Circuits.

  Helen Roulston

  C&C.

  Silverlea.

  Romtel Pic

  G. C. McKeown.

  Kainos Ltd.

  David Rigby

  Moy Central Manufacturing.

  Linfield Group Ltd.

  Ballievey Ltd.

  A. Rushton

  Marketing Training.

  Richmond Consultants Ltd

  Communications Strategy.

  ROSPA

  Health and Safety.

  Richmond Fellowship

  General Management Feasibility Study.

  Rank Xerox (UK) Ltd

  Business Systems in the Government Purchasing System.

  Dr. B. Styne

  Promotion awareness and development of STAR programme.

  Strawberry Hill Communications

  Magazine Subscription Industry Study.

  Stoy Hayward

  Oracle.

  Financial, Production Human Resource and Marketing.

  Mivan Windows.

  Circaprint Ltd.

  Clearway Disposal Ltd.

  Elias Coleraine.

  SAC HITEC Ltd

  MHM International Ltd.

  System Source Ltd

  GP Computers.

  UNIX/XENIY and MS DOS.

  David Shaw

  Job Satisfaction Survey.

  Software Ireland Ltd

  Systems Integration Project.

  Softlab Ltd

  'CRAMM'.

  Computer Security.

  Risk Analysis Review.

  Scoll

  'CRAMM' Risk Analysis Review.

  Computer Security.

  Syntek Ltd

  Assistance with property comparables on VALCOM Project.

  Kevin Steele

  Harland & Wolff/Kawasaki.

  Satra Technology

  Maple Class.

  Touche Ross

  General Management for Accountants.

  Freight Cost Survey.

  NI Trade Directory.

  Distance Learning Video Programme.

  Howden Sirocco.

  POS (Europe)

  Short Bros Aerospace Projects

  Lummus Mackie Ltd Monitoring Assignments.

  NI Calibration Survey.

  Guest Lodge Hotel

  Mourne Country Hotel.

  Fenaghy House

  Reporting Accountants of NIE Privatisation.

  David Thelwall

  Sylvan Spawn/Safe.

  Ulster Fanners.

  TMS Partnership

  Down Shoes.

  44 45

  Firm

  Subject of assignment

  Time Consultancy Group

  Copeland Clothing Ltd.

  CEM Systems.

  TecnEcon

  Belfast Cross Harbour Road/Rail Links—Investment appraisal update.

  Eric Thompson

  Crepe Weavers.

  Trent Regional Health Authority

  HSS Trusts.

  J. S. Twomey

  Preliminary Health Promotion Assessment.

  University of Ulster

  Review of Guidelines for Registration and Inspections of Residential and Nursing Homes.

  Nurse Manpower Project.

  Garment and Textile Tech Association.

  Ulster Exhibitions

  MBW.

  Water Office Exhibition.

  MBW Local Sourcing Exhibition.

  Understanding and Solutions

  Custom Study of VCR Component Supply.

  UCL Northern Computing Ltd.

  Finance.

  D. Vincent

  Software Industry Federation.

  Witt Thornton

  General Management for Accountants.

  Portaferry Hotel.

  Pat Watson

  Belleek.

  A. Wright

  Development of Car Leasing Scheme.

  Colin Wilson

  Ballievey Bleaching.

  F. Wallace

  Exercise on Machine Components.

  Whitefield House

  Relationship between Young Offenders and Recidivism.

  Mrs. J. P. Wilson

  Infant Feeding Survey.

  Housing
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Government will enact legislation which would allow for replacement grants in respect of housing property.

  Mr. Needham
  The legislation to permit the introduction of a replacement grant is expected to be laid before Parliament in the spring of 1992 and to come into operation later that year.

  Schools (Advisory Services)
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (I) what is the value in cash and percentage terms of moneys allocated to each education and library board in Northern Ireland which is retained by each board for expenditure on advisory services to schools;

  (2) whether moneys retained by each education and library board to fund advisory services is eligible to be distributed to schools, for governors to decide whether to use the money to purchase expert advisory services or for other educational purposes.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The estimated expenditure this year and the percentage which this represents of its total block grant allocation is as follows:

  £000

  Percentage

  Belfast

  1,328

  10·9

  Western

  1,623

  1·33

  North Eastern

  1,630

  1·14

  South Eastern

  1,542

  1·28

  Southern

  1,608

  1·14

  Finance for the boards' advisory services is an excepted item and is not available for distribution to schools.

  Weights and Measures
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on what representations he has received on the proposal to permit the 35 ml metric measure for the sale of spirits; and when he expects to lay orders on this matter.

  Mr. Needham
  I have received 13 replies to the Department of Economic Development's consultation paper. I am now considering those replies. No decision has yet been made on whether to implement the proposal nor on when any order on the matter would be laid.

  Tooth Decay
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish in tabular form details of the average number of decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth in 12-year-old children in Northern Ireland in each health board area.

  Mr. Hanley
  The mean numbers of decayed, missing and filled teeth—DMFT—in 12-year-olds in Northern Ireland in 1989 were as follows:

  Health and Social Services Board

  DMFT

  Eastern

  3·2

  Northern

  2·9

  Southern

  2·8

  Western

  3·3

  Water Fluoridation
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the water supply in Northern Ireland is now fluoridated artifically; and what is his policy for ensuring the optimum level of fluoridation in the interests of securing better dental health.
  47
  Mr. Hanley
  Just under 1 per cent. of the population live in areas in which fluoride is added to the public water supply. Two major fluoridation schemes are under consideration by health and social services boards which are responsible for deciding if the water authority should be asked to increase local fluoride levels. These would cover some 43 per cent. of the population. Where fluoride is added to water supplies, the Water (Fluoridation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 requires that, as far as is reasonably practicable, the concentration of fluoride in the water supplied to customers shall be maintained at 1 mg per litre which is the optimum level for reducing dental caries.

  UDR Four
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will order a judicial inquiry into the case of the UDR four.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The power to consider any form of review of this case rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. At present he is examining the possibility of a reference to the Court of Appeal, under the terms of the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980. While this is the position the question of a judicial inquiry does not arise.

  Ryan Park, Castlereagh
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has for that area of ground, at the rear of Ryan park in the borough of Castlereagh, which is no longer used for a sewage screening plant.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: The area of ground was formerly the site of a small sewage treatment works which was replaced by an underground sewage pumping station to serve Ryan park. The Department of the Environment is considering a recent approach from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to release a strip of the site to improve access to a play area.

  Fair Employment Commission
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland into which public pension scheme staff of the Fair Employment Commission contribute.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: The staff of the Fair Employment Commission are members of the principal civil service pension scheme.

  Membership of the scheme is not limited to civil servants; staff of a number of other public bodies are also members of the scheme. Membership of the scheme does not either confer or imply civil service status.

  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his reply of 4 June,Official Report, column 196, how many of the members of staff of the Fair Employment Commission referred to are in each category of employment.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: The information requested, as at 1 January 1991, is as follows:
  48

  Protestant

  Roman Catholic

  Operational staff

  18

  19

  Support staff

  12

  8

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Criminal Injuries Compensation
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) whether it is the practice of his Department normally to disregard payments of criminal injuries compensation placed on trust for two years only; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will review his Department's requirement that victims in receipt of criminal injuries compensation payments placed on trust should be required to have their affairs managed for them by trustees with a view to making it discretionary;

  (3) if his Department will consider reviewing its rules governing payments made by trustees to victims in receipt of awards of criminal injuries compensation with a view to eliminating their present complicated and restrictive terms; and if he will make a statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Compensation payments arising from a personal or criminal injury which are placed on trust are disregarded indefinitely in all the income-related benefits—income support, family credit, housing benefit and community charge benefit. The nature and terms of a trust are wholly the responsibility of the injured person or other person acting on his or her behalf, after taking any appropriate legal advice. The existing rules enable payments to be made out of the trust in a wide range of circumstances without affecting the injured person's entitlement to benefit. These rules are kept under review, although there are no plans to change them at present.

  Hospitality Fund
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the expenditure covered by his Department's hospitality fund for the financial years(a) 1989–90, (b) 1990–91 and (c) 1991–92 to-date.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Total expenditure was £25,477 in 1989–90; £75,778 in 1990–91; and £2,847 so far in 1991–92.

  Disability Working Allowance
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps have been taken to ensure that the implementation and administration procedures for disability working allowance will not be adversely affected as a result of the measures contained in the Child Support Bill.

  Mr. Scott
  The provisions contained in the Child Support Bill have been taken into account in developing the procedures for administration of disability working allowance and will not delay or adversely affect the start of the benefit in April 1992.

  Family Credit
  Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the total value of spending on family credit since its introduction in 1988.

  Mr. Jack
  The total value of family credit expenditure in 1988–89, 1989–90 and l990–91—estimated outturn—is £1,303 million in cash terms and £1,394 million at 1990–91 prices.

  Allowances
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list those allowances administered by his Department in regard to which applications are(a) fully dealt with by local offices in all but exceptional circumstances or when there is a formal appeal, (b) dealt with entirely by non-local offices on a national or regional basis and (c) dealt with through a mixture of local and national/regional means.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The administration of social security benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

  Maintenance Settlements
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on his plans for ensuring that maintenance settlements are reviewed regularly and keep pace with the growing cost of bringing up children as they grow older.

  Mr. Jack
  The Child Support Bill, currently before the House, provides for a new system of maintenance for children. The new system will ensure consistency of decision making by the use of a standard formula to calculate child maintenance. This formula provides a means of updating the maintenance to be paid and there will be provision for regular reviews of all maintenance assessments to take account of changes in the circumstances of the absent parent or the parent with care.

  Social Security Applicants
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will make it his policy that social security applicants in any part of the country should be able to reach any part of his Department on the basis of a local call charge.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Our current telecommunications policy is under review. No decision has been made about the introduction of local call rates for our customers.

  Information Divisions
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total expenditure by his Department's information divisions, including advertising and other paid publicity activities, staff and running costs, in the years 1988–89 and 1989–90.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The information on staff and running costs for 1988–89 is not available in the form requested, because the Department of Social Security was 50
  then part of the Department of Health and Social Security. Advertising and other paid publicity activities were run as a separate programme and can be costed; staff and running costs, however, were not separate and to obtain this figure would be at disporportionate cost:

  £

  1988–1989

  Publicity

  12,334,342

  1989–1990

  Publicity

  15,598,464

  Staff

  1,157,000

  Running costs

  70,000

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Recycling
  Mrs. Irene Adams
  To ask the the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what his Department is doing to encourage the use of recyclable materials by industry.

  Mr. Leigh
  Encouraging the greater use of recyclable and recycled materials by industry is an important element of the Government's programme to bring about higher recycling levels in the United Kingdom. A range of measures is being taken to this end, including the development of new industry standards to encourage the use of recyclable and recycled materials; providing financial assistance for the development and dissemination of recycled technology; and for the identification of new end-uses for recycled materials. My Department also favours using recycled products, wherever they are available of adequate quality and representing value for money. Major purchasers can by their behaviour encourage the development and stabilisation of markets for recycled products. We are also asking industry to come forward with its own proposals for using more secondary materials.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all the bodies concerned with recycling which he has met in the last year and the dates of those meetings.

  Mr. Leigh
  During the past year, Ministers have met with numerous bodies involved in recycling. Most recently, my right hon. Friend met members of the Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment on 7 May, and on 20 May my hon. Friend the Minister for Corporate Affairs met some 30 organisations involved in the recovery and recycling of packaging materials.

  Departmental Video Purchases
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the titles of the video recordings purchased by his Department during the financial years 1990–91 and 1991–92 to date.

  Mr. Leigh
  This information is not readily available and could not be collected except at disproportionate cost.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was
  51
  responsible for each of the past five years, together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

  Mr. Leigh
  The readily available information about the public appointments for which my right hon. Friend is responsible is given in "Public Bodies 1990" and in "Public Appointments: A Handbook for Women's Organisations", copies of which are in the Library.

  Hospitality Fund
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the expenditure covered by his Department's hospitality fund for the financial years(a) 1989–90, (b) 1990–91 and (c) 1991–92 to date.

  Mr. Leigh
  The Department of Trade and Industry's total expenditure on entertainment was as follows:

  £'000

  1989–90

  377

  1990–91

  365

  1991–92

  56

  Overseas Investment
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list by region, the major investment projects attracted from overseas since 1983, together with the capital cost of each project, and the amount of grant offered.

  Mr. Leigh
  The tables list by region details of the major investment projects located in Great Britain since 1 January 1983 that have received grant under the regional selective assistance scheme or the revised regional development grants scheme towards the cost of the project. Information on major investment projects supported by the original regional development grants scheme is available only at disproportionate costs. All the projects listed have capital costs of £10 million or over. For projects supported by regional selective assistance, the table shows the amount of grant accepted by the company. For projects supported by regional development grant, the amount of assistance shown is the total amount paid to the company to date.

  Regional development grant II

  Major inward investments in Great Britain since November 1984

  Region and name of company

  Amount of regional development grant paid £000

  North-east

  Rohm & Haas (UK) Ltd.

  150

  NSK Bearings Europe Ltd.

  2,390

  IKEDA Hoover Ltd.

  1,526

  Swaddlers Ltd.

  666

  Komatsu UK Ltd.

  2,281

  North-west

  Nacanco Ltd.

  270

  News International Newspapers Ltd.

  3,610

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  Ericsson Ltd.

  1,955

  Scotland

  Digital Equipment Scotland Ltd.

  3,769

  52

  Region and name of company

  Amount of regional development grant paid £'000

  Mitsubishi Electric (UK) Ltd.

  939

  NEC Semiconductors (UK) Ltd.

  1,000

  JVC Manufacturers UK Ltd.

  1,563

  Terex Equipment Ltd.

  444

  NCR (Manufacturers) Ltd.

  1,220

  Compaq Computer Ltd.

  6,556

  Philips Electronic & Associated Industries

  846

  Caledonian Paper plc

  4,260

  Isola Werke UK Ltd.

  1,688

  Wales

  Warwick International Ltd.

  720

  Kimberly-Clark Ltd.

  910

  Kawneer UK Ltd.

  817

  Continental Can Co. Ltd.

  1,519

  Star Micronics Manufacturers Ltd.

  1,114

  Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd.

  1,638

  Hoya Lens (UK) Ltd.

  230

  Optec D D (UK) Ltd.

  438

  Pirelli General plc

  1,730

  Shotton Paper Co. pic

  2,000

  Regional selective assistance

  Major inward investment in Great Britain since January 1983

  Region and name of company

  Amount of RSA accepted £000

  East Midlands

  Curver Consumer Products Ltd.

  1,500

  North-East

  Cookson Fukuda Ltd.

  650

  3M UK Holdings Plc.

  1,700

  Fujitsu Microelectronics Ltd.

  30,000

  Nissan Motor Manufacturers (UK) Ltd.

  14,400

  Sterling-Winthrop Group Ltd.

  3,382

  Swilynn Magnetic Industries Ltd.

  2,950

  Key-Tech (Europe) Ltd.

  1,200

  NSK Bearnings Europe Ltd.

  1,600

  Komatsu Ltd.

  1,200

  Black & Decker

  2,450

  NSK Bearings Europe Ltd.

  450

  Nissan Motor Manufacturers (UK) Ltd.

  35,000

  Tolaram Polymers Ltd.

  350

  North-West

  Vauxhall Motors Ltd.

  8,000

  James River Graphics Ltd.

  650

  Delco Electronics Overseas Corporation

  1,274

  Shell Chemicals UK Ltd.

  630

  Dista Products Ltd.

  12,500

  Ford Motor Co. Ltd.

  8,500

  International Bio-Synthetics Ltd.

  750

  Cerestar UK Ltd.

  2,322

  PPG Glass Fibres Ltd.

  7,780

  Philips & Du Pont Optical UK Ltd.

  3,100

  Kodak Ltd.

  2,000

  South-West

  Rank Xerox Ltd.

  600

  Texas Instruments Ltd.

  975

  West-Midlands

  Makita Electric Works (Japan)

  1,000

  Bruhl (UK) Ltd.

  3,250

  NEC Technologies (UK) Ltd.

  1,100

  NEC Technologies (UK) Ltd.

  6,846

  Goodyear Great Britain Ltd.

  980

  Peugeot Talbot Motor Co. Ltd.

  1,500

  Star Aluminium Co. Ltd.

  4,000

  Ricoh UK Products Ltd.

  900

  53

  Region and name of company

  Amount of RSA accepted £'000

  Yorkshire- Humberside

  Devalit UK Ltd.

  2,000

  Mars GB Ltd.

  2,400

  Wales

  Warwick International Ltd.

  700

  Warwick International Ltd.

  1,270

  Warner Lambert (UK) Ltd.

  2,200

  Vanol International Ltd.

  600

  Sun Valley Poultry Ltd.

  2,000

  Kronospan Ltd.

  914

  Kimberly-Clark Ltd.

  910

  Ford Motor Co.

  21,000

  Euro DPC Ltd.

  1,000

  Continental Can Co. Ltd.

  400

  Autophon (UK) Ltd.

  1,250

  Alfred Teves Ltd.

  2,000

  Alcoa Manuf (GB) Ltd.

  3,500

  Dynoplast Ltd.

  1,750

  Yuasa Battery (UK) Ltd.

  2,100

  Sony (UK) Ltd.

  4,800

  Sony (UK) Ltd.

  2,200

  Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd.

  2,000

  Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd.

  4,901

  Matsushita Electronic Components Ltd.

  1,000

  Matsushita Electric (UK) Ltd.

  2,062

  Diaplastics (UK) Ltd.

  750

  Ringshare Ltd.

  3,400

  Robert Bosch

  20,900

  Pirelli General Plc.

  1,225

  Heavy Vine Ltd.

  1,455

  British Alcan Aluminium PLc.

  4,000

  Scotland

  Motorola Ltd.

  34,000

  Caledonian Paper plc

  7,200

  Compaq Computer Manufacturers Ltd.

  4,800

  National Semiconductor (UK) Ltd.

  5,000

  IBM UK Ltd.

  2,000

  Conner Peripherals Inc.

  20,000

  Digital Equipment Co. Ltd.

  10,400

  NEC Semiconductors (UK) Ltd.

  500

  Sun Mirosystems Ltd.

  3,900

  Ciba-Geigy plc

  4,800

  Compaq Computer Manufacturers Ltd.

  2,825

  Digital Equipment Co. Ltd.

  1,166

  Terex Equipment Ltd.

  3,500

  Hughes Microelectronics Europa Ltd.

  7,688

  SEH Europe

  4,884

  IBM UK Ltd.

  800

  SCI UK Ltd.

  1,200

  Motorola Ltd.

  2,400

  Digital Equipment Co. Ltd.

  2,700

  Lasa Industries (UK) Ltd.

  2,000

  NCR (Manufacturers) Ltd.

  1,540

  OKI (UK) Ltd.

  1,655

  Hoover (1990) Ltd.

  4,500

  SCI UK Ltd.

  405

  Hewlett-Packard Ltd.

  1,440

  Rohm & Haas (UK) Ltd.

  2,400

  Compaq Computer Manufacturers Ltd.

  400

  Seiko Instruments UK Ltd.

  1,900

  SCI UK Ltd

  900

  Hewlett-Packard Ltd.

  4,000

  Roche Products Ltd.

  100

  Russell Corp UK Ltd.

  2,550

  Smith & McLaurin Ltd.

  855

  Kvaerner Govan Ltd.

  3,000

  Uniroyal Englebert Tyres Ltd.

  800

  W. L. Gore & Associates (UK) Ltd.

  1,630

  Forbo-Nairn Ltd.

  1,700

  Michelin Tyre plc

  1,750

  JVC Manufacturers UK Ltd.

  2,147

  Telephone Selling
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consideration he has given to the establishment of a register to combat the problem of unsolicited telephone selling; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  The branch systems general licence issued under the Telecommunications Act 1984 provides for the establishment of a register on which people who do not wish to receive unsolicited telephone sales calls can place their numbers. Once this register is in place, anyone who makes such a call to a number on the list will be in breach of the licence, and ultimately the Director General of Telecommunications can remove the right to operate under the licence from persistent offenders, making them unable to use their telephone systems. Oftel is discussing the arrangements for the register with interested parties and will issue a press notice as soon as the scheme is ready to be launched.

  Arab Boycott
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the Arab boycott of United Kingdom companies trading with Israel.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Her Majesty's Government are opposed to and deplore all trade boycotts that lack international support and authority. It is not however our policy to interfere with the commercial decisions of British firms.

  Mr. Latham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will set out in tabular form for each of the European Community countries, including the United Kingdom, such information as he has on their statutory provisions regarding compliance with the Arab trade boycott of Israel; and what action he intends to propose to harmonise legislation on this matter after 1992.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 11 June 1991]: The following table shows the legislative position of European Community countries as regards the Arab trade boycott of Israel.

  Country

  Statutory provisions

  Belgium

  None

  Denmark

  None

  Irish Republic

  None

  France

  1—

  Germany

  None

  Greece

  2—

  Italy

  None

  Luxembourg

  None

  Netherlands

  3—

  Portugal

  None

  Spain

  None

  United Kingdom

  None

  1 Article 31 (known as the "Krieg amendment") to Law No. 77574 of 7 June 1977 in effect made it illegal to comply with the boycott in France, although the article was couched in general terms. However, since this prevented French firms from trading with the Arab countries, an administrative instrument was introduced in 1981 which permits the anti-boycott legislation in effect to be ignored.

  2 Greek legislation is in support of the Arab boycott of Israel.

  3 Dutch legislation is a general law relating to all boycotts except those agreed by the Netherlands and organisations to which the Netherlands belongs and boycotts imposed solely on the grounds of

  55

  economic policy.

  Companies have to notify the Minister of Economic Affairs of requests made to them to apply a boycott. Annual reports to Parliament on the operation of the law are required.

  Vehicle Repairs and Servicing
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will investigate the number of complaints of which trading standards offices are aware, regarding misleading claims on turn-around time made by garages over repairing, body repairs, or servicing of motor vehicles; and whether he will give particular attention to such complaints made on behalf of(a) women and (b) retired persons.

  Mr. Leigh
  I have consulted the relevant trading standards organisations on this question but they are not aware of any significant number of complaints about misleading claims on vehicle repair turn around times.

  NESL, Sunderland
  Ms. Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will now publish in full the details of the agreement between the Government and the European Commission which resulted in the closure of North East Shipbuilders Ltd., Sunderland.

  Mr. Leigh
  It is not customary to publish exchanges between the Government and the European Commission which, as in this case, contain information of a commercially confidential nature.

  The essential details of the exchanges pertaining to the closure of North East Shipbuilders Ltd. and associated matters have however been made publicly available in the minutes of evidence taken before the Trade and Industry Select Committee in October 1989.

  Sequestration
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 2 May,Official Report, column 283, if he will list any further assistance or representations received from individuals, organisations or political parties on the subject of personal sequestration in Scotland.

  Mr. Redwood
  The only representations my officials have received about personal sequestration in Scotland since my answer on 2 May have been from the Consumer Credit Association. This organisation was amongst those I listed previously and no other assistance or representations have been received since.

  European Coal and Steel Community
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the utility and the future of the European Coal and Steel Community.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 11 June 1991]: The Government would prefer the immediate termination of the European Coal and Steel Community, whereupon coal and steel would be governed by the EEC treaty in the same way as other industries. While disappointed that the European Commission does not share that view, we recognise the practical difficulties of attempting to achieve
  56
  immediate termination and can support the Commission's conclusion that the ECSC treaty should be allowed to expire on schedule in 2002, subject to a much less interventionist application of its provisions in the meantime. We were therefore pleased to note the Commission's view that a much less interventionist interpretation and application of the ECSC treaty is indeed necessary.

  BT Licence
  Mr. John Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are contained in the British Telecom licence relating to protection of the rights of the present shareholders, and to protection of customers against an effective offshore-owned monopoly, in the event of relocation of BT's domicile overseas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 12 June 1991]: BT is subject to strong controls through its licence conditions, the regulatory powers exercised by OFTEL and general competition law. These apply irrespective of who the shareholders are and where the company's offices are located. The Government hold a special share in BT which protects certain provisions in the company's articles of association. These include a provision imposing a 15 per cent. limit on individual shareholdings.

SCOTLAND

  Arson
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in the light of the report on arson made to him by St. Ventigerns Academy, Blackburn, he will consider a policy of residential janitors at major isolated educational sites.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Arrangements for the security of schools are matters for the education authorities in the light of local circumstances.

  Non-fossil Renewables
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements he has made for instituting a non-fossil renewables obligation in the Scottish electricity supply industry; what duration it will have; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Allan Stewart
  None. The hon. Member is, however, referred to the parliamentary answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro) on 15 May 1991, at columns 208–9.

  River Catchment Management
  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has, in the light of the recommendations of the report of the Salmon Advisory Committee on factors affecting natural smolt production, to review and strengthen the structure of river catchment management in Scotland.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: Comments on the report are being invited from a wide range of interests. The responses will be taken into account in our policies for the fisheries, water quality and ecology of river catchments in Scotland.

  Salmon
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will estimate the tonnage of illegal Atlantic salmon in the EC market from Norway; how many prosecutions have taken place; what action is being taken to prevent further illegalities; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he has any plans to meet representatives of the Norwegian Government to discuss the salmon industry; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what steps are being taken to monitor the impact of non-EC member countries exporting salmon to the EC market; and if he will make a statement;

  (4) what plans he has to introduce a tariff on Norwegian salmon entering the EC market; and if he will make a statement;

  (5) what steps have been taken to secure fair trading practices in the EC market regarding salmon; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: In March this year, the European Commission closed its investigation of an anti-dumping case raised by the Scottish and Irish salmon producers. It did so on the basis of certain assurances from the Norwegian authorities aimed at stabilising the market for farmed salmon, including continuation of the Norwegian programme for freezing surplus production and for more rigorous enforcement of Norwegian regulations on salmon sales. The Commission also agreed to put in place arrangements for monitoring more closely imports of salmon to the European Community.

  Representatives of the Scottish Salmon Growers Association, with officials of the fisheries Departments, have since met the Commission to discuss allegations of breaches of these undertakings and the continued import of salmon at below the Norwegian buying-in price. The Scottish and Irish industries are collecting detailed evidence to support these claims, and officials of the fisheries Departments expect to discuss the implications with the Commission as soon as that evidence is submitted.

  The Commission is also expected to announce shortly, after consultation with the industry and member states, its measures to improve the collection of information on salmon imports by customs authorites of member states. This should provide a firmer basis for monitoring the EC market for salmon. At present, it is not possible to estimate the amounts of Norwegian salmon entering the EC market at prices below those set by the Norwegian authorities for buying-in surplus production.

ENERGY

  Hydrocarbon-related Research
  Dr. Michael Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what initiatives he is taking to promote the United Kingdom's programme of hydrocarbon-related research.

  Mr. Wakeham
  My Department gives financial help to the offshore supplies industry for research and development in five key areas of technology. These are sub-sea production systems, advanced underwater engineering, drilling and production, exploration technology and reservoir technology.
  58
  Together with the Natural Environment Research Council, the Department has recently launched a Link programme in hydrocarbon reservoirs. My Department also sponsors a programme of research into enhanced oil recovery, in collaboration with the oil industry.

  Continental Shelf
  Mr. Dover
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the level of direct employment on the United Kingdom continental shelf(a) in 1979 and (b) in 1990.

  Mr. Moynihan
  Direct employment increased by 65 per cent. to reach a new record level of 36,500 in 1990 compared with only 22,000 in 1980, the earliest year for which comparable figures are available.

  Mr. Hayward
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many development projects were approved on the United Kingdom continental shelf in 1990; and what was the level of investment associated with them.

  Mr. Wakeham
  In 1990, 18 development projects were approved worth some £4·8 billion at 1990 prices.

  Electricity (Disconnections)
  Mr. Donald Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what are the latest figures he has for the level of disconnection for debt for electricity supply.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Disconnections for nonpayment of bills in England and Wales are at the lowest figure since records began in 1976, when disconnections stood at more than double the present figures.

  In the year ended 31 March the total number of such disconnections stood at 51,637 or 0·27 per cent. of all domestic credit customers.

  Gas Pricing
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress the Director General of OFGAS has reported to him in adjusting the tariff for horticultural customers following the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report into gas pricing.

  Mr. Moynihan
  Industrial gas prices are set by British Gas in competition with other fuels and subject to normal competition law. Under its published price schedules British Gas is not permitted to discriminate against—or in favour of—any class of user.

  Mr. McAvoy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next expects to meet the Director General of OFGAS to discuss the mechanism for setting price levels for British Gas customers.

  Mr. Wakeham
  I regularly meet the Director General of Ofgas and discuss a range of matters of mutual interest.

  Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will report on the progress of the home energy efficiency scheme.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Initial experience in operating the scheme has confirmed that it meets a real need and is being well received. But it has also shown that to benefit customers and energy efficiency, work must be closely monitored and controlled to maintain a high standard.
  59
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the(a) grants and (b) advice given to public sector householders in the parliamentary constituency of Southwark and Bermondsey by the home energy efficiency scheme.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Such an analysis of grants paid could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Where other work is undertaken under the scheme, grants of up to £10 are available for the provision of basic energy advice covering such matters as the effective use off heating controls, avoidance of condensation, and practical ways in which the public can save energy.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any further plans for the insulation of buildings in order to conserve energy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The energy efficiency office is continuing to undertake a variety of programmes to promote energy efficiency in buildings, some of which were referred to in "This Common Inheritance".

  These include:
  the home energy efficiency scheme, which provides grants to low income householders for basic insulation measures;
  a new domestic campaign, with the Department of the Environment, to explain the link between energy use and its effect on the environment and to promote energy efficiency in the home;
  the best practice programme, which provides authoritative and impartial advice and information to building professionals and managers;
  promotion of energy efficiency in Government buildings, with the objective of reducing energy consumption by 15 per cent. over five years;
  a campaign, with the Department of Health, to achieve 15 per cent. savings over five years in the national health service in England;
  seminars with the Department of the Environment to promote energy efficiency to chief executives and leaders of local authorities;
  seminars, with the Department of Education and Esso, for head teachers and governors of schools.

  Solar Power
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what initiatives the Government are taking to promote research into the use of solar power generation.

  Mr. Moynihan
  On 8 May I announced that the Government is to fund a £250,000 programme of research into the use of solar power for electricity production.

  Coal Privatisation
  Mr. Lofthouse
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next expects to meet the chairman of British Coal to discuss privatisation.

  Mr. Wakeham
  I meet the chairman of British Coal regularly to discuss all aspects of the coal industry.

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what has been the average annual increase in energy consumption in the United Kingdom since 1979.

  Mr. Wakeham
  Between 1979 and 1990, the United Kingdom's gross domestic product increased by 24 per 60
  cent. During this period energy consumption on a heat supplied basis declined by 3·6 per cent. or 0·3 per cent. a year. This combination represents a substantial and welcome improvement in energy efficiency over the period.

  Combined Heat and Power
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what initiatives the Government are undertaking to promote the increased use of combined heat and power.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The Department's energy efficiency office promotes combined heat and power primarily through its best practice programme which provides targeted, independent advice to key participants in the energy market.

  Nuclear Energy (Employees)
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the number of people employed in Britain's nuclear energy industry.

  Mr. Wakeham
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedfordshire, North (Sir T. Skeet) earlier today.

  Coal Productivity
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy by how much British Coal's productivity increased between(a) 1974 and 1979, (b) 1980 and 1984 and (c)

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Between 1973–74 and 1978–79 British Coal's productivity increased by 4·2 per cent., between 1979–80 and 1983–84 it increased by 5·2 per cent., and between 1984–85 and 1989–90 the increase was 107·7per cent.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was responsible for each of the past five years together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

  Mr. Wakeham
  Details of appointments for which I have been responsible are contained in the annual publication "Public Bodies", and "Women into Public Appointments". Both publications are available in the Library of the House. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mr. Grocott) on 14 May 1991 at col.87. Further details on the trading bodies for which I am responsible are contained in their annual reports and accounts.

  Hospitality Fund
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the expenditure covered by his Department's hospitality fund for the financial years(a) 1989–90, (b) 1990–91 and (c) 1991–92 to date.

  Mr. Wakeham
  My Department has no hospitality fund. However, expenditure on official hospitality in the years in question was as follows:
  61

  £

  1989–90

  46,000

  1990–91

  66,000

  11991–92

  3,000

  1 To date.

  Non-fossil Fuel Obligation
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what approaches he has made to the European Commission concerning the application of favourable treatment for a renewables tranche within the non-fossil fuel obligation beyond 1998.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  None. However, I am confident that the regional electricity companies have the flexibilities they need to be able to offer generators acceptable contracts under the proposed 1991 Renewables Order.

  Electricity Privatisation
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how much his Department spent on advice on electricity privatisation in 1990–91; whether that sum includes the cost of the share information office; and if he will give details of any other expenditure incurred in 1990–91 in pursuit of electricity privatisation.

  Mr. Wakeham
  Final figures for 1990–91 will be published in the Appropriation Account later this year. It is estimated that the Department spent £52·1 million on advice on electricity privatisation in 1990–91, an amount which does not include the cost of the share information office, and a further £204·4 million on other expenses, principally the setting up and operation of the receiving banks, the design, printing and distribution of the prospectuses together with various fees and commissions, marketing costs and stamp duty.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list those companies still advising him on electricity privatisation, giving the topics on which they are advising him and the expected end date of their contracts.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The provision of advice remains necessary in a limited number of areas and in connection with the remaining elements of the sales, for example the instalment arrangements; the relevant contracts will be terminated at the appropriate time. The information relating to the contractors and topics concerned is:

  Adviser

  Topic

  Touche Ross

  Audit services

  Slaughter and May

  Legal

  Williams Lea

  Printing advice

  Wood Gundy

  Canadian financial

  Goldman Sachs

  United States financial

  Credit Suisse/First Boston

  European financial

  Nomura

  Japanese financial

  Osler Renault Ladner

  Canadian legal

  Davis Polk and Wardwell

  United States legal

  Anderson Mori and Rabinowitz

  Japanese legal

  Opencast Mining
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the actions taken by the Government to increase opencast coal mining.
  62
  Mr. Wakeham
  We have taken no action intended to increase opencast coal mining. I refer the hon. Member to the answer that my hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) gave to the question from the hon. Member for Monmouth (Mr. Edwards) today.

  Mr. Edwards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his policy on the future level of opencast mining activity.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  There is no Government target for opencast coal output. The future level of opencast mining activity will be determined by market demand and the acceptability to the planning authorities of proposals for new sites.

HEALTH

  Health Authority Supplies
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice he issues to health authorities about their policy on paying suppliers; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will review payment policy by health authorities to ensure suppliers are paid promptly and within the terms of their credit agreements.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The national health service management executive has emphasised the need to pay suppliers within an acceptable period of time. It has sent a copy of the Department of Employment booklet, "Prompt Payment Please", a copy of which is available in the Library, to all English health authorities and has the expectation that health authorities will meet their obligations within a reasonable period of time in accordance with contractual requirements and responsible practice.

  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about late payment by health authorities to their suppliers, and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  In the last year we have received around a dozen letters concerning late payment from hon. Members and members of the public.

  Childminders
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list those local authorities which have waiting periods of six to 12 months, 12 to 18 months, 18 to 24 months, and over 24 months for registration of childminders;

  (2) what information is available on the average time being taken by local authority social services departments to approve registration of childminders.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not held centrally.

  Guidance issued in April by the Department* in connection with the Children Act 1989, which comes into force on 14 October, advises that local authorities should ensure that decisions on applications for registration by childminders are normally reached within three months of receipt of the application.
  *The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2—Family Support, Day Care and Educational Provision for Young Children, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Hepatitis B
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by regional health authority and by year for the last 10 years the number of cases of hepatitis B that have been diagnosed in the age groups(a) up to five years of age, (b) six to 15 years, (c) 16 to 30 years, (d) 31 to 60 years and (e) over 60 years; and if he will show in his answer what percentage this is of the population for each age group.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The information is not readily available in the form requested, and could be obtained only at

  Laboratory Reports of Acute Hepatitis B 1980–1990 Inclusive

  Age

  1 to 4 years

  5 to 14 years

  15 to 24 years

  25 to 34 years

  35 to 44 years

  45 to 54 years

  55 to 64 years

  Over 65 years

  Adult

  Not known

  Total

  Regions

  East Anglia

  1

  0

  236

  126

  39

  25

  10

  7

  17

  5

  466

  Mersey

  2

  4

  341

  225

  75

  29

  17

  10

  8

  17

  728

  North East Thames

  5

  14

  238

  238

  97

  37

  33

  14

  22

  22

  720

  North West Thames

  2

  10

  444

  498

  168

  74

  41

  16

  47

  47

  1,347

  North Western

  1

  11

  650

  336

  131

  56

  35

  14

  26

  5

  1,265

  Northern

  2

  3

  149

  95

  43

  26

  19

  5

  10

  19

  371

  Oxford

  3

  2

  261

  153

  47

  31

  14

  8

  15

  9

  543

  South East Thames

  3

  3

  334

  318

  103

  60

  42

  14

  35

  44

  956

  South West Thames

  1

  14

  284

  209

  109

  55

  20

  18

  7

  26

  743

  South Western

  0

  2

  418

  251

  131

  65

  32

  15

  18

  12

  944

  Trent

  3

  8

  417

  231

  99

  44

  23

  23

  20

  18

  886

  West Midlands

  8

  24

  375

  333

  148

  88

  53

  36

  31

  41

  1,137

  Wessex

  3

  4

  218

  177

  93

  45

  30

  18

  7

  13

  608

  Yorkshire

  2

  12

  511

  299

  108

  97

  41

  13

  25

  26

  1,134

  Aids
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been commissioned by his Department into the incidence of or potential for occupational morbidity amongst professional health care staff involved in the care and treatment of people with HIV and AIDS.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No studies have been commissioned by the Department. However, since 1986 the communicable disease surveillance centre has been undertaking, through voluntary reporting, surveillance of accidental injuries in which health care workers are exposed to the blood or body fluids of patients who are infected with HIV. Additionally, routine surveillance of AIDS cases and laboratory reports of positive HIV antibody test include reported mode of transmission.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the full-time and part-time public apointments for which his Department was responsible for each of the past five years, together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

  Mr. Dorrell
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is responsible for a number of full and part-time public appointments. Details of each of these could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However information is available from the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies" and "Public Appointments: A Handbook for Women's Organisations". Copies are available in the Library.64
  disproportionate cost. The table shows reports of acute hepatitis B to the Public Health Laboratory Service's communicable disease surveillance centre for the years 1980 to 1990 inclusive by English health regions, and in the age groupings sought, as far as is possible. Comparison with populations would not produce a true incidence of hepatitis B because some cases are confirmed in laboratories outside the regions in which they occur. The number of reports of acute hepatitis B to the CDSC declined from 1,889 in 1984 to 526 in 1990.

  Trachoma Statistics
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by regional health authority, and by year for the last 10 years, the number of cases of trachoma that have been diagnosed in the age groups(a) up to five years of age, (b) six to 15 years, (c) 16 to 30 years, (d) 30 to 60 years and (e) over 60 years; and if he will show in his answer what percentage this is of the population for each age group.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Information on the number of cases of trachoma diagnosed each year is not held centrally. Approximately 10 cases a year are treated as in-patients in NHS hospitals in England.

  Source: Hospital In-Patient Enquiry 1979–1985

  Hospital Episode System 1987–88—1989–90.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the national health service trusts that have submitted acceptable business plans to his Department; and if he will show in his answer(a) the date they were received and, (b) the date they were agreed as acceptable.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The business plans are not approved as being acceptable but form the basis of a continuing discussion between the national health service management executive and individual trusts. The business plans are modified and updated during the year to incorporate the results of these discussions and to reflect changing circumstances.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which documents produced by the applicants for self-governing status for the Guy's and Lewisham trust he(a) commented on in writing and (b) directed any alterations of, prior to 1 April.
  65
  Mr. Waldegrave
  None.

  Drugs and Pesticides
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of his discussions with the Board of Science of the British Medical Association on the collation of reports of suspicion of drugs or pesticide-presence to a central body within his Department.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Consideration is being given to the possibility of establishing a card system whereby GPs would report any adverse reactions attributed to exposure to pesticides. This could include poisoning from residues in food.

  We are also considering supporting research into the possibility of a causal link between very small pesticide residues in food and specific cases of human ill-health. So far no such research has been devised.

  The surveillance of food for pesticide residues is carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with guidance from the Department on public health aspects.

  Private Beds
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey of 2 May,Official Report, column 275, on NHS and private beds, if he will now provide a full answer to the hon. Member's question.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I replied to the hon. Member on 13 June 1991.

  Regional Health Authorities
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis the £81 million made available to bring about a reduction in outstanding creditor levels was divided between regional health authorities; and how much was received by each regional health authority.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The allocation made to regions was broadly pro rata to the total of their districts' estimated excess creditors at 31 March 1989. The amount allocated by region is as follows:

  Region

  Allocation £ million

  Northern

  1·2

  Yorkshire

  1·9

  Trent

  3·9

  East Anglian

  1·7

  North West Thames

  21·1

  North East Thames

  18·1

  South East Thames

  14·8

  South West Thames

  4·5

  Wessex

  3·3

  Oxford

  0·3

  West Midlands

  3·6

  Mersey

  0·9

  North Western

  2·3

  Special health authorities

  3·3

  Total

  81·0

  Column does not sum due to rounding.

  Registered Homes Act 1984
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what duties proprietors of homes registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984 have to maintain and file accounts of income and expenditure for each resident.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Proprietors of residential care homes are required by regulations made under the Registered Homes Act 1984 to keep records of money and valuables deposited with them by residents, or received on their behalf. A record of the return of money or valuables and of the use made of them must also be kept.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the names and occupations of the members of the panel of experts set up under the Registered Homes Act 1984.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The list shows the names and occupations of members of the panel of experts, who are appointed by the Lord President of the Council, to enable registered homes tribunals to hear appeals under the Registered Homes Act 1984.

  Expert panel for residential care homes tribunal

  R. Bessell—Managing Director of Retirement Security Ltd. and former Director of Social Services.

  D. Browne—Retired Assistant Director of Social Services.

  M. Burrell—Retired rest home proprietor.

  W. J. C. Churchill—Executive Secretary, Association for Residential Care.

  K. Coleman—Assistant Director of Social Services.

  G. S. Dunn—Retired Consultant for the Leonard Cheshire Foundation and Director of Social Services.

  F. G. Edwards—Residential Care Home Proprietor.

  J. B. Fisher—Proprietor/Manager Residential Home for Adults with Mental Handicap.

  B. Garner—Director Mental After Care Association.

  Mrs. L. Gladwin—Social Work Consultant.

  Dr. Barbara J. Gray—Retired staff tutor in social studies.

  J. Hanson OBE—Retired Director of Social Services.

  G. Harper—Divisional Director, Social Services Department.

  R. Humphries—Freelance Social Services Consultant, former Director of Social Services.

  D. C. James—Retired Director of Social Services.

  M. S. Jobbins—Senior Principal.

  Miss M. G. Joynson OBE—Retired Senior Director of Dr. Barnados

  Miss S. Matheson—Area Manager MENCAP Homes Foundation.

  Miss S. A. Poupard—Retired Deputy Director of Social Services

  J. Regan—Retired head of Home and Trustee of the Leonard Cheshire Foundation.

  Miss J. Reynolds—Hospital Manager for people with a mental handicap.

  J. I. Stephens—Retired Assistant Director of Social Services.

  P. Tyndall—Co-ordinator, Cardiff University Social Services.

  D. Wakefield—Retired Director of Social Services.

  Mrs. J. J. Waldron—Head of Inspection Unit.

  P. L. Watts—Independent Consultant to providers of health and social care services.

  Miss K. Wells—Retired from British Red Cross and former Deputy Director of Social Services.

  K. J. White—Director of Residential Community.

  Miss M. O. Woodier—Freelance Consultant in Residential Care.

  Expert panel for nursing home tribunals

  Dr. A. K. Admani—Consultant Physician.

  Dr. A. K. Banerjee—Consultant Physician and Honorary Lecturer Geriatric Medicine, Manchester University.

  Dr. J. R. Cox—Consultant Physician.

  Dr. G. H. Hall—Consultant Physician.

  Dr. M. Hildick-Smith—Consultant in Geriatic Medicine.

  67

  Dr. G. A. Jones-Davis—Consultant in Public Health Medicine.

  Dr. D. L. Kerr—Retired General Practitioner, County Councillor.

  Dr. S. M. McDougall—Consultant in Public Health Medicine.

  Mr. R. T. Marcus—Consultant Surgeon.

  Mr. B. A. Maurice—Retired Consultant Surgeon.

  Dr. N. Merali—General Practitioner, Hospital Practitioner (Geriatric) Nursing Home Owner.

  Dr. P. Tiplady—District Medical Officer.

  Mrs. S. M. D. Adams—Nursing Home Registration/ Monitoring Officer.

  Mrs. C. Alford—Nursing Home Proprietor, Company Director.

  Mr. K. Dainty—Chief Inspector/Registration Officer for Nursing Homes.

  Mrs. R. Doidge—Director Nursing Services (Community).

  Mrs. T. Galletly—Partner in Nursing Home.

  Miss P. Jenkins—Registration Officer/Senior Nurse.

  Mrs. N. Kelly—Matron and Deputy House Governor.

  Mrs. H. M. McGregor—Partner/Manager Private Nursing Home.

  Mr. J. W. Sharp—Director Quality Assurance and Regional Manager.

  Mrs. M. Wilson—Director of Nursing Services.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued about action general practitioners should take if they come across neglect or abuse in a home registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  GPs should bring any apparent evidence of neglect or abuse of a resident to the attention of the registration authority.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if there is a procedure for the courts to inform a registration authority when a registered proprietor or member of staff of a home registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984 is convicted of a criminal offence.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Under the recently agreed arrangements for the disclosure of criminal records to registration authorities, if a police force becomes aware

  South-East Thames and South-West

  Thames Numbers waiting for in-patient treatment waiting between one and two years and more than two years at March 1990 and September 1990

  Total waiting

  Total waiting

  12 to 23 months at:

  24+ months at:

  Health authority

  31 March 1990

  30 September 1990

  31 March 1990

  30 September 1990

  South-East Thames Regional Health Authority

  9,343

  9,987

  8,773

  7,829

  Bexley

  395

  514

  158

  212

  Greenwich

  423

  408

  316

  302

  Bromley

  291

  237

  207

  72

  West Lambeth

  433

  803

  1,883

  1,728

  Camberwell

  314

  442

  208

  211

  Lewisham and North Southwark

  1,548

  1,284

  1,430

  1,196

  South-West Thames Regional Health Authority

  8,391

  8,017

  4,732

  4,242

  Croydon

  550

  509

  152

  133

  Kingston and Esher

  1,261

  1,151

  812

  797

  Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton

  420

  459

  213

  275

  Wandsworth

  462

  349

  184

  41

  Merton and Sutton

  449

  531

  70

  70

  68
  that the owner or manager of a home has acquired a conviction likely to be of interest to the registration authority, the force will pass that information on.

  Doctor Diagnosis
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to establish the impact on confidence in doctor diagnosis by patients, and take-up of preventive screening and immunisation of public awareness of the introduction of financial reward to general practitioners in meeting targets.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  None. We have seen nothing to suggest that awareness of the target payments scheme for cervical cytology and childhood immunisation has affected patient confidence in doctors' clinical diagnosis.

  The scheme has been most successful in increasing uptake rates for these services, thereby helping to eliminate avoidable illness. GPs are to be congratulated on their efforts in this area.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of patients who were waiting(a) one to two years and (b) over two years for hospital treatment at 31 March 1991 and 31 March 1990 for the south-west Thames and south-east Thames regional authorities and for each of their London districts.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 3 June 1991]: Information on numbers waiting for in-patient treatment as at March 1990 and at September 1990, the latest available information, is given in the table. Full details of waiting lists as at 31 March 1991 will not be available until September 1991.

  In the 12 months to September 1990 the total number waiting more than a year for in-patient treatment fell by 6 per cent. in south-east Thames region and by 13 per cent. in south-west Thames region as a whole.

  This information is on a "provider" basis and does not relate to the districts' resident population.

WALES

  Dog Attacks
  Mr. Geraint Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the approximate cost to the national health service for treating dog-related attacks in Wales; what were the corresponding figures for 1981; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  This information is not available centrally.

  Medical Negligence
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the method of covering doctors in respect of possible medical negligence claims on(a) the doctors in Wales, (b) their practice or unit, (c) their health authority or family practitioner authority and (d) on patients who might be affected.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The changes in arrangements for covering the costs of medical negligence litigation to which the hon. Gentleman refers relate only to doctors working in the hospital and community health services (H and CHS). General medical practitioners continue to be responsible for arranging their own insurance cover via the medical defence organisations (MDOs).

  The new arrangements should have no effect upon doctors in the hospital and community health services since the insurance premix which were previously paid on their behalf were paid for by their employer authorities. We are currently collecting data for the first year of these new arrangements in order to assess the effect upon health authorities. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman when this is available.

  There is no reason why patients should be affected.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the level of fees paid to medical experts in respect of evidence provided for medical negligence claims; and what assistance is available from within the national health service for anyone making or contemplating such a claim in Wales.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The fees paid to medical experts in respect of evidence provided in medical negligence cases reflect the amount and complexity of the work done and the amount of time which is involved. Typical fees that have been paid for expert reports range from £50 to £195 while experts who have attended Court to give evidence have recently charged between £50 and £600 per day. These figures are based on a random sample of current files.

  A patient who is contemplating making a claim on the grounds of medical negligence may seek advice at an early stage from a community health council but if he wishes to pursue a claim it is usually essential that he should then have his own independent legal advice in view of the adversarial nature of the procedure.

  Where a patient shows that he is likely to pursue a claim, it is the policy of the health authorities to disclose medical records voluntarily. To this extent they assist the patient as he is not then obliged to institute proceedings before he can gain access to his medical records. Finally,
  70
  where a patient pursues a claim, he will rely upon the evidence of medical experts who in all probability are employed within the NHS.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what compensation was paid out to patients in each health authority area in Wales in each of the last five years(a) as a result of court action regarding allegations of medical negligence and (b) through payments made prior to a case coming to court; and what was the total financial cost to each authority in each of those years.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  This information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of the financial cost falling on each health authority in Wales in each of the last five years in respect of medical negligence claims was paid out in(a) defence legal costs, (b) legal costs awarded to patients or complainants, (c) fees in respect of medical evidence for complainants and (d) awards to successful patients or complainants.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  This information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has undertaken with health authorities and family practitioner authorities in Wales and with organisations representing medical practitioners in hospitals and in general practice regarding the present system for dealing with claims for compensation to patients or their families; what advice he was offered; and what options for improving the situation he is now considering.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The present arrangements were discussed with district health authorities in Wales in advance of implementation. General practitioners continue to be responsible for arranging their own cover via the medical defence organisations.

  The Government believe that the best way to improve the compensation system is to streamline and simplify litigation procedures. We are presently considering the feasibility of an arbitration scheme within the NHS to resolve claims for medical negligence more simply and more quickly.

  Guardians ad Litem
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the names, and, if they are employed, the employment of all the present members of the guardians ad litem and reporting officers panels in the local authority areas of (i) Dyfed and (ii) West Glamorgan.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  This information is not held centrally.

  Housing Consultancy Contracts
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what policy considerations governed the choice of Aldbourne Associates for the main housing consultancy contract referred in his parliamentary replies of 23 May,Official Report, column 571, and 6 June, Official Report, column 311;
  71
  (2) pursuant to his parliamentary replies of 23 May, Official Report, column 511, and 6 June, Official Report, column 311, how Aldbourne Associates Ltd. was chosen for the housing consultancy contract.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The decision was taken by reference to relevant experience and expertise, the housing management consultancy pool then available, and the expected needs of the priority estates project programme in Wales.

  South Glamorgan Health Authority
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of South Glamorgan health authority concerning the costs and benefits of its new staff booklet entitled "Total Quality/Making it Even Better"; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  We have had no specific consultations concerning the costs and benefits of South Glamorgan's total quality strategy. However the authority's strategy is in line with the all-Wales quality strategy, "A Quality Health Service for Wales".

  My right hon. Friend was pleased to endorse South Glamorgan's strategy by saying,
  "I want the process of creating a better NHS, aiming for even higher standards of care and serving all its patients efficiently, to begin now."

  Health Authorities (Finance)
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on the basis of financial allocations to health authorities for 1991–92, how much extra(a) West Glamorgan, (b) Clwyd, (c) Gwent, (d) Gwynedd and (e) Pembrokeshire would have received if they were allocated their full formula share.

  Revenue allocations of 1991–92 prices

  £000s

  Year

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  Clwyd

  161·035

  163·092

  165·126

  167·066

  169·023

  170·999

  172·992

  175·004

  175·795

  176·589

  East Dyfed

  107·530

  107·530

  107·530

  107·578

  107·628

  106·678

  107·728

  107·780

  108·267

  108·756

  Gwent

  177·167

  178·105

  179·160

  180·661

  182·175

  182·703

  185·245

  186·802

  187·646

  188·494

  Gwynedd

  97·404

  99·122

  100·775

  102·175

  103·587

  105·013

  106·451

  107·903

  108·390

  108·880

  Mid Glamorgan

  228·062

  228·062

  228·062

  229·250

  230·450

  231·661

  232·883

  234·117

  235·175

  236·237

  Pembrokeshire

  43·900

  44·427

  44·951

  45·463

  45·981

  46·502

  47·029

  47·561

  47·766

  47·992

  Powys

  56·669

  56·669

  56·669

  55·555

  54·432

  53·299

  52·155

  51·002

  51·232

  51·464

  South Glamorgan

  166·814

  166·814

  166·814

  165·645

  164·467

  163·279

  162·080

  160·871

  161·598

  162·528

  West Glamorgan

  152·904

  152·904

  152·904

  153·913

  153·932

  155·960

  156·997

  158·045

  158·758

  159·476

  I should emphasise again that these are provided for planning purposes only and assume a 0·5 per cent. per annum real terms growth in line with the resource planning assumption previously issued to DHAs.

  The table includes capital charges. In 1991–92 capital charges have been allocated to authorities, as purchasers, in line with their need to pay capital charges as part of the cost of obtaining services. From next year capital charges will be redistributed as part of the total revenue resource in the move towards reaching formula shares, and no distinction has therefore been made in the table between revenue and capital charges other than to exclude capital charges from the base from which the 0–5 per cent. growth was calculated. To exclude capital charges as asked would therefore be misleading.

  Any comparison of the 1991–92 and subsequent allocations (with or without capital charges included)
  72
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  On the basis of the allocations announced in the Official Report on 21 March at columns 178–79, the increase would be as follows if the health authorities were funded in line with their weighted capitation formula shares.

  £ million

  West Glamorgan

  2·200

  Clwyd

  5·664

  Gwent

  1·996

  Gwynedd

  5·374

  Pembrokeshire

  0·840

  Note: These figures have been calculated by redistributing revenue resources exclusive of capital charges in line with revenue formula shares. Capital charges were then added back in (according to authorities' liability as purchasers to meet the cost of capital charges in contracts in 1991–92) in the same way as in the actual 1991–92 allocations.

  Weighted capitation will however be phased in over a period of years, being completed by 1998–99, in order to allow authorities time to adjust to their prospective capitation shares.

  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones),Official Report, 21 March, columns 178–79, taking actual financial allocations for 1991–92 as the base, what for the published table would be the financial change in revenue resources for each health authority in each year to 2000–01; what these figures would be without capital charges added back in; and how, without capital charges added back in, would they relate to 1990–91 base figures.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The effect of the annual change in revenue resources shown in the table in my reply is as follows:

  would be inappropriate as in 1990–91 authorities were funded as the providers of services—whereas from 1991–92 they (and GP fund holders) will be funded as purchasers of services.

  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much of the £143·6 million capital charges are attributable to each of the district health authorities; and whether this sum is included in the figure of £1,719 million given in the Official Report, 29 April, column 3.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The following table shows the breakdown of estimated capital charges by the district health authorities in which the units and hospitals to which the charges are attributable are located.
  73

  District health authority

  Capital charges (£ million)

  Clwyd

  15·177

  East Dyfed

  18·664

  Gwent

  19·581

  Gwynedd

  9·789

  Mid Glamorgan

  25·204

  Pembrokeshire

  3·076

  Powys

  4·199

  South Glamorgan

  26·850

  West Glamorgan

  20·725

  Total

  143·265

  Note

  The figure of £143·265 million reflects revision to the estimates following the original estimate of £143·582 million.

  Capital charges are payable to the Department by hospitals and units in respect of the assets they manage. The cost of capital charges is recovered in the charges made for the services they provide to purchasers—health authorities and GP fund holders. Health authorities and GP fund holders are funded to pay the extra cost of capital charges—over and above the other costs of services—by the Department recycling the receipts from capital charges to them. To maintain neutrality this year capital charge receipts have been recycled to purchasers in line with the extra costs. In future receipts will be recycled in line with revenue formula shares, encouraging authorities to purchase services from hospitals that use their capital efficiently and so are able to offer a higher level of patient services than less efficient providers.

  The introduction of capital charging has no overall effect on public expenditure. The £143·265 million shown in the table has been deducted from provider units and reallocated to purchasers as described above. Account has been taken of the net cross border flows with England, and Welsh purchasers have additionally been funded for the capital charges, as well as the other costs of obtaining services in England. The adjustment for these cross-boundary flows was not included in my reply.

  Health Service Consultants
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 11 June,Official Report, column 506, how many new consultants have been appointed overall to work at the three treatment centres since they became operational.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  A total of 4·5 whole-time equivalent consultants have been appointed as a result of the establishment of the three treatment centres.

  Cardiff Bay Barrage
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales in what local newspapers he proposes to advertise the Cardiff Bay Barrage hybrid Bill.

  Mr. David Hunt
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: At present I propose to advertise the Bill in the South Wales Echo and the Western Mail.

EMPLOYMENT

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was responsible for each of the past five years together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information requested is not readily available and could not be assembled without disproportionate cost.

  Public bodies sponsored by the Employment Department are listed in Cabinet Office's publication "Public Bodies 1990". Details of public appointments made by this department are given in the Women's National Commission's "A Handbook for Women's Organisations". Both publications are available in the House of Commons Library.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of job vacancies at job centres in the Tooting constituency on 1 June.

  Mr. Jackson
  Questions on operational matter 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.

  Employment Service (Performance Targets)
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the performance targets for the Employment Service last year; and what they are for the current year.

  Mr. Jackson
  The performance targets for the Employment Service are set out in the annual performance agreement. Copies of the 1990–91 and 1991–92 agreements are available to Members in the Library of the House.

  Maternity Pay
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 1 March,Official Report, column 622, whether the estimate quoted for implementing the pay provisions of the protection of pregnant women at work draft directive excluded or included the current statutory maternity payments; and on what assumptions the figure is based.

  Mr. Forth
  The estimate excludes the current statutory maternity payments, which stand at approximately £400 million a year. The main assumptions underlying the gross estimate of the cost of implementing the draft directive are that 370,000 employees become pregnant each year and that their average weekly earnings are £177 a week.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of(a) men and (b) women registered as unemployed in the London borough of Wandsworth on 1 June.
  75
  Mr. Jackson
  On the latest unemployment count date of 9 May 1991 there were 9,295 male and 3,584 female unemployed claimants in the London borough of Wandsworth on the unadjusted basis.

  Schools Career Service
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the steps he intends to take to improve further the schools career service.

  Mr. Jackson
  The White Paper, "Education and Training for the 21st Century" (CM 1536), announces plans for the future of the careers service to enhance the quality of careers education and guidance. These plans include the provision of additional money to support further in-service training for careers service staff, and the extension of careers libraries and computerised information for schools and colleges.

  EC Initiatives
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what consultation has taken place with prospective applicant bodies in the preparation of the United Kingdom operational programme for the now initiative; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what consultation has taken place with prospective applicant bodies in the preparation of the United Kingdom operational programme for the horizon programme; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what consultation has taken place with prospective applicant bodies in the preparation of the United Kingdom operational programme for the Euroform initiative; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  Formal consultation will begin shortly. The European Commission supplied the relevant financial information only in mid-April, four months after the initiative was announced. The Commission has therefore extended its original 30 June deadline for the submission by the member states of the required operational programme.

  Employment Service
  Mr. John Garrett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how he proposes to announce any future decisions to set aside performance targets for the Employment Service agency.

  Mr. Jackson
  My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to set aside any of the performance targets which he agreed with the chief executive of the Employment Service. Should circumstances arise which caused him to do so he would inform the House and lodge an appropriate amendment to the ES annual performance agreement in the Library of the House.

DEFENCE

  Civilian Contracts
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian contracts have been undertaken by the Royal Navy, with respect to Millbury docks in Plymouth,76
  and the Army, with respect to the transportation of heavy gear from Penzance to St. Mary's for an island runway project; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service periodically undertakes work at Millbay docks, Plymouth at the specific request of Associated British Ports. The Army has undertaken one commitment on repayment for the transportation of heavy gear from Penzance to St. Mary's.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice he has given to the armed forces with regard to bidding for civilian contracts.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  There are standing instructions governing the scope of repayment activity and the basis on which it may be conducted. These reflect the principle that the public sector should not, as a general rule, take on activities which can equally well or better be undertaken by the private sector. Under the new management strategy budget holders are encouraged to increase their receipts, for example by making use of temporary spare capacity, within the framework of current policy on repayment activity.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian contracts the British Army has submitted in each of the last five years: how many such contracts have been awarded to the Army; if he will list each such awarded contract; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is not MOD policy to seek such business.

  Gulf Trust
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 4 June,Official Report, column 226, if he will specify which benevolent funds have received money from the Gulf trust; how much has been allocated to each; and if any advice or suggestions have been offered to these organisations about ways of distributing the money.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Donations to the Gulf Trust are being passed to the three service benevolent funds—The King George's Fund for Sailors, the Army Benevolent Fund and the RAF Benevolent Fund. They will use this money to meet cases of need arising from the Gulf conflict in accordance with their established practices, and within the terms of their trust deeds and charity law.

  William Douglas-Home
  Mr. Cyril D. Townsend
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration is being given by his Department into the case and court-martial of William Douglas-Home; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The hon. William Douglas-Home's case has been considered by the Department and a decision communicated to him.

  Royal Artillery
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to the relocation of the Royal Artillery from Woolwich; and when he expects to announce a decision.
  77
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  A comprehensive review of the Army's training base is being undertaken as part of the work on "Options for Change." No decisions have yet been taken on the future of units at Woolwich. Announcements will be made as soon as possible.

  HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make a decision on whether to go ahead with a programme to replace HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Mr. Hamilton) on 20 May at column 391 to my hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Mr. Speed).

  Fiji
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military aid and assistance has been given to Fiji since the military coup.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Some two to three Fijian officers attend military training courses in the United Kingdom each year. Surplus exercise stores, stockpiled in Fiji prior to 1987, were gifted to the Fijian armed forces in 1989. In addition, the Royal Navy officer has provided a loan service officer to the Fiji hydrographic unit for some 11 years.

  HMS Endurance
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost of keeping HMS Endurance on station in the south Atlantic for the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The costs of keeping HMS Endurance on station in the south Atlantic are not kept separately, but form part of her annual running costs. For these, I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 March to the hon. Member for Bristol, East (Mr. Sayeed) at columns 718–19.

  Injured Grenadiers
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consult his Canadian counterpart about the circumstances which led to the injuries suffered in July 1989 by Guardsmen Sean Povey, Adrian Hicks and John Ray.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There is continuing contact with the Canadian authorities. If any additional information on the case is required it can be obtained through normal channels.

  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many letters to date have been received by his Department from the solicitors acting for Guardsmen Sean Povey, Adrian Hicks and John Ray.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  To date my Department has received nine letters from the solicitors previously acting on behalf of the guardsmen and two from their current solicitors.
  78
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what circumstances his Department would be willing to reconsider the decision not to pay any compensation to Guardsmen Sean Povey, Adrian Hicks and John Ray.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The decision will be reconsidered if it can be shown that the Ministry of Defence is legally liable.

  Mr. Hicks is in receipt of tax-free, index-linked pensions and other benefits amounting to £8,984 per annum. Guardsmen Povey and Ray will also be eligible for pensions and benefits if they are discharged from the Army on medical grounds.

  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if would be willing to meet Guardsmen Sean Povey, Adrian Hicks and John Ray, together with their hon. Members of Parliament.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Secretary of State for Defence has no plans to do so.

  Maritime Exercises
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes are being made to the scale, timing, location and scenario of major maritime exercises as a result of changes in the perceived threat to United Kingdom security interests.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The future scope, scale and frequency of major maritime exercises are currently under review in the light of the changed security situation in Europe.

  Type 2075 Sonar
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the contract with Ferranti-Thomson for development of the type 2075 sonar.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The Royal Navy's sonar requirements are being rationalised in line with the "Options for Change" decisions on the size and structure of the future submarine fleet. Against this background, I have decided not to proceed with the development of Sonar 2075, which had been intended for a future buy of Upholder class submarines, and the contract with Ferranti Thomson Sonar Systems Ltd. was terminated from 20 May 1991. The company have, however, successfully tendered for the competitive project definition phase for Sonar 2076 which is intended to form the basis of future submarine sonar programmes.

  HMS Upholder
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long he expects HMS Upholder to be placed in dock for rectification of weapon handling system defects; and what is the expected cost of the rectification work.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  We plan to start the rectification work on HMS Upholder later this year and complete it in 1992. The cost of the work has not yet been established, as we are currently evaluating tenders. In any case, it is not our practice to disclose commercially confidential information of this nature.

  HMS Endurance
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what further consideration he has given to the deployment of HMS Endurance in the south Atlantic after her present tour of duty is over.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The future programme of Endurance is under consideration, but no decisions have yet been taken.

  Central TV (Libel Action)
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what public funds or other assistance is being given to Messrs. MacKenzie Geidt and de Normann in their libel action against Central Television.
  80
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  None.

  Prevailing Winds
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a table to show for the last three years the number of days in each month when winds in Northern Ireland blew from the south-west to the north-west points of the compass.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  This is a matter for the Meteorological Office, under its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive of the Meteorological office, Dr. J. T. Houghton, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

  LIFE SENTENCE IMPRISONMENT: VARIATION OF RECOMMENDED PERIOD
  LIFE SENTENCE IMPRISONMENT: VARIATION OF RECOMMENDED PERIOD
  BRITISH VOTERS ABROAD
  BRITISH VOTERS ABROAD
  CAR THEFTS BY YOUNG PEOPLE: DEATHS IN POLICE CHASES
  CAR THEFTS BY YOUNG PEOPLE: DEATHS IN POLICE CHASES
  CAR THEFTS BY YOUNG PEOPLE: DEATHS
  CAR THEFTS BY YOUNG PEOPLE: DEATHS
  CHANNEL TUNNEL: INTERNATIONAL RAIL SERVICE SUBSIDY PROPOSAL
  CHANNEL TUNNEL: INTERNATIONAL RAIL SERVICE SUBSIDY PROPOSAL
  ATTENDANCE ALLOWANCE: APPEALS
  ATTENDANCE ALLOWANCE: APPEALS
  MOBILITY ALLOWANCE: APPEALS
  MOBILITY ALLOWANCE: APPEALS
  NURSE GRADING: APPEALS AND TRUST HOSPITALS
  NURSE GRADING: APPEALS AND TRUST HOSPITALS