Written Answers of 18 June 1991

TRANSPORT

  Lorry Action Areas
  Mr. Snape
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many lorry action areas have been established in line with recommendation 50 of the Armitage report; and at what cost.

  Mr. Chope
  None. Since the Armitage report was published there have been substantial improvements. Today's lorries are quieter, and safer and emit less smoke. There are also fewer of them in urban areas, due to the continuing improvement of the road network, particularly by provision of bypasses. A major focus of attention has been the Department's lorry management scheme which produced guidance last year illustrating the range of measures available to local authorities in promoting effective lorry management and reducing the adverse effects of lorries on local communities.

  M6 (Litter)
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how often each year the M6 in Warwickshire is cleared of litter; and when was the last time.

  Mr. Chope
  Warwickshire county council, which acts as the Department's agent on this stretch of the M6, is responsible for clearing the motorway of litter as often as is required to maintain the standards laid down in the code of practice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The frequency of clearance in any location will therefore depend on particular circumstances.

  Video Recordings
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 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. McLoughlin
  This information is not held centrally.

  Hospitality Fund
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 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. McLoughlin
  Expenditure on official hospitality by the Department is as follows:

  £

  1989–90

  114,016

  1990–91

  144,023

  11991–92

  22,040

  1 To date.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 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. McLoughlin
  The majority of these appointments for each of the last five years are listed in the annual editions of "Public Bodies" published by the HMSO or "Public Appointments: A Handbook for Women's Organisations" produced by the Women's National Commission, copies of which are in the Library of the House. The appointments which are not listed in these documents are:Acting Conservator of the River Mersey (£7,667 per annum)
  Four Delegates to the Central Rhine Commission (unpaid)
  Chairman and six Members of the Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Diabetes (unpaid)
  Chairman and five Members of the Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Cardiovascular Disorders (unpaid)
  Chairman and eight Members of the Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Disorders of the Nervous System (unpaid) and
  Chairman and two Members of that Panel's Sub-Committee on Mental Health/Drug and Alcohol Misuse

  The further information sought by the hon. Member could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  British Rail Carriages
  Mr. Prescott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the British Rail board will announce its decision on the tenders it has received for class 165 electrical multiple unit four-car sets for the class 341 carriages and the 471 carriages.

  Mr. Rifkind
  This is a matter for the British Railways Board. However, I understand that 180 class 165 and 59 class 165/2 diesel vehicles are on order for the Network SouthEast lines into Paddington and Marylebone. The first of these vehicles will enter regular service in October. It is not envisaged that any further orders for class 165 vehicles will be placed in the near future. No tenders have yet been invited for class 341 or class 471 electric multiple units.

  M6 (Thornbridge Viaduct)
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the nature of the current repair works to the Thornbridge viaduct of the M6 motorway in Birmingham; and how long the work will last.

  Mr. Chope
  Two contracts are currently under way for the installation of cathodic protection systems on the viaduct substructure. The first, involving work to crossbeams between Beeches road and Thornbridge avenue should be completed by mid July. This is slightly later than previously anticipated because of the need for unforeseen additional works. A second similar contract south of Thornbridge avenue commenced in April and is due to finish next March.

  A13 (Roadworks)
  Ms. Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the outline timetable for roadworks on the East India Dock road/Canning Town bridge and
  83
  flyover on the A13 and its junctions with Leamouth and Abbot roads; if he will publish maps or diagrams of the proposed phases of the works; and what steps are being taken to ensure that maximum traffic flows consistent with safety of pedestrians are maintained.

  Mr. Chope
  The Department's consultants are finalising their recommendations for this scheme which would involve the widening of Ironbridge and the Canning Town flyover. The intention is to hold a public exhibition later this summer in the Mayflower centre, Newham, at which the proposals will be on display allowing comments from all interested parties. This will be followed by the announcement of a preferred scheme, leading to the publication of draft orders under the Highways Act next year. Construction is currently programmed to commence in 1994. The contract will include requirements about maintenance of traffic flows and provision of safe crossing points for pedestrians during construction.

  Orange Badge Scheme
  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce a date for the implementation of the Draft Regulation of April 1990 on the orange badge scheme for disabled drivers.

  Mr. Chope
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam) on 21 March at column 212.

  Research and Development
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to his answer of 1 March,Official Report, column 625, if he will list the projects of research and data collection on the environmental implications of transport policy decisions (i) currently under way and (ii) commissioned or published since 1979.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Department makes use of a wide range of data sources to inform transport policy decisions with environmental implications. The principal statistical series used are set out in annex B of the environment White Paper "This Common Inheritance"—Cm. 1200. Many research projects involve the collection of data specific to the problem being studied.

  The following list details projects in the Department's current research programme with a substantial environmental element. Information on research covering the whole of the Department's responsibilities commissioned or published since 1979 could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

  Title

  Expected year of completion

  Alternative to Full Scale Discharge of Halon in Fire Protection Test

  1991

  Recycled Bituminous Materials

  1992

  Use of Concrete Pavements for Motorway Widening and Strengthening

  1992

  Noise Barrier Construction

  1992

  Operational Assessment of Urban Traffic Management Schemes

  1992

  Low Noise Road Surfaces

  1992

  Impact of Aircraft Emissions on Local Air Quality

  1992

  Study of the Climatic Effects of Water Vapour from Aircraft

  1992

  Effects of Traffic Change on Nuisance

  1992

  84

  Title

  Expected year of completion

  Methods of Assessing Numbers of Pedestrians and the Effect of them of Traffic Changes

  1992

  Exhaust Emission Modelling for Urban Areas

  1992

  Diesel Emissions Rates and Test Procedures

  1992

  Evaluation of Engineering Methods for Reducing Diesel Exhaust Emissions

  1992

  Test Conditions for Vehicle Noise Type-Approvals

  1992

  Lorry Spray

  1992

  Trip Generation in London

  1992

  Sleep Disturbance by/from Aircraft

  1992

  Chemical Spill Modelling

  1992

  Oil Spill Modelling

  1992

  Demulsifiers as an Aid to Oil Slick Dispersion

  1992

  Road Base Macadams with Modified Binders

  1992

  Role of Land Use Planning in Reducing Transport Emissions

  1992

  Environmental Effects for Highway Tunnels

  1993

  Reducing the Environmental Impact of Road Pavement Construction

  1993

  Effects of Construction Activity on Adjacent Property

  1993

  The Use of Replacement Materials in Concrete Pavements

  1993

  Techniques for Monetary Evaluation of Environmental Change due to Roads and Traffic

  1993

  Fuel Consumption and CO2 Emissions at Junctions, Roundabouts, etc.

  1993

  Development of Monetary Evaluation of Environmental Effects of Roads and Traffic

  1993

  Prediction of Changes in Quantity of Emissions Resulting from New Road Schemes

  1993

  Vehicle Induced Pollution—Subjective Impacts

  1993

  Public Transport Options for the Environment

  1993

  Impacts of Heavier Goods Vehicles

  1993

  In-Service Emissions from Representative Sample of Current Car Fleet

  1993

  Condition of Heavy Duty Engines in Service

  1993

  Vehicle Noise Nuisance

  1993

  Technical Assessment and Development of New (In-service) Noise Control Measures

  1993

  Alternative Engines for Road Vehicles

  1993

  Alternative Fuels for Road Transport

  1993

  Park and Ride Behaviour in London

  1993

  Investigation of Exhaust Emissions From Ships

  1993

  Mathematical Modelling of Persistent Chemicals

  1993

  Distribution of Sea Birds at Sea

  1993

  Clean Up of Soft Sediments

  1993

  Recovery of Oil at Sea

  1993

  Masonry Parapets in Environmentally Sensitive Areas (two studies)

  1993

  Environmental Effects of Tunnel Design and Construction

  1994

  Manchester Metro Before and After Study

  1994

  Limited Facility Tunnels—Reduction of Environmental Disturbance in Urban Areas

  1994

  Use of Recycled and Waste Materials and Industrial By-products in earthworks

  1994

  Energy Input to Road Construction

  1994

  Noise Barrier Performance

  1994

  Modelling of NOx Emissions from Subsonic Aircraft

  1994

  Techniques for Monitoring Road Scheme Environmental Costs and Benefits

  1994

  Community Effects of Congestion and Its Relief

  1994

  Site Investigation Techniques, Environmental Factors and Investigation of Derelict Marginal and Polluted Land

  1994

  Evaluation of Emissions and Roadside Concentrations of Unregulated Compounds

  1994

  In-service Emission Testing of Cars and Vans Equipped with Catalytic Emission Control Systems

  1994

  Automated Silent Smoke Check Methods

  1994

  Gas Emissions: Total Contribution of Road Vehicles to Greenhouse Emissions

  1994

  85

  Title

  Expected year of completion

  Prevention and Removal of Ice on Roads by More Effective Use of Salts

  1994

  Monitoring Effectiveness of Street Works Legislation

  1994

  Satellite Remote Sensing of Oil Slicks

  1994

  Remote Sensing of Oil Thickness in Slicks

  1994

  Durability of Pervious Macadam Surfacing

  1994

  Crack and Seat as a Method of Maintaining Concrete Pavements

  1994

  Cold Mix Bituminous Materials for Construction and Maintenance

  1994

  Development of Geotextile Ground Anchors

  1995

  Development of Systems for Earth Retaining Structures

  1995

  Lime Stabilisation

  1995

  Cold Start Effects on Fuel Consumption and Regulated Emissions

  1995

  Vehicle Modifications for Improved Fuel Consumption

  1995

  Alternative Textures for Concrete Roads

  1995

  Long Term Effects of Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA) De-icer

  1996

  Review and Revision of the In-service Emissions Test and Review and Specification for In-service Emissions Control of Heavy Duty Diesel Engined Vehicles

  1997

  Impact of Reduced Vehicle Emissions on Air Quality

  1998

  Severn Bridge
  Mr. Roy Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he can now name a date when the Severn bridge will become fully operational following completion of repairs and maintenance work.

  Mr. Chope
  The resurfacing work is due to be completed by November 1991. As with all structures, further works will be necessary from time to time.

  Highway Code
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Newport, West on 22 April, if he will give special attention in his advertising to highlight important sections of the Highway Code;

  (2) if he will take special action to advertise the information contained in paragraphs 50, 65, 105 and 108 of the Highway Code.

  Mr. Chope
  All the rules in the Highway Code contain important safety advice which road users should follow. In promoting the safety measures in the code, my Department will continue to stress the need for drivers of all vehicles to leave a safe gap for stopping, to give way to pedestrians at road junctions and to take care when making any manoeuvre at a road junction.

  Bus Priority Schemes
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what new proposals he has to promote the introduction of bus priority schemes; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what is his most recent assessment of the value of bus priority schemes.

  Mr. Freeman
  Bus priority schemes have an important role to play in keeping buses moving in congested areas. It 86
  is for local authorities to introduce such measures. I have recently set up a working group, including representatives from the industry, local authorities and the police to consider ways to promote bus use. A sub-group is considering new guidance for local authorities to assist them in adopting appropriate schemes. We hope to be able to provide support for some bus priority measures in 1992–93 if suitable proposals are put forward by local authorities.

  Traffic Signs
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will reconsider the design of prohibiting traffic signs, to ensure a consistent pattern to avoid confusion between those carrying a diagonal red bar and those without a bar, particularly for those affecting cyclists.

  Mr. Chope
  There are no plans to change the design of prohibitory traffic signs. The red circle around a sign barring particular categories of road user indicates the prohibition. Red bars are used only on signs banning left, right or U-turns. This is consistent both internally in the United Kingdom and with the European convention on road signs and signals.

  Railways (West Yorkshire)
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning delays to parts of the West Yorkshire rail electrification scheme.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: Since the middle of May we have received four letters.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that all parts of the West Yorkshire rail electrification scheme proceed as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: Credit approvals have already been reserved for the infrastructure costs of this project, and we shall be considering resources for the rolling stock as a matter of urgency when decisions are taken on the allocation of credit approvals for 1992–93.

  Maritime Safety
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the result of the meeting of the maritime safety committee of the international maritime organisation to discuss the report of its specialist sub-committee on the stability of roll on/roll off ferries in May.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: One of the many subjects given detailed consideration by the maritime safety committee was the residual stability standards of existing roll on/roll off passenger ships. After two weeks discussion the committee agreed that:

  (a) the standard of residual stability applicable to new passenger ships should be applied to existing roll on/roll off passenger ships;

  (b) the implementation of that standard should be phased-in, dealing first with those ships having the lowest standard of survivability and that the starting date of the first phase should be October 1994;

  87

  (c) the length of the phasing-in period would depend to a significant extent on the results of calculations undertaken to determine the survivability standards of individual ships but it should not exceed 5 years.

  Final decisions on the phasing-in period and the adoption of an amendment to the convention will be made by the committee in April 1992, after considering the further advice requested from the specialist stability sub-committee.

  Trinity House Mast, Alnwick
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he was notified by Trinity House in advance that it was its intention to notify Alnwick district council that it proposed to erect a Loran C mast at Amble as a permitted development which did not currently enjoy permitted development status.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: My right hon. and learned Friend was aware that Trinity House intended to consult Alnwick district council, as the local planning authority, and others about the proposal to erect a Loran C transmitter mast near Amble as a permitted development in advance of its having powers to

  Incident number

  Date

  Risk

  Aircraft

  Aircraft

  Latitude

  Longditude

  Altitude (ft)

  81/230

  25 November 1981

  C

  Friendship F27

  F4/Phantom

  5342N

  00006W

  12,000

  82/189

  8 December 1982

  C

  Model 727

  One-Eleven (BAC)

  5342N

  00011 E

  35,700

  89/042

  24 April 1989

  A

  Jet Provost

  Jet Provost

  5340N

  00023W

  06,000

  90/131

  31 July 1990

  C

  Super King Air 200

  Super Jet 747

  5344N

  00001W

  27,000

  The findings of the Joint Airmiss Working Group were as follows:

  81/230 Unauthorised entry into Airway Bl by the Phantom.

  82/189 Prescribed horizontal separation not maintained by air traffic control.

  89/042 Very late sighting by the pilots of both Jet Provosts.

  90/131 Prescribed separation not maintained by air traffic control.

  Risk Category A (incident 89/042) denotes an actual risk of collision. Category C (incidents 81/230, 82/189 and 90/131) denotes no risk of collision.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer on 3 May,Official Report, columns 360–62, to the hon. Member for Don Valley, about air misses, what was (a) the height, (b) the risk category and (c) the findings of the joint air miss working group for the incidents on (i) 28 April 1988, (ii) 21 June 1988 and (iii) 16 February 1990; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The information requested by the hon. Gentleman is as follows:

  Date of incident

  Height (ft)

  Risk category

  Findings of joint airmiss working group

  28 April 1988

  3,000

  C

  No risk of collision.

  Both pilots fulfilled their lookout responsibility.

  21 June 1988

  1,500

  C

  Sighting report without risk.

  16 February 1990

  2,000

  C

  The Buccaneer pilot flew close enough to the Sikorsky S76 to cause concern.

  However, there was no risk of collision, and the Buccaneer pilot underook his responsibility to avoid collision.

  88
  carry the proposal forward in that manner. This was on the basis that Trinity House would acquire these powers on the Government's signature of an international agreement on a Loran C system in north-west Europe. My right hon. and learned Friend is considering urgently whether to proceed with such an agreement following the receipt of a revised offer from Racal Electronics plc for the automation and operation of the Decca Navigator chains in the United Kingdom into the next century.

  Air misses
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer 3 May,Official Report, columns 360–62, to the hon. Member for Don Valley, what was (a) the height, (b) risk category and (c) the findings of the joint air miss working group for any incidents that were reported and which were above 5,000 ft.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The information requested by the hon. Gentleman, with other details to identify the incident, is as follows:

  Note: Category C is the lowest category, and denotes that there was no risk of collision.

  M56
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the reasons why the M56 has worn out and needs to be comprehensively relaid at its junction with the M53.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: Because the amount of traffic using it—now 68,000 vehicles every day, with 20 per cent. of them heavy goods vehicles—proved to be far higher than forecast when the motorway was designed in the 1970s. The road surface is being replaced to new higher standards.

  Totton Western Bypass
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the public inquiry into the side road and compulsory purchase orders in relation to the A326 Totton Western bypass stage 3 is now complete; and when he expects to announce his decisions.

  Mr. Chope
  [holding answer 3 June 1991]: The public inquiry into these orders is complete and the inspector's report is currently being considered by my Department as a matter of priority. I hope that it will be possible to announce a decision before the end of July.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Attorney-General how many cases are currently under consideration by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, broken down by year of application.

  Mr. John Patten
  I have been asked to reply.

  The number of applications under consideration at the end of May 1991 was 58,834. A further 10,876 cases were awaiting the applicant's response to an award offer, and 11,324 were awaiting decision on appeal.

  The board does not record the age of applications in the form requested, but the percentages of cases resolved within certain periods from the date of registration are shown in the board's annual reports, copies of which are in the Library.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Assaults on Police Officers
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average sentence for assaults on police officers in each of the last five years for each constabulary; and what consideration he has given as to the adequacy of the range of sentences available;

  (2) how many assaults on police officers have resulted in successful prosecutions in each of the last five years for each constabulary.

  Mr. John Patten
  Statistics on court proceedings for violence against the person do not distinguish the occupation of the victim. We are planning to carry out a survey of the sentences given for assaults against police officers later this year. We shall consider in the light of the results whether any further action is needed.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been assaulted in the course of their duty in each of the last five years, for each constabulary.

  Mr. John Patten
  The available information is for 1990 and is given in the table.

  Numbers of police officers assaulted in the course of their duty England and Wales 1990

  Police force area

  Number of officers assaulted

  Avon and Somerset

  437

  Bedfordshire

  241

  Cambridgeshire

  176

  Cheshire

  651

  Cleveland

  ֵ

  Caribbean citizens refused leave to enter and removed from the United Kingdom 1979 to 1990

  Barbados

  Guyana

  Jamaica

  Trinidad and Tobago

  Year

  Total refused leave to enter and removed

  Removal rate1

  Total refused leave to enter and removed

  Removal rate1

  Total refused leave to enter and removed

  Removal rate1

  Total refused leave to enter and removed

  Removal rate1

  1979

  9

  0·1

  26

  0·3

  48

  0·1

  20

  0·1

  1980

  10

  0·1

  23

  0·3

  82

  0·3

  17

  0·1

  1981

  7

  0·1

  10

  0·1

  54

  0·2

  17

  0·1

  90

  Police force area

  Number of officers assaulted

  Cumbria

  130

  Derbyshire

  359

  Devon and Cornwall

  416

  Dorset

  158

  Durham

  256

  Essex

  193

  Gloucestershire

  189

  Greater Manchester

  1,216

  Hampshire

  343

  Hertfordshire

  181

  Humberside

  320

  Kent

  192

  Lancashire

  397

  Leicestershire

  189

  Lincolnshire

  145

  London, City of

  27

  Merseyside

  971

  Metropolitan Police District

  4,172

  Norfolk

  235

  Northamptonshire

  208

  Northumbria

  677

  North Yorkshire

  146

  Nottinghamshire

  354

  South Yorkshire

  308

  Staffordshire

  515

  Suffolk

  167

  Surrey

  198

  Sussex

  356

  Thames Valley

  427

  Warwickshire

  88

  West Mercia

  286

  West Midlands

  1,034

  West Yorkshire

  650

  Wiltshire

  261

  Dyfed-Powys

  112

  Gwent

  413

  North Wales

  193

  South Wales

  793

  ENGLAND AND WALES

  18,780

  ֵ Not available.

  Immigration
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of people from each Caribbean country not permitted to enter the United Kingdom, for each year since 1979; and what percentage this represents in each case of the known number of entrants from each country.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The available information is given in the following table:
  91

  Barbados

  Guyana

  Jamaica

  Trinidad and Tobago

  Year

  Total refused leave to enter and removed

  Removal rate1

  Total refused leave to enter and removed

  Removal rate1

  Total refused leave to enter and removed

  Removal rate1

  Total refused leave to enter and removed

  Removal rate1

  1982

  7

  0·1

  19

  0·3

  63

  0·2

  13

  0·1

  1983

  5

  0·1

  17

  0·3

  60

  0·2

  10

  2—

  1984

  4

  0·1

  29

  0·5

  44

  0·2

  10

  0·1

  1985

  2

  2—

  16

  0·2

  69

  0·2

  6

  2—

  1986

  7

  0·1

  16

  0·3

  131

  0·4

  20

  0·1

  1987

  9

  0·1

  27

  0·5

  269

  0·8

  31

  0·2

  1988

  20

  0·2

  27

  0·5

  424

  1·4

  42

  0·2

  1989

  31

  0·3

  44

  0·7

  803

  2·4

  76

  0·4

  1990

  36

  0·4

  57

  0·9

  580

  1·9

  131

  0·7

  1 As a percentage of passenger admissions plus removals.

  2 — 0.05 per cent. or less.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have(a) applied to enter the United Kingdom from India on the basis of marriage in each of the last five years and (b) been refused under the primary purpose rule.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is given in the table.

  Applications for an entry clearance for settlement, by spouses and fiance(e)s in India

  Number of persons

  Applications

  Newly received1

  Refused solely because of primary purpose rule2

  Refused partly because of primary purpose rule2

  1986

  3,240

  670

  60

  1987

  3,450

  600

  60

  1988

  2,910

  550

  70

  1989

  3,310

  400

  50

  1990

  3,300

  520

  60

  1 Including applications subsequently withdrawn. Many wives who applied before August 1988 were not required to satisfy the primary purpose rule, because they were covered by section 1(5) of the Immigration Act 1971.

  2 Applications refused initally minus applications granted on appeal.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people(a) applied to enter the United Kingdom as visitors from Caribbean countries and (b) were refused entry in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The available information for 1986 to 1989 is published in table 1 of the annual Home Office Command Papers "Control of Immigration Statistics, United Kingdom"—Cm 166, 415, 726 and 1124 for each year from 1986 to 1989 respectively—copies of which are in the Library. The available information for 1990 is given in the table.

  Caribbean visitors admitted to, and Caribbean passengers refused leave to enter and removed from, the United Kingdom in 1990.

  Nationality

  Total visitors admitted

  Total passengers refused leave to enter and removed

  Barbados

  5,160

  36

  Guyana

  3,740

  57

  Jamaica

  18,200

  580

  Trinidad and Tobago

  9,780

  131

  Animal Experiments
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many exemptions have been granted to the requirements in section 10(3) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in each year since 1987; and if he will list the suppliers of non-purpose bred animals in each case.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Section 7 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which required the designation of breeding and supplying establishments, came into effect on 1 January 1990. A number of exemptions were granted at that time to project licence holders to obtain animals from non-designated sources until animals from designated sources became available. Many of these have now lapsed because of the subsequent increase in availability of purpose bred animals. The remaining exemptions are principally for those types of primate and dog which are not available from designated breeders. No statistical information is held centrally about the granting of exemptions, which is done on a case-by-case basis.

  It is not our practice to publish the names of suppliers of animals for use in scientific procedures.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether papers relating to scientific procedures on animals performed by Professor Wilhelm Feldberg while not holding a valid project licence in respect of those procedures are to be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration of a prosecution under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  We are currently considering a number of documents received on 16 April from the Medical Research Council together with further correspondence received yesterday.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are currently taken by the Home Office inspectorate to ensure that experimentation using non-purpose bred animals does not contravene the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: The controls applied by the inspectorate to the use in scientific procedures of animals obtained from non-designated sources are exactly the same as the controls which are applied to the use of animals obtained from designated sources.
  93
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to stop the supply of non-purpose bred animals for experimentation.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: No. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 provides that the most commonly used laboratory species, mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, together with dogs, cats and non-human primates may be used in scientific procedures only if they have been bred at a designated breeding establishment or obtained from a designated supplying establishment. However, exemptions to this requirement may be granted under section 10(3). Exemptions to obtain animals from non-designated sources are rare. All requests for exemptions are carefully examined. For less commonly used species there may well be no alternative other than to obtain them from non-designated sources.

  Prisoners held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales under prison rule 43 and young offender institution rule 46, 31 December 1990

  Males

  Females

  Aged under 21

  Adults

  Aged under 21

  Adults

  All

  Own interests

  140

  1,629

  3

  17

  1,789

  Good order or discipline

  42

  210

  2

  8

  262

  All

  182

  1,839

  5

  25

  2,051

  Rape
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what details about the ethnic background of rapists and their victims are collected by his Department; and whether he will publish the most up to date facts and figures available to him.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Neither victim details nor ethnic origin of defendants are recorded in the national criminal statistics system. Information on a sample of offenders from six prisons and their victims was given on pages 15–17 and 54 of "The imprisoned rapist and rape" by D. Grubin and J. Gunn, published by the Home Office on 4 March 1991, a copy of which is in the Library. The latest readily available information about offenders serving custodial sentences for rape is published in table 1.12 of "Prison statistics England and Wales 1989"—Cm. 1221—a copy of which is in the Library.

  Wild Birds
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what responsibilities his Department has for(a) conservation, (b) transport and (c) the welfare of imported wild birds.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The Home Office has responsibility for general legislation relating to the welfare of domestic, captive and performing animals and to pet shops. In addition, scientific work concerned with conservation, the development of veterinary techniques and the prevention and treatment of disease is conducted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

  Offenders
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will give the latest available figures for the total number and percentage of detected

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims for political asylum were outstanding for people giving as an address any residence in the constituencies of(a) Tottenham and (b) Hornsey and Wood Green as at (i) 31 December 1988, (ii) 31 December 1989 and (iii) 31 December 1990.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is not available.

  Rule 43 Prisoners
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of(a) men and (b) women on rule 43 in prisons in England and Wales on 1 June.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The latest readily available information is given in the table.

  offenders in England and Wales broken down by (a) gender, (b) race, (c) type of offence and (d) age; and what are the peak ages for known offenders for (i) males and (ii) females, respectively;

  (2) what are the latest available figures and percentages for people sentenced by the courts for indictable offences broken down by (a) gender, (b) ethnic background and (c) age;

  (3) what are the latest available figures and percentages for the total numbers of people receiving non-custodial sentences broken down by (a) type of sentence, (b) gender and (c) ethnic background;

  (4) what are the latest available figures and percentages for the total numbers of people cautioned for summary and indictable offences broken down by (a) gender, (b) age, (c) ethnic minority origin and (d) type of offence.

  Mr. John Patten
  In England and Wales in 1989 the peak age of offending for males was 16 to 18 years and for females 15 years, respectively. The other information requested, excluding data on race and ethnic background which is not collected centrally, is published in the Command Paper "Criminal statistics England and Wales 1989", tables 5.2, 5.12, 7.4 and 7.6 to 7.13, a copy of which is in the Library. Data for 1990 are not yet available.

  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest available figures and percentages for the total numbers of people receiving custodial sentences broken down by(a) type of sentence, (b) gender and (c) ethnic background.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The information requested is not recorded centrally. The readily available information is given in the table.
  95

  Receptions into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales under immediate custodial sentence: by sex, type of sentence and ethnic origin, 1989

  Number of persons

  Ethnic origin

  Type of sentence

  White

  West Indian Guyanese African

  Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi

  Chinese Arab Mixed origin

  Other, not recorded (including refusals)

  All persons

  All males

  49,403

  4,330

  1,162

  945

  972

  56,812

  Imprisonment

  34,385

  3,248

  784

  593

  601

  39,611

  Detention in a young offender institution

  14,875

  1,056

  370

  345

  367

  17,013

  Section 53 C & YP Act 1933

  122

  22

  8

  6

  4

  162

  Custody for life

  21

  4

  —

  1

  —

  26

  All females

  2,077

  374

  21

  63

  115

  2,650

  Imprisonment

  1,652

  334

  19

  53

  102

  2,160

  Detention in a young offender institution

  421

  37

  2

  10

  13

  483

  Section 53 C & YP Act 1933

  4

  3

  —

  —

  —

  7

  Custody for life

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide statistics on the total number of prisoners between the years 1978 to 1990 broken down by(a) gender, (b) ethnic background and (c) type of offence; and of these how many had (i) no previous convictions, (ii) one conviction and (iii) two or more convictions.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  An extensive analysis of the ethnic origins of prisoners was published in "The ethnic origins of prisoners: the prison population on 30 June 1985 and persons received July 1984-March 1985". This included analyses by previous convictions and type of offence, table

  Sentenced population1 in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales on 30 June: by ethnic origin and previous convictions, 1985 and 1990

  Number of persons

  Ethnic origin

  Number of previous convictions

  White

  West Indian Guyanese African

  Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi

  Chinese Arab Mixed origin

  Other, not recorded (including refusals)

  All persons

  MALES

  All males

  1985

  30,322

  2,657

  821

  763

  1,084

  35,647

  19902

  27,829

  3,505

  980

  614

  598

  33,526

  Not recorded

  1985

  4,607

  603

  225

  145

  222

  5,802

  19902

  8,885

  1,402

  408

  230

  354

  11,279

  All previous convictions

  1985

  25,715

  2,054

  596

  618

  862

  29,845

  19902

  18,944

  2,103

  572

  384

  244

  22,247

  No previous convictions

  1985

  1,050

  146

  192

  72

  63

  1,523

  19902

  1,625

  445

  209

  63

  67

  2,409

  One previous conviction

  1985

  1,387

  167

  96

  52

  46

  1,748

  19902

  1,081

  126

  77

  26

  18

  1,328

  Two previous convictions

  1985

  1,630

  168

  81

  42

  53

  1,974

  19902

  1,071

  125

  64

  35

  13

  1,308

  Three and over

  1985

  21,648

  1,573

  227

  452

  700

  24,600

  19902

  15,167

  1,407

  222

  260

  146

  17,202

  FEMALES

  All females

  1985

  915

  132

  18

  26

  43

  1,134

  19902

  812

  294

  24

  33

  65

  1,228

  96
  13. A copy of the statistical bulletin 17/86 is available in the Library. Information on the sentenced population on 30 June analysed by previous convictions, sex and type of offence has been published annually from 1982 onwards in "Prison statistics England and Wales"—tables 3.5, 4.2 and 5.2 of the latest volume, for 1989, Cm. 122—and by ethnic origin and type of offence since 1985—table 1.12—copies of which are in the Library. Information for 1985 and 1990 on previous convictions and ethnic origin is given in the table.

  Further information could be provided only at disproportionate cost and the information by ethnic origin is not available for years before 1985.
  97

  Number of previous convictions

  White

  West Indian Guyanese African

  Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi

  Chinese Arab Mixed origin

  Other, not recorded (including refusals)

  All persons

  Not recorded

  1985

  336

  55

  9

  8

  17

  425

  19902

  336

  142

  16

  13

  39

  546

  All previous convictions

  1985

  579

  77

  9

  18

  26

  709

  19902

  476

  152

  8

  20

  26

  682

  No previous convictions

  1985

  66

  23

  5

  3

  12

  109

  19902

  105

  90

  6

  4

  18

  223

  One previous conviction

  1985

  68

  5

  2

  —

  2

  77

  19902

  54

  19

  —

  3

  2

  78

  Two previous convictions

  1985

  67

  7

  —

  2

  2

  78

  19902

  44

  10

  —

  4

  —

  58

  Three and over

  1985

  378

  42

  2

  13

  10

  445

  19902

  273

  33

  2

  9

  6

  323

  1 Excluding those committed in default of payment of a fine.

  2 Provisional figures.

  Police Service
  Ms. Richardson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest available figures for (i) the total numbers of people employed in the police service broken down by(a) occupation, (b) grade, (c) gender and (d) ethnic background, (ii) the percentage increase of women employed in the service between 1978 and the latest available figures broken down by occupation and grade and (iii) the percentage increase of ethnic minorities employed in the service between 1978 and the latest available figures broken down by occupation and grade.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The percentage increase in the number of women police officers between 1978 and February 1991 was 71.6 per cent. The percentage increase in the ethnic minority representation in the police service between 1985, when records were first kept, and February 1991 was 92·5 per cent. The tables show what is available from central records. To provide figures by occupation, by rank and gender, could be done only at disproportionate cost.

  (i) Police strength as at 28 February 1991

  Police strength1

  Ethnic minorities

  Male Ranks

  Chief Constable

  48

  0

  Deputy Chief Constable

  59

  0

  Assistant Chief Constable

  136

  0

  Chief Superintendent

  593

  0

  Superintendent

  1,521

  2

  Chief Inspector

  2,322

  1

  Inspector

  6,790

  16

  Sergeant

  19,259

  74

  Constable

  82,003

  1,076

  Total male ranks

  112,731

  1,169

  Female Ranks

  Chief Constable

  0

  0

  Deputy Chief Constable

  0

  0

  98

  Police strength1

  Ethnic minorities

  Assistant Chief Constable

  1

  0

  Chief Superintendent

  11

  0

  Superintendent

  29

  0

  Chief Inspector

  55

  0

  Inspector

  186

  0

  Sergeant

  873

  2

  Constable

  13,526

  295

  Total female ranks

  14,681

  297

  Total police ranks

  127,412

  1,466

  (ii) Women police officers: strength 31 December 1978 and 28 February 1991 by rank

  1978

  1991

  Assistant Chief Constable

  —

  1

  Chief Superintendent

  11

  11

  Superintendent

  33

  29

  Chief Inspector

  55

  55

  Inspector

  133

  186

  Sergeant

  407

  873

  Constable

  7,916

  13,526

  (iii) Ethnic minority police officers: strength at 31 December 19852and 28 February 1991 by rank

  1985

  1991

  Superintendent

  1

  2

  Chief Inspector

  —

  1

  Inspector

  5

  16

  Sergeant

  44

  76

  Constable

  711

  1,371

  99

  (iv) Deployment of police officers as at 31 December 1990 by gender and ethnic minority

  Deployment4

  Male

  Female

  Ethnic minorities3

  Patrol

  54,802

  8,128

  909

  Special Branch/Protection

  3,019

  211

  13

  Crime (CID)

  16,771

  1,855

  121

  Community relations5

  2,043

  343

  8

  Traffic

  8,556

  397

  17

  Other operations

  13,473

  1,707

  111

  Training

  2,267

  880

  77

  Management

  7,948

  935

  118

  1 Includes ethnic minority officers.

  2 Records not kept prior to 1985.

  3 Ethnic minority classification not held centrally.

  4 Occupational categories identified by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.

  5 In the Metropolitan Police officers in the ranks of constable and sergeant are included in patrol.

  Shotguns
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing for each constabulary in England and Wales(a) the number of shotgun certificates held, (b) the number granted, (c) the number renewed, (d) the number of shotguns surrendered or handed over to the police, (e) the number of certificates cancelled by the police and (f) the number of certificates not renewed and of the guns covered by them handed over to the police in each of the last four years; and what became of any shotguns handed in.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The available information, relating to England and Wales, is published annually in Home Office statistical bulletins as follows: "Statistics on the Operation of the Firearms Act 1968", issue 2/88, issue 33/88, and issue 18/89, for the years 1986 to 1988 and "Statistics on the operations of the Firearms Acts 1968 to 1988", issue 26/90, for 1989. Home office statistical bulletins are held in the Library.

  These bulletins contain the information by police force area on the number of shotgun certificates on issue at 31 December each year, the number of new certificates granted, the number renewed and the number revoked during these years. For revocations in 1986, some limited information is given for England and Wales as a whole in paragraph 6 of bulletin issue 2/88.

  Statistics on the number of certificates not renewed and on the number of disposal of shotguns surrendered or handed over to the police are not available.

  In 1989, the Home Office published guidance to the police urging them not to destroy a shotgun of an unusual type if it was of interest to a museum or the government's forensic science laboratories.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under which provisions of the Firearms Acts or other provisions, chief constables are empowered to require persons seeking the grant or renewal of a shotgun certificate to give details of the shoots the applicant attended during the preceding 12 months, and as to whether the shoots were organised or otherwise.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Under section 28 of the Firearms Act 1968, as amended by section 3 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, a chief officer of police may refuse to grant or renew a shotgun certificate if he is satisfied that the applicant does not have a good reason for possessing,100
  purchasing or acquiring a shotgun. The Act does not specify the inquiries that a chief officer may make when considering the good reason requirement, but where a chief officer has genuine doubts about an applicant's reasons for possessing a shotgun it is for him to make such inquiries as he reasonably considers necessary.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list such information he has as to which police forces in England and Wales require applicants for the grant or renewal of a shotgun certificate to give details of(a) the shoots the applicant attended during the preceding 12 months and (b) the lands over which they have shot during the preceding 12 months.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Under the Firearms Acts 1968 to 1988 the administration of the firearms licensing system is a matter entirely for local chief officers of police. To help to ensure consistency of practice where appropriate the Home Office published "Firearms Law: Guidance to the Police" in 1989. A copy was placed in the Library. The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Dog Attacks
  Mr. David Young
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the compilations of statistics on dog attacks on humans to make them nationwide and more detailed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  We shall continue to monitor nationally criminal offences under the appropriate legislation including the new offences created by the Dangerous Dogs Bill. No central records are kept of those attacks by dogs which do not lead to criminal proceedings, except in the context of an annual sample survey of home and leisure accidents involving dogs.

  Prisoners
  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East of 13 June, at column 624, if he will make a statement on the progress of the review.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The review is under way and the results should be available by the autumn.

  Wakefield Prison
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the projected staffing levels agreed under "fresh start" for Her Majesty's prison Wakefield for 18 June; what is the actual staffing figure for the same date; and what are the reasons for any difference.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The present target staffing level for prison officers at Wakefield, including principal and senior officers and specialists, is 462. There are currently 462 officers at Wakefield, 10 of whom are on detached duty from other establishments.

  Televisions (Hospitals)
  Mr. Graham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many times hospitals have been visited by television detector teams; and if he will list the hospitals;
  101
  (2) how many television licences are held by patients in hospitals in the United Kingdom; and if he will list the hospitals and number of licences held by patients in each hospital showing separately the figures for the national health service and private hospitals.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Under the Broadcasting Act 1990 responsibility for issuing TV licences and enforcing the licensing requirement was transferred to the BBC with effect from 1 April 1991. It also now controls the TV licensing records. Such questions therefore fall to be answered by the BBC.

  Police (Malpractice)
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) former and (b) serving officers of the Metropolitan police are currently under investigation but not charged, following complaints of alleged malpractice in the course of criminal investigations.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Figures are not collected in a form that enables the information requested to be readily obtained, and it can be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

  Voluntary Repatriation
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the terms of the revised agreement with the International Social Service of the United Kingdom to continue operating the Government's voluntary repatriation scheme.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  A small scheme providing financial assistance in certain circumstances from public funds for non-British citizens settled in this country who wish to return permanently overseas to a non-European country has been administered since 1971 on behalf of the Government by International Social Service (UK), under section 29 of the Immigration Act 1971.

  I have placed in the Library a copy of the recently revised agreement with International Social Service (UK), together with an information sheet on the scheme. Some minor changes have been made to an earlier 1984 agreement, to update and refine the scheme's criteria and procedures.

  Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visits by Home Office inspectors were made to the laboratories of Charing Cross and Westminster medical school within the last year.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: During the past 12 months the establishment has been visited by the inspectorate on five occasions involving 15 visits to departments with the establishment.

  National Identification Bureau
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the number of subject access requests under the Data Protection Act 1984 which have been dealt with by the National Identification Bureau, by police force area, for the years 1988, 1989 and 1990; and if he will make a statement.
  102
  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [holding answer 11 June 1991]: information requested is as follows.

  Requests submitted to NIB by:

  1988

  1989

  1990

  Avon and Somerset

  29

  47

  369

  Bedfordshire

  47

  336

  311

  British Transport Police

  3

  1

  1

  Cambridgeshire

  21

  17

  26

  Cheshire

  163

  225

  391

  City of London

  8

  5

  15

  Cleveland

  8

  6

  49

  Cumbria

  3

  92

  7

  Derbyshire

  1

  4

  953

  Devon and Cornwall

  70

  245

  543

  Dorset

  5

  10

  28

  Durham

  4

  2

  3

  Dyfed Powys

  6

  65

  61

  Essex

  13

  241

  187

  Fife

  1

  2

  9

  Gloucestershire

  6

  46

  143

  Grampian

  6

  8

  5

  Greater Manchester

  68

  138

  236

  Gwent

  37

  117

  174

  Hampshire

  40

  55

  99

  Hertfordshire

  23

  33

  48

  Humberside

  157

  755

  697

  Jersey

  2

  7

  2

  Kent

  51

  63

  396

  Lancashire

  248

  932

  776

  Leicestershire

  7

  13

  32

  Lincolnshire

  9

  14

  207

  Lothian

  0

  2

  3

  Metropolitan

  395

  1,094

  1,609

  Merseyside

  24

  43

  47

  Norfolk

  4

  15

  33

  Northumbria

  55

  62

  77

  Northamptonshire

  8

  7

  11

  Northern Constabulary

  3

  7

  7

  North Wales

  2

  1

  10

  North Yorkshire

  20

  382

  212

  Nottinghamshire

  15

  47

  89

  RUC

  4

  4

  15

  South Wales

  152

  1,294

  1,892

  South Yorkshire

  219

  565

  780

  Staffordshire

  295

  813

  1,295

  Strathclyde

  12

  12

  15

  Suffolk

  7

  58

  210

  Surrey

  56

  378

  419

  Sussex

  49

  130

  175

  Tayside

  1

  3

  1

  Thames Valley

  103

  176

  276

  Warwickshire

  6

  44

  114

  West Mercia

  18

  24

  19

  West Midlands

  9

  25

  567

  West Yorkshire

  51

  94

  189

  Wiltshire

  4

  18

  36

  Yearly totals

  2,628

  8,758

  13,848

PRIME MINISTER

  Sign Language
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the recommendation of the EEC resolution of June 1988 to give official recognition to British sign language for the deaf.

  The Prime Minister
  The Government have noted the terms of the resolution on sign languages for deaf people adopted by the European Parliament in June 1988. We fully recognise the right of deaf people to use their preferred method of communication, including British sign language and have grant aided a variety of
  103
  organisations concerned with the promotion and development of sign languages and other communication techniques.

  Cruise Missiles
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the departure to the United States of America of the last flight of Cruise missiles and the de-activation of 501 missile wing USAF at Greenham common.

  The Prime Minister
  The departure of the last cruise missiles from RAF Greenham Common on 5 March and the deactivation of the 501st Tactical Missile Wing on 4 June mark an important milestone in the implementation of the INF treaty. As well as making a vital contribution to the NATO alliance, the 501st Tactical Missile Wing has been a valuable presence in this country and welcome neighbours to the people of Newbury. The United States presence in Newbury will continue at a reduced level with the base returning to standby status.

  Kurdish People
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newport, West, of 25 April,Official Report, column 520; if he will now consider establishing safe havens in southern Iraq.

  The Prime Minister
  We remain very concerned by the situation of refugees in southern Iraq. We believe the best way forward is to continue our support for the work of the United Nations, including the establishment of a humanitarian centre in Basra and the expansion of relief efforts in the area. We welcome the Secretary General's decision to send a high-level fact finding mission to the south to assess humanitarian needs.

  Mr. Harry Barnes
  To ask the Prime Minister when he will answer the letters on behalf of the organisation British Aid for the Kurds of 17 April and 11 June sent to him by Mrs. Judith P. Stubbs of Culthorpe, Chesterfield.

  The Prime Minister
  The letter sent in April by Mrs. Stubbs was among the 3,500 letters about Iraq and kind offers of help for the Kurds received by my office at that time. These were sent as appropriate to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Overseas Development Administration to take forward.

  The ODA has been in frequent contact with British Aid for Kurds since April to offer advice on the changing types of aid that would be most useful to the Kurds as the situation developed. The ODA chartered two Iran Air flights which carried over 90 tonnes of aid collected by British Aid for the Kurds. A reply to Mrs. Stubbs's latest letter will be sent shortly.

  Energy Efficiency
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the main items of expenditure included in the £78,000 spent in 1990–91 on improving the energy efficiency of the Cabinet Office.

  The Prime Minister
  The main items of expenditure in the £78,000 spent during 1990–91 on improving energy efficiency in the Cabinet Office were:104

  £

  Energy efficient lighting for the new residential block and roads and pathways in the grounds of the Civil Service College, Sunningdale

  48,766

  Energy audits of various buildings including Nos. 10–12 Downing Street

  7,245

  Energy efficient lighting scheme for 70 Whitehall

  22,000

  Engagements
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 18 June.

  Mr. Ray Powell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 18 June.

  The Prime Minister
  This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

  "Blueprint for Football"
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Prime Minister what support Her Majesty's Government intend to offer to the "Blueprint for Football" launched by the Professional Footballers Association on 6 June; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: We welcome any new initiative that will promote greater unity in the leadership of the game and help football raise the necessary funds to implement Lord Justice Taylor's recommendations and thereby improve standards of safety and comfort for spectators. My hon. Friend the Minister for Sport has had discussions with the Professional Footballers Association, the Football Association, the Football League and representatives of the supporters' associations to hear their various proposals for the future of the game. He has not indicated a view on any of them other than to welcome them as a contribution to the debate. He has made it clear that decisions are for football alone to take.

  Birmingham Olympiad
  Sir Neil Macfarlane
  To ask the Prime Minister if he has any plans to meet the president of the International Olympic Committee during the Olympiad in Birmingham; what functions the Government intend to host during that event; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: I have not yet had the opportunity of meeting the president of the International Olympic Committee. However, the Minister for Sport was present at the opening of the 97th congress of the IOC in Birmingham and had discussions with the president, other senior officials and members of the IOC. The Government were not invited to host any functions.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Czechoslovakia
  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on United Kingdom help for Czechoslovakia through the know-how fund and the Council of Europe's demonsthenes programme.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The know-how fund was extended to Czechoslovakia in March 1990. Its objective is to help the transition to democracy and a market economy through the provision of British advice, skills and training. Some £2 million was spent in 1990–91 and we expect to spend £5 to £6 million in 1991–92. For details of the projects on which money has been spent, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Corbett) on 17 January at column 563. Additional activities agreed since then are as follows:

  Financial services and macroeconomic advice

  Title: Assistance to Investicni bank.

  Description: Provision of advice and training to enable the Czechoslovak Investment bank to set up and run unit trusts/mutual funds.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £30,000.

  Title: Assistance to Komercni Bank

  Description: Secondment of two United Kingdom nationals to help set up a merchant/investment banking division.

  Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £400,000.

  Title: Accountancy training.

  Description: A five day introduction to accountancy course to be delivered by the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants.

  Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £17,500.

  Title: Assistance to the Insurance sector.

  Description: Advice on the restructuring of the Czech State Insurance company.

  Status: Under way.

  Costs: £150,000.

  Title: Privatisation advice.

  Description: The second phase of a major consultancy advising the Czechoslovak government on privatisation policy, in particular the scheme for mass privatisation by voucher.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £575,000.

  Title: Assistance to the Slovak Securities Market.

  Description: Advice on the establishment and development of a Stock Exchange in Bratislava.

  Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £50,000.

  Employment services

  Title: Further assistance to the Czechoslovak employment service. Description: Provision of courses to train future trainers of job centre directors.

  Status: Under way

  Cost: £50,000.

  Title: Assistance with health and safety at work.

  Description: An exploratory mission to look at requirements for assistance in this field.

  Status: Completed.

  Cost: £2,000.

  Management training and small business advice

  Title: Management training.

  Description: An initial programme of assistance in the management field aimed at preparing the ground for a major programme of
  106
  institutional development. Initial programme will cover training of Czechoslovak management trainers, a management links scheme and basic management training seminars.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £200,000.

  Title: Assistance to small businesses.

  Description: Provision of training courses to be run by the London Enterprise Agency in conjunction with the Czechoslovak Union of Entrepreneurs.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £18,000.

  Education and ELT

  Title: Academic Links.

  Description: A general scheme to encourage academic/ institutional links in the areas of priority for the KHF.

  Status: Under way.

  Cost: £150,000

  Title: Scholarships programme.

  Description: A programme of ad hoc training awards for candidates from the public and private sector in areas of priority for the KHF.

  Status: under way.

  Cost: £250,000.

  Political projects

  Title: Commercial law seminar.

  Description: Two day seminar in Prague to familiarise Czechslovak lawyers with UK commercial law, to be organised by the British-Czechoslovak Law Association. Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £19,000

  Title: Social science teaching.

  Description: A two week summer school for social science teachers/lecturers covering curriculum reform and teaching methods.

  Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £2,000.

  Title: Placement scheme for journalists.

  Description: A programme of month long placements for young Czechoslovak journalists with UK regional and national newspapers.

  Status: To be implemented.

  Cost: £15,500.

  The Council of Europe's Demosthenes programme is one of the regular programmes of activity of the Council of Europe, the budget of which is funded by member states. The United Kingdom contributes almost 17 per cent. of the total budget of the Council of Europe. The Demosthenes programme has agreed to fund the following activities in Czechoslovakia in 1991:

  Human rights
  An information meeting on the European Convention on Human Rights, Strasbourg 17–18 June 1991; follow up meeting, Prague, Autumn 1991.
  Information meetings for lawyers in Prague, Bratislava and Brno, Autumn 1991.
  Visit by delegation from Federal Supreme Court (and possibly also Constitutional Court) to the European Court and Commission for Human Rights, late 1991.

  Social Affairs
  Seminar on reform of social security system for parliamentarians and senior officials focusing on financing of medical care, sickness, old age and invalidity benefits took place in Prague, March 1991.

  Youth
  Training seminar for leaders of youth movements, Autumn 1991.

  Health

  107
  Study visit of senior officials from the Ministry of Health to France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in 1991.
  Expert mission on health education to Prague and Bratislava, Autumn 1991.
  Study visit on rehabilitation to the Netherlands, September 1991.
  Nursing course in Prague.
  Study visit for group of Czechoslovak nurses to United Kingdom, organised in cooperation with the Department of Health, September 1991.
  Seminar on organ transplantation in Prague, October 1991.

  Local Government
  Expert mission on regional development policy to help draw up legislation in this field, Prague, February 1991.
  Seminar for directors of local government training institutions to discuss training systems and define priorities for action, Bratislava, May 1991.
  Study visit by delegation from Czechoslovak Institute for Public Administration to France and Spain, May 1991.
  Two week training seminar for 25 Czech and Slovak local authorities, in cooperation with the Norwegian Association of Local Authorities, Oslo, June 1991.

  Legal cooperation
  Training seminars for Slovak notaries, Slovakia, June and September 1991.
  Seminar on problems of juvenile delinquency and the organisation of justice for minors, supplemented by study visits to specialised institutions in the region, Strasbourg, September 1991.
  Seminar on data protection aimed at helping with drafting of new legislation on the subject, Prague, October 1991.
  Study visit for officials responsible for drafting data protection legislation to Austria, Germany the Netherlands and France.
  Training courses for judges organised in cooperation with relevant institutions in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
  Seminar on the exercise of judicial functions (training, recruitment, status, independence, competence and powers, application of the principle of the rule of law) organised with the assistance of the International Union of Judges, Prague, November 1991.
  Seminar on the exercise of the functions of the Clerk of the Court of Justice (training, recruitment, status, identification of responsibilities, competence and powers) organised with the assistance of the European Union of Clerks of Justice.
  Seminar on alternatives to imprisonment (probation, supervision, fines community service etc.), Czechoslovakia late 1991.
  Seminar on public administration and the citizen, covering the application of the rule of law, openness in public administration administrative procedures, complaints mechanisms etc, Czechoslovakia, late 1991.

  Development Education
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of the Minister for Overseas Development of 28 March,Official Report, column 498, if he will give a breakdown of the £560,000 spent on development education in 1979–80 and the £312,000 spend in 1990–91.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The breakdown of development education expenditure in 1990–91 was as follows:Centre for World Development Education £165,000; Gemini News Service £6,000; International Broadcasting Trust £17,000; Local Government International Bureau £53,000; Schools Partnership Worldwide £50,000; Scottish Development Education Centre £3,000; Scottish Education and Action for Development £16,000; Trust for Education and Development £2,000.
  108
  A list of expenditure on development education projects in 1979–80 has been placed in the Library of the House.

WALES

  Children Act 1989
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what formula has been used to determine the element within standard spending assessment for local authorities in Wales for the costs of implementing the Children Act 1989 in the current financial year.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The formulae for calculating authorities' standard spending assessment in 1991–92 are set out in the Welsh Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (No. 2) approved by Parliament on 29 January 1991.

  Medical Negligence
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the implications of the impending changes in the legal aid system in respect of the working practices and financial commitments of(a) health authorities in Wales, (b) his Department and (c) patients in Wales in regard to situations where individuals believe they have suffered through medical negligence.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  None of the proposals for change in the legal aid provisions about which the Lord Chancellor is consulting should affect working practices in health authorities or in the Department. The effect, if at all, which any changes may have on financial commitments is very difficult to assess with any degree of accuracy since the incidence of medical negligence is so variable. Nevertheless, it is our view that where people suffer loss or damage resulting from negligence they must be adequately compensated. The proposals for widening the scope of the legal aid provisions to those who may be currently ineligible are to be welcomed and will enhance the ability of patients to seek redress where previously financial considerations may have militated against commencing action.

  Road Construction
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when work will start on the proposed new road near the Dinas Arms hotel, Lowerton, Fishguard, Dyfed.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  A scheme to widen part of the A487 by the Dinas Arms hotel and a further proposal for a local diversion are under consideration, but a decision on whether to proceed has yet to be taken.

  Departmental Video Purchases
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his reply of 18 March,Official Report, column 34, from where he purchased the television receiver and the video recorder.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Dixons Ltd., Queen street, Cardiff.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the titles of each video cassette recording bought by his Department in 1991, indicating in each case the relevant sub-head of his Department's estimates.
  109
  Mr. David Hunt
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Ministerial Travel Costs
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give total expenditure on hire and use of helicopters for official Ministerial travel in each of the past five years.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Expenditure on helicopter hire and use is not disaggregated from other costs.

  Grants, Neath
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide details of public grants and moneys made available in the Neath constituency for each year since 1979 for existing and new enterprises; how many enterprises were involved; and what was the number of jobs affected.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The information is not available in the form requested.

  Housing Management Advisory Panel
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements he has made for support and secretarial services for the housing management advisory panel.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The housing management advisory panel is supported by a part-time salaried research associate and by the salaried Housing Options Wales administrator, a proportion of whose time is spent on work for the panel.

  Training Places
  Mr. Ray Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many training places are available under(a) TECs, (b) other Government programmes and (c) local authority programmes; and how many were available under Government and local authority programmes in 1989 and 1990 in the Ogmore constituency;

  (2) how many people from the borough of Ogmore were employed in training agencies and how many were engaged in full-time courses on 1 February 1991 in local TECs; how many people are now so employed; and what is the change in the number of full-time training places since February 1990.

  Mr. David Hunt
  This information is not available.

  Redundancies, Neath
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will give the number of redundancies notified in the Neath constituency for each of the last four years.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The information is not available in the form requested.

  Labour Statistics, Ogmore
  Mr. Ray Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what were the unemployment figures for Ogmore in(a) April 1990 and (b) April 1991.

  Mr. David Hunt
  In April 1990 the unadjusted unemployment total for the Ogmore constituency stood at 2,281. In April 1991 the figure was 3,132.

  Cancer
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will sponsor an urgent independent investigation in to the incidence of cancer, by type, by location and by age group of the sufferer, in the counties of Gwynedd and Dyfed.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  [holding answer Thursday 6 June]: The Welsh Office is, of course, aware of the long-known higher than average incidence of cancer in North Wales, as well as the below-average incidence in Dyfed. Preliminary analysis of data for the period 1984–86 shortly to be published by the Wales Cancer Registry confirms that the pattern has not changed significantly since 1983.

  In 1987 the Department commissioned Professor Hubert Campbell to undertake an investigation into cancer rates along the North Wales coast for the period 1974–83. The report was published in July 1988 and concluded that though there was an excess of 5 per cent. in cancer registrations over the whole period on the North Wales coast when compared with the whole of Wales, this pattern was the same as that known to affect North Wales many years ago. I see no reason for the Welsh Office to commission an independent investigation of the incidence of each type of cancer in Gwynedd and Dyfed at this time.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy towards the complete removal of land-based short-range nuclear weapons at the forthcoming negotiations on these weapons; and when these negotiations will begin.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  NATO has agreed on the need to maintain nuclear forces based in Europe and kept up to date where necessary. Work is continuing within the alliance with a view to significant reductions in short-range nuclear forces in Europe.

  British Embassy, Paris
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the programme for the internal and external re-decoration of the British embassy in Paris in the next 12 months.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The principal internal and external redecoration/refurbishment works programmed for the embassy at Paris in the next 12 months are as follows:

  1. Residence:

  (a) Redecoration of State Dining Room

  (b) Redecoration and refurbishment of a guest bedroom

  (c) Repair and refurbishment of entrance gates

  (d) Repair and renewal of gallery to rear garden

  2. Chancery:

  (a) Redecoration and restoration of Minister's office and Chancery conference room

  (b) Uplift of Chancery Information Department

  (c) Renewal of Chancery roof.

  Korea
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the application of the Republic of Korea and of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to join the United Nations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We support membership of the United Nations for all the people of Korea. North Korea's recent announcement that it intends to apply to join the United Nations is a positive step towards breaking the impasse on this question between the two Koreas.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the human rights situation in South Korea at the most recent date.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We believe that the Republic of Korea's human rights record has substantially improved since President Roh took office in February 1988.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet the Minister for Trade of the Republic of Korea to discuss trade policy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry will discuss a range of trade issues with Dr. Lee Bong-suh during his visit to Britain this week. British companies are keen to trade with Korea, but there are problems, particularly over free and fair access to Korean markets. Exporters of consumer goods are faced with a wide range of hindrances, including high and discriminatory fiscal barriers. This applies particularly to Scotch whisky. Foreign securities houses applying for licences are subject to excessive capital requirements and Korea has not granted the Community's request for similar intellectual property protection to that given to the United States.

  We understand from the Commission that when Vice-President Andriessen visited Korea recently, President Roh expressed to him the firm conviction that a solution would soon be found to the intellectual property problem. We shall remain in close touch with the Commission about the need to ensure that the Koreans live up to this. We also hope that there will be rapid progress in the other areas outlined.

  South Atlantic
  Mr. Sayeed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures Her Majesty's Government undertake to maintain a visible demonstration of United Kingdom sovereignty and presence in the South Atlantic.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The Government's administration of its South Atlantic dependent territories and the British Antarctic Territory is backed by Her Majesty's forces, including military garrisons on the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and a presence on Ascension Island, together with naval patrols in the area.

  Vietnamese Boat People
  Mr. Temple-Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on any discussions he has had with the United States Government on the question of the Vietnamese boat people.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  I refer my hon. Friend to the press release of 5 June entitled "Vietnamese asylum seekers," copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Temple-Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to ease the flow of Vietnamese boat people into Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The best way to stem the flow of Vietnamese asylum seekers is to convince them that if screened out, they stand no chance of resettlement and will be returned to Vietnam whether they wish to go or not. To this end, we are pursuing urgently the possible creation of an internationally managed centre in Vietnam to which non-refugees who do not volunteer could be returned, pending their reintegration into their local communities.

  Mr. Temple-Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Vietnamese boat people are expected to be in Hong Kong by the end of 1991.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  It is impossible to predict this figure for 1991.

  Mr. Temple-Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Vietnamese boat people have entered Hong Kong so far this year; and how many during 1990.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  In 1990, a total of 6,599 Vietnamese migrants arrived in Hong Kong. As of 14 June, there have been 10,786 arrivals this year.

  Mr. Temple-Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Vietnamese boat people are now in Hong Kong; and where they are being kept.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  On 14 June 1991 there were 59,504 Vietnamese migrants in Hong Kong. Those awaiting screening or screened out as non-refugees are housed in 10 detention centres while those granted refugee status are accommodated in three open centres.

  Mr. Temple-Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what approaches he has made to the Government of Vietnam to seek a solution to the problem of the Vietnamese boat people; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Following United States-United Kingdom-Hong Kong consultations in Washington on 3–4 June, we have sought discussions, as a matter of urgency, with the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the establishment of an internationally managed centre in the territory provided by Vietnam for those asylum seekers who are determined not to be refugees and have not taken advantage of the existing voluntary return programmes. We await a reply.
  113
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what written statements or similar record of Vietnamese boat people's experiences on their journeys are recorded on arrival by UNHCR officals or Hong Kong Government officials.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The Hong Kong immigration department asks Vietnamese migrants on their arrival in Hong Kong a range of questions including details of their point and date of departures and any en-route stopovers.

  Missile Technology Control Regime
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy towards lowering the range and payload criteria for ballistic missiles under the terms of the missile technology control regime; what consideration he has given to the transfer of any items from category I to category II of that regime; and what is his policy towards establishing confidence and security building measures as a means of strengthening the regime.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The missile technology control regime parameters were established to combat the proliferation of delivery systems for nuclear weapons. We would need to look carefully at any proposal to change those parameters. We and our partners in the missile technology regime keep the equipment and technology annexe under constant review. We are also seeking to strengthen the regime through expanded membership and enhanced and harmonised implementation.

  Kuwait
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Kuwaiti Government arising from the continuing prosecution of those alleged to have collaborated with the Iraqi invasion of that country and, in particular, juveniles under the age of 16 years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We have repeatedly stressed to the Kuwaiti authorities our hope that trials of detainees of war crimes or collaboration will follow due processes of law and respect the fundamental human rights of the defendants.

  A 12-year-old boy detained at a juvenile detention centre accused of stealing was mistakenly brought before the martial law court on 5 June but released by the judge into the custody of his guardian without charge. We understand that there are no other juveniles in detention who will be brought before the martial law court: under Kuwait law no one under 15 years old can be prosecuted in an adult court.

  Southern Iraq
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newport, West of 25 April,Official Report, column 521–22, if he will now consider what steps can be taken to assist the Shias and other people under threat in southern Iraq.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We remain very concerned by the situation of refugees in southern Iraq. We have supported 114
  the United Nations in its efforts to establish a humanitarian centre in Basra and to expand its operations in the area. We welcome the decision of the Secretary-General to send a high-level fact-finding mission to assess humanitarian requirements.

  Gibraltar
  Mr. David Young
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent complaints he has received about the conduct of Spanish officials at the border with Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We receive periodic complaints about delays to traffic at the border between Spain and Gibraltar. We are, of course, also aware of the Gibraltar Government's concerns about this. We are in regular contact with the Spanish authorities about the problem.

  Northern Somalia
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the ability of the administration now controlling most of northern Somalia to achieve stability and peace in that part of the country.

  Mrs. Chalker
  It is hard to make a reliable independent assessment of the situation on the ground in northern Somalia. It appears that the Somali National Movement is in control of most of the area, but there have been reports of fighting in the east.

  HMS Endurance
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assurances the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) gave to the Falkland Islands Council about the continued deployment of HMS Endurance when he recently visited the Falkland Islands; and if he will make a statement on his current position on this.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  I understand from my hon. Friend that this matter was not discussed when he met Falkland Islands councillors during his visit to the Falkland Islands in February.

  Radioactivity, Iraq
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he is making to the findings of the International Atomic Energy Authority report on the extent and effects on the local population of release of radioactivity from Iraq's nuclear installations.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We understand that no such report has been issued by the IAEA.

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many children and babies have been immunised by the free immunisation service in Hong Kong since the service was introduced.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: The total number of persons immunised and the diseases covered since the service began in 1952 up to 1989–90 are as follows:

  115

  Million

  1952–1989

  BCG (Anti-Tuberculosis)

  3·99

  1956–1989

  CV (Anti-Tetanus Anti-Diphtheria)

  1st dose

  0·21

  2nd dose

  0·20

  Booster

  2·08

  Total

  2·49

  1957–1989

  TV (Anti-Tetanus Anti-Diphtheria Anti-Pertussis)

  1st dose

  1·54

  2nd dose

  1·51

  3rd dose

  1·46

  Booster

  0·87

  Total

  5·38

  1963–1989

  Oral Polio

  1st dose

  2·79

  2nd dose

  2·59

  Booster

  2·72

  Total

  8·10

  1966–1989

  Polio (type I)

  1·72

  1967–1989

  Measles

  1·39

  1978–1989

  Rubella

  0·49

  1985–1989

  Hepatitis B

  0·27

  1990

  MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella)

  0·63

  In 1990, the average coverage for BCG and polio were 99 per cent. and 91 per cent. respectively. Vaccinations against other diseases are well over 80 per cent.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Income Support
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 3 June,Official Report, column 116–18 on the value of income support, if he will give the figures for columns D and E for the period on which each year's uprating was based.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The information requested is in the table, although from 1974 only. The production of figures for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  A Benefit uprating date

  B Benefit rate

  C Percentage increase in 'B'

  D Earnings percentage increase

  E RPI percentage increase

  22 July 1974

  8·40

  17·5

  17·1

  17·1

  7 April 1975

  9·60

  14·3

  20·2

  17·7

  17 November 1975

  10·90

  13·5

  15·0

  13·2

  15 November 1976

  12·70

  16·5

  12·5

  15·0

  14 November 1977

  14·50

  14·2

  9·3

  13·0

  116

  A Benefit uprating date

  B Benefit rate

  C Percentage increase in 'B'

  D Earnings percentage increase

  E RPI percentage increase

  13 November 1978

  15·55

  7·2

  14·9

  8·1

  12 November 1979

  18·30

  17·7

  19·1

  17·4

  24 November 1980

  21·30

  16·4

  18·4

  15·3

  23 November 1981

  23·25

  9·2

  10·7

  12·0

  22 November 1982

  25·70

  10·5

  7·4

  6·3

  21 November 1983

  26·80

  4·3

  6·6

  3·7

  26 November 1984

  28·05

  4·7

  8·3

  5·1

  25 November 1985

  29·50

  5·2

  7·7

  7·0

  28 July 1986

  29·80

  1·0

  5·0

  1·1

  6 April 1987

  30·40

  2·0

  5·1

  2·1

  11 April 1988

  33·40

  9·9

  8·7

  4·2

  10 April 1989

  34·90

  4·5

  9·4

  5·8

  9 April 1990

  36·70

  5·2

  9·6

  7·6

  8 April 1991

  39·65

  8·0

  9·8

  10·9

  Notes:

  Column B—shows the Supplementary Benefit basic single householder scale rate for the years 1974–87 excluding housing costs. These were paid through Supplementary Benefit until 1982–83 (not included in the scale rates) and then paid via Housing Benefit. From April 1988 the figures are the Income Support basic personal allowance for a single person over 25. No Supplementary Benefit additional requirements or Income Support premiums for special needs have been included.

  Column C—shows the percentage increase from one uprating date to the next. This will not necessarily reflect the uprating index for that year because of rounding. Also in the earlier years uprating was calculated by forecasting likely changes in the RPI and this sometimes meant that adjustments had to be made the following year.

  Column D—gives the percentage increase in the average gross weekly earnings of all adult males from the New Earnings Survey. This percentage is for the period on which each year's uprating was based.

  Column E—shows the actual movement in the Retail Price Index for all items calculated for the period on which each year's uprating was based.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what level of basic income support would be provided currently to a single individual under 24 years of age who claims as a result of being refused unemployment benefit and has no other form of income.

  Mr. Jack
  ; For a claimant aged 18 or over, the level of basic income support would be £31·15, assuming the normal conditions of entitlement are satisfied.

  Cold Weather Payments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in which newspapers and on what dates his Department's local offices in the Doncaster area advertised the availability of both qualifying conditions and application forms for special cold weather payments during the winter of 1990–91.

  Mr. Scott
  Advertisements showing the qualifying conditions and including an application form appeared in local newspapers as follows:

  Doncaster Free Press (weekly)

  14 February 1991

  Doncaster Advertiser (weekly)

  14 February 1991

  Doncaster Star (daily)

  12, 13, 14 February 1991

  South Yorkshire Times (weekly)

  22 February 1991

  Benefits Agency
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will make it his practice to request the chief executive of the Benefits Agency when answering parliamentary questions transferred to him to send all replies under his signature rather than under those of his staff.
  117
  Miss Widdecombe
  It is the chief executive's practice, whenever possible, to sign all such letters personally.

  Advertising
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what budget his Department has for advertising in ethnic newspapers or magazines the services and responsibilities of his Department; and what amount of money has been spent on this publicity in each of the last five years.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Although the departmental budget for national publicity does not contain a specific amount for publicity to ethnic minority groups, national publicity campaigns take fully into account the need to reach ethnic minorities. In the current year the Benefits Agency has a budget of £205,000 for publicity materials in ethnic minority languages. Expenditure in 1990–91 was £141,592 and in 1989–90 it was £127,239. Figures for earlier years are not available.

  Armed Forces (Benefits)
  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to change the residency and presence conditions for entitlement to non-contributory benefits for members of the armed forces.

  Mr. Scott
  Special rules already exist to help serving members of the armed forces and their families to satisfy the presence tests for non-contributory disability benefits. On 7 March, my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord Henley, announced the Government's intention to extend these provisions to the residence condition for severe disablement allowance. We have no present plans to make any further changes.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for review by a social fund inspector were outstanding for more than one month on 31 May.

  Mr. Scott
  On 31 May 1991, there were 1,355 such applications.

  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund inspectors were employed on 31 December 1990, 31 January, 28 February, 31 March, 30 April and 31 May.

  Mr. Scott
  The number of social fund inspectors employed between December 1990 and May 1991 is shown in the table. The figures in brackets denote the number of those who were in training on those dates. An exercise to recruit a further eight inspectors is in progress.

  Number

  31 December 1990

  39

  31 January 1991

  41 (4)

  28 February 1991

  39

  Belfast

  Maze

  Maghaberry

  Magilligan

  YOC

  Presbyterian

  82

  41

  50

  59

  30

  Church of Ireland

  106

  52

  80

  72

  43

  Methodist (and others under Methodist pastoral care)

  12

  27

  40

  23

  34

  118

  Number

  31 March 1991

  39

  30 April 1991

  46 (7)

  31 May 1991

  55 (8)

  Appeals
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish the returns from each local office requested in circular RD/Tech 5/91 showing the number of late appeals admitted and total arrears payable as a result of late appeals inspired by commissioners' decisions CIS/144/89 (Crompton) and CIS/372/90 (Foster).

  Miss Widdecombe
  The information requested is not yet available.

  Student Support
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications he has received each year since 1988 for extra statutory support for students in full-time education; how many applications he has granted in each year; and what was the total cost in each year.

  Miss Widdecombe
  [holding answer 12 June 1991]: No records, other than the number of payments made, is kept for extra-statutory payments. They indicate that none have been made to students over this period.

  Students (Benefits)
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment his Department has carried out on the impact of the withdrawal of benefit to students has made on the total number of students in further and higher education in England and Wales.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  I have been asked to reply.

  Student numbers in further and higher education are growing steadily. Provisional figures show a 10 per cent. increase in new enrolments in higher education in 1990–91 compared to 1989–90. Applications for places in 1991–92 are 8·1 per cent. higher than at the same time last year, suggesting a further increase in numbers. We intend periodically to monitor student income and expenditure. Questions about the withdrawal of benefits are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Prisoners
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons are serving prison sentences at each prison; and how many of these persons at each prison are identified with(a) Presbyterian, (b) Church of Ireland, (c) Methodist, (d) Roman Catholic and (e) Free Presbyterian religions.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information which is readily available is set out in the table:
  119

  Belfast

  Maze

  Maghaberry

  Magilligan

  YOC

  Roman Catholic

  216

  328

  130

  145

  73

  Free Presbyterian

  12

  52

  35

  16

  8

  Total prison population (at 10 June 1991)

  428

  500

  335

  315

  188

  Countryside Preservation
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what areas of South Down are now covered by areas of outstanding natural beauty and sites of special scientific interest; and what are the relevant figures for 1981.

  Mr. Needham
  In 1981 there were three areas of outstanding natural beauty—AONBs—in South Down designated under the Amenity Lands Act (Northern Ireland) 1965:Mourne AONB—approximately 46,000 hectares;
  Lecale Coast AONB—approximately 3,000 hectares;
  Strangford Lough AONB—approximately 19,000 hectares, only part of which falls within South Down.

  In 1981 there were eight areas of scientific interestASIs—in South Down designated under the 1965 Act, but the category areas of special scientific interest—ASSIs—did not exist at that time.

  The 1965 Act was repealed by the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 which introduced a new framework for the conservation of nature and the countryside. Under the 1985 order, the Mourne AONB has been reviewed and now measures 57,000 hectares approximately. The other two AONBs have not been reviewed.

  The ASSI category was introduced by the 1985 Order; South Down contains part of two ASSIs:—
  Strangford Lough (Part II) ASSI—approximately 700 hectares.
  Strangford Lough (Part III) ASSI—approximately 1,900 hectares.

  The ASI designations under the 1965 Act are still operative but they do not afford as much protection as ASSI declarations.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Youth Service, London
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the level of provision for the youth service in Inner London since the abolition of the inner London education authority.

  Mr. Atkins
  The level of provision for education for all local authorities is made by standard spending assessment. It is entirely for individual local authorities to decide how to deploy the resources available to them, including provision for the youth service.

  Special Schools
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what were the numbers of pupils attending special schools in inner London(a) on 1 April 1990 and (b) on 1 April 1991; what guidance he has given to local education authorities on the number of special school places which should be provided as a proportion of all school places; and if he will make a statement.
  120
  Mr. Fallon
  The number of pupils attending special schools in inner London in January 1990 was 6,095, the latest date for which information is available. No specific guidance has been issued to LEAs on the number of special school places they should provide: that is a matter for local decision.

  Nuclear Structure Facility, Daresbury
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what evaluation of the scientific quality of research at the nuclear structure facility at Daresbury was undertaken by the Science and Engineering Research Council prior to its decision to close the facility.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  As part of its annual planning process, the Science and Engineering Research Council evaluates the relative priority of all its research programmes taking scientific quality into account. Following such an exercise earlier this year, the SERC decided that running the nuclear structure facility at Daresbury laboratory beyond 1992 was of lower priority than other parts of its programme.

  School Entry (Appeal System)
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list all those types of secondary school or college catering for young people under the age of 16 years and funded in whole or part by public money, which are not required by law to have a system for appeal by pupils refused entry.

  Mr. Fallon
  There is no statutory obligation on city technology colleges to operate a system of appeals on admissions.

  Physical Education
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the amount of time spent on physical education and sport in schools in(a) 1978, (b) 1984, (c) 1990 and (d) since the introduction of the national curriculum (i) nationally and (ii) broken down by county.

  Mr. Atkins
  This information is not collected by the Government.

  Japan (Ministerial Visit)
  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the purpose of his recent visit to Japan; what was the composition of his entourage; and if he will break down the costs of transport, accommodation, subsistence and other associated costs.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The purpose of my visit was to see at first hand the strengths and weaknesses of the Japanese education system. I was accompanied by a departmental private secretary, a senior official of my department, and my Parliamentary Private Secretary. The breakdown of the costs of the visit are as follows:
  121
  —Transport to Japan and within Japan: £23,760.
  —Accommodation and subsistence in the British Embassy and in hotels: £2,322.
  —Other costs, including interpreters and telephone calls on official business: £3,659.

  School Governors
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out the latest information available to his Department about the number of school governors who have resigned during the last 12 months.

  Mr. Fallon
  The Department does not collect statistics on school governors. A sample survey conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research last year indicated a 10 per cent. resignation rate in the 1989–90 school year.

  Residential Colleges
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the annual expenditure on each of the long-term residential colleges supported by his Department.

  Mr. Eggar
  Grants to the long-term residential colleges for the academic year 1990–91 are as follows:

  £

  Co-operative College, Loughborough

  96,000

  Fircroft College, Birmingham

  326,000

  Hillcroft College, Surbiton

  352,000

  Northern College, Barnsley

  66,000

  Plater College, Oxford

  337,000

  Ruskin College, Oxford

  839,000

  Learning Difficulties
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the amount per child each authority allocates in local management of schools schemes for non-statemented children who have learning difficulties.

  Mr. Fallon
  Under schemes of local management, local authorities fund special needs in a variety of ways. Some of the resources are distributed as part of the base funding per pupil, while some are allocated by means of special factors which take into account the unevenness in the incidence of special needs across the authorities' schools. Accordingly it is not possible to identify the totality of the resources allocated in respect of special needs for pupils without statements.

  Northumberland Schools
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent visits have been made by officials of his Department to first schools in Northumberland; and whether any advice has been given to the education authority about possible closures of these or other schools in the area.

  Mr. Fallon
  Officials of the Department visited a number of first schools in Northumberland on 9 and 10 May this year. The visit was made in response to a request from the local education authority for advice from the 122
  Department on how they might best deal with serious structural deficiencies present in some of their timber-framed schools.

  Officials did not advise on the closure of individual schools. The decision to repair, replace or close structurally unsound timber-framed schools is one entirely for the Northumberland LEA in the first instance.

  East Birmingham Task Force
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what visits or other engagements were undertaken by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science during his visit to the East Birmingham task force area on 3 September 1990.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  The programme contained visits to the multilingual job club, a joint venture between the East Birmingham task force and the Employment Service; the hotel and catering job shop; lunch at the Birmingham chamber of industry and commerce; and visits to two probation service projects—Community and Village Entertainment and a day activity centre.

  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what contribution was made by his Department and the East Birmingham task force to the cost of publication of the "Asian Business Handbook"; who organised the launch attended by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 23 April 1990; and who published the book.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  The East Birmingham task force contributed £1,500 to the project. The launch was organised by Birmingham Venture, part of the Birmingham chamber of commerce. The handbook was published by the Institute of Asian Business.

  Local Authority Expenditure
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the future payment of debt charges by local authorities arising out of expenditure on further education colleges, and sixth-form colleges; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  In response to representations from local authorities, my right hon. Friend announced on 9 May that from April 1993 the Further Education Council will take responsibility for debt charges arising from capital projects which commence from 1 April 1991 and are approved by the Secretary of State. Since that announcement, the Department has received representations from 21 authorities, seeking clarification on the scope of the scheme. Officials will be writing to all local education authorities shortly with further details.

  Colleges (Expenditure)
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the annual expenditure by his Department on City Literary institute, Morley college, Mary Ward centre, Working Men's college, Cordwainers college, National Sea Training trust and College of the Sea.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  In financial year 1990–91 the Department gave grants of £343,000 to the National Sea
  123
  Training trust and £85,000 to the College of the Sea. No annual expenditure is incurred by the DES on the City literary institute, Morley college, Mary Ward centre, Working Men's college and Cordwainers college. Cordwainers college is an assisted college maintained by Hackney local eduation authority. The City literary institute, Morley college, Mary Ward centre and Working Men's college are independent adult education institutions, formerly maintained by the inner London education authority, which receive grant from the London residuary body.

  Special Needs
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in rank order the amount spent by each local education authority on special needs.

  Mr. Fallon
  For 1988–89, the latest year for which information on actual spending is available from local education authorities' returns, their spending on special schools, home and hospital tuition, child guidance and educational psychological services was as shown in the table. These figures exclude expenditure to meet the special needs of pupils in primary and secondary schools, and of further education students, as information on this expenditure is not collected separately.

  Local education authority

  Net recurrent expenditure £000's1

  ILEA

  63,950

  Hampshire

  32,481

  Lancashire

  30,451

  Kent

  26,858

  Essex

  26,628

  Avon

  22,555

  Nottinghamshire

  21,240

  Birmingham

  20,638

  Surrey

  19,462

  Hertfordshire

  18,937

  Derbyshire

  18,155

  Cheshire

  16,803

  Berkshire

  16,504

  Staffordshire

  15,838

  Devon

  15,424

  East Sussex

  13,107

  Liverpool

  12,817

  Buckinghamshire

  12,691

  Gloucestershire

  12,565

  Humberside

  12,315

  Cleveland

  12,236

  Leicestershire

  11,637

  North Yorkshire

  11,480

  Bradford

  10,868

  Dorset

  10,760

  Warwickshire

  10,491

  Norfolk

  10,302

  Northamptonshire

  10,267

  Cambridgeshire

  10,230

  Hereford and Worcester

  9,906

  West Sussex

  9,830

  Durham

  9,583

  Leeds

  9,406

  Bedfordshire

  9,218

  Lincolnshire

  9,134

  Wiltshire

  8,981

  Ealing

  8,526

  Oxfordshire

  8,481

  Somerset

  8,424

  Croydon

  8,408

  Sheffield

  8,244

  Suffolk

  8,177

  Wirral

  7,941

  124

  Local education authority

  Net recurrent expenditure £000's1

  Enfield

  7,578

  Sandwell

  6,863

  Coventry

  6,768

  Hounslow

  6,667

  Shropshire

  6,642

  Kirklees

  6,281

  Cumbria

  6,178

  Rotherham

  6,115

  Newcastle-upon-Tyne

  6,035

  Wigan

  6,014

  Waltham Forest

  5,548

  Wolverhampton

  5,523

  Newham

  5,297

  Barnet

  5,189

  Northumberland

  5,172

  Brent

  5,157

  Stockport

  5,049

  Redbridge

  4,992

  Hillingdon

  4,960

  Doncaster

  4,854

  Cornwall

  4,847

  Bolton

  4,797

  Bexley

  4,790

  Rochdale

  4,738

  Salford

  4,701

  Dudley

  4,636

  Sefton

  4,631

  St. Helens

  4,623

  Bromley

  4,540

  Sunderland

  4,502

  Harrow

  4,449

  North Tyneside

  4,436

  Solihull

  4,137

  Merton

  3,989

  Oldham

  3,850

  Knowsley

  3,840

  Walsall

  3,785

  Tameside

  3,680

  Bury

  3,551

  Havering

  3,343

  Sutton

  3,321

  Gateshead

  3,315

  Barking

  2,963

  Trafford

  2,848

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  2,681

  South Tyneside

  2,651

  Calderdale

  2,376

  Barnsley

  2,321

  Richmond-upon-Thames

  2,133

  Isle of Wight

  1,700

  Haringey

  n/a

  Manchester

  n/a

  Wakefield

  n/a

  1 Excluding financing costs of capital expenditure, school meals, income from specific grants, and central education department administration costs.

CIVIL SERVICE

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what steps have been taken by his officials to co-ordinate action in the civil service generally and for civil servants in the Export Credits Guarantee Department in particular to ensure that civil servants are encouraged to see the public service as a secure, worthwhile and challenging career.

  Mr. Renton
  Throughout the civil service, departments and agencies are being encouraged to decide how best to
  125
  recruit, retain and motivate their staff. Departments and agencies are being given increasing flexibilities to enable them to do this in ways fitted to their own circumstances.

THE ARTS

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Minister for the Arts whether sub-metering has been introduced in the buildings occupied by his Office to measure individual department's actual energy consumption.

  Mr. Renton
  No. My office shares accommodation with other departments and their energy consumption is estimated on the basis of the respective floor areas.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Housing
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish details of freehold residential properties transferred in 1989 and 1990 in the constituencies of Tottenham, Hornsey and Wood Green, showing in each case the number of transactions where the price was(a) less than £40,000, (b) between £40,000 and £100,000, (c) between £100,000 and £250,000 and (d) over £250,000.

  Mr. Maples
  The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Earnings
  Sir Peter Hordern
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the increase in post-tax earnings, allowing for inflation, of each quintile of earners; and how many earners are in each band, since 1979, to the latest convenient date.

  Mr. Maude
  I regret that information on quintiles of earners is not readily available. The table shows earnings after tax and NIC for full-time male employees in Great Britain and assumes that no tax allowances or reliefs are available other than the personal allowance for a married man.

  Weekly interest payment1

  Region

  Average new building society mortgages Quarter 2 1988

  June 1988 9·8 per cent. interest rate

  Current 12·9 per cent. interest rate

  Increase

  £

  £

  £

  £

  Northern region

  22,200

  31·38

  41·30

  9·93

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  23,000

  32·51

  42·79

  10·28

  East Midlands

  27,000

  38·16

  50·24

  12·07

  East Anglia

  34,800

  51·45

  67·73

  16·27

  Greater London

  54,900

  89·33

  117·59

  28·26

  South East

  44,500

  69·73

  91·79

  22·06

  South West

  34,900

  51·64

  67·97

  16·33

  West Midlands

  28,100

  39·72

  52·28

  12·56

  North West

  24,300

  34·35

  45·21

  10·86

  Wales

  23,900

  33·78

  44·47

  10·69

  Scotland

  24,200

  34·21

  45·03

  10·82

  Northern Ireland

  24,300

  34·35

  45·21

  10·86

  United Kingdom

  32,900

  47·87

  63·01

  15·14

  126

  Earnings after tax and NIC at April 1990 prices

  April 1979 £

  April 1990 £

  Percentage increase

  Lower quartile

  133·8

  153·6

  15

  Median

  161·1

  196·3

  22

  Upper quartile

  195·8

  255·3

  30

  In March 1979 there were 13·1 million male employees in employment, and in March 1990 there were 11·7 million.

  Civil Service Pay Award
  Sir John Farr
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is his intention, in the event of disagreement, to send the civil service pay award to independent arbitration.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Independent arbitration is available under the terms of the long-term pay agreements between the Treasury and the unions representing non-industrial civil servants, but only if both parties agree to it.

  The Government have recently rejected requests by the Civil and Public Servants Association and the National Union of Civil and Public Servants to refer offers made for this year's annual pay settlement to arbitration. The CPSA has since accepted the offer, and the NUCPS is recommending that their members to likewise.

  Income Tax
  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the basic rate of income tax would be increased to raise an additional half billion pound revenue.

  Mr. Maude
  At 1991–92 levels of income an increase of 0·25p in the basic rate of income tax would yield about half a billion pounds in a full year.

  Mortgages
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update his answer of 20 June 1990,Official Report, column 558, on the average increase in repayments per week on the average mortgage in each region since June 1988.

  Mr. Maude
  Information for average new building mortgages in the second quarter of 1988 is in the table. Details of average amounts outstanding on all mortgages by region are not available.
  127

  1 Assuming endowment mortgage, net of basic rate tax relief.

  Inland Revenue (Form P11D)
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many extra posts have been provided in the Inland Revenue to deal with the outstanding P11D forms.

  Mr. Maude
  No extra posts that can be specifically identified were provided to clear the outstanding P11D forms; these were examined by existing staff, in part working overtime.

  Insurance Industry
  Mr. Churchill
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely impact on the United Kingdom balance of payments up to the end of the decade as a result of liabilities incurred by the United Kingdom insurance industry in respect of pollution claims arising in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maples
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: As claims are still subject to judgments pending in United States courts it is not at present possible either to quantify the liabilities incurred by the United Kingdom insurers or to estimate the impact on the United Kingdom balance of payments.

ENERGY

  Video Recordings
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy 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. Wakeham
  This information is not held centrally.

  Gas and Electricity Bills
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to introduce legislation to stagger the arrival of quarterly bills for gas and electricity, so that they do not arrive at the end of the same month; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moynihan
  No. Payment arrangements are a commercial matter for the industries concerned within their statutory and other obligations. A variety of payment arrangements are available to customers.

  Energy Management
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer of 3 June,Official Report, columns 11–12, whether the energy managers devote one third of a person year to energy management each or in total.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The energy managers in the premises occupied by my Department are estimated to devote around one third of a man year in total to energy management, consistent with the Audit Commission's recommendations that one man year of effort should be devoted to each £1 million spent on energy.

  Coal Industry (Privatisation)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether the contract for advice on the privatisation of the coal industry was awarded to Touche Ross after(a) competitive tender and (b) open advertisement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The contract was awarded to Touche Ross after competitive tender but not open advertisement.

  Privatisation
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the provision made for(a) monitoring electricity privatisation costs and (b) costs associated with coal privatisation for 1991–92.

  Mr. Wakeham
  In each case, my Department has arrangements in place for monitoring such costs according to the standard principles of Government accounting and against central and departmental requirements relating to financial control and audit procedures.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mr. Grocott), of 14 December 1990,Official Report, column 535, if he will list for (a) Amersham International, (b) Britoil (primary sale), (c) Britoil (secondary sale), (d) Enterprise Oil, (e) Wytch Farm, (f) British Gas, (g) each of the regional electricity companies, (h) National Power and (i) PowerGen, (i) the net equity proceeds to Government, (ii) the market value at the end of the first day of trading and, where appropriate, (iii) the current market value.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The information requested is given in the table. Between the dates of the two market values given, the companies concerned may not have maintained a constant issued share capital.

  Market Value (£ million)

  Company

  Net equity proceeds to Government

  At end of first day's trading

  Now1

  (£ million)

  Amersham International

  62

  94

  179

  Britoil (1982)

  536

  3500

  —

  (1985)

  426

  1,030

  2—

  Enterprise Oil

  382

  392

  2,339

  Wytch Farm

  149

  4—

  n/a

  British Gas

  75,292

  6,121

  10,653

  Eastern Electricity

  6648

  776

  874

  East Midlands Electricity

  6523

  633

  726

  London Electricity

  6523

  614

  737

  Manweb

  6285

  363

  455

  Midlands Electricity

  6503

  594

  720

  Northern Electricity

  6295

  347

  423

  NORWEB

  6415

  504

  591

  SEEBOARD

  6306

  359

  436

  Southern Electric

  6648

  781

  896

  South Wales Electricity

  6244

  308

  399

  South Western Electricity

  6295

  357

  431

  Yorkshire Electricity

  6497

  621

  775

  National Power

  6 51,364

  31,625

  31,652

  PowerGen

  6 5836

  3994

  31,043

  Notes:

  1 At closing, Friday June 14.

  2 Now wholly-owned by British Petroleum.

  3 Market capitalisation of the first tranche of shares.

  129

  4 Sold to a group of bidders.

  5 Only about 60 per cent. sold.

  6 Gross proceeds (costs have not been reported to Parliament and were not split by company).

  7 Includes the 1990 bought deal.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give the total costs incurred to date by his Department in the privatisation of(a) Amersham International, (b) Britoil, (c) Enterprise Oil, (d) Wytch Farm and (e) British Gas, breaking down each figure into (i) underwriting, (ii) selling and broking commissions, (iii) receiving bank costs, (iv) marketing, (v) advisers' fees and (vi) other costs, respectively.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The information requested in respect of the privatisation of British Gas, Amersham International, Britoil and Enterprise Oil and the sale of the holding in Wytch Farm is not immediately available in the form requested. I will look into the position and provide as comprehensive a reply as possible bearing in mind the need not to incur disproportionate costs in indentifying the figures requested.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer to the Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) of 12 June,Official Report, column 563, if he will provide a breakdown of the £256·5 million spent on electricity privatisation in 1990–91 by type (a) underwriting costs, (b) selling and broking commissions, (c) receiving bank costs, (d) marketing costs, (e) advisers' fees and (f) other costs.

  Mr. Wakeham
  A breakdown of the £256·5 million previously reported is as follows:

  £ million (VAT inclusive)

  Underwriting costs

  51·5

  Selling and broking commissions

  22·7

  Receiving bank costs

  49·1

  Marketing

  25·8

  Adviser's fees

  52·1

  Other costs1

  55·3

  1 Mainly stamp duty, the costs of setting up and running the Share Information Office and costs associated with the design, printing and distribution of the prospectus.

  Final figures for 1990–91 will be published in the appropriation account later this year.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  ECGD Insurance Services Group
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements he is making with the existing central training section of the Export Credits Guarantee Department based at Ty Glas road, Llanishen, Cardiff to provide a service to the continuing ECGD after privatisation of the Insurance Services Group.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The invitation to tender for the Insurance Services Group includes a draft training agreement which provides for the supply of services to the Export Credits Guarantee Department by the information technology training section based at Llanishen. The terms of the eventual contract will be subject to negotiation with the preferred purchaser, but the draft agreement provides for a call-off contract. Information concerning the terms of 130
  sale will be made public after privatisation, which is subject to the successful passage of the Export and Investment Guarantees Bill through Parliament.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will announce the length of contract to be awarded by the continuing Export Credits Guarantee Department to the computer section of ECGD Insurance Services Group at Ty Glas road, Llanishen, Cardiff.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The invitation to tender for the Insurance Services Group includes a number of different draft agreements for the continuing provision of information technology services to the Export Credits Guarantee Department. The terms of the eventual contracts will be subject to negotiation with the preferred purchaser, but the principal draft information technology agreements in the invitation to tender provide for a two-year contract. Information concerning the terms of the sale will be made public after privatisation, which is subject to the successful passage of the Export and Investment Guarantees Bill through Parliament.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultation he has had with the computer programme development section of the Export Credits Guarantee Department located at Ty Glas road, Llanishen, Cardiff, concerning the development of information technology systems for the continuing ECGD after the sale of the Insurance Services Group; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The invitation to tender for the Insurance Services Group includes draft development agreement which sets a framework for selecting, defining, and carrying out suitable information technology development work for the Export Credits Guarantee Department. The terms of the eventual contract will be subject to negotiation with the preferred purchaser, but the draft agreement provides for a two-year contract and thereafter individual projects continue until completed. Information concerning the terms of the sale will be made public after privatisation, which is subject to the successful passage of the Export and Investment Guarantees Bill through Parliament.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he intends to announce the length of contract to be awarded for computer maintenance and servicing within the Export Credits Guarantee Department, London, to the Insurance Services Group computer support unit at Ty Glas road, Llanishen, Cardiff; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Computer maintenance and servicing within the Export Credits Guarantee Department, London, are not provided by computer staff in the Insurance Services Group, Cardiff, and there are no plans to introduce such a service. A service for maintenance of certain computer programs is currently provided by Insurance Services Group staff and the invitation to tender for the Insurance Services Group includes a draft maintenance and minor enhancement agreement. The terms of the eventual contract will be subject to negotiation with the preferred purchaser, but the draft agreement provides for a two-year contract and until terminated thereafter. Information concerning the terms
  131
  of sale will be made public after privatisation, which is subject to the successful passage of the Export and Investment Guarantees Bill through Parliament.

  Israel (Arab Boycott)
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the documents he has published since January 1990 relating to the Arab boycott of Israel.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  There are no DTI publications on the Arab boycott other than the guidance note for exporters to which I referred in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Latham) on 11 June,Official Report, column 489.

  Co-operatives and Voluntary Organisations
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initial response he has made to the proposal for a European statute on co-operatives, mutuals and voluntary organisations; what consultations he intends to carry out on this proposal before it is adopted by the European Commission as a draft regulation; and what further steps he intends to take.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The Commission has asked the Government for their views on a proposal for a European statute on co-operatives, mutuals and voluntary organisations. I welcome the fact that the Commission has consulted member states' Governments. After proper consideration, we shall make our views known to the Commission.

  Price Indications Directive
  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he intends to implement the EC directive on price indications.

  Mr. Leigh
  I yesterday laid before the House the Price Marking Order 1991. The order will require traders to show clearly the selling price of goods which they sell to the private consumer. For some goods, mainly those sold from bulk or prepacked in variable quantities, they will also be required to show the unit price.

  Traders will be allowed to show unit prices in imperial or in metric units. However, if they use metric units for food, they must also show the unit price in imperial units. They will generally be free to choose how they show their prices, provided that the consumer can readily identify the items to which particular prices apply. Thus, prices may be shown on the goods individually or on tickets, or by means of notice near to them.

  Traders selling goods to the private consumer will have to show prices inclusive of VAT, but shops selling mainly to businesses may alternatively display prominent notices that their prices are subject to VAT.

  The price shown for the goods must include, or state with equal prominence, the price of any further goods or services for which the consumer must also pay in order to obtain the goods in question.

  The order also contains provisions which allow traders to display prominent notices giving information about general reductions rather than having to re-price goods individually.

  Similarly, prominent notices may be used for a period of 14 days after any change in the rate of VAT to inform consumers of adjustments to marked prices.
  132
  The order will apply to advertisements in which retailers choose to include prices, and to mail order advertisements. It will not apply to manufacturers or other suppliers who do not sell goods directly to the consumer.

  It will come into force on 1 September 1991. It will not apply to catalogues and some advertising material produced before 1 November 1991.

  Shell Suits
  Sir George Gardiner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what success he has had in persuading the European Commission to end the restrictive classification rules governing import quotas for clothing under which woven shell suits are treated as separate tops and bottoms even though they are designed, made, sold and intended to be worn together.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: The United Kingdom and some other member states have argued that EC classification rules should allow shell suits to be treated as clothing ensembles. However we have not been successful in persuading the Commission and the majority of member states of this and separate classification and quota treatment is to be maintained.

  Expo 92
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 10 June,Official Report, column 417, if he will give details of the single integrated theme that will be presented at the British pavilion at Expo 92 in Seville.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: The single integrated theme of the British pavilion is "Original Britain", showing the very best of our technological, commercial and cultural achievements.

  Inside the pavilion an exhibition, linking with the overall Expo 92 theme of "Discovery", has been created to demonstrate modern British discoveries, particularly in the fields of communication, exploration and harnessing the natural elements.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Animal Cruelty
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what efforts are made to ensure that products used in the House do not involve cruelty to animals in their production.

  Mr. MacGregor
  Wherever possible the Refreshment Department and other House authorities seek to avoid the use of products that are known to involve in their manufacture or preparation cruelty to animals or the putting in peril of endangered species.

  Veal
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what steps he has taken to exclude veal from the menu of restaurants and cafeterias in the Palace of Westminster.

  Mr. MacGregor
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: None. Veal forms a substantial proportion of the meat consumed in the dining rooms of the House.

LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Lord President of the Council 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. MacGregor
  My Department is responsible for the procedures leading to a large number of Crown, Privy Council and Lord President appointments, including visitors and members of governing bodies of universities and colleges, members of councils regulating the medical and paramedical professions, high sheriffs and inspectors of schools. The vast majority of these appointments are part-time and unpaid, while the salaries of inspectors of schools are a matter for the Department of Education and Science. Full details of all appointments made during the last five years could not be compiled except at disproportionate cost.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

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

  Mr. Chris Patten
  None.

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

  Mr. Chris Patten
  None.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 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. Chris Patten
  None.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Megrim
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has to improve the marketing of megrim caught within the British fishing limits.

  Mr. Maclean
  This is a matter for the Sea Fish Industry Authority which operates schemes to promote the marketing of British-caught sea fish, including megrim, in both the United Kingdom and export markets.

  Hospitality Fund
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 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. Maclean
  The final figure for expenditure in 1989–90 is £62,303. The provisional figure for expenditure in 1990–91 is £65,229. The figure for expenditure in 1991–92 to date is £7,598.

  Pesticides
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates his Department has made of the stocks of pesticides, prohibited under European Community and United Kingdom legislation, currently being held in Britain.

  Mr. Maclean
  In 1990 the British Agrochemicals Association—BAA—and the United Kingdom Agricultural Supply Trade Association—UKASTA—carried out a survey which suggested that there might be 1,000 to 2,000 tonnes of non-approved pesticides on farms in Great Britain. The BAA and UKASTA are developing,

  Stocking levels and grazing area in Great Britain by region

  Pigs '000 head

  Cattle '000 head

  Sheep '000 head

  Grazing area '000 hectares1

  North

  176·1

  902·3

  5,054·2

  838·4

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  1,692·2

  672·1

  2,664·6

  529·1

  East Midlands

  607·6

  658·3

  1,763·7

  432·0

  East Anglia

  1,296·8

  220·1

  310·7

  182·7

  South-East

  860·2

  827·6

  2,304·3

  674·0

  South-West

  883·1

  2,195·8

  4,365·7

  1,301·3

  West Midlands

  432·9

  970·0

  3,026·8

  576·4

  North-West

  342·7

  601·3

  1,096·4

  358·4

  England

  6291·7

  7,047·4

  20,586·4

  4,892·3

  Wales

  998·3

  1,354·8

  10,866·6

  1,377·1

  Scotland

  449·0

  2,086·1

  9,400·9

  5,090·7

  GREAT BRITAIN

  7,738·9

  10,488·3

  40,853·9

  11,360·1

  1 Temporary grass, permanent pasture, sole rights rough grazing and crops for stockfeeding for all grazing animals.

  Whaling
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any plans to discuss the results of the International Whaling Commission conference with ministers from Iceland, Norway and Japan.
  136
  with support from Government Departments, a scheme to encourage farmers to dispose of these and other unwanted pesticides safely. We hope to launch the scheme jointly in the very near future.

  Blue-eared Pig Disease
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will re-consider his plans to close the Lincoln veterinary investigation centre, in the light of the suspected outbreak of blue-eared pig disease in the area.

  Mr. Maclean
  As blue-eared pig disease is now a notifiable disease the responsibility for action rests with the veterinary field service operating through the divisional veterinary officer. Suspected disease should be reported to divisional veterinary officers and the necessary on-farm investigations and inquiries are carried out by the divisional veterinary officers and their veterinary staff. Samples taken at these visits are sent to the central veterinary laboratory, Weybridge for examination.

  The proposed closure of the Lincoln veterinary investigation centre will not, therefore, affect the situation in the Humberside area.

  Stocking Levels
  Mr. Maginnis
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the stocking levels for cattle, sheep and pigs for each region within Great Britain; and what stocking density per hectare this represents for cattle and sheep.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information on stocking levels is given in the table; data are taken from the June 1990 agricultural census, and therefore cover all main holdings in the annual census. Information on stocking density is not readily available but grazing area has been shown in the final column of the table.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Governments of Iceland, Norway and Japan are well aware of our policy on whaling and we shall continue to use appropriate opportunities to raise the issue with them.

  Set-aside Scheme
  Mr. Ashby
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the one-year set-aside scheme recently agreed by the EC Council of Ministers.
  137
  Mr. Gummer
  The scheme will be available to producers who set aside at least 15 per cent. of their 1991 arable area for 1991–92 and also reduce their cereals area by 15 per cent. in that period. Participants will receive a payment of £121·20 per hectare set-aside—£109·20 per hectare in the less-favoured areas—or £91·20 per hectare —£79·20 per hectare in the LFAs—where areas of more than 100 hectares and more than 75 per cent. of arable area are set aside. Those who sell grain between 1 July 1991 and 30 June 1992 and have co-responsibility levy deducted will be entitled to refund of this levy at the rate of £6·70½ p per tonne. Detailed rules are still being finalised.

  Farmers setting land aside under this scheme will be required to plant a green cover. In other respects, land set aside will be subject to similar environmental conditions as the existing five year set-aside scheme.

  Producers wishing to participate in the scheme will be required to register details of their arable cropping in the year 1990–91. Registration forms will be available from local divisional offices by the end of this month and those wishing to register in England and Wales should contact divisional offices for copies: in Scotland and Northern Ireland producers should contact their local area offices or county agricultural offices respectively where forms will be available. Registration forms must be completed and returned no later than 31 July. Registration will not commit producers to apply for the one-year scheme.

  Producers who do not register will not be eligible for the one-year scheme.

  Producers who register for the one-year scheme will be contacted by the agriculture Departments and given fuller details, including application forms, as soon as these are available.

  Participants in the existing five-year scheme will receive partial refund of the co-responsibility levy paid between the dates mentioned above. This will be at the rate of £2·68 per tonne, the equivalent of 2 per cent. co-responsibility levy, subject to final agreement in Brussels on the method of calculation.

ENVIRONMENT

  Dogs
  Mr. Michael Spicer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest estimate of the fee that would be charged for a dog registration scheme in order to cover its costs.

  Mr. Trippier
  We have no intention of introducing a dog registration scheme and have therefore not made any independent cost estimate of this nature.

  Noise
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the draft codes of practice for minimising noise currently being considered by his Department for approval under section 71 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974; when he intends to approve these codes of practice; and whether he intends to consult on any further codes of practice.

  Mr. Trippier
  The Department is currently involved in work relating to four draft codes of practice which are at various stages of advancement. These are:

  (i) Code of practice on noise from clay pigeon shooting. This has been drawn up by the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association.
  138
  Complex technical issues have arisen and it has been necessary to carry out two consultation exercises. It is anticipated that the results of the latest consultation exercise will be discussed with the CPSA when these have been fully analysed.

  (ii) Code of practice on noise from audible birdscarers. The department set up a working party which included representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the National Farmers Union, the Institution of Environmental Health Officers and the Building Research Establishment. There have been two consultation exercises and the results of the later one have yet to be analysed in order to determine what further work may be necessary.

  (iii) Code of practice on noise from off-road motorcycle sport. A consortium comprising members from the Noise Council, the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection and representatives from the motorcycle manufacturers and user groups have recently drawn up a draft which has been discussed with officials. The consortium is to carry out a consultation exercise shortly.

  (iv) Code of practice on noise control at open air pop concerts. A Noise Council working party recently submitted a draft to the Department for initial comments and officials are to meet with them in July to discuss it. There will be consultation.

  In its report the noise review working party recommended that codes of practice be used as a means of controlling environmental noise and that work should proceed as quickly as possible on the above codes. The Government have undertaken to complete work on codes under discussion. This we will do as soon as our work in responding to the recommendations of the noise review working party will allow.

  We will consider the case for further codes if a need arises. There would be consultation on the drafts.

  Council House Sales
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each local authority for the last year for which he has figures the average right-to-buy discounts made available to council tenants.

  Mr. Yeo
  A table showing the available information will be placed in the Library shortly.

  Water Pollution
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the chairman of the National Rivers Authority concerning the means of improving the biological control of filamentous algae of the cladophora family in British rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

  Mr. Baldry
  None. However, I understand that cladophora growth occurs from time to time when nutrient concentrations, flow and organic conditions are suitable. The National Rivers Authority will be addressing its possible control as part of its wider research into eutrophication.

  Hazardous Waste
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, if he will list by year for the last 10 years, and for each port in the United Kingdom, the number of tonnes of hazardous waste that was imported.

  Mr. Trippier
  Information on the importation of waste through ports in the United Kingdom is available only since the introduction of the Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste Regulations in October 1988.

  The information in respect of imports of waste through English ports for financial years 1988–89—October to March only—and 1989–90 is shown in the following table.
  139
  The provision of similar information for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales, for Scotland and for Northern Ireland respectively.

  Ports of Entry

  Waste imported (tonnes)

  1988–89

  1989–90

  Chatham

  76·0

  456·2

  Dartford

  —

  1,138·4

  Dover

  20·4

  5,185·1

  Felixstowe

  7,550·2

  8,865·4

  Fleetwood

  3·3

  154·0

  Flixborough

  —

  1,189·2

  Gravesend

  152·5

  42·5

  Grimsby

  —

  38·8

  Harwich

  104·0

  153·6

  Heysham

  32·4

  718·4

  Immingham

  3,213·0

  9,161·4

  Ipswich

  —

  205·9

  Liverpool

  280·8

  792·6

  Middlesbrough

  138·1

  203·1

  Poole

  —

  30·0

  Portsmouth

  —

  1·9

  Purfleet

  99·8

  12·1

  Permanent dwellings completed: Greater London

  (number of dwellings)

  Local authorities

  Year

  Private sector

  Housing associations

  London boroughs1

  LCC/GLC1 2

  Other public sector3

  All dwellings

  1961

  9,557

  38

  9,310

  3,867

  272

  23,044

  1962

  9,133

  202

  11,006

  2,889

  295

  23,525

  1963

  9,564

  257

  10,279

  4,035

  231

  24,366

  1964

  11,482

  227

  10,005

  4,470

  332

  26,516

  1965

  10,802

  283

  12,266

  5,516

  190

  29,057

  1966

  10,770

  769

  14,802

  5,057

  243

  31,641

  1967

  9,943

  469

  16,934

  5,398

  282

  33,026

  1968

  10,273

  739

  16,422

  6,223

  205

  33,862

  1969

  8,198

  1,979

  17,734

  5,279

  113

  33,303

  1970

  8,769

  1,114

  22,088

  5,147

  318

  37,436

  1971

  8,342

  2,223

  18,158

  4,984

  150

  33,857

  1972

  7,452

  1,467

  15,212

  3,821

  472

  28,424

  1973

  7,718

  1,224

  11,276

  4,410

  90

  24,718

  1974

  6,991

  1,597

  14,409

  5,319

  325

  28,641

  1975

  8,513

  2,316

  13,407

  5,502

  453

  30,191

  1976

  6,063

  2,825

  15,555

  7,120

  15

  31,578

  1977

  5,590

  2,347

  16,112

  6,442

  281

  30,772

  1978

  5,291

  1,491

  13,164

  6,449

  43

  26,438

  1979

  3,773

  1,928

  10,372

  5,000

  161

  21,234

  1980

  4,426

  2,402

  11,974

  4,275

  67

  23,144

  1981

  4,021

  1,979

  10,206

  3,200

  31

  19,437

  1982

  5,807

  1,612

  5,730

  1,524

  0

  14,673

  1983

  7,289

  1,563

  4,155

  994

  2

  14,003

  1984

  7,185

  1,560

  2,968

  526

  0

  12,239

  1985

  6,445

  1,122

  2,653

  120

  0

  10,340

  1986

  8,345

  700

  2,337

  0

  0

  11,382

  1987

  10,295

  1,142

  1,260

  —

  0

  12,697

  1988

  12,049

  1,108

  1,419

  —

  0

  14,576

  1989

  12,700

  1,467

  922

  —

  0

  15,089

  1990

  13,807

  1,737

  1,904

  —

  0

  17,448

  1 Figures show the number of dwellings completed by the authority concerned, some of these, particularly for the GLC, were outside the Greater London region.

  2 The London County Council (LCC) was replaced by the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1965 and the GLC was abolished in 1986.

  3 Covers housebuilding by government departments and by local authorities acting other than as housing authorities for example accommodation for school caretakers, park keepers etc.

  Bathing Water
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from surfers in respect of bathing water quality.

  Mr. Baldry
  Representations by surfers have covered the scope and speed of the £3·5 billion programme of improvements to bathing and coastal water quality now under way.
  140

  Ports of Entry

  Waste imported (tonnes)

  11988–89

  1989–90

  Ramsgate

  233·8

  1,876·7

  Seaforth

  —

  72·9

  Southampton

  —

  10·3

  Teesport

  1,341·8

  83·0

  Tilbury

  83·1

  13·1

  Great Yarmouth

  —

  7·7

  GRAND TOTAL

  13,329·2

  30,412·5

  1 October to March.

  Housing (London)
  Ms. Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing units were built in London each year from 1961 to 1990 by(a) boroughs, (b) London-wide authorities, (c) housing associations and (d) private units.

  Mr. Yeo
  The available information is in the table.

  Glass
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the percentage of glass recovered as a percentage of consumption in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) each of the other European Community countries.
  141
  Mr. Baldry
  I understand from the British Glass Manufacturers Confederation that the provisional figures for 1990 are:

  Per cent.

  (i) Great Britain1

  21

  (ii) Belgium2

  60

  Denmark

  40

  France

  45

  Germany4

  54

  Greece

  16

  Ireland

  18

  Italy

  350

  Netherlands

  66

  Portugal

  30

  Spain

  27

  1 Excludes Northern Ireland from which glass is sent to the Republic of Ireland for reprocessing.

  2 Includes glass collected in Luxembourg which has no glass manufacturing facilities.

  3 1989 figures.

  4 Excluding the former German Democratic Republic.

  Water Conservation
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue a direction to the National Rivers Authority to conserve water in the Doncaster metropolitan borough council area by restricting the amounts extracted by individuals and businesses.

  Mr. Baldry
  No. It is for the National Rivers Authority to consider how best to safeguard water resources in the Doncaster area as elsewhere. I understand that the authority is already well aware of, and actively investigating solutions to, certain water resource problems in that area.

  Freedom of Information
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which organisations, individuals and statutory bodies he intends to consult regarding the implementation of the EC directive on freedom of access to information on the environment; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Trippier
  My Department will be consulting a wide range of bodies including those which are directly affected by the directive. I am always willing to consider specific suggestions for the circulation list.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the implementation of the European Community directive on freedom of access to information into domestic law; and if he has set a target date for its implementation.

  Mr. Trippier
  My Department will be issuing a consultation paper shortly on our proposals. All member states are required to implement the directive in domestic law by the end of 1992. The Water Act 1989 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990 have already provided for public access to registers of pollution consents.

  Landfill Sites
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many unauthorised emissions., of leachate have taken place from landfill waste sites to the environment in the last five years, giving details of where they took place and the names of the site owners;

  (2) how many formal compliance notices have been issued by waste disposal authorities to landfill waste site operators in England during the past five years, with details of why these notices were served and the names of the site operators concerned.

  Mr. Baldry
  This information is not held centrally and I refer the hon. Member to the waste disposal authorities.

  Community Charge
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce provisions to reimburse charge payers forced to pay an additional community charge in 1990–91 as payment for other people's debts; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  As part of its budgetary process and in line with proper accounting practice every local authority has to estimate the level of non-recoverable charges for the forthcoming year and then set a community charge which takes this into account. This is in principle no different from the position under the old rating system. Authorities must, of course, make every effort to collect the community charge from those who have not paid using the wide-ranging enforcement powers at their disposal. There will be no amnesty for non-payers. Nor would it be appropriate for the national taxpayer to make good the shortfall in local authority income caused by charges that they have failed to collect.

  Uncollected Refuse (Liverpool)
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now use his powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to secure the removal of accumulated refuse from the streets and alleyways of Liverpool; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  The relevant provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 have not yet been implemented. The corresponding powers under section 97 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 are far-reaching and it is considered that they should be used only in the most serious circumstances. It has not yet been deemed necessary to use them in respect of waste collection and disposal and I am not persuaded that it would be appropriate to employ them to deal with the current situation in Liverpool.

  Environmental Council
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Environment Council on 13 and 14 June.

  Mr. Trippier
  I represented the United Kingdom at this meeting.

  The Council agreed a directive to protect water from nitrate pollution from agricultural sources. This important new measure should help to secure improvements in water

  143
  quality throughout the Community. It strikes a fair balance between protecting the environment and maintaining an efficient agriculture. Up to 2 million hectares of the United Kingdom may be designated as nitrate vulnerable zones under this directive, although we will only know the precise areas once the National Rivers Authority and the Government have completed the necessary monitoring and other studies. Within these zones farms will be required to comply with good agricultural practice, for example through controls on the timing and quantity of fertiliser and manure application. Member states will take additional measures where necessary to achieve the directive's objectives, taking account of their cost and effectiveness.

  The Council finalised agreement of a directive setting tougher limits for car emissions following receipt of the European Parliament's views. The Council reaffirmed new standards, agreed in principle last year, which will mean that three-way catalysts must be fitted to all new petrol-engined cars from the end of 1992. The directive also sets tight limits on particulate emissions from diesel-engined cars. It was agreed that the standards will be reviewed in 1993 with a view to still tighter limits being introduced in 1996. The Commission indicated that it would also consider proposing a third stage of standards for introduction at the end of the decade.

  Agreement was reached, subject only to a reservation from France, on a regulation on the importation of certain furs and the use of leghold traps. The use of all such traps will be banned throughout the Community by January 1995 at the latest. There will be a ban from January 1995 on the importation into the Community of furs of certain animals from countries which have not prohibited the use of the trap or which do not use traps that meet internationally agreed standards. There is provision for the import ban to be suspended for one year if progress is seen to be made in these countries towards applying internationally agreed standards.

  The Council welcomed the progress achieved to date in discussions on the development of a European scheme for labelling environmentally less harmful products. Although some further work was still required, notably on the role of interest groups and simplification of the procedures for ensuring consistency in the award of labels at national level, it was anticipated that agreement should be reached at the next meeting of the Council.

  Broad agreement was reached, subject to receipt of the European Parliament's opinion, on a regulation establishing a fund, NORSPS for the protection of the Community's northern coastal waters. This will largely parallel a similar instrument established last year for the protection of the Mediterranean and, when finally agreed, will provide financial assistance for certain types of measures aimed at reducing marine pollution.

  Substantial progress was made in resolving many outstanding issues on a proposed directive to protect the habitats of wild flora and fauna. In the absence of final agreement on this directive the Council agreed a restricted version of a proposed regulation for a new Community-fund on action by the community relating to nature conservation ACNAT. For the present funding will be limited to projects related to the objectives of the existing wild birds directive and to the conservation of habitats and species in danger of extinction.

  The Council also briefly discussed a proposal for a new all-embracing Community financial instrument for the
  144
  environment, LIFE, and the draft environmental protocol to the Antarctic treaty currently under discussion in Madrid.

  Royal Armouries Collection
  Mr. Ken Hargreaves
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for the future of the Royal Armouries collection and the Tower of London; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  I wish to announce today developments of major significance at the Tower of London, associated with the Royal Armouries' proposal for the establishment of a new museum in Leeds to take a major part of its collection. In recent years the tower and the armouries, two major features of our national heritage, have been less attractive to visitors than they deserve to be. Space is restricted and it is not possible to display the Crown Jewels, the collection of arms and armour and the many other treasures of the Tower in a manner worthy of them, or satisfying to visitors and people who wish to see them.

  While the Royal Armouries will continue to display a significant part of its collection in the Tower of London it is proposing to develop a major new centre in Leeds, provided that the necessary resources can be found, including private sector funding. This would enable the greater part of the collection currently held in store to be put on display to the public. It would provide a new focus of national importance in the north of England attracting large numbers of people to a major tourist and educational centre. It would display a priceless part of our national heritage in new and exciting ways. No less important, it would help to revitalise the inner area of Leeds and have major benefits for the whole city. The project has the wholehearted support of the city council, the urban development corporation, and the whole community in the city.

  Consultants have carried out an investment appraisal of the project for the Department and have concluded that it is likely to be an attractive investment. The Government are therefore funding further preparatory work by the Royal Armouries during this year. The extent of private sector funding of the new museum will be a key factor in the Government's consideration of public sector funding for the project. The Royal Armouries and all those involved in Leeds will therefore be working to achieve the maximum amount of private funding.

  The move of part of the Royal Armouries collection out of the Tower would provide the Historic Royal Palaces Agency with an outstanding opportunity to relocate and re-display its most potent visitor attraction, the Crown Jewels, and in partnership with the Royal Armouries to re-present the white tower as one of the nation's most important historic buildings. I have now approved the agency's corporate plan containing these proposals.

  If all these changes proceed, a review of the present staffing arrangements at the tower will be necessary in consultation with staff and all interested parties to ascertain the most effective ways of staffing the tower in the future.

  Finally, in response to public demand, and to assist with the funding of these major changes, the tower is to be opened to visitors on Sunday mornings in summer. It is already open on Sunday afternoons in summer. This will bring the tower in line with other major tourist attractions in London, including other historic royal palaces. This

  145
  change is planned to take place next summer to give time for full consultation with interested parties, including the trade unions, which represent the staff concerned.

  Euratom Treaty
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Her Majesty's Government have any plans to propose an amendment to the Euratom treaty to address environmental aspects of nuclear energy along the lines of the environmental amendment being proposed by the Government for the Single European Act.

  Mr. Trippier
  [holding answer 14 June 1991]: No. The Euratom treaty already covers environmental aspects of nuclear energy.

HEALTH

  GP Budgets
  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner budget holders are now established in the health authorities of Scunthorpe and Grimsby.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that there are six general practices within the areas of the Grimsby and Scunthorpe health authorities participating in the first wave of fundholding. Together they provide high quality primary care services to more than 16 per cent. of the population of those authorities.

  North Manchester Health Authority
  Mr. Eastham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the public health report published by the North Manchester health authority in December 1990.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The North Manchester health authority has determined its priorities in the light of its annual public health report.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Turner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his proposals for the appointment of chairmen or chairwomen-designate for the second wave of NHS trusts.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  No NHS trust chairmen or non-executive directors can be formally appointed until an NHS trust is established. Our current programme for second-wave NHS trusts envisages formal establishment in the autumn of this year. The names of the chairmen will be provided around the same time.

  Mr. Lewis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the means by which service users will be consulted when Salford and Wigan district health authorities submit applications for trust status.

  Mr. Dorrell
  No expressions of interest in trust status have been received from the hospitals or other units in either Salford or Wigan.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether business plans for the second applications for trust status of hospitals will be published; and if he will make a statement.
  146
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No. The financial projections which second-wave trust applicants have been asked to submit have been prepared in confidence for the NHS management executive and it would not be appropriate to publish them.

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

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  To date, 105 hospitals and other units have applied to become NHS trusts in April 1992.

  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met representatives of the BMA to discuss trust status hospitals.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I frequently meet members of the medical profession to discuss a range of issues. My last formal meeting with the BMA was on 9 May.

  Preventive Medicine
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways preventive medicine has been taken into account in general practitioners' contracts.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Health promotion and disease prevention are among the key principles of the GPs' new contract. GPs are now required to offer all patients ad vice on how to stay healthy and to offer health checks to specific groups of patients.

  RU 486
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has reached any conclusions on licensing RU 486; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I am afraid that I am unable to make a statement today regarding the licensing of RU 486. This is because of the obligation of confidentiality imposed upon Ministers and the Medicines Control Agency by virtue of section 118 of the Medicines Act 1968.

  Erythropoietin
  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate for the growth in use of erythropoietin for the treatment of patients suffering from anaemia.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Like other new treatments, erythropoietin is being introduced progressively across the health service. It is for health authorities to assess their patients' requirements for the drug and make appropriate plans to ensure that need is met.

  Mid-Essex DHA
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to meet the chairman of the North East Thames regional health authority to discuss health service provision in Mid-Essex district health authority.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I have no plans for meeting the regional chairman to discuss Mid-Essex health provision, but I am always happy to meet RHA chairmen both on a routine basis and whenever there is a specific need to discuss health service provision in their region.

  Hip and Eye Operations
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) hip replacement operations and (b) eye cataract operations were carried out by the national health service in 1979 and in the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Dorrell
  In 1979 the national health service carried out almost 29,000 hip replacement operations and almost 40,000 eye lens operations, most of which were for cataracts. The latest statistics show that in 1988–89 hip replacement operations had increased to almost 42,000 and eye lens operations to almost 79,000.

  Capital Expenditure
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will indicate capital expenditure on the national health service for the year 1978–79 and the last full year for which figures are available at current prices; and if he will make a statement.

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

  Gross national health service capital expenditure

  Cash

  1991–92 prices

  Presentation A

  1971–72

  158

  1,061

  1972–73

  201

  1,248

  1973–74

  245

  1,422

  1974–75

  246

  1,193

  1975–76

  332

  1,283

  1976–77

  361

  1,228

  1977–78

  321

  961

  1978–79

  373

  1,007

  Presentation B

  1978–79

  418

  1,128

  1979–80

  469

  1,085

  1980–81

  630

  1,232

  1981–82

  761

  1,357

  1982–83

  791

  1,317

  1983–84

  828

  1,317

  1984–85

  925

  1,401

  1985–86

  1,013

  1,455

  1986–87

  1,096

  1,521

  1987–88

  1,137

  1,498

  1988–89

  1,229

  1,507

  1989–90

  1,461

  1,684

  1990–91

  1,713

  1,833

  1991–92

  1,725

  1,725

  11991–92

  1,899

  1,899

  1 Includes estimated expenditure by national health service trusts of £174 million.

  Because of the redefinition of capital it is not possible to provide a consistent run of figures over the whole period. Figures in Presentation B have been adjusted to reflect the redefinition of capital. The figures in Presentation A do not reflect this and therefore are not comparable with those for later years.

  Surgery
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the latest figures available for 1990 on the number of operations carried out by the national health service, and the number of private operations carried out by the national health service; and what information is held on the number carried out by private health services.
  148
  Mr. Dorrell
  In the year ending March 1989, the latest year for which information is available centrally, an estimated 3·27 million operations were performed in NHS hospitals in England, of which an estimated 48,000 were on private patients. These numbers are provisional estimates based on incomplete data and may be subject to revision. Figures from the Independent Health Care Association indicate that there were some 510,000 operations carried out by the private sector in 1988.

  Infant Mortality
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries which had lower infant mortality rates than England in(a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c)

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The infant mortality rate in England has continued to fall since 1984. In 1990 it reached its lowest level at 7·9 per 1,000 live births.

  The table lists the countries out of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's membership of 23 which, according to international sources of information, had lower infant mortality rates than England in (a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c)

  OECD Countries with lower infant mortality rates than England

  1974

  1979

  1984

  Australia

  Australia

  Australia

  Canada

  Belgium

  Canada

  Denmark

  Canada

  Denmark

  Finland

  Denmark

  Finland

  France

  Finland

  France

  Iceland

  France

  Iceland

  Japan

  Iceland

  Japan

  Luxembourg

  Japan

  Netherlands

  Netherlands

  Netherlands

  Norway

  New Zealand

  Norway

  Sweden

  Norway

  Sweden

  Switzerland

  Sweden

  Switzerland

  —

  Switzerland

  —

  —

  Drug Abuse
  Mr. Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance, financial or otherwise, has been given to non-governmental organisations in each of the past five years for the control of drug abuse or for the care of victims.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The provision of treatment and rehabilitation services for drug misusers is the responsibility of local health authorities to whom the Government have made increasing sums available as set out in the table. Non-governmental organisations form an important part of service delivery, supported by regional earmarked allocations. Information is not held centrally on the proportion of money spent by regions on statutory and non-governmental organisations.

  Between 1983 and 1991 £17·5 million was also made available under the time-limited central funding initiative (CFI). Details of this and other moneys made available by the Department for allocating direct to non-governmental organisations in the years in question are included in the table.
  149

  Monies to non-governmental organisations directly funded by DoH

  Monks direct to Health Authorities

  Section 64 £

  C. F. I. £

  £

  1986–87

  511,278

  1,784,234

  5,000,000

  1987–88

  568,258

  1,564,097

  6,367,000

  1988–89

  701,700

  809,869

  9,470,000

  1989–90

  777,875

  432,498

  14,793,000

  1990–91

  819,375

  100,000

  15,532,000

  Air Ambulances
  Mr. Evenett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulance services in England currently operate helicopter air ambulances or have such ambulances available to them.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Helicopter services operate in Cornwall, the London area, Kent and the west midlands. In addition there are a number of shared facilities with the police. Ambulance services are the responsibility of the relevant health authority and details of helicopter ambulance provision are not therefore collected centrally.

  General Practitioners
  Mr. Michael Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's policy on computer reimbursement for general practitioners for the current financial year 1991–92.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Up to 50 per cent. of the cost of purchasing, leasing, maintaining and upgrading practice systems, and up to 70 per cent. of initial staff costs will be reimburseable in 1991–92. The limit related to list size which previously applied has been abolished. Separate arrangements apply to GP fundholders. We hope to be able to issue, in the near future, detailed guidelines to enable regional health authorities to implement this policy.

  HIV
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his latest estimate of the number of HIV positive individuals in the populations.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  At the end of 1990, 13,292 laboratory reports of HIV-antibody positive tests in England, Wales and Northern Ireland had been received. Since this figure is based on persons who request an HIV test and proceed with the test after being counselled it represents an under-estimate of the total number of infected persons.

  The Day report, "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in England and Wales to end of 1993" published by the Public Health Laboratory Service in January 1990 provided an upper estimate of the number of HIV infected persons in England and Wales at the end of 1990 of 46,500, a copy of the report is available in the Library.

  Advertising
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what budget his Department has for advertising in ethnic newspapers or magazines, the services and responsibilities of his Department; and what amount of money has been spent on this publicity in each of the last five years.
  150
  Mr. Dorrell
  The Department does not have a budget specifically for advertising in ethnic newspapers or magazines. Publicity campaigns which included this type of advertising are as follows:

  £

  1986–87

  Asian Mother and Baby

  9,120

  AIDS Informtion

  10,000

  1987–88

  AIDS Ethnic Dial and Listen

  87,056

  1988–89

  AIDS—Ethnic Telephone Helpline

  78,655

  1989–90

  None

  —

  1990–91

  NHS Reforms and You

  15,525

  Food Hygiene Regulations

  2,398

  Health Charges
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will simplify the application form for low income health benefits;

  (2) if he will extend the validity of a prescription charges exemption certificate to 12 months;

  (3) if he will extend to 12 months the time limit during which a refund may be obtained for health charges;

  (4) if he will include the recipients of low income health benefits in the class eligible for refunds on spectacles.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Members for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) and for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 6 June at columns 300–1.

  As my reply made clear, the review of the NHS low income scheme which is now under way will examine all aspects of the administration of the scheme and this will include optical refunds.

  Consultant Merit Awards
  Mr. Benyon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the consultant merit awards count towards the level of final superannuation for the consultant concerned.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Yes, since they form part of a consultant's total salary.

  Mr. Benyon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average age of the recipients of merit awards for consultants in 1989–90.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The distinction awards system operates on a calendar year and the average age of recipients for the various grades of awards granted in the year ended 31 December 1990 were:

  A+

  57

  A

  55

  B

  51

  C

  47

  Mr. Benyon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of consultants' merit awards was for the years 1979–80 and 1989–90.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The actual amounts paid out for distinction awards are not collected centrally. Award holders are paid pro rata to their sessional commitments to the NHS. Take-up is estimated to be 88·14 per cent. of the total amount authorised by the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration.
  151
  For England and Wales the estimated payments in the years concerned were:

  Authorised by DDRB £

  Estimated paid £

  1979–80

  19,991,000

  17,621,000

  1989–90

  69,075,760

  60,883,000

  Blood Transfusions
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make immediate payments to non-haemophiliacs who contracted HIV/AIDS through infected national health service blood transfusions.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The Government have no plans to extend further the special financial help available for haemophiliacs.

  Exercise and Diet
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to implement his proposals for individual exercise and diet programmes to improve the health of individuals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Our Green Paper "The Health of the Nation" published on 4 June, a copy of which is available in the Library, proposes a strategy for achieving a positive improvement in the nation's health, indentifying key areas for action, including diet and exercise, and setting targets to encourage and measure progress. It provides the basis of an extensive consultation process, running to 31 October 1991, during which the views of a wide range of professional bodies and organisations throughout the country will be sought. The results of the consultation will influence a White Paper on the health of the nation to be published later.

  Nurses
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the numbers of nurses of all grades that will be required to work in the national health service by the year 2000.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The setting of staffing levels is a matter for individual health authorities.

  Hospitals (Patient Care)
  Mr. Arbuthnot
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-fund-holding general practitioners are involved in the new national health service contracts for patient care in hospitals.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Contracts for health services provide the mechanism through which all NHS services will be secured in future. All GPs, of which over 23,000 are non-fundholding, are involved in contracts. District health authorities have consulted GPs extensively on their referral preferences. GPs have also been involved in considering quality improvements in services.

  Tobacco Advertising
  Mr. Amos
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will invite and consider submissions concerning the effectiveness of a ban on tobacco advertising.
  152
  Mr. Waldegrave
  Yes.

  Alternative Medicine
  Mr. Tredinnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to meet practitioners of alternative and complementary medical treatments to discuss his Green Paper; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  It is open to any group or individual to make representations on the Green Paper during the consultation period.

  Midwives
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives are currently in post in each of the health districts within the south-east Thames health region.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The latest information held centrally reflects the position at 30 September 1990 and is currently being validated. Figures are expected to be available in six weeks and I will write to my hon. Friend at that time.

  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many students are currently training as midwives in England; and what proportion are men;

  (2) how many places are available in England for direct entry midwifery students for the coming year.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Provisional information from the English National Board for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting is that on 31 March 1991 there were 3,243 students training as midwives in England, including 24 men. The board's current estimate is that 147 places for pre-registration—clirect entry—midwifery students will be available in England in the 1991–92 financial year.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what initiatives his Department intends to take to reduce waiting lists for elective surgery.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The NHS management executive is agreeing targets with all 14 regional health authorities for substantial reductions, by March 1992, in the number of patients who wait too long. We are continuing the special waiting list fund in 1991–92 to help health authorities tackle this problem.

  Residential Care Homes
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibility residential care home owners and members of staff have to disclose any criminal record to the registration authority when applying to be registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: Local authorities should ask applicants for registration in respect of residential care homes to declare any convictions they may have incurred. They should check with the police for the existence and content of any criminal record an applicant may have.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether people who are found unfit to run a residential care home or nursing home are automatically barred from running another home.
  153
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: The names of people found unfit to run a residential care or nursing home are recorded on a national list of cancelled or refused registrations maintained by the Department since 1985. The list is available to local authorities.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if there are formal complaints procedures for people in homes registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984;

  (2) if all residents of homes registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984 are given information about how to make a complaint.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: The proprietors of residential care homes are required by regulation made under the Registered Homes Act 1984 to advise residents in writing as to how to make a complaint and to whom complaints should be addressed. The name and address of the registration authority must also be given for the same purpose.

  In addition, the complaints procedures introduced in social services departments from 1 April 1991 provide for complaints made to registration authorities by or on behalf of residents to be dealt with under the terms of those procedures.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether nursing procedures in homes registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984 are carried out by care assistants.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: Residential care homes are served by the community nursing service who are responsible for carrying out any nursing procedures that the residents health care requires. Residential care home staff may carry out any nursing tasks specifically delegated to them by the community nurse. Nursing homes are required to have a qualified nurse on duty at all times; care assistants may carry out nursing tasks under their supervision.

  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if there are national guidelines on standards in homes registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984 in relation to accommodation requirements, staffing levels and staff qualifications.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: Regulations made under the Registered Homes Act 1984 require that all homes should provide adequate suitably qualified staff and reasonable accommodation in relation to the needs of residents. Registration may be refused under the Act where these requirements are not met.

  The Act is supplemented by "Home Life: a code of practice for residential care", by the social services inspectorate publications in the "Caring for Quality" series, and by the National Association of Health Authorities and Trusts' handbook on registration and inspection, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Life Expectancy
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish an estimate for the life expectancy of males and females at birth in 1988 for each national health service region in England.
  154
  Mr. Maples
  I have been asked to reply.

  Figures by region are not available. The estimate for England as a whole is 72·7 for males and 78·3 for females.

DEFENCE

  The Gulf
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many merchant vessels have been chartered by Her Majesty's Government for use in the Gulf in the period since 25 January; how many of these were registered in the United Kingdom; and if he will list(a) the rate of charter and (b) the normal charter rate in respect of each vessel.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Seventy-five ships have been chartered in the period. Two were registered in the United Kingdom. Rates paid by Her Majesty's Government for the charter of ships are commercial in confidence. There is no definitive normal charter rate.

  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the availability of(a) British and (b) non-British crews willing to enter the Gulf before and during the period of hostilities; if he will list the instances of non-British crews, on vessels chartered by his Department, refusing to enter Gulf waters; and if he will establish an inquiry into the impact of (i) the availability of ships and (ii) the availability of seafarers on the military operation.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No problems were reported over the availability of British or non-British crews before or during hostilities. There were no reports of non-British crews refusing to enter Gulf waters.

  The Government continue to keep a close watch on the state of the British flagged merchant fleet and on the availability of ships and seafarers to support military operations.

  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on occurrences of operational or communications problems involving any of the foreign-flagged merchant vessels hired by Her Majesty's Government for service in the Gulf.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No significant operational or communications problems involving foreign flagged merchant vessels hired by Her Majesty's Government have been reported.

  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the RAF and the Army Air Corps provided support to foreign military forces during operations to liberate Kuwait.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  RAF and Army Air Corps aircraft provided a variety of assistance to coalition forces during Operation Granby, including air-to-air refuelling, airlift assistance and search and rescue support.

  Redundant Sewage Plant
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the location of, and when he expects to place a contract for the decommissioning of a redundant sewage plant and surrounding area as advertised in the Ministry of Defence contracts bulletin of 11 October 1989.
  155
  Mr. Alan Clark
  The plant in question is located at the AWE Aldermaston site. We expect to place an initial contract in September of this year.

  Chieftain Tanks
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met representatives of Krauss Maffei to discuss the Chieftain replacement programme.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has had no meetings with representatives of the company to discuss this issue since taking up office. Representatives of Krauss Maffei called on me on 6 June 1991.

  British Army of the Rhine
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 23 May,Official Report, column 614, whether the information provided includes or excludes those armoured regiments and infantry battalions that are currently deployed to Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The information provided includes armoured regiments and infantry battalions currently deployed to Northern Ireland.

  Divisions
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of infantry battalions and armoured regiments that will constitute a British division within the new NATO force structure.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The number of infantry battalions, armoured regiments and other units will vary.

  Spare Parts
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make it his policy to increase the quantity of spare parts available for the British armed forces.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  Our policy will continue to be to maintain spares holdings at the levels required.

  Romania
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his Romanian counterpart regarding(a) the export of British military equipment to Romania and (b) the development of closer links between British and Romanian armed forces.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  General Spiroiu called on my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on Thursday 6 June. They discussed a range of issues, the details of which are confidential.

  RAF Wildenrath and Gutersloh
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what redunancy terms will be offered to German civilians working at RAF Wildenrath and RAF Gutersloh; and what discussions have taken place with the German Government regarding redundancy arrangements for German civilians working at RAF Wildenrath and RAF Gutersloh.
  156
  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Discussions are continuing.

  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why United Kingdom dependants employed at RAF Wildenrath and RAF Gutersloh are not entitled to redundancy payments.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The terms and conditions of service for dependant employees serving with the British Forces in Germany do not make provision for redundancy payments. The average length of service for a dependant is 18 months, a period which would not normally attract an entitlement to redundancy terms. They are, however, entitled to two months' notice of dismissal. Where a dependant is to remain in Germany but their current post is to be cut, they will be offered any suitable vacancy on the same terms as German civilian employees.

  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether those service personnel who are due to be redeployed from RAF Wildenrath and RAF Gutersloh will be transferred into positions that are suitable to their particular skills.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is the intention that those personnel who are due to be redeployed from RAF Wildenrath and RAF Gutersloh will be posted to positions that utilise their particular skills wherever possible.

  Defence Industries (Diversification)
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to providing assistance to defence industries in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to diversify into other areas of production.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  None.

  Departmental Courses
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the number, rank and nationality of military personnel from the Soviet Union or former Warsaw pact nations who have been invited to attend his Department's courses.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Two members of the Hungarian armed forces are undergoing training at defence establishments in the United Kingdom, and the Polish Government have also been invited to nominte a member of the Polish armed forces to attend a course in the United Kingdom. Details of the training provided are generally confidential between Her Majesty's Government and the Government concerned.

  UN Military Staff Committee
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his representative at the United Nations Military Staff Committee has raised the question of(a) the monitoring of the transfer of conventional arms or (b) the possible restriction on the export of military equipment to the middle east by France, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United States of America and China in that committee.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No.

  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will list the dates of all meetings of the United Nations Military Staff Committee in the last 10 years and the work that has been undertaken by this committee.
  157
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The United Nations Military Staff Committee meets formally every fortnight. There have been 272 such meetings since the beginning of 1981, the latest taking place on 14 June 1991. The formal meetings of the UNMSC have been a useful forum for an exchange of views between the military representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. During the Gulf crisis, ad hoc meetings of the members of the UNMSC proved valuable for sharing information on naval deployments.

  Nuclear Submarines
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which docks in the United Kingdom have had Z-berth safety assessments produced for them but were subsequently refused Z-berth status by the nuclear powered warships safety committee.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  None. Proposed new Z-berths are put forward to the nuclear-powered warship safety committee only when there is confidence in the berth's suitability.

  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what dates(a) Cardiff and (b) Barry docks were designated as sites for nuclear powered submarine berths; and how many nuclear-powered submarines have visited the Cardiff and Barry docks to date.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Z-berths were designated at Cardiff and Barry in 1970 and 1972 respectively. Nuclear-powered submarines have visited Barry on three occasions; visits to Cardiff have been more numerous—typically one or two per year.

  Range Safety
  Mr. John Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether on 7 July 1989 paragraphs 240(a)(1) and 240(a)(3) (c) of chapter II (Range Safety) of the Suffield (Batus) Range standing orders were fully complied with;

  (2) if paragraph 123 (a and b) of chapter 1 of the Suffield (Batus) Range standing orders was complied with between 1 January 1983 and 7 July 1989; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) if paragraphs 202, 203 and 206 of chapter II (Range Safety) of the Suffield (Batus) Range standing orders were complied with between 1 January 1983 and 7 July 1989; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I will write to my hon. Friend.

  Batus Training Area (Accident)
  Mr. John Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library annexes C and D to the summary report of the board of inquiry into the 7 July 1989 accident at Batus training area; and if he will make them available immediately to the solicitors acting for Grenadier Guardsmen Hicks, Ray and Povey.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  This information, though referred to in the summary, is part of the report of the board of inquiry and it is not our practice to release such material.

  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the total cost to date for his Department in 158
  dealing with parliamentary questions and all correspondence regarding the case of guardsmen Povey, Hicks and Ray.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Information on the costs incurred on this specific case has not been collected.

  Metal Detectors
  Mr. John Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why metal detectors were not used to clear the specific areas in which the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards were planning to dig trenches whilst engaged on an exercise in July 1989 on the battalion's live firing training area where blind rounds could be expected to be encountered.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There is considerable amount of metal debris on the range, making the use of metal detectors to locate live ammunition impracticable.

  Household Division
  Mr. John Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the changes in the field and public duties roles of the Household Division, consequent upon manpower cuts.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Army will continue to undertake public duties in an appropriate manner. We shall be looking at how best to meet these commitments from within a smaller Army while maintaining standards. Decisions on the future of individual regiments have yet to be taken.

  Sellafield (Visit)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose of the visit to Sellafield of the King's Own Border Regiment; and whether the soldiers visiting the site were carrying firearms.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is the intention of the permanent staff at HQ 4th (Volunteer) Battalion the King's own Border Regiment to visit Sellafield power station at some future date as part of their employer liaison programme. None of the staff will be carrying firearms.

  HMS Endurance
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual cost of HMS Endurance; what discussions he has had about retaining its presence in the South Atlantic; what decision he has made; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The approximate annual running costs of HMS Endurance are £2·4 million, excluding maintenance and refit. Her future programme is under consideration, but no decision has yet been taken.

  Energy Efficiency
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was(a) the expenditure on energy efficiency measures in each of the last two available years, (b) the number of dedicated energy managers and the number of years devoted to energy management in each of the last

  159
  two available years and (c) the number of energy audits carried out in the last five years in relation to the civil estate.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Prior to 1 April 1990, responsibility for energy efficiency on the MOD civil estate lay with the Department of the Environment (PSA). Any historical expenditure on energy efficiency is not separately identifiable. MOD staff effort now devoted wholly or mainly to energy efficiency represents about three person/years. Three energy audits were carried out in 1990–91.

  Energy Consumption
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in the Official Report an up-to-date version of table 3·6 on energy consumption in volume 2 of the 1990 statement on the defence estimates, giving figures for both 1989–90 and 1990–91.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member.

  Chemical Plant, Samarra
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the chemical plant at Samarra.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The United Nations special commission set up under Security Council resolution 687 has concluded a preliminary inspection of Samarra. United Kingdom experts were provided to the commission for the inspection team, whose report is now awaited.

  Jordan
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Jordan has maintained its repayment schedule in connection with recent arms deals.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  I have been asked to reply.

  Jordan defaulted on its external debts in 1989. Debts guaranteed by ECGD, including those involving defence sales, are included in multilateral rescheduling arrangements through the Paris Club.

SCOTLAND

  Hostel Deficit Grant
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what was the amount of hostel deficit grant paid to housing associations in each of the last five years;

  (2) what was the total number of units of accommodation provided for from hostel deficit grant in each of the past five years.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke) on 13 June at column 652.

  Special Needs Accommodation
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how the target of 300 new units of special needs accommodation, announced in the second strategic plan 160
  of Scottish Homes, is to be met; and if he will place any relevant material produced by Scottish Homes in the Library.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Scottish Homes finances special needs accommodation provided by housing associations from within its traditional rented programme, which in 1990–91 was approximately £149 million.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to introduce the payment of the special needs management allowance currently available in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke) on 13 June 1991 at col 652.

  Child Maintenance
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each of the last three years,(a) the number of child maintenance cases before the Scottish courts and (b) the number of cases where DNA paternity testing was involved.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is not held centrally. So far as concerns DNA paternity testing, whilst it was always possible for parties to agree this procedure, the provisions of section 70 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 which enable the court to request a party to provide samples for analysis, have been in force only since 1 January 1991. There is no information available as to the extent to which use is being made of the provisions.

  Hospitality Fund
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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 Lang
  The information is as follows:

  £

  1989–90

  60,173

  1990–91

  65,123

  11991–92

  12,818

  1 to 7 June 1991

  Housing Repossessions
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many houses were repossessed in Scotland in each year since 1980; how many were former local authority houses; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  This information is not available in the form requested. The Council of Mortgage Lenders publishes statistics in its regular newsletters on various aspects of mortgage lending by building societies but this is on a GB basis and no corresponding information is available for Scotland only. No information about other mortgage lenders is held centrally.

  Fish Farming
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many notifications have been made by salmon farmers for the use of ivermectin in each of the River Purification Authority areas in Scotland under the conditions of discharge consent before 6th June 1991.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Ivermectin is not licensed for use in fish in the United Kingdom and accordingly river purification authorities would not expect to be notified of its use by salmon farmers. Any information on individual notifications is held by the river purification authorities and is not available centrally.

  Hospitality
  Mr. Maxton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer in the Official Report, 4 June, column 215–16, what was the amount spent on hospitality by the Scottish Office in real terms in each year since 1970.

  Mr. Lang
  The information requested is shown in the following table using the GDP deflator (base year 1989–90). Figures for 1970–1978 are not available.

  Year

  £

  £ using GDP deflator

  1979–80

  15,283

  30,667

  1980–81

  19,427

  32,943

  1981–82

  20,762

  32,107

  1982–83

  31,588

  45,609

  1983–84

  26,287

  36,277

  1984–85

  27,301

  35,855

  1985–86

  35,815

  44,613

  1986–87

  38,315

  46,128

  1987–88

  41,983

  47,984

  1988–89

  42,987

  45,726

  1989–90

  60,173

  60,173

  1990–91

  65,123

  60,439

  Scotvec
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list each of the further education colleges in Scotland which(a) presently offer and (b) intend to offer from autumn 1991 languages as the principal core subjects in courses leading to Scotvec-validated qualifications at higher national certificate or diploma level.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  No courses leading to HNC/D level qualifications offered by further education colleges in

  Region

  Number of cattle1

  Number of sheep1

  Number of pigs1

  Grazing land2 (hectares)

  Borders

  145,232

  1,491,163

  17,580

  297,790

  Central

  63,457

  464,533

  2,892

  176,801

  Dumfries and Galloway

  430,842

  1,542,737

  29,446

  410,465

  Fife

  61,782

  136,439

  24,477

  36,569

  Grampian

  430,861

  799,552

  242,139

  435,927

  Highland

  153,315

  1,285,789

  14,188

  1,879,044

  Lothian

  57,867

  269,835

  42,366

  67,863

  Strathclyde

  494,896

  1,986,406

  18,216

  876,760

  Tayside

  137,746

  889,121

  56,869

  472,329

  Islands

  110,090

  535,279

  787

  437,123

  Scotland

  2,086,088

  9,400,854

  448,960

  5,090,671

  162
  Scotland have languages as the principal core subjects. However, an increasing number of courses have languages as a component.

  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to review the framework of Scotvec-validation criteria; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.

  The Scottish Vocational Education Council (SCOTVEC) recently reviewed their procedures for validating courses. In May 1991 the council issued a paper setting out new procedures, which will come into operation in 1991–92, aimed at maintaining consistent standards while delegating maximum responsibility to centres.

  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the operation of Scotvec-validated qualifications at HNC/D level; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  My right hon. Friend has received no representations on the operation of Scotvec-validated qualifications at HNC/D level.

  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the level of funding broken down by regional authority for(a) the total number of Scotvec-validated qualifications at HNC/D level and (b) those courses leading to Scotvec-validated qualifications at HNC/D level which have languages as the principal core subjects.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  This information is not held centrally.

  Livestock Density
  Mr. Maginnis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the stocking levels are for cattle, sheep and pigs for each region within Scotland; and what stocking density per hectare this represents for cattle and sheep.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The number of cattle, sheep and pigs and the area of "grazing land" for each region within Scotland returned by main holdings at June 1990 is given in the following table. Reliable information on stocking densities is not readily available but my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will write to the hon. Member with this information as soon as possible.
  163

  1 Total cattle, sheep and pigs.

  2 Includes all grassland, rough grazing (including common grazing) and crops for stockfeeding.

  Health Service
  Mr. Graham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the contracts for hospital and health board services awarded so far under the competitive tendering process by Argyll and Clyde health board, including successful tenderer and value of contract.

  Hospital unit

  Service type

  Contractor

  Previous cost £'000s

  Tender value £'000s

  Royal Alexandra

  Domestic

  In-house

  997

  981

  Inverclyde Royal

  Domestic

  In-house

  546

  525

  Dumbarton Group

  Catering

  In-house

  595

  580

  Rankin Maternity, Inverclyde

  Domestic

  In-house

  158

  143

  Lochgilphead

  Catering

  In-house

  315

  280

  Renfrew Community

  Domestic

  In-house

  149

  136

  Gilmour House

  Westward House

  Dumbarton Hospitals and Community

  Domestic

  In-house

  818

  748

  Dunoon and District

  Hotel

  In-house

  265

  249

  Royal Alexandra

  Portering

  Mediguard

  635

  495

  Inverclyde Royal

  Portering

  Mediguard

  379

  348

  Rankin

  Ravenscraig

  Merchiston

  Hotel

  In-house

  569

  526

  Elderslie

  Johnstone

  Dumbarton

  Portering

  In-house

  213

  189

  Helensburgh

  Oban

  Hotel

  In-house

  464

  422

  Ravenscraig

  Hotel

  In-house

  565

  495

  Dykebar

  Hotel

  In-house

  1,474

  1,384

  Hawkhead

  Barshaw

  Gilmour House

  Westward House

  Argyll and Dumbarton

  Transport

  In-house

  164

  138

  Renfrew and Inverclyde

  Transport

  In-house

  286

  227

  Argyll

  Painterwork

  In-house

  54

  48

  Dumbarton

  Painterwork

  John Miller and Sons

  53

  34

  Inverclyde

  Ground maintenance

  In-house

  124

  106

  Dunoon

  Rothesay

  Note: In this context "hotel" means a combined contract including cleaning, catering, portering, laundry/linen and telephone/reception duties or combination thereof.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 2 May,Official Report, column 285, on the methodology used to produce his recent local tax exemplifications, if he will list the level of central Government grant assumed to be allocated to each Scottish local authority to produce the exemplifications; and how the distribution of grant was derived.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: I refer to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member on 30 April at columns 89–90.

  House Repairs
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost to housing authorities for repairing and maintaining houses in each of the past five years for which figures are available.
  164
  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Contracts awarded in the Argyll and Clyde health board area are expected to realise £2·3 million savings over the three-year contract period. These savings release resources for re-investment in direct patient care.

  The information is as follows:

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: Information relating to the cost of local housing authorities of repairing and maintaining their own houses is as follows:

  Year

  £ million

  1986–87

  203·164

  1987–88

  211·618

  1988–89

  219·893

  1989–90

  230·480

  1990–91

  243·669

  Note: The 1990–91 figure is provisional. All figures are at outturn prices.

  Child Employment
  Mr. Andrew Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is his estimate of the number of school children working part-time in non-industrial undertakings who are in breach of child employment regulations; and if he will make a statement;
  165
  (2) if he will provide a breakdown of the numbers of children working part-time in non-industrial undertakings who are in breach of child employment regulations by category of employment; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: Information held centrally about offences under the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 does not at present record separately those offences which relate to child employment.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the percentages of total in-patients on waiting lists who have been waiting for more than one and two years at March 1991 by health boards.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 17 June 1991]: The information requested is not available.

EMPLOYMENT

  Training Schemes
  Mr. Mudd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money his Department has contributed to training, retraining, employment schemes and job clubs and all other programmes to reduce unemployment in Falmouth and Camborne over each of the last 10 years; what forward plans have been made for the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information is not available in the form requested. However, in the last 10 years the Employment Department has provided a range of opportunities to assist the unemployed in the Falmouth and Camborne area, including youth training, community programme, employment training advisory services to jobseekers and job clubs. In the last two financial years —1989–90 and 1990–91, my Department has allocated a total of £200·788 million to the south-west region to assist training and unemployment measures.

  Devon and Cornwall TEC has been allocated a budget of £50,062,396 in 1991–92 to enable it to plan and deliver training and enterprise provision in their area. The TEC will be paying particular attention to the needs of the unemployed. Employment service offices in Falmouth, Redruth and Camborne offer a full range of programmes and services to help unemployed people back to work, including advisory interviews, job club, job interview guarantee, travel to interview scheme, Restart courses and help for people with disabilities. Programme development

  Employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence

  Average gross weekly earnings

  Percentage earning less than £220

  Percentage earning less than £250

  Full·time £

  Full·time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Great Britain

  All males

  —

  35·5

  37·9

  47·0

  49·0

  Manual males

  237·2

  49·3

  51·3

  63·4

  64·8

  Non-manual males

  —

  21·5

  24·5

  30·5

  33·2

  All females

  —

  67·5

  78·7

  76·3

  84·6

  Manual females

  —

  90·9

  95·8

  95·2

  97·7

  Non-manual females

  —

  61·4

  71·8

  71·4

  79·2

  All employees

  —

  46·6

  56·1

  57·2

  64·8

  166
  funding has also been used for a project, in the Camborne/Redruth area, called "Teamwork" which is providing long-term unemployed clients with the opportunity to increase their employment and training prospects. The employment service Cornwall-Plymouth area office has been allocated £427,825 for expenditure on programmes in 1991–92.

  Approved Training Organisations
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list for(a) 12 months ago and (b) the latest date for which he has figures how many approved training organisations there are; and what are their names.

  Mr. Jackson
  The numbers and names of approved training organisations is a matter for individual training and enterprise councils. TECs have agreed to ensure that providers secure approved training organisation or equivalent status within the period of time set out in each TECs agreed business plan.

  Prison Training
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many training and enterprise councils are involved in work and training in prisons.

  Mr. Jackson
  Responsibility for training in prisons lies with the Home Office prison service. It is not possible to identify which training and enterprise councils are involved in work and training in prisons. We are, however, aware of two pilot projects run by Devon and Cornwall TEC.

  Earnings
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures(a) from the New Earnings Survey and (b) estimates for 1991–92 for (A) average gross earnings for full-time manual males, (B) the percentage of (i) full-time males, (ii) full-time manual males, (iii) full-time non-manual males, (iv) full-time females, (v) full-time manual females, (vi) full-time non-manual females, (vii) all full-time employees, (viii) all full-time manual employees and (ix) all full-time non-manual employees, earning less than this amount and (C) percentages earning less than this amount in the same categories as in (B) but including part-timers.

  Mr. Jackson
  The available information closest to that requested is shown in the following table:
  167

  Average gross weekly earnings

  Percentage earning less than £220

  Percentage earning less than £250

  Full-time £

  Full-lime Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Full-lime Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  All manual employees

  —

  56·8

  65·3

  69·1

  75·2

  All non-manual employees

  —

  39·7

  49·7

  49·2

  57·7

  Source: New Earnings Survey 1990.

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures(a) from the New Earnings Survey and (b) estimates for 1991–92 for (A) average gross earnings for full-time non-manual males in the south-east, (B) the percentage of (i) full-time males, (ii) full-time manual males, (iii) full-time non-manual males, (iv) full-time females, (v) full-time manual females, (vi) full-time non-manual females, (vii) all full-time employees,

  Employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence

  Average gross weekly earnings

  Percentage earning less than £400

  Percentage earning less than £450

  Full-time £

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  South East

  All males

  —

  74·3

  —

  81·0

  —

  Manual males

  —

  91·8

  —

  95·3

  —

  Non-manual males

  404·0

  62·6

  —

  71·4

  —

  All females

  —

  93·9

  —

  96·2

  —

  Manual females

  —

  99·5

  —

  99·9

  —

  Non-manual females

  —

  92·9

  —

  95·6

  —

  All employees

  —

  81·4

  —

  86·6

  —

  All manual employees

  —

  93·2

  —

  96·1

  —

  All non-manual employees

  —

  76·2

  —

  82·2

  —

  Great Britain

  All males

  —

  83·6

  84·2

  88·5

  88·9

  Manual males

  —

  94·6

  94·8

  97·1

  97·2

  Non-manual males

  —

  72·4

  73·4

  79·8

  80·6

  All females

  —

  96·8

  97·9

  98·1

  98·8

  Manual females

  —

  99·8

  99·9

  99·9

  100·0

  Non-Manual females

  —

  96·0

  97·1

  97·6

  98·3

  All employees

  —

  88·1

  90·3

  91·8

  93·3

  All manual employees

  —

  95·5

  96·4

  97·6

  98·0

  All non-manual employees

  —

  83·2

  86·0

  88·0

  90·0

  Source: New Earnings Survey 1990.

  Note: "—" denotes information not available.

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures(a) from the New Earnings Survey and (b) estimates for 1991–92 for (A) average gross earnings for full-time males, (B) the percentage of (i) full-time males, (ii) full-time manual males, (iii) full-time non-manual males, (iv) full-time females, (v) full-time manual females, (vi) full-time

  Employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence

  Average gross weekly earnings

  Percentage earning less than £280

  Percentage earning less than £300

  Full-time £

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Great Britain

  All males

  295·6

  57·2

  58·8

  63·2

  64·6

  Manual males

  —

  74·7

  75·7

  80·4

  81·1

  Non-manual males

  —

  39·5

  41·8

  45·8

  48·0

  All females

  —

  82·8

  88·8

  86·8

  91·4

  168
  (viii) all full-time manual employees and (ix) all full-time non-manual employees, both in the South-East and in the country as a whole, earning less than this amount and (C) the percentages earning less than this amount in the same categories as in (B) but including part-timers.

  Mr. Jackson
  The available information closest to that requested is shown in the following table:

  non-manual females, (vii) all full-time employees, (viii) all full-time manual employees and (ix) all full-time non-manual employees, earning less than this amount and (C) percentages earning less than this amount in the same categories as in (B) but including part-timers.

  Mr. Jackson
  The available information closest to that requested is shown in the following table:
  169

  Average gross weekly earnings

  Percentage earning less than £280

  Percentage earning less than £300

  Full-time £

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Full-lime Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Manual females

  —

  97·6

  98·9

  98·4

  99·2

  Non-manual females

  —

  79·0

  84·8

  83·7

  88·2

  All employees

  —

  66·1

  72·2

  71·4

  76·5

  All manual employees

  —

  78·8

  83·0

  83·6

  86·9

  All non-manual employees

  —

  57·5

  64·7

  63·2

  69·4

  Source: New Earnings Survey 1990.

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures(a) from the New Earnings Survey and (b) estimates for 1991–92 for (A) average gross earnings for full-time non-manual males in the south-east, (B) the percentage of (i) full-time males, (ii) full-time manual males, (iii) full-time non-manual males, (iv) full-time females, (v) full-time manual females, (vi) full-time non-manual females, (vii) all full-time employees,

  Employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence

  Average gross weekly earnings

  Percentage earning less than £320

  Percentage earning less than £350

  Full-time £

  Full-lime Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  South East

  All males

  344·4

  57·3

  —

  64·8

  —

  Manual males

  —

  79·2

  —

  85·8

  —

  Non-manual males

  —

  42·6

  —

  50·8

  —

  All females

  —

  84·8

  —

  89·5

  —

  Manual females

  —

  97·7

  —

  99·0

  —

  Non-manual females

  —

  82·5

  —

  87·9

  —

  All employees

  —

  67·3

  —

  73·8

  —

  All manual employees

  —

  82·5

  —

  88·2

  —

  All non-manual employees

  —

  60·5

  —

  67·4

  —

  Great Britain

  All males

  —

  68·8

  70·0

  75·7

  76·6

  Manual males

  —

  84·8

  54·4

  61·2

  62·8

  Non-manual males

  —

  52·5

  85·4

  89·9

  90·3

  All females

  —

  90·4

  93·7

  93·9

  96·0

  Manual females

  —

  98·9

  99·5

  99·4

  99·7

  Non-manual females

  —

  88·1

  91·4

  92·4

  94·5

  All employees

  —

  76·3

  80·5

  82·0

  85·2

  All manual employees

  —

  87·4

  89·9

  91·6

  93·3

  All non-manual employees

  —

  68·8

  74·1

  75·5

  79·7

  Source: New Earnings Survey 1990.

  Note: "—" donotes information not available.

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures(a) from the New Earnings Survey and (b) estimates for 1991–92 for (A) average gross earnings for full-time manual females, (B) the percentage of (i) full-time males, (ii) full-time manual males, (iii) full-time non-manual males, (iv) full-time females, (v) full-time manual females, (vi) full-time

  Employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence

  Average gross weekly earnings

  Percentage earning less than £140

  Percentage earning less than £150

  Full-time £

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Great Britain

  All males

  —

  7·3

  10·6

  9·8

  13·1

  Manual males

  —

  10·2

  13·5

  13·8

  17·0

  Non-manual males

  —

  4·4

  7·8

  5·9

  9·2

  170
  (viii) all full-time manual employees and (ix) all full-time non-manual employees, both in the South-East and in the country as a whole, earning less than this amount and (C) the percentages earning less than this amount in the same categories as in (B) but including part-timers.

  Mr. Jackson
  The available information closest to that requested is shown in the following table:

  non-manual females, (vii) all full-time employees, (viii) all full-time manual employees and (ix) all full-time non-manual employees, earning less than this amount and (C) percentages earning less than this amount in the same categories as in (B) but including part-timers.

  Mr. Jackson
  The available information closest to that requested is shown in the following table:
  171

  Average gross weekly earnings

  Percentage earning less than £140

  Percentage earning less than £150

  Full-time £

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  All females

  —

  27·3

  50·6

  33·3

  55·0

  Manual females

  148·0

  52·1

  76·9

  60·0

  80·8

  Non-manual females

  —

  20·7

  39·9

  26·3

  44·6

  All employees

  —

  14·2

  28·4

  18·0

  31·7

  All manual employees

  —

  17·7

  33·5

  22·1

  37·1

  All non-manual employees

  —

  11·9

  24·9

  15·2

  28·0

  Source: New Earnings Survey 1990.

  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of males, females and all workers within each of the 10 standard industrial classification divisions in the northern region earned less than £170 per week, and less than £180 per week, in 1990 and the first quarter of 1991.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information is not available.

  Average gross weekly earnings by region and county within industrial division Full-time males on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence April 1990

  Industrial classification

  Tyne and Wear MC

  Cleveland

  Cumbria

  Durham

  Northumberland

  Northern region

  Division 0

  1—

  2—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Division 1

  294·2

  1—

  317·3

  1—

  1—

  304·7

  Division 2

  256·0

  333·4

  296·1

  1—

  1—

  305·4

  Division 3

  261·2

  290·9

  293·2

  256·1

  1—

  269·6

  Division 4

  248·9

  1—

  269·3

  267·1

  1—

  256·2

  Division 5

  246·5

  1—

  255·8

  249·7

  1—

  250·0

  Division 6

  216·9

  1—

  1—

  190·1

  1—

  215·2

  Division 7

  255·4

  228·4

  239·6

  216·3

  1—

  239·7

  Division 8

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  282·0

  Division 9

  287·1

  262·6

  307·7

  272·2

  253·8

  280·4

  All industries

  262·8

  275·4

  276·7

  255·9

  248·4

  265·2

  Source: New Earnings Survey 1990.

  1 — Denotes sampling error too large or numbers too small for reliable estimate.

  2 — Denotes information not available.

  Average gross weekly earnings by region and county within industrial division Full-time females on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence April 1990

  Industrial classification

  Tyne and Wear MC

  Cleveland

  Cumbria

  Durham

  Northumberland

  Northern region

  Division 0

  2—

  2—

  2—

  2—

  2—

  2—

  Division 1

  1—

  1—

  1—

  2—

  1—

  200·4

  Division 2

  1—

  2—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Division 3

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  170·

  Division 4

  1—

  1—

  161·5

  1—

  1—

  155·4

  Division 5

  1—

  1—

  2—

  1—

  2—

  1—

  Division 6

  136·3

  1—

  131·3

  1—

  1—

  131·0

  Division 7

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  172·9

  Division 8

  175·1

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  171·6

  Division 9

  202·6

  204·3

  200·9

  200·9

  1—

  202·2

  All industries

  183·0

  181·3

  178·7

  178·0

  171·5

  180·2

  Source: New Earnings Survey 1990.

  1— Denotes sampling error too large or numbers too small for reliable estimate.

  2— Denotes information not available.

  172
  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the average earnings of males, females and all workers, in each of the standard industrial classification divisions in the northern region and in each county within the region.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information available from the New Earnings Survey is provided in the following tables.
  173

  Average gross weekly earnings by region and county within industrial division Full-time employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence April 1990

  Industrial classification

  Tyne and Wear MC

  Cleveland

  Cumbria

  Durham

  Northumberland

  Northern region

  Division 0

  1—

  2—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Division 1

  272·1

  1—

  297·6

  1—

  1—

  288·2

  Division 2

  248·1

  333·4

  291·6

  1—

  1—

  295·8

  Division 3

  248·8

  274·5

  266·9

  238·0

  1—

  251·9

  Division 4

  217·4

  209·8

  231·6

  233·8

  202·9

  222·1

  Division 5

  242·0

  254·6

  255·8

  243·4

  1—

  245·6

  Division 6

  185·5

  1—

  1—

  162·8

  1—

  180·9

  Division 7

  243·4

  223·2

  235·6

  209·4

  1—

  230·9

  Division 8

  241·9

  243·9

  1—

  1—

  1—

  235·9

  Division 9

  239·2

  229·5

  250·2

  233·2

  225·3

  236·8

  All industries

  234·2

  246·3

  246·7

  230·5

  221·1

  236·7

  Source: New Earnings Survey 1990.

  1— Denotes sampling error too large or numbers too small for reliable estimate.

  2— Denotes information not available.

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures(a) from the New Earnings Survey and (b) estimates for 1991–92 for (A) average gross earnings for full-time non-manual males, (B) the percentage of (i) full-time males, (ii) full-time manual males, (iii) full-time non-manual males, (iv) full-time females, (v) full-time manual females, (vi) full-time

  Employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence

  Average gross weekly earnings

  Percentage earning less than £350

  Percentage earning less than £400

  Full·time £

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Full-time Per cent.

  All Per cent.

  Great Britain

  All males

  —

  75·7

  76·6

  83·6

  84·2

  Manual males

  —

  89·9

  90·3

  94·6

  94·8

  Non-manual males

  354·9

  61·2

  62·8

  72·4

  73·4

  All females

  —

  93·9

  96·0

  96·8

  97·9

  Manual females

  —

  99·4

  99·7

  99·8

  99·9

  Non-manual females

  —

  92·4

  94·5

  96·0

  97·1

  All employees

  —

  82·0

  85·2

  88·1

  90·3

  All manual employees

  —

  91·6

  93·3

  95·5

  96·4

  All non-manual employees

  —

  75·5

  79·7

  83·2

  86·0

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures(a) from the New Earnings Survey and (b) estimates for 1991–92 for (i) median male gross earnings both in aggregate and divided into manual and non-manual, (ii) median female gross earnings both in aggregate and divided into manual and non-manual, (iii) manual and non-manual median earnings for all employees and (iv) (i), (ii) and (iii) above for the south-east, including greater London only.

  Mr. Jackson
  The available information is shown in the following table:

  Full-time employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence

  Median gross weekly earnings

  South East £

  Great Britain £

  All males

  294·7

  258·2

  Manual males

  237·7

  221·3

  Non-manual males

  347·6

  312·1

  All females

  209·8

  177·5

  174
  non-manual females, (vii) all full-time employees, (viii) all full-time manual employees and (ix) all full-time non-manual employees, earning less than this amount and (C) percentages earning less than this amount in the same categories as in (B) but including part-timers.

  Mr. Jackson
  The available information closest to that requested is shown in the following table:

  median male gross earnings

  South East £

  Great Britain £

  Manual females

  152·1

  137·3

  Non-manual females

  221·1

  191·8

  All employees

  —

  229·4

  Manual employees

  —

  206·1

  Non-manual employees

  —

  252·6

  Source: New Earnings Survey 1990.

  "—" denotes information not available.

  Training (Southwark)
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the 10 employers in Southwark with the largest number of people being trained by them.

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

  The recently established South Thames training and enterprise council which became operational on 17 May

  175
  with a budget of £17·971 million has, as one of its primary objectives, the improvement of commitment among employers to training their employees. The TEC chairman, John Roberts, is managing director of Post Office Counters based in Southwark, which has an exemplary record in training its employees and was national training award winners in 1989, training 1,300 employees.

  Tourism, Bournemouth
  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to provide new help to the tourist industry in Bournemouth.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Department's assistance to the tourism industry is channelled via the English tourist board. In the 1991–92 financial year the English tourist board will make available to the Southern tourist board, which covers Bournemouth, funds totalling £436,000.

  Unemployment Benefit (Disqualification)
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many individuals were disqualified from unemployment benefit(a) in Wales as a whole and (b) by each employment office in Wales under section 20 of the Social Security Act 1975 in each of the last five years.

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

  Energy Efficiency
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 3 June,Official Report, column 108, if he will list the main items of expenditure included in the £523,000 spent on improving energy efficiency.

  Mr. Forth
  The main items of expenditure are as follows:

  £

  Surveys

  259,000

  Training

  32,000

  Energy saving projects

  142,000

  Salaries (6 man-years at £15K per year)

  90,000

  Coal Mining, Neath
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give figures for employees in coal mining in the Neath constituency for each of the last 20 years.

  Mr. Jackson
  Information for employees in employment according to industry and by parliamentary constituency is available only from the censuses of employment taken in 1984, 1987 and 1989. At September 1984, there were an estimated 2,500 employees employed 176
  in coal mining (activity heading 1113 of the standard industrial classification) in the Neath constituency. The comparable figures for 1987 and 1989—September of each of those years—are 1,300 and 600 respectively.

  Kingston Area Training Consortium
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the level of grant awarded by the Training Agency in 1990–91 to Kingston area training consortium; and what was the grant awarded to the Kingston area training consortium in 1991–92 by the west London training and enterprise council.

  Mr. Jackson
  It is not possible to provide this information. Details of financial arrangements between training and enterprise councils and their training managers are commercial in confidence.

  Chelmsford
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on how much money his Department has contributed to retraining, training and employment schemes and job clubs and all other projects to reduce unemployment in the Chelmsford local authority area in each of the financial years since 1979–80; and what are his forward plans for the next three years.

  Mr. Jackson
  [holding answer 23 May 1991]: The information is not available in the form requested. However in the last 10 years the Employment Department has provided a range of opportunities to assist the unemployed in the Chelmsford area, including youth training, community programme, employment training, advisory services to jobseekers and job clubs. Although, because of changes to the content and collation of statistics, comparable figures are not available for previous years, in the last financial year— 1990–91 —my Department has allocated to the Essex area £12,196,000 to assist training measures and £489,618 to assist unemployment measures.

  The Government are determined to ensure that unemployed people have the best possible advice and support to help them find jobs and to provide special help where it is needed. On training, this year, Government are spending more than two and a half times in real terms the amount spent in 1978–79.

  In the future training and enterprise provision will be delivered by the training and enterprise councils. Essex TEC has been allocated a budget of £26–5 million in 1991–92 to enable them to plan and deliver training and enterprise provision in their area. The TEC will be paying particular attention to the needs of the unemployed.

  Employment Service offices in Chelmsford offer a full range of pogrammes and services to help unemployed people back to work, including advisory interviews, job club, travel to interview scheme, Restart courses and Essex "Jobsearch"-a local job club for the newly unemployed. The employment service Essex area office has a programme budget of £620,156 in 1991–92.

  THE GULF WAR: JAPANESE CONTRIBUTION TO UK COSTS
  THE GULF WAR: JAPANESE CONTRIBUTION TO UK COSTS
  WATER SUPPLIES: FORWARD PLANNING
  WATER SUPPLIES: FORWARD PLANNING
  WATER SUPPLIES: ADEQUACY
  WATER SUPPLIES: ADEQUACY
  ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL, 13th and 14th JUNE
  ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL, 13th and 14th JUNE
  TOWER OF LONDON AND ROYAL ARMOURIES
  TOWER OF LONDON AND ROYAL ARMOURIES
  SET ASIDE: ONE-YEAR SCHEME
  SET ASIDE: ONE-YEAR SCHEME
  EC SOCIAL ACTION PROGRAMME
  EC SOCIAL ACTION PROGRAMME
  EMPLOYEE INFORMATION AND CONSULTATION
  EMPLOYEE INFORMATION AND CONSULTATION
  WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EUROPE: REPORT
  WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EUROPE: REPORT
  ASYLUM ARRANGEMENTS: REVIEW
  ASYLUM ARRANGEMENTS: REVIEW
  ROYAL COMMISSION ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE: TERMS OF REFERENCE
  ROYAL COMMISSION ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE: TERMS OF REFERENCE
  ROYAL COMMISSIONS ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE SINCE 1959
  ROYAL COMMISSIONS ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE SINCE 1959