Written Answers of 11 November 1991

TRANSPORT

  Goods Vehicle Drivers
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statistical evidence is collected about accident rates for large goods vehicle drivers.

  Mr. Chope
  The statistics available cover road accidents involving personal injury and reported to the police. The standard report prepared by the police and submitted to the Department of Transport includes information on each vehicle involved and identifies the vehicle type. The report also includes the vehicle registration mark of any vehicles involved, and, by linking with data held at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency at Swansea, a more precise definition of vehicle type can be obtained.

  Information about the driver includes age, sex and results of any roadside screening breath test, but no other personal details. Information on heavy goods vehicle traffic and movements are produced by the national traffic census and the continuing survey of roads and goods transportation. Information on heavy goods vehicle accident involvement rates is published in "Road Accidents Great Britain 1990: The Casualty Report". The involvement rate of HGVs in injury accidents has fallen from 70 per 100 million vehicle kilometres in 1980 to 56 per 100 million vehicle kilometres in 1990. The casualty rate for HGV drivers was 11 per 100 million vehicle kilometres in 1990.

  High-speed Rail Link
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what comparisons he has undertaken between the amount of revenue income attributable to the proposed King's Cross low-level international station from high-speed rail link services approaching via Stratford East, and those approaching from the previously proposed link from the south.

  Mr. Freeman
  The low-level station at King's Cross was treated by British Rail in its comparative study of routes for a high-speed rail link as an integral part of those routes in which it featured. British Rail's comparative estimates of the revenues obtainable from the traffic forecast for each of the routes is shown in its route comparison report, a copy of which is in the Library. In deciding their preferred route the Government took account of all the relevant considerations, including regional planning. the environmental impact, and the effect on property, as well as transport objectives.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport within what time range he expects the high-speed rail link from the channel tunnel to be(a) completed and (b) connected to the proposed low-level station at King's Cross.
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  Mr. Freeman
  It is too soon to say. No decision has yet been made on when construction may start.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether the proposed rail link from Stratford to King's Cross will be designed to be able to take freight services;

  (2) whether he has yet received any proposals from British Rail for the use of the proposed rail link from Stratford to King's Cross for freight services.

  Mr. Freeman
  Further consideration has to be given to the implications of the proposed new line for freight. But if it were to be designed to be able to be used for freight, it seems unlikely that freight trains would run on the section between Stratford and King's Cross.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) within what range of real rates of return British Rail's revenue projections for the proposed international low-level station at King's Cross lie;

  (2) whether British Rail's proposals for the European passenger services component of the financing of the proposed international station at King's Cross envisage the involvement of any Government financial support; and whether British Rail is seeking any capital grant for the new Kent express or Thameslink components of the financing of the station;

  (3) what updated appraisal he has received from British Rail of its proposals for financing the works covered by the King's Cross Railways Bill following his decision that the high-speed rail link should come to King's Cross via Stratford.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Department has not yet received British Rail's detailed financial appraisal for the proposed King's Cross terminal.

  International passenger services using the station will be subject to the terms of section 42 of the Channel Tunnel Act 1987, so they will have to cover the part of the station costs properly attributable to them out of commercial revenue.

  Network SouthEast is in principle eligible to receive capital grant in recognition of benefits of projects to non-users. British Rail has not sought such a grant so far in respect of the element of the cost of the proposed works at King's Cross relating to commuter services.

  Dame Peggy Fenner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when the Ove Arup original consultation team will be able to visit the Medway constituency to continue discussions on the precise location of the route;

  (2) if he will meet constituents of the hon. Member for Medway to discuss their requirement that the channel tunnel rail link Medway crossing should be positioned as closely as possible to the present crossing;

  (3) if the Government will publish the precise details of the channel tunnel rail link route through the Medway constituency.

  Mr. Freeman
  The route originally proposed by Ove Arup, and developed further in conjuction with British Rail, will now be refined over the next few months. It will be published once sufficient details are available to form the basis of the public consultation process that BR will lead. There will then be ample opportunity for any concerns to be aired about the alignment of the route and how best to limit its environmental impact. Only after this will the plans be finalised.
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  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what proposals he has received from British Rail in furtherance of the implementation of its proposals in "International Rail Services for the United Kingdom" of 1989 to run 11 services per day from different places beyond London;

  (2) what proposals he has received from British Rail for the provision of the rolling stock it aims to obtain for the channel tunnel rail link services to run through-trains beyond London.

  Mr. Freeman
  Since 1989 investment proposals have been approved by the Government for various infrastructure works which are under way. We are considering proposals for the day trains. Orders for the night rolling stock depend on the outcome of British Rail's negotiations with their continental railway partners. British Rail's initial plans and requirements for rolling stock are not affected by the Government's recent decision on the rail link.

  Dame Peggy Fenner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Ove Arup route now adopted for the channel link deviates in any way from that discussed with Ove Arup and the local communities.

  Mr. Freeman
  The supplementary note to British Rail's document "Rail Link Project: Comparison of routes: Report to British Railways Board, May 1991", a copy of which is in the Library, explains two late changes which Ove Arup introduced to its proposed route. These were summarised in letters which my right hon. and learned Friend's office sent to my hon. Friends the Members for Medway (Dame P. Fenner) and for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) on 14 October, and were reflected in the outline route map published by the Department.

  Sir John Stanley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will be lifting his safeguarding directions covering the section of the previous British Rail preferred route for the channel tunnel rail link between Detling and Malling.

  Mr. Freeman
  My right hon. and leaned Friend made a direction on 5 November 1991 to the local authorities concerned. This varies the present safeguarding directions for the channel tunnel rail link in Kent so that these no longer apply to the west of the A249 at Detling.

  Brownieside
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will now publish the report of the inspector who conducted the public inquiry into objections to the Al Brownieside improvement scheme.

  Mr. Chope
  The decision letter and inspector's report on the statutory orders for the A1 Brownieside improvement scheme will be issued in a matter of weeks.

  Blighted Homes
  Sir. John Stanley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will be using his new powers under the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 to make voluntary acquisitions of blighted homes regardless of their distance from the proposed new highway scheme in question.

  Mr. Chope
  Section 62 of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 gives my right hon. Friend the 336
  power to acquire property which in his opinion will be seriously affected by the Department's road schemes. The criteria by which he will exercise his discretion are under consideration.

  Driving Licence Fees
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the income from driving licence fees during 1990–91.

  Mr. Chope
  The income from driving licence fees for the year 1990–91 was £22,305,780.

  High-speed Rail Link
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will publish the precise details of the channel tunnel rail link route as it passes through the Dartford constituency; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) when he expects the original Ove Arup consultation scheme to visit the Dartford constituency to discuss the implications of the chosen channel tunnel rail link route upon local householders and communities;

  (3) if the route he has approved for the channel link in concept deviates significantly from that running at March 1990.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave today to my hon. Friend the Member for Medway (Dame P. Fenner).

  Road Accidents
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action his Department has taken over the past year to reduce the number of people who are killed or injured on the roads.

  Mr. Chope
  I have today published the "Road Safety Report 1990–91" which describes the measures to reduce casualties that the Department, together with the Scottish and Welsh Offices, have promoted over the past year. Copies have been placed in the House Library.

  Central European Time
  Sir Gerrard Neale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the effect of a move by the United Kingdom to central European time on the number of fatal and serious road accidents; and whether the Government support such a move.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  I have been asked to reply.

  I refer my hon. Friend to estimates by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory set out in the Green Paper "Summer time: A Consultation Document", CM722. The responses to the Green Paper revealed considerable difference of opinion within the United Kingdom about options for future summer time arrangements. Policy on those arrangements therefore remains under consideration.

  Smoke Emissions
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will specify what type of smoke measuring equipment will be required for use in heavy goods vehicle testing stations.
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  Mr. Chope
  The vehicle inspectorate is currently studying which smoke opacity measuring equipment should be installed in heavy goods vehicle testing stations.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations to require the identification of manufacturers' emission standards as recorded at COP testing on under-bonnet plates.

  Mr. Chope
  There is no need to do this. Information on vehicle manufacturers' recommended emission levels is readily available from the manufacturers and their agents and from certain specialist publications.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what standards will be used to assess emissions of smoke from heavy goods vehicles.

  Mr. Chope
  The current test relies on a visual check of smoke density by vehicle examiners to standards which are published in the heavy goods vehicle inspection manual. The same standards will be applied when smoke meters are introduced into the testing scheme.

  Cycles
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are taken by his Department to ensure that cycles using the public highway are equipped with an audible means of warning.

  Mr. Chope
  In 1984, there was consultation upon a proposal to require pedal cycles to be fitted with bells. The proposal was not implemented because it was subject to many objections from cycling organisations and also the Pedestrians Association. The issue will be considered further when the Pedal Cycles (Safety) Regulations are updated next year.

  Remote Sensing Equipment
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the use of remote sensing equipment to detect in-use vehicles which exceed the new MOT standards for carbon monoxide; and what action will be taken.

  Mr. Chope
  None.

DEFENCE

  Operation Buffalo Nuclear Tests
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to remove nuclear debris from the site of the Operation Buffalo nuclear tests and to store such debris in a nuclear waste depository.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  This is a matter fror the Government of Australia.

  Maralinga Nuclear Test Site
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his current estimate of the extent of plutonium contamination of the Maralinga site, resulting from the minor trials of British nuclear weapons.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The latest assessment of the extent of contamination of the Maralinga site is contained 338
  in the report by the technical assessment group entitled "Rehabilitation of Former Nuclear Test Sites in Australia" published by the Australian Department of Primary Industries and Energy in November 1990. I will arrange for a copy of this report to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest assessment of the extent of radioactive contamination of the Maralinga site of the British nuclear bomb test; and what is his latest estimate of the cost of a clean up.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The latest assessment of the extent of contamination and cost of clean-up of the Maralinga site is contained in the report by the technical assessment group entitled "Rehabilitation of Former Nuclear Test Sites in Australia" published by the Australian Department of Primary Industries and Energy in November 1990. I will arrange for a copy of this report to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates his Department has made of I he cost of decontamination of the Maralinga range, South Australia; what representations he has received on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Newport, (Mr. Flynn), on 5 November,Official Report, column 43, Estimates of the cost of options for rehabilitation of the former nuclear weapon test sites at Maralinga and Emu Field are set out in the report of the technical assessment group entitled "Rehabilitation of Former Nuclear Test Sites in Australia" published by the Australian Department of Primary Industries and Energy in November 1990. I will arrange for a copy of this report to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Regiments
  Mr. Cyril D. Townsend
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the dates for restructuring the regiments of the combat arms.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is intended to implement the majority of the regimental mergers and other restructuring progressively over the next four years. Plans have been made for the following major changes to take place by early 1993:

  Early 1992

  40 Army Engineer Support Group and RHQ 28 Engineer Regiment amalgamate.

  30 Field Squadron Royal Engineers disbands.

  Mid 1992

  2nd and 3rd Royal Tank Regiments amalgamate

  4th/7th Dragoon Guards and 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards amalgamate.

  The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers merge to form two battalions.

  The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of The Royal Anglian Regiment merge to form two battalions.

  The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of The Royal Green Jackets merge to form two battalions

  52 Field Squadron (Construction) Royal Engineers disbands.

  244 Signal Squadron (Air Support) disbands.

  Late 1992

  The 1st and 2nd Battalions of 2nd King Edwards VII's Own Gurkha Rifles merge to form one battalion.

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  13th/18th Royal Hussars and 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars amalgamate.

  The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals combine.

  The Royal Hussars and 14th/20th King's Hussars amalgamate.

  49 Field Regiment Royal Artillery disbands.

  22 Signal Regiment disbands.

  Early 1993

  The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of The Queen's Regiment together with The Royal Hampshire Regiment amalgamate to form a regiment of two battalions.

  The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of The Light Infantry merge to form two battalions.

  27 Field Regiment Royal Artillery disbands.

  50 Missile Regiment Royal Artillery disbands.

  Detailed planning for later years has not been finalized but it is expected that the following timetable will apply:

  The 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Royal Irish Rangers merge to form a single general service battalion.

  The Second Battalions of the Coldstream Guards and the Scots Guards are placed in suspended animation.

  The Cheshire Regiment and The Staffordshire Regiment amalgamate.

  The Queen's Own Hussars and The Queen's Royal Irish Hussars amalgamate.

  1st and 4th Royal Tank Regiments amalgamate. 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers and 17th/21st Lancers amalgamate.

  45 Field Regiment Royal Artillery disbands.

  94 Locating Regiment Royal Artillery disbands.

  23 Engineer Regiment disbands.

  10 Field Squadron Royal Engineers disbands.

  16 Field Squadron Royal Engineers disbands.

  229 Signal Squadron disbands.

  The Queen's Own Highlanders and The Gordon Highlanders amalgamate.

  The Gloucestershire Regiment and The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment amalgamate.

  The Royal Scots and The King's Own Scottish Borderers amalgamate.

  The Second Battalion of the Grenadier Guards is placed in suspended animation.

  2 Field Regiment Royal Artillery disbands.

  46 Air Defence Battery Royal Artillery disbands.26 Engineer Regiment disbands.

  Average sentence length1 of persons received into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales under an immediate custodial sentence2: by sex, type of prisoner and ethnic origin, 1990

  Months

  Sex and Type of prisoner

  White

  West Indian Guyanese African

  Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi

  Chinese Arab Mixed

  Other, not recorded (including refusals)

  All persons

  Males

  Young Offenders

  12·2

  16·7

  16·1

  14·4

  11·6

  12·6

  Adults

  17·7

  25·5

  21·1

  23·2

  23·4

  18·6

  Females

  Young Offenders

  10·8

  19·3

  3·2

  13·2

  7·2

  11·7

  Adults

  12·4

  25·6

  37·6

  18·4

  16·2

  14·9

  1 Provisional Figures.

  2 Excluding those sentenced to life.

  Torture
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received the report on the visit to the United Kingdom by the European committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  We have received the committee's report and have recently responded to it. Subject to the
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  26 Engineer Regiment disbands.

  38 Field Squadron Royal Engineers disbands.

  1st Armoured Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment disbands.

  2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles, 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles and 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles merge to form a single large regiment of three battalions.

  71 Amphibious Support Squadron Royal Engineers disbands.

  28 Signal Regiment disbands.

  NORTHAG Air Support Radio Squadron disbands.

  By 1997

  As part of the drawdown in Hong Kong: there will be a reduction of one further Gurkha battalion; The Queen's Gurkha Engineers, The Queen's Gurkha Signals and the Gurkha Transport Regiment will each reduce to one squadron; and 660 Squadron Army Air Corps will disband.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Prison Population (Ethnic Groups)
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average sentence length of the prison population for each major ethnic group.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The readily available information for 1990 is given in the table. The differences between the average sentence lengths received by males in the major ethnic groups in 1984–85 were discussed in Home Office Statistical Bulletin Issue No. 17/86 "The Ethnic Origin of Prisoners: The Prison Population on 30 June 1985 and Persons Received July 1984—March 1985, paragraphs 24–27" a copy of which is in the Library. The differences were found to be associated with a range of factors including the type of offence, the type of court which had passed sentence, and the number of previous convictions.

  The average sentence lengths recorded for some of the female groups may be unrepresentative in that they are based on small numbers of persons.

  committee's agreement, we plan to make its report and the Government's response publicly available as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made.

  City Status
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications he has received for city status; and if he will list those towns seeking city status.
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  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  It is likely that the Queen will wish to grant city status to one town to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession. I have received representations that their town might be chosen for this from and on behalf of the authorities of the following 20 towns in England: Blackburn; Bolton; Brighton; Chelmsford; Colchester; Croydon; Dudley; Guildford; Ipswich; Middlesbrough; Milton Keynes; Northampton; Preston; Sandwell; Shrewsbury; Southend-on-Sea; Stockport; Sunderland; Telford; and Wolverhampton.

  Dogs
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the first set of centrally collected statistics related to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Information relating to 1991 prosecutions is expected to be available towards the end of 1992.

  Prison Officers
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the general secretary of the Prison Officers Association; and what subjects were discussed.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  My right hon. Friend last met the chairman and general secretary of the Prison Officers Association on 25 July 1991. I met them on 7 November. Subjects discussed at these meetings included the reorganisation of London prisons, the use of police cells, the corporate objectives process, the current review of the prison estate, contracting out and the Prison Service Union's application for recognition.

  Prison Escapes
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have escaped from prisons in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years up to 1 November.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The figures are as follows:

  Number

  Year ended 1 November 1989

  169

  Year ended 1 November 1990

  185

  Year ended 1 November 1991

  316

  Reports of all escapes are analysed to identify methods and possible preventive measures. The numbers of escapes nevertheless remain a cause for concern.

  Joseph Arthur Lewis Baker
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is yet in a position to write to the hon. Member for Stockton, South about the matters relating to Joseph Arthur Lewis Baker raised on 22 October 1991,Official Report, column 539,

  Mrs. Rumbold
  I have written to my hon. Friend.

  Prison Cells, London
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison cells were out of use on 1 November at London prisons due to the work taking place on the installation of an internal sanitation system.
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  Mrs. Rumbold
  Three hundred and four cells.

  Relate
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are being used to decide the forthcoming level of grant allocation to Relate.

  Mr. John Pattern
  Subject to parliamentary approval of supply estimates the level of grant to Relate's central administrative costs in 1992–93 will maintain cores funding in real terms. Additional funding will be made available in 1992–93 for other activities designed to improve the organisation's management structures at national and local level.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will show the level of grant expenditure allocated to Relate each year since 1979, both at current prices and showing the percentage change in the level of funding.

  Mr. John Patten
  The information is as follows:

  Grant

  Percentage increase

  (£ cash terms)

  on previous years

  1979–80

  418,000

  -

  1980–81

  555,000

  32·8

  1981–82

  704,000

  26·8

  1982–83

  750,000

  6·5

  1983–84

  788,000

  5·0

  1984–85

  827,460

  5·0

  1985–86

  864,570

  4·5

  1986–87

  890,500

  3·0

  1987–88

  912,870

  2·5

  1988–89

  935,910

  2·5

  1989–90

  958,890

  2·5

  1990–91

  1,006,840

  5·0

  1991–92

  1,107,500

  10·0

  1992–93

  11,511,400

  36·5

  1Subject to Parliamentary approval of Supply Estimates.

  In addition Relate received a special grant of £600,000 over the three years 1988–89 to 1990–91.

  Sunday Trading
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration his Department is giving to the use of section 43 of the Shops Act 1950 to enable shops to trade legally on Sundays during the Christmas period.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Section 43 of the Shops Act 1950 contains no power to vary the provisions of the Act which are concerned specifically with Sunday trading.

  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidance on which shops and markets may open and which goods may be legally offered for sale in England on Sundays between 17 November and Christmas.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply to a question from him given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 5 November 1991 at column 46.

  PC Tony Salt
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands as to why PC Mark Bury
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  was permitted to retire on medical grounds before disciplinary action was taken against him, following the various false statements he made about the circumstances surrounding the death of his colleague, PC Tony Salt;

  (2) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands as to the date on which Assistant Chief Constable Meften became aware of the statement by the widow of PC Salt regarding the discovery of her husband's kubaton; and what action he took;

  (3) if he will call for a report from the West Midlands police regarding the disciplinary action taken against the officers responsible for obtaining confessions from Messrs. Peter Gibbs, Mark Samuels and Tony Frances on charges of murdering PC Tony Salt;

  (4) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands as to (a) the date when the widow of the late PC Tony Salt made a statement regarding the discovery at home of her husband's kubaton, (b) the date the statement was passed to the Crown prosecution service and (c) the date charges were dropped against the three men accused of Mr. Salt's murder.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No. These are matters for the chief constable of the West Midlands.

  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will order a public inquiry into the death of PC Tony Salt; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No.

  Young Offenders
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to encourage the establishment of projects similar to the Ilderton motor project in Deptford;

  (2) if he will list the community-based projects in the United Kingdom which attempt to rehabilitate young people convicted of the offence of taking away a vehicle without the owner's consent; and how much Home Office funding has been allocated to such projects in recent years.

  Mr. John Patten
  The Home Office is providing £157,000 to seven motor projects this financial year under the young adult offenders grant scheme which exists to support voluntary organisations offering supervision to a wide range of offenders, in partnership with probation services. These projects are:

  £

  Guiding Hands Assocation, West Glamorgan

  20,787

  Croft Motor Trust, North Yorkshire

  4,100

  Car Offender Project, West Sussex

  27,774

  Dragon Wheels, South Glamorgan

  2,194

  NACRO New Careers Training, West Yorkshire

  69,653

  Telford Drive, Shropshire

  21,679

  Mendip Motor Project, Somerset

  11,300

  Total

  157,487

  Similarly the Home Office makes grants available through the safer cities programme to motor projects with the aims of crime prevention. Grants in this financial year are:

  £

  Salford Swinton Karting

  2,005

  Salford General Education in Automobile Responsibility

  12,000

  Nottingham Wheelbase

  13,500

  344

  £

  Hull Orchard Park Wheels

  750

  Coventry Henley Green Motorcycle

  16,000

  Bradford Motor Education

  16,500

  60,755

  No comprehensive record is held centrally of similar projects in England and Wales not funded by the Home Office.

  Overall provision for the young adult offender grant scheme is being increased from £2·8 million this financial year to £3·8 million next; further applications will be invited shortly and motor projects as well as others will be welcome to apply.

  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders have been transferred from Hewell Grange to other institutions since 1 September 1991.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The following numbers of young offenders have been transferred from Hewell Grange since 1 September:

  Number

  Week commencing 1 September

  Nil

  Week commencing 8 September

  5

  Week commencing 15 September

  Nil

  Week commencing 22 September

  95

  Week commencing 29 September

  2

  On 30 September the role of Hewell Grange was changed from that of a young offender institution to a category D open prison for adult males.

  Football (Policing)
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing, for each year since 1986,(a) the total number of police officers on duty at Football League matches in England and Wales, (b) the total attendance at Football League matches in England and Wales, (c) the total number of police officers as a percentage of the total attendance at Football League matches in England and Wales and (d) the total number of police officers in England and Wales.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Information on the number of police officers on duty at Football League matches is not held centrally. On 31 July 1991 I wrote to the hon. Member with details of the attendance at Football League matches in England and Wales; those details were placed in the Library. The number of police officers in England and Wales is contained in the following table:

  Police strength at 31 December

  1990

  127,090

  1989

  126,110

  1988

  124,759

  1987

  124,102

  1986

  121,550

NATIONAL FINANCE

  British Telecom
  Mr. Gordon Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the costs to the Government of(a) advertising, (b) marketing, (c) fees to advisers and (d) receiving bank and registration costs in connection with the sale of further shares in BT from (i) March 1990 to date and (ii) projected costs from March 1990 to March 1992.

  Mr. Maude
  Costs for the BT sale will be reported to Parliament after the sale has been completed. Sales proceeds will be appropriated in aid of the expenses of the sale.

  Civil Service Recruitment
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to improve recruitment and retention levels in the civil service in the London area.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Recruitment and retention in the civil service is monitored carefully. There have been very significant improvements in the recruitment and retention position of the civil service in the London area, due in part to the changes in pay which the Government have introduced over the past three years.

  Monetary Union
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on the United Kingdom net contribution to the community budget of the proposals on cohesion in the draft treaty on monetary union.

  Mr. Maude
  Cohesion is best achieved by sound macro-economic policies, supported by the existing structural funds, within which there is provision for commitments to be doubled in real terms by 1993 in comparison with 1987. Future levels of the funds will be considered as part of the review of Community finances, not within the intergovernmental conferences. There is no reason why economic and monetary union should justify increases in the funds; sound open-market policies should bring about the convergence of economic performance necessary before any decision could be taken to move to a single currency.

  Savings (Taxation)
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures for the taxation on savings in each OECD country for savings of(a) £10,000 and (b) £20,000.

  Mr. Maude
  The tax charge would depend on the type of investments held and the degree to which they produced income or capital gains subject to tax, as well as the amount of income and gains from other sources received by the saver and the availability of tax allowances and reliefs.

  Guest Houses
  Mr. Bellotti
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of revenue has been lost from uncollected uniform business rates from guest houses accommodating more than six paying guests.
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  Mr. Key
  I have been asked to reply.

  This information is not available.

THE ARTS

  Regional Arts Boards
  Mr. Soames
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what progress has been made on the setting up of the new regional arts boards.

  Mr. Renton
  I am delighted to tell my hon. Friend that excellent progress has been made. The 10 new regional arts boards formally came into being as planned on 1 October this year. The chairman and vast majority of board members have been appointed, and there remains only a small number of staff appointments to be made.

  Arts, London
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what financial assistance is currently given to the arts in London out of public funds; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Renton
  The Arts Council spent £19·3 million in London in 1990–91 on its own clients and through Greater London Arts. In addition, the Arts Council made grants totalling just under £51·5 million to the major national companies, which are mainly based in London.

  Local authorities in London also provide support for the arts from public funds.

  Victoria and Albert Museum
  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the Minister for the Arts when he next plans to visit the Victoria and Albert museum to discuss the increase in its collection of fine arts.

  Mr. Renton
  I have made several visits to the Victoria and Albert museum and am familiar with the extent of its magnificent collections of fine arts. Last week I was pleased to announce additional funding of £5 million over four years to the museum to enable it to concentrate conservation of these collections in a single building at South Kensington.

  Arts Sponsorship
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Minister for the Arts by how much the demand for business sponsorship incentive scheme awards exceeds the funding available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Renton
  The business sponsorship incentive scheme has been very successful in attracting sponsorship, with 2,075 sponsors and £45 million new money for the arts since 1984. The scheme is currently confined to new sponsors and demand for matching awards is close to the current ceiling of £3·5 million. From 1992–93 the annual budget will be increased to £4·5 million to help sustain the continuing growth in business sponsorship of the arts.

  Museums (North-West)
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Minister for the Arts what industrial museums he has visited in the last 12 months in the north-west.
  347
  Mr. Renton
  Since my appointment as Minister for the Arts in November 1990 I have visited the Quarry Bank mill at Styall in Cheshire, and the museum of science and industry in Manchester in June. Last week on a return visit to Manchester, I was pleased to announce a special grant of £200,000 in 1992–93 towards that museum's 1830s warehouse project.

  Birmingham (City of Music)
  Mr. Roger King
  To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will visit Birmingham during its year as Arts Council city of music in 1992.

  Mr. Renton
  I was delighted to be present at the launch on 7 October of "Sounds like Birmingham", which sets out a full and exciting range of events to celebrate Birmingham's year as City of Music. It will also play a prominent part in National Music Day. I am inviting the EC Ministers of Culture to join me in Birmingham on 7 September 1992 to mark our presidency of the European Communities.

CIVIL SERVICE

  Executive Agencies
  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement on the achievements of the next steps agencies.

  Mr. Renton
  Next steps is progressing well. We are today publishing the 1991 annual review on next steps agencies together with the Government reply to the seventh report of the Treasury and Civil Service Committee. The annual review shows agencies meeting and beating targets for quality of service, financial performance and efficiency and gives many instances of improved service to customers.

  Mr. Cash
  To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when the Government intend to reply to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee's seventh report of Session 1990–91, on the next steps initiative; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Renton
  The Government are today publishing, as Cm 1761, the reply to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee's latest report on next steps.

  The Government are able to report further good progress in implementing next steps, with 56 agencies now established and 32 more announced candidates. Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue are moving towards full operation on next steps lines. In all, by next April over half the civil service should be covered, and some 70 agencies due to be established by next July. The Government are committed to completing the coverage as far as practicable by the end of 1993. Details of all existing agencies are set out in the second annual review of next steps, published today as Cm 1760, which also sets out their targets and the results they are achieving.

  The Government welcome the Committee's continuing endorsement of next steps, its recognition of the substantial progress that has been made, and its constructive recommendations. The Government remain firmly committed to taking forward this major programme of change, to making the reforms durable, and to ensuring that they deliver all the benefits of which they are capable.
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  Next steps is leading to a more effective and adaptable civil service, with all its traditional values of propriety and impartiality intact, but better attuned to deliver the high-quality public services for which the citizen increasingly looks.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Divorce
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Attorney-General what information he has concerning the total cost of processing divorce applications in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

  The Attorney-General
  The information sought is not readily available. It is estimated that the administrative cost of processing divorce proceedings in the High Court and in the county courts in each of the last four years was:

  £ million

  1987–88

  16·5

  1988–89

  17·0

  1989–90

  18·3

  1990–91

  20·5

  A substantial proportion of these costs is recovered by way of court fees, as follows;

  £ million

  1987–88

  13·8

  1988–89

  14·8

  1989–90

  15·9

  1990–91

  16·9

  The net cost of legal aid and advice in divorce and related matters during the same period was:

  £ million

  1987–88

  95·6

  1988–89

  109·6

  1989–90

  117·4

  1990–91

  137·0

  Court Hearings
  Mr. Butcher
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will ensure that during court hearings of serious crimes, witnesses for the prosecution are securely separated from defendants' associates and defendants' witnesses while on court premises.

  The Attorney-General
  Segregated witness waiting rooms are provided in existing court buildings wherever possible. For new Crown court buildings, the design standards provide for a sufficient number of witness waiting rooms per courtroom and a separate witness suite which incorporates toilet facilities. Listing officers will, whenever possible, list cases so that witnesses and others involved are not kept waiting unnecessarily on court premises.

  Mr. Butcher
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will ensure that witnesses attending hearings of serious crimes are invited to attend the court on a phased basis rather than having to be present at all times during a particular day.
  349
  The Attorney-General
  So far as possible, the Crown prosecution service tries to minimise delay for witnesses waiting to give evidence, and it is current practice to phase the attendance of witnesses in lengthy trials.

  County Court Rules
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the average time taken to hear a disposal action at Lambeth county court under order 9, rule 3(3) of the county court rules; and what is the reason for this length of time.

  The Attorney-General
  There is no longer a hearing for a disposal action under order 9, rule 3(3). In line with the Lord Chancellor's objective of ensuring that business in the civil courts is dealt with at the most appropriate level this function is now undertaken by court staff.

  Extradition (Ireland)
  Mr. Stanbrook
  To ask the Attorney-General what arrangements have been made(a) to comply with the terms imposed by the Irish Republic on the endorsement of British warrants under the Irish Extradition (Amendment) Act 1989 and (b) to comply with the Irish demand for formal adoption of the speciality rule in extradition arrangements between the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.

  The Attorney-General
  The effect of the Extradition (Amendment) Act 1987 in the Republic of Ireland is that a warrant issued in the United Kingdom can be backed for execution in the republic only if the Attorney-General in the republic is satisfied that there is a clear intention to prosecute the person, and that this intention is based on sufficient evidence. To enable the Attorney-General in the republic to discharge this duty, I have agreed that, in cases arising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, I shall supply him with a certificate confirming the prosecuting authority's intention to prosecute, a statement detailing the facts of the case, and a statement of the relevant law. These documents are not required, however, if the person concerned has been ordered to stand trial following a consideration of the evidence by a judicial authority, since the relevant provisions of the 1987 Act do not apply to such a case.

  There is no statutory speciality rule that applies to extradition arrangements between the United Kingdom and the republic. There is an agreement between the United Kingdom and the republic, however, which the Government have no plans to change and under which the consent of the requested state is required before charges, other than those for which the offender's return was ordered, may be substituted or added, save in the limited circumstances where the substituted offence is one for which the jury could enter an alternative verdict notwithstanding that the indictment contained only the charge for which his return was ordered.

  PC Tony Salt
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will order an inquiry into the failure of the Crown prosecution service to disclose to solicitors for the persons charged with murdering PC Tony Salt the statement by his widow regarding the discovery of her husband's kubaton; on what date it was disclosed; and if he will make a statement.
  350
  The Attorney-General
  The Crown prosecution service is committed to full discharge of its obligation to disclose to persons charged with criminal offences or to their lawyers all material not included in the prosecution case which has some bearing on the offences charged and the surrounding circumstances of the case. The acting Director of Public Prosecutions has not yet been able to ascertain whether there was a failure in this particular case but has asked for a report upon the circumstances. I will write to the hon. Member in the light of that report.

  Trade and Industry Select Committee
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Attorney-General what progress has been made in his consideration of the papers sent to him by members of the Select Committee on Trade and Industry relating to the alleged harassment of members of that Committee; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney General
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answers which I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Montgomery on 6 November 1991, at column 113.

  Inter-agency Steering Group
  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement concerning the inter-agency steering group appointed to prepare plans for the implementation of the report of the working group on pre-trial issues.

  The Attorney General
  The Lord Chancellor, the Home Secretary and I have approved the implementation plan submitted recently by the steering group. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  In the preparation of the plan, the steering group consulted organisations and professional bodies with a direct interest in the working group's report. The steering group concluded that the interdependent nature of the recommendations means that it is necessary to implement the report as a package to achieve worthwhile improvements in the effectiveness and efficiency of pre-trial and court procedures, for example the proposed national time guidelines for the progress of cases will only be realised if the police produce the standard of prosecution files required, the Crown prosecution service—CPS—serves advance information on the defence by the first hearing date, and the courts revise listing practices.

  The police, the CPS and the courts are required to adopt new approaches to their work which will substantially improve the quality of services provided to victims, witnesses, defendants and others involved in criminal proceedings. The agencies concerned have demonstrated their determination to act by the steps already taken to implement some of the recommendations. The majority of the recommendations will be implemented over the next two years, and those with significant resource implications will come into effect as the funds become available. The implementation dates allow for the introduction of certain recommendations, for example typed dual police files, in stages which reflect the degree of change required in different police forces, CPS areas and court centres.

  Because of the inter-related nature of recommendations it may be some time before the full benefits are seen to have been achieved across the system as a whole. My ministerial

  351
  colleagues and I are nevertheless satisfied that there is a very positive joint commitment to ensure progress in the shortest possible time scale.

  Social Security Tribunals
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will introduce provisions to ensure that the Office of the Social Security Commissioner supplies claimants with details as to the reasons why they have been refused leave to appeal against a decision of a social security tribunal.

  The Attorney-General
  It is not proposed to alter the provisions of the Tribunals and Inquiries (Social Security Commissioners) Order 1980 which exempts commissioners from the obligation to give reasons for decisions on applications for leave to appeal.

  Shops Act 1950
  Mr. Randall
  To ask the Attorney-General what new initiatives he will be taking to ensure that the Shops Act 1950 is enforced over the Christmas period.

  The Attorney-General
  It remains the responsibility of local authorities to consider with their legal advisers what means are at their disposal.

  Mr. Randall
  To ask the Attorney-General what practical means local authorities now have at their disposal to carry out their responsibilities for enforcing the Shops Act 1950.

  The Attorney-General
  Parliament has given local authorities the primary responsibility for enforcing the provisions about Sunday trading in the Shops Act 1950. I shall take account of all relevant circumstances known to me, including developments in the courts, in deciding whether any new initiative by me is appropriate.

  Attachment of Earnings Orders
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the implications of attachment of earnings orders for the security of an individual's employment.

  The Attorney-General
  No such assessment has been made. Employers have had a statutory obligation to comply with attachment of earnings orders since the commencement of the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971. If an individual is concerned about the effect of an attachment of earnings order on his relations with his employer, he may ask the court for a suspended order under which he makes payments directly to the creditor. Under this arrangement, a copy of the order is not sent to the employer.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Aid
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonweath Affairs what a 3 per cent. increase in real terms in aid for developing countries, over the survey period referred to in the ODA press release of 6 November, would be in cash terms for the same period.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The overseas aid budget for developing countries is planned to increase to £1,980 million in 352
  1994–95 compared with the original planning figure for 1991–92 of £1,721 million; this is an increase in cash terms of 15 per cent.

  Simple Truth Appeal
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonweath Affairs whether he will make a statement on the allocation of funds raised for Kurdish refugees by the Simple Truth appeal.

  Mrs. Chalker
  The British Red Cross, which helped to distribute the funds, confirms that all of the £57,042,000, including the £13,832,000 raised in the United Kingdom, has been accounted for. The Government were pleased to contribute £10 million. We are satisfied that these funds have been properly used. Of the £10 million, we contributed US$10 million to United Nation agencies and £5 million to the British Red Cross.

  The British Red Cross figures show that of the £57,042,000, £56,098,000 has been distributed, leaving £396,000 in reserve earmarked for programmes in Iraq this winter; £250,000 of that sum was dispatched early last week to supplement winterisation programmes already in being. The difference of £548,000 represents British Red Cross's commendably low expenses.

PRIME MINISTER

  Irish Republic (Legislation)
  Mr. Stanbrook
  To ask the Prime Minister in how many cases proceedings in the Irish Republic under their Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act 1976 have been requested by United Kingdom prosecuting authorities since 1976; in how many cases proceedings in the United Kingdom under the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975 have been requested by prosecuting authorities in the Irish Republic since 1975; and if he will make a statement on this reciprocal legislation.

  The Prime Minister
  Since 1976 there have been 32 applications by the United Kingdom prosecuting authorities for proceedings in the republic under the 1976 Act. There have been no applications from the prosecuting authorities in the republic under the 1975 Act, but 18 persons have been prosecuted in the United Kingdom under that Act for offences allegedly committed in the republic.

  "Voice"
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of his reply to a letter to him from "Voice" dated 11 October.

  The Prime Minister
  No. It is not my normal practice to do so.

  Political Advisers
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Prime Minister, further to his reply of 5 November columns 42–43 about political advisers to Ministers, whether any of the individuals work for Ministers of lower rank than Secretary of State or equivalent.

  The Prime Minister
  Yes. Six do so.
  353
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Prime Minister, further to his reply of 5 November columns 42–43 about political advisers, whether there is any limit on the number of political advisers who can be appointed by individual Ministers.

  The Prime Minister
  My approval is required for the appointment of all special advisers.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Prime Minister, further to his reply of 5 November, columns 42–3, about political dvisers to Ministers, if he will list the names of the individuals concerned.

  The Prime Minister
  The names of the special advisers (political) currently serving are as follows:

  Mr. K. Adams

  Mrs. E. Laing

  Mr. L. Anisfield

  Mr. W. Lightfoot

  Mr. E. Bickham

  Mr. R. Marsh

  Mr. G. Black

  Mr. J. Mayhew

  Ms. A. Broom

  Ms. S. McEwen

  Ms. L. Campey

  Mr. P. Miller

  Mr. T. Collins

  Mr. P. Moman

  Mr. M. Fraser

  Mrs. K. Ramsay (part-time)

  Mr. J. R. M. Gardner

  Dr. W. Robinson

  Mr. C. M. Grantham

  Mr. A. Rosling

  Mr. H. Harris-Hughes

  Mr. A. Ross-Goobey

  Mr. J. Hill

  Mr. D. Ruffley

  Mrs. S. Hogg

  Mr. I. Stewart

  Ms. S. Hole

  Lady Strathnaver

  Mr. A. Kemp (part-time)

  Mr. N. True

  Mr. T. Kerpel

  Miss B. Wallis (part-time)

  Mrs. T. Keswick

  Mr. A. Young

  Civil Service (Sexual Harassment)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will develop a female contact point in the civil service management structure where women can seek guidance when suffering from sexual harassment.

  The Prime Minister
  The civil service is committed to providing a working environment which is free of harassment for all staff. Departments and agencies are advised to ensure that women who feel that they have been subjected to sexual harassment are able to go to a woman officer for advice and support in dealing with the problem. In many departments and agencies there are specially designated women officers to contact in case of sexual harassment. Specific training is available for those dealing with complaints of sexual harassment.

  Single Parents
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list all Government policy initiatives taken since 1987 which aim to assist single parents.

  The Prime Minister
  The information is set out in the table.

  Policy initiatives taken since 1987 to assist lone parents

  Department/Date

  Policy initiative

  EMPLOYMENT September 1988

  Lone parents who have been in receipt of Income Support for at least 26 weeks may enter Employment Training even if they do not meet the usual eligibility criteria.

  HEALTH Since 1987

  The National Council for One Parent Families and Gingerbread have received over £1 million in core grants.

  Since 1987–88

  Gingerbread has received a total of £90,000 for its local groups from the Department's under fives small grants scheme.

  354

  Department/Date

  Policy initiative

  Early 1988

  Over £1 million of the RPI error monies was spent by 10 voluntary organisations on many different projects for lone parents.

  Since 1989–90

  The second Under Fives Initiative includes 4 local projects, costing in all over £300,000, to help understand better the effect of childcare services on the economic circumstances of lone parents.

  HOME OFFICE 1991

  In the Maintenance Enforcement Act 1991 the Government has given courts additional powers to enforce the payment of maintenance, which will help to ensure that single parents receive the monies to which they are entitled. The Act will be implemented in spring 1992.

  LORD CHANCELLOR'S 1989

  Single Parents can benefit from the new orders provided under the Children Act 1989. One of the Act's main principles is that parents should, wherever possible, come to an agreement about the future of their children without the intervention of the court.

  The Act also gives unmarried fathers the chance to apply for formal parental responsibility for their children.

  SOCIAL SECURITY April 1988

  The structure of personal allowances in Income Support provide that all lone parents aged 18 or over receive the full adult rate of benefit, normally only available from age 25.

  The Income Support lone parent premium is paid on top of the family premium to those lone parents who do not qualify for another type of premium.

  Income Support earnings disregard is £15 a week for lone parents, compared with a £5 disregard for most single people.

  Family Credit introduced: a much more generous scheme for all low income families than the Family Income Supplement scheme.

  In Family Credit lone parents get the same adult credit as two parent families.

  One Parent Benefit is ignored when calculating entitlement to Family Credit.

  Higher levels of lone parent premium in Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit.

  Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit rules for lone parents generally aligned with those in Income Support.

  October 1989

  Lone parents under 18 who have to live away from home entitled to the over 18 rate of Income Support personal allowance.

  April 1990

  Lone parent premium in Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit increased.

  October 1990

  Earnings disregard for those lone parents not on Income Support but receiving Housing Benefit or Community Charge Benefit increased from £15 to £25 a week.

  Planned for April 1992

  Reduction in qualifying hours rule in Family Credit from 24 to 16 hours a week. Corresponding change in Income Support.

  Introduction of £15 maintenance disregard in Family Credit, Disability Working Allowance, Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit.

  Child Support Unit Becomes operational and takes on existing liable relative work in preparation for the establishment of the Child Support Agency.

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  Department/Date

  Policy initiative

  Planned for Spring 1993

  Child Support Agency becomes operational. The Agency will trace absent parents, assess, collect and review child maintenance, and ensure that payments are made regularly.

  WELSH OFFICE

  Gingerbread is helped through the Support for Child and Family Services' grant scheme.

  1991–92

  A total of £24,440 has been awarded to Gingerbread to meet part of the costs of their Swansea office and of a development officer in North Wales.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make the European Community's policy for disabled people one of his priorities at the Maastricht summit.

  The Prime Minister
  We believe that existing provisions for disabled people at the European level are satisfactory. In addition, a number of new proposals relating to disabled people are under consideration.

  London Government
  Mr. Tracey
  To ask the Prime Minister how many representations he has received calling for a directly elected council for the London conurbation; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  As far as I am aware none, although my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has received a dozen or so, mostly in response to consultation on the review of local government outside London and the metropolitan counties. I am aware that the main opposition parties and the Association of London Authorities want to recreate a Greater London council in all but name. I have no plans for changing the basic structure of local government in London.

  Child Benefit
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy not to allow names and addresses of child benefit claimants to be sold or passed on outside the Department of Social Security.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 8 November 1991]: It is Government policy that all personal information, including names and addresses, held in social security records should be regarded as confidential and should not normally be disclosed to a third party without the consent of the person concerned. Information may normally be disclosed without consent to assist the police in the investigation of a serious crime; to meet the welfare needs of the individual concerned; to meet statutory requirements, for example, to other Government Departments or organisations which act as agents of the DSS in paying benefit; and to prevent the duplication of payments from public funds. We have no plans to change this policy.

  Executive Agencies
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister what changes have been made in the arrangements regarding the sending of letters from chief executives of executive agencies to hon. Members in response to parliamentary questions when the House is not sitting.
  356
  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 8 November 1991]: The aim of the arrangements for chief executives to write direct to hon. Members is to ensure that the replies are full, prompt and as helpful as possible. It is for individual Ministers to determine how they will achieve this, including when the House is not sitting.

  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list each Department and each executive agency which employs its target quota of people with disabilities.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 8 November 1991]: All departments and agencies work to increase opportunities for people with disabilities, whether registered or unregistered, under a civil service code of practice on the employment of people with disabilities. The civil service compares favourably with the private sector and in 1990 six departments and agencies exceeded a 3 per cent. level of staff registered as disabled. The Government will continue to seek to ensure that disabled people have opportunities for employment in departments and agencies which are at least as good as those of able bodied people.

  Offensive Odours (Cardiff)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Prime Minister what consultations he has had concerning the Butetown main foul sewer and offensive odours in the area of the Cardiff bay pierhead broadwalk.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 8 November 1991]: During my visit to Cardiff bay on 20 September the problem was raised by local residents.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Adult Education
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to develop the provision of non-vocational adult education classes and increase the access to vocational classes for mature students.

  Mr. Eggar
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Further and Higher Education Bill, which was introduced in another place on November 4. Our proposals are designed to increase participation and improve opportunities in further education, including for adults.

  English Teaching
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to legislate for the regulation of schools teaching English as a foreign language.

  Mr. Eggar
  There are no plans for the regulation of private sector schools teaching English as a foreign language. Consumer choice, backed by the independent voluntary accreditation schemes, appropriately safeguards proper standards in the non-maintained further and higher education institutions.

  Howbury Grange School
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received on the future of Howbury Grange school, Slade Green, Erith.
  357
  Mr. Fallon
  My right hon. and learned Friend has received five letters about the Howbury Grange school. Four expressed opposition to its proposed closure and one sought technical information about the statutory procedures relating to school closures.

  IQ Tests
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information is provided in the syllabus to students at teacher training colleges on IQ or mental tests for children.

  Mr. Fallon
  The Secretary of State's criteria for the approval of courses of initial teacher training state:"on completion of their course students should have developed skills in the evaluation and recording of pupil performance, including in particular the testing and assessment requirements related to the National Curriculum and, where relevant, the preparation of pupils for public examinations."

ENERGY

  Energy and the Environment
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what response he has made to the House of Lords European Affairs Select Committee report on energy and the environment.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The Government provided the Committee with a response to each of the report's conclusions and recommendations on 16 October; with the agreement of the Committee, we placed a copy of the response in the Library on 7 November. A debate on the report is taking place this afternoon in another place.

  Coal Mining (Employment)
  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he intends to meet the chairman of British Coal to discuss the levels of employment; and if he will make a statement.

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

  Oil and Gas Revenues
  Mrs. Margaret Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the value of production in the United Kingdom continental shelf of the oil and gas revenues to the United Kingdom Exchequer.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the value of production in the United Kingdom continental shelf of oil and gas revenues to the United Kingdom Exchequer.

  Mr. Moynihan
  In his autumn statement, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave his estimate of the value to the United Kingdom exchequer of UKCS oil and gas production as being £2·5 billion for the financial year 1990–91.

  Nuclear Waste Disposal
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other European Community countries on the disposal of nuclear waste from electricity production on the sites of nuclear power stations and other nuclear installations.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Neither the Secretary of State for the Environment, who has policy responsibility for nuclear waste management, nor myself, with responsibility for nuclear energy policy more widely, has recently had discussions with European Community counterparts on the disposal of nuclear waste from power stations and other nuclear installations.

  Electricity Generation
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on progress towards the establishment of independent electricity generation projects.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The Government's policy is to encourage the development of competition in generation. The first new independent power station since privatisation, at Roosecote, has already started supplying electricity to the grid; construction work has now started at three other sites; and the Government are aware of around 20 other projects at various stages of consideration.

  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the percentage of energy generation from(a) nuclear and (b) renewable sources in 1995 and 2000.

  Mr. Wakeham
  I anticipate that the contribution made to electricity generation by renewables will grow strongly in the future. Nuclear generation will also continue to make a substantial contribution.

  Solar Energy
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what research is being undertaken into the potential for active solar technology in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Moynihan
  I announced on 19 August a review which is presently under way to investigate developments in active solar heating during the last 10 years. As part of that review we are undertaking a comprehensive survey of the United Kingdom active solar heating industry.

  Non-fossil Fuel Obligation
  Mr. Speller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the future of the non-fossil fuel obligation.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The non-fossil fuel obligation continues to ensure the availability in the national interest of nuclear generating capacity and, as my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy informed the House last week, is providing for the construction of greatly increased amounts of renewables-sourced generating capacity.

  Refuse Incineration
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment he has made of the contribution to energy needs that could be provided by(a) refuse incineration and (b) sewage sludge incineration and the technical possibilities of achieving acceptable standards for either or both.

  Mr. Moynihan
  Energy recovery from refuse and sewage sludge incineration can be an economically attractive and environmentally acceptable disposal route. Our review of renewable energy will consider the potential contribution from such sources of energy.

  Combined Heat and Power
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a further statement about combined heat and power schemes.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The Government fully recognise the environmental and energy efficiency benefits of combined heat and power and the Energy Efficiency Office continues to promote the wider use of the technology under its best practice programme. Interest in CHP is at a high level and the prospects for CHP in the 1990s are most encouraging.

  Coal Industry
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next intends to meet the chairman of British Coal to discuss the future of the coal industry.

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

  Insulation
  Mr. Tredinnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most recent estimate of the annual amount spent on insulation measures in the private and public sectors.

  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most recent estimate of the annual amount spent on insulation measures in the private and public sectors.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  This information is not available. However, public sector expenditure to promote energy efficiency amounts to in excess of £1 billion.

  Renewable Energy
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what new initiatives he plans to increase the volume of energy generated by renewables.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The second Renewables Order laid before the House on 5 November has resulted in a very substantial increase of 472 MW of capacity being contracted with the regional electricity companies. I am currently reviewing our renewable energy strategy and a revised forward plan is expected in spring 1992.

  Energy Efficiency Office
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the total budget granted to the Energy Efficiency Office in each year from 1986–87 to 1991–92.
  360
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The following figures give the budget provision for the Energy Efficiency Office in each year from 1986–87 to 1991–92:

  £ million

  1986–87

  21·3

  1987–88

  18·9

  1988–89

  20·3

  1989–90

  15·0

  1990–91

  23·3

  1991–92

  41·9

  Clean Coal Technology
  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what recent initiatives he has taken to promote research and development into clean coal technology.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  In partnership with United Kingdom industry, British Coal and overseas agencies we have recently launched five new clean coal projects with a contract value of £20 million.

  Wind Technology
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the obligation for wind technology under the 1991 Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation Renewables Order, calculated on the same basis as that used for the other technology bands in the statement of 5 November by the hon. Member for Lewisham, East (Mr. Moynihan),Official Report, columns 329–41.

  Mr. Wakeham
  The wind tranche of the 1991 renewables non-fossil fuel obligation has been set at a level that will build up to 82·43 MW declared net capacity. I understand that the regional electricity companies have entered into contracts for some 49 wind projects at a price of 11 p/kWh.

  Electricity Shareholders
  Mr. Day
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the number of electricity vouchers sent to customer shareholders in the 12 regional electricity companies.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Nearly 1 million people who bought shares in their regional electricity companies last December were sent vouchers in August. The breakdown in respect of each company is as follows:

  Electricity vouchers issued by 1 October 1991:

  Company

  Number of vouchers

  Eastern Electricity

  62,099

  East Midlands Electricity

  62,300

  London Electricity

  27,344

  Manweb

  98,284

  Midlands Electricity

  137,083

  Northern Electric

  72,456

  NORWEB

  43,267

  SEEBOARD

  83,667

  Southern Electricity

  46,091

  South Wales Electricity

  79,924

  South Western Electricity

  72,038

  Yorkshire Electricity

  159,845

  Total

  944,378

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Debt Counselling
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list debt counselling services which are currently funded wholly or in part from his Department's budget; and what plans he has to expand funding of debt counselling services.

  Mr. Leigh
  My Department does not provide funds specifically for debt counselling services and has no plans to do so. The main provider of debt counselling services nationally is the Citizens Advice Service which, through the network of citizens advice bureaux, advises on debt problems as part of its general advisory work. Individual bureaux are funded mainly by local authorities. My Department funds the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and Citizens Advice Scotland which provide the support services to the local bureaux. Total DTI grant-in-aid in 1991–92 to NACAB and CAS will be about £12 million.

  Many lending institutions have already provided funds to support debt counselling services; the Government would like to see more following that lead.

  Insurance Services Group
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for 'Trade and Industry what steps he has taken within the specific powers and responsibilities of his office to assist civil service employees that have been or will be affected by the sale of the Insurance Services Group of the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Over 500 of ECGD employees have volunteered to transfer to the privatised new company which will take over the business of the Insurance Services Group. The decisions on who will be offered jobs in the new company and who will remain in ECGD will take account as far as possible of the preferences expressed by the employees. If there should be a surplus of people remaining in ECGD after all the transfers have taken place, every effort will be made to find them other jobs in the civil service. The appropriate unit of Her Majesty's Treasury has been alerted accordingly.

  Engineering Steel Industry
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has of the effect exercised upon the engineering steel industry by the increases in electricity prices in recent months; and if he proposes to offer advice or take any action in regard to this matter.

  Mr. Leigh
  I am aware of the concern expressed by companies in the engineering steel industry about electricity price increases. Monitoring the operation of the electricity market is a matter for the Director General of Electricity Supply, who is also aware of this concern.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Baltic States
  Mr. Bellingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he proposes for the return to the three Baltic sovereign states of their gold deposit made at the Bank of England in 1940.
  362
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We have invited each Baltic Government to send a representative to London for a first round of discussions on the gold and other financial issues. Talks were held with the Estonian delegation on 7 November and the Latvian delegation on 8 November. In both cases it was agreed that a further round of discussions should be held. The discussions were friendly and useful progress was made. Talks with the Lithuanian delegation have been arranged for 13 November.

  Western Sahara
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support is being given by Her Majesty's Government to the Sahrawi refugees in the western Sahara.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We have not provided any bilateral financial assistance to western Saharan refugees. However, we have given our full support to the United Nations Secretary-General's settlement plan, which envisages the holding of a referendum early next year. This will enable the Saharawi to determine their own future. We have contributed, both in terms of finance and personnel, to the United Nations mission (MINURSO) responsible for the organisation and conduct of the referendum.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in the western Sahara in respect of the progress on the United Nations peace plan; and what action is being taken by the United Kingdom Government to support the peace plan.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, South (Sir P. Blaker) on 5 November, column 27.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the European Council of Ministers last discussed the problems of disabled people; and when he next expects the Council of Ministers to discuss these problems.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The Council of Ministers agreed a Council resolution on 31 May 1990 on the integration of disabled young people into ordinary systems of education.

  The Commission has published this year proposals concerning disabled people under its social action programme, but they have not yet been scheduled for Council discussion.

  Croatia
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to bring the fighting in Croatia to an end.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  On 8 November we and our EC partners agreed a number of economic measures against Yugoslavia. We shall now be working towards a United Nations Security Council resolution imposing restrictions on the sale of oil to Yugoslavia.

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements he is making to provide a package of aid to assist the people of Croatia; and if he will make a statement.
  363
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We are contributing £250,000 to the International Red Cross Committee's effort in Yugoslavia. Together with our share of the 1 million ecu already committed by the European Community this brings our total contribution to over £.1·3 million.

  European Union
  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress in the current negotiations on European political, economic and monetary union leading up to the ministerial European Council on 8 December.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Following the European Council in Luxembourg on 28–29 June, the Netherlands presidency has made good progress in leading negotiations on both political and economic and monetary union towards settlement at the European Council in Maastricht on 9 to 10 December.

  On political union, the presidency has held a number of ministerial sessions of the intergovernmental conference since July and has made good progress on the basis of the Luxembourg presidency's text produced in June. A revised presidency text was produced on 9 November. It will be for the presidency to reconcile the differing views of member states in order to achieve an agreement acceptable to all at Maastricht.

  On economic and monetary union discussions are now focussed on a composite text of draft treaty amendments circulated by the Netherlands presidency on 28 October. The text is a useful basis for further negotiations, but neither the United Kingdom nor other member states are committed to any particular part of its contents.

  EC Draft Treaties
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what circulation has been given by the current Presidency of the European Council to the texts of their proposal for draft treaties on economic and monetary union and on political union; and what restrictions have been placed on their availability.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The Luxembourg presidency circulated a draft treaty text on economic and monetary and political union on 18 June in advance of the Luxembourg European Council. The Netherlands presidency produced composite draft treaty texts on political union on 24 September and on economic and monetary union on 28 October. They also produced, on 9 November, a revised treaty text on political union in advance of the Conclave of Foreign Ministers, 12 to 14 November. These texts are circulated by the presidency to those participating in the intergovernmental conferences—that is, the member states and the Commission. These are working documents in a confidential negotiation, but they have in practice rapidly become public and are or will all be available in the Library of the House.

  Vietnamese Migrants
  Mr. David Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Vietnamese migrants in Hong Kong.

  Mr. Hurd
  On 9 November, 59 Vietnamese illegal immigrants were repatriated from Hong Kong to 364
  Vietnam. This group was made up of so-called double-backers—those who did not qualify as refugees, who volunteered to return to Vietnam from Hong Kong once, thereby benefiting from repatriation payment by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but who re-entered Hong Kong illegally for a second time, together with members of their family. All were screened again after arrival in Hong Kong and, after appeal, were again determined not to qualify for refugee status under the terms of the 1951 United Nations convention and its 1967 protocol.

  The repatriation was carried out in full accordance with standard international practices, over a two-day period, and in line with the internationally agreed comprehensive plan of action, in particular the provision that all those who are not refugees should return home. On 8 November the illegal immigrants were moved from the Nei Kwu detention centre to a transit centre at Kai Tak airport. On 9 November, they were transported by air to Vietnam. Those returned will spend up to three days in the British-financed Co Nhue transit centre near Hanoi to obtain identity documents before travelling by bus to their home villages.

  The Vietnamese Government have guaranteed that no illegal immigrant who returns to Vietnam will face persecution. They will facilitate the monitoring of all those who return by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and others to ensure that these guarantees are fully respected. In the last two and a half years, more than 11,500 Vietnamese migrants have returned voluntarily to Vietnam from Hong Kong without a single substantiated case of persecution.

  Further repatriation will be arranged in the coming weeks. We welcome the fact that of the 160 double-backers whom we had originally intended to return to Vietnam on 9 November, more than half chose to opt for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' voluntary repatriation scheme. There remain almost 63,000 Vietnamese migrants in Hong Kong. We hope that all those determined to be illegal immigrants in Hong Kong will similarly opt to volunteer to return to Vietnam.

  Hong Kong
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes he envisages in his relationship with the Hong Kong Legislative Council following the recent elections.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We share the wish expressed by the Governor of Hong Kong to build up a co-operative partnership with the new Council. This is essential for the continued success of Hong Kong. We look forward to keeping in close touch with members of the Council.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

  Sittings of the House
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, what is the cost in constant prices, in overtime, other payments and overheads, of sittings of the House beyond 10 pm for each year since 1961 for which records exist.

  Mr. Beith
  It is not possible to provide the information requested without disproportionate cost. It is expected,
  365
  however, that the systems necessary to identify many of the elements of such expenditure in future will be established as a result of the implementation of proposals agreed by the House in respect of the report made by Sir Robin lbbs to the House of Commons Commission.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Members' Pay and Allowances
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make it his policy to publish the reports of(a) the Hay Management Consultants into the office costs allowance, (b) the Office of Manpower economic report and (c) the Top Salaries Review Body report on Members' pay and allowances.

  Mr. MacGregor
  As part of the Top Salaries Review Body's review of the office costs allowance, the Office of Manpower Economics commissioned a report from Hay Management Consultants and ran a questionnaire survey of Members of Parliament. It is a matter for the review body to decide whether either or both of these are published. However, I am happy to draw the hon. Gentleman's question to the review body's attention.

  Select Committees
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Lord President of the Council how many departmental Select Committee reports there have been since the inception of the system; and how many have been debated on the Floor on a substantive motion.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 13 June 1989, col.357, which gave information for the period from 1979 until then. Since that time 196 reports and 90 special reports have been published by the departmentally related Select Committees. None has been debated on substantive motions; but several have been debated in other ways, including debates on estimate days and other occasions when reports were cited on the Order Paper as relevant to proceedings in the House.

  Suspended Sittings
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Lord President of the Council how many times a Minister of the Crown has used the power to suspend the sitting under Standing Order No. 10 since 14 July 1969.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The last occasion was 14 July 1969.

  Thefts
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Lord President of the Council how many thefts have been reported in the Palace of Westminster for the latest year.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The police in the Palace of Westminster have recorded 92 incidents of theft in the parliamentary precincts since 1 January 1991. Five arrests have been made in the same period.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will initiate measures to provide all Members who wish it, with keys to their offices so they can secure their property against theft; and if he will make a statement.
  366
  Mr. MacGregor
  Members occupying the new accommodation in 1 Parliament street are already being issued with keys to their rooms. In other parliamentary outbuildings and the Palace of Westminster itself, keys can be made available to Members on request to the Serjeant at Arms. Keys are also provided for all desks and filing cabinets and it is a great help to the security staff if Members can ensure that desks and filing cabinets both in their own rooms and in their secretaries' rooms are locked when not in use, that the keys are not left in easily accessible places and that articles of value, such as portable television sets, telephones and cash boxes, as well as confidential papers are locked away when offices are left unattended.

  Special Standing Committees
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list the occasions when Special Standing Committees have been established; and what proposals he has to use these procedures in the current Session.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The following Bills have been referred to Special Standing Committees: in Session 1980–81, the Criminal Attempts Bill, the Deep Sea Mining (Temporary Provisions) Bill[Lords], and the Education Bill; in Session 1981–82, the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill [Lords]; and in Session 1983–84, the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Bill [Lords].

  As I indicated to the House on 7 November, col. 581, this procedure is really best suited to specialist, highly technical measures which are not really of party-political controversy: I doubt if any of the Bills in the current Session fall into this category.

  Private Members' Bills
  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the cost to public funds, in each of the last four Sessions of Parliament, of printing Private Members' Bills introduced under the ten-minute rule which never reached the Second Reading stage.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The costs of printing all the Bills of the House are borne by HMSO, which aims to recover its costs from sales revenue.

  The estimated cost, including materials, of printing Private Members' Bills introduced under the 10-minute rule which did not reach the Second Reading stage in each of the last four Sessions is as follows:

  £

  1987–88

  7,500

  1988–89

  11,900

  1989–90

  11,500

  1990–91

  7,100

  Guillotine Motions
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list the occasions on which the Government have introduced the guillotine allocation of time order since the 1979–80 Session, indicating after how many hours in Committee on each Bill it was introduced and the total number of hours in Committee.

  Mr. MacGregor
  [holding answer 8 November 1991]: The information is supplied in the table.
  367

  Bills guillotined in Standing Committee

  Bills guillotined in Committee of whole House

  Session/Bill

  Hours in Committee before guillotine

  Total hours in Committee

  Hours in Committee before guillotine

  Total hours in Committee

  1979–80

  Education (No. 2)

  82

  103

  —

  —

  Social Security

  60

  92

  —

  —

  Housing

  110

  144

  —

  —

  Social Security (No. 2)

  44

  64

  —

  —

  1980–81

  Transport

  55

  96

  —

  —

  British Nationality

  90

  136

  —

  —

  1981–82

  Oil and Gas (Enterprise)

  70

  99

  —

  —

  Employment

  91

  110

  —

  —

  Northern Ireland

  —

  —

  54

  64

  1982–83

  Transport

  80

  96

  —

  —

  Telecommunications

  110

  149

  —

  —

  Housing and Building Control

  90

  108

  —

  —

  1983–84

  Telecommunications

  80

  106

  —

  —

  Rates

  80

  109

  —

  —

  Rating and Valuation (Amendment) (Scotland)

  82

  100

  —

  —

  1984–85

  Local Government

  86

  145

  —

  —

  Transport

  76

  129

  —

  —

  1985–86

  Gas

  75

  114

  —

  —

  Social Security

  100

  141

  —

  —

  European Communities (Amendment)

  —

  —

  18

  22

  1986–87

  Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland)

  101

  119

  —

  —

  Local Government Finance

  —

  —

  15

  21

  1987–88

  Education Reform

  88

  163

  —

  —

  Local Government Finance

  72

  136

  —

  —

  Social Security1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Firearms1 (Amendment)

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Housing1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1988–89

  Children (Lords)1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Companies (Lords)1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Dock Work

  29

  46

  —

  —

  Employment1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Football Spectators (Lords)

  37

  54

  —

  —

  Local Government and Housing1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Official Secrets

  —

  —

  14

  30

  Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions)

  52

  54

  —

  —

  Self-Go verning Schools &c. (Scotland)

  120

  188

  —

  —

  Water

  75

  148

  —

  —

  368 369

  Bills guillotined in Standing Committee

  Bills guillotined in Committee of whole House

  Session/Bill

  Hours in Committee before guillotine

  Total hours in Committee

  Hours in Committee before guillotine

  Total hours in Committee

  1989–90

  Education (Student Loans)1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Human Fertilization and Embryology (Lords)2

  —

  10

  —

  17

  National Health Service and Community Care1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Social Security1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1990–91

  Community Charges (General Reduction)2

  —

  —

  4

  —

  Dangerous Dogs2

  —

  —

  5

  —

  1 Allocation of time motion moved after Committee stage.

  2 Allocation of time motion moved before Committee stage.

SCOTLAND

  Salmon Fisheries
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will list all the bodies and individuals from whom he received formal or informal representations about the east coast salmon fisheries between the date when the report on the fisheries was first delivered to his Department and the date of its publication; and whether he will list any further bodies or individuals whom he consulted on the matter.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  No. Views about east coast salmon net fisheries were stated or sent in by very many bodies and individuals while the report was in preparation. There were, however, no consultations about the report or its contents which, as section 39 of the Act makes clear, were matters for my right hon. Friends the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Scotland to consider and present to Parliament.

  Examinations Statistics
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the number of pupils in Scotland who were presented for exams in those standard grade subjects offering credit, general and foundation level in 1991; what are the corresponding figures for the number of pupils who actually sat each of those exams; and if he will publish a breakdown of these figures for each local education authority.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information requested is set out in the tables. It includes data for those examinations offered at credit and general levels only: that is, biology, chemistry, physics and the optional writing examinations in French, Gaelic (Learners), German, Italian, Russian and Spanish.
  370

  Borders Region

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  460

  442

  Biology

  508

  504

  Chemistry

  417

  416

  Classical Studies

  —

  —

  Computing Studies

  391

  387

  Contemporary Social Studies

  23

  23

  Craft and Design

  317

  309

  Drama

  —

  —

  Economics

  —

  —

  English

  1,302

  1,278

  French

  532

  524

  French-Writing

  510

  441

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  —

  —

  Geography (Revised)

  477

  451

  German (Revised)

  224

  220

  German-Writing

  212

  178

  Graphic Communication

  —

  —

  Greek

  7

  7

  History (Revised)

  263

  249

  Home Economics

  260

  250

  Italian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Italian-Writing

  —

  —

  Latin

  28

  27

  Mathematics

  1,460

  1,437

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  258

  239

  Music

  220

  203

  Office and Information Studies

  319

  313

  Physical Education

  309

  302

  Physics

  397

  392

  Religious Studies

  46

  44

  Russian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Russian-Writing

  —

  —

  Science

  272

  264

  Social and Vocational Skills

  117

  115

  Spanish (Revised)

  —

  —

  Spanish-Writing

  —

  —

  Technological Studies

  186

  174

  371

  Central Region

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  988

  785

  Biology

  933

  930

  Chemistry

  1,180

  1,164

  Classical Studies

  12

  10

  Computing Studies

  919

  901

  Contemporary Social Studies

  280

  274

  Craft and Design

  720

  671

  Drama

  15

  14

  Economics

  —

  —

  English

  3,257

  3,206

  French

  1,453

  1,414

  French-Writing

  1,251

  1,004

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  2

  2

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  2

  2

  Geography (Revised)

  558

  538

  German (Revised)

  252

  246

  German-Writing

  241

  216

  Graphic Communication

  46

  45

  Greek

  —

  —

  History (Revised)

  542

  497

  Home Economics

  672

  605

  Italian (Revised)

  8

  8

  Italian-Writing

  8

  8

  Latin

  102

  99

  Mathematics

  3,266

  3,228

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  210

  182

  Music

  403

  383

  Office and Information Studies

  702

  677

  Physical Education

  636

  609

  Physics

  1,032

  1,025

  Religious Studies

  47

  44

  Russian (Revised)

  5

  5

  Russian-Writing

  5

  4

  Science

  881

  870

  Social and Vocational Skills

  175

  164

  Spanish (Revised)

  —

  —

  Spanish-Writing

  —

  —

  Technological Studies

  234

  216

  Dumfries and Galloway Region

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  664

  626

  Biology

  674

  654

  Chemistry

  756

  738

  Classical Studies

  —

  —

  Computing Studies

  530

  516

  Contemporary Social Studies

  97

  92

  Craft and Design

  462

  440

  Drama

  47

  45

  Economics

  —

  —

  English

  1,827

  1,770

  French

  651

  642

  French-Writing

  637

  555

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  —

  —

  Geography (Revised)

  606

  559

  German (Revised)

  246

  229

  German-Writing

  225

  198

  Graphic Communication

  —

  —

  Greek

  —

  —

  History (Revised)

  539

  510

  Home Economics

  356

  326

  Italian (Revised)

  15

  15

  Italian-Writing

  15

  14

  372

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Latin

  7

  6

  Mathematics

  1,857

  1,810

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  261

  243

  Music

  278

  268

  Office and Information Studies

  602

  583

  Physical Education

  484

  456

  Physics

  620

  608

  Religious Studies

  44

  38

  Russian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Russian-Writing

  —

  —

  Science

  437

  408

  Social and Vocational Skills

  177

  173

  Spanish (Revised)

  36

  36

  Spanish-Writing

  34

  24

  Technological Studies

  119

  98

  Fife Region

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  1,341

  1,288

  Biology

  1,162

  1,148

  Chemistry

  1,262

  1,247

  Classical Studies

  30

  25

  Computing Studies

  1,072

  1,046

  Contemporary Social Studies

  510

  495

  Craft and Design

  879

  837

  Drama

  —

  —

  Economics

  13

  12

  English

  4,178

  4,110

  French

  1,567

  1,538

  French-Writing

  1,526

  1,257

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  —

  —

  Geography (Revised)

  771

  676

  German (Revised)

  777

  772

  German-Writing

  777

  631

  Graphic Communication

  26

  24

  Greek

  6

  6

  History (Revised)

  704

  661

  Home Economics

  975

  945

  Italian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Italian-Writing

  —

  —

  Latin

  97

  93

  Mathematics

  4,181

  4,127

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  946

  894

  Music

  379

  356

  Office and Information Studies

  71

  71

  Physical Education

  388

  377

  Physics

  1,348

  1,336

  Religious Studies

  —

  —

  Russian (Revised)

  1

  1

  Russian-Writing

  1

  1

  Science

  1,318

  1,277

  Social and Vocational Skills

  94

  91

  Spanish (Revised)

  8

  8

  Spanish-Writing

  8

  7

  Technological Studies

  681

  652

  373

  Grampian Region

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  2,047

  1,963

  Biology

  1,374

  1,352

  Chemistry

  1,507

  1,482

  Classical Studies

  2

  2

  Computing Studies

  1,575

  1,543

  Contemporary Social Studies

  180

  176

  Craft and Design

  1,300

  1,249

  Drama

  119

  118

  Economics

  13

  12

  English

  5,772

  5,718

  French

  2,471

  2,455

  French-Writing

  2,072

  1,668

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  —

  —

  Geography (Revised)

  1,641

  1,593

  German (Revised)

  663

  658

  German-Writing

  588

  492

  Graphic Communication

  59

  59

  Greek

  —

  —

  History (Revised)

  1,063

  1,020

  Home Economics

  899

  882

  Italian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Italian-Writing

  —

  —

  Latin

  35

  35

  Mathematics

  5,707

  5,670

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  1,192

  1,114

  Music

  402

  395

  Office and Information Studies

  1,037

  1,030

  Physical Education

  845

  823

  Physics

  1,235

  1,226

  Religious Studies

  88

  84

  Russian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Russian-Writing

  —

  —

  Science

  1,457

  1,439

  Social and Vocational Skills

  1,109

  1,098

  Spanish (Revised)

  56

  55

  Spanish-Writing

  49

  47

  Technological Studies

  590

  566

  Highland Region

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  1,054

  1,030

  Biology

  723

  714

  Chemistry

  784

  769

  Classical Studies

  15

  15

  Computing Studies

  764

  742

  Contemporary Social Studies

  66

  64

  Craft and Design

  768

  738

  Drama

  37

  36

  Economics

  31

  28

  English

  2,665

  2,639

  French

  1,123

  1,093

  French-Writing

  1,053

  861

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  2

  2

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  113

  111

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  84

  63

  Geography (Revised)

  1,176

  1,136

  German (Revised)

  282

  271

  German-Writing

  266

  214

  Graphic Communication

  28

  26

  Greek

  2

  2

  History (Revised)

  713

  683

  Home Economics

  686

  678

  Italian (Revised)

  16

  16

  Italian-Writing

  9

  9

  374

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Latin

  35

  35

  Mathematics

  2,685

  2,665

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  303

  290

  Music

  415

  401

  Office and Information Studies

  409

  402

  Physical Education

  606

  597

  Physics

  935

  924

  Religious Studies

  56

  54

  Russian (Revised)

  9

  9

  Russian-Writing

  9

  9

  Science

  670

  664

  Social and Vocational Skills

  29

  29

  Spanish (Revised)

  —

  —

  Spanish-Writing

  —

  —

  Technological Studies

  183

  175

  Lothian Region

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  2,225

  2,127

  Biology

  1,922

  1,897

  Chemistry

  2,248

  2,224

  Classical Studies

  —

  —

  Computing Studies

  2,179

  2,125

  Contemporary Social Studies

  216

  210

  Craft and Design

  1,540

  1,437

  Drama

  66

  63

  Economics

  154

  152

  English

  7,230

  7,090

  French

  2,086

  2,053

  French-Writing

  1,856

  1,546

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (learners)-Writing

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  —

  —

  Geography (Revised)

  2,336

  2,242

  German (Revised)

  1,084

  1,062

  German-Writing

  1,011

  851

  Graphic Communication

  58

  56

  Greek

  4

  4

  History (Revised)

  1,533

  1,429

  Home Economics

  1,544

  1,484

  Italian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Italian-Writing

  —

  —

  Latin

  76

  76

  Mathematics

  7,135

  6,709

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  1,077

  1,008

  Music

  870

  810

  Office and Information Studies

  1,935

  1,890

  Physical Education

  1,405

  1,358

  Physics

  2,338

  2,303

  Religious Studies

  97

  89

  Russian (Revised)

  22

  22

  Russian-Writing

  22

  20

  Science

  2,316

  2,267

  Social and Vocational Skills

  238

  229

  Spanish (Revised)

  76

  72

  Spanish-Writing

  68

  55

  Technological Studies

  686

  650

  375

  Orkney Islands

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  65

  63

  Biology

  94

  94

  Chemistry

  125

  124

  Classical Studies

  —

  —

  Computing Studies

  73

  73

  Contemporary Social Studies

  1

  1

  Craft and Design

  62

  61

  Drama

  —

  —

  Economics

  —

  —

  English

  256

  254

  French

  112

  110

  French-Writing

  112

  107

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  —

  —

  Geography (Revised)

  117

  116

  German (Revised)

  43

  43

  German-Writing

  43

  41

  Graphic Communication

  —

  —

  Greek

  —

  —

  History (Revised)

  74

  72

  Home Economics

  39

  39

  Italian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Italian-Writing

  —

  —

  Latin

  16

  16

  Mathematics

  262

  260

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  33

  30

  Music

  37

  37

  Office and Information Studies

  61

  60

  Physical Education

  23

  23

  Physics

  97

  97

  Religious Studies

  —

  —

  Russian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Russian-Writing

  —

  —

  Science

  32

  30

  Social and Vocational Skills

  29

  28

  Spanish (Revised)

  —

  —

  Spanish-Writing

  —

  —

  Technological Studies

  40

  37

  Shetland Islands

  Subject

  Number of Pupils Presented for Standard Grade at February 1991

  Number of Pupils Assessed

  Art and Design

  83

  81

  Biology

  57

  57

  Chemistry

  100

  98

  Classical Studies

  —

  —

  Computing Studies

  49

  48

  Contemporary Social Studies

  32

  32

  Craft and Design

  89

  89

  Drama

  —

  —

  Economics

  —

  —

  English

  317

  316

  French

  102

  101

  French-Writing

  100

  84

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  —

  —

  Geography (Revised)

  174

  172

  German (Revised)

  —

  —

  German-Writing

  —

  —

  Graphic Communication

  —

  —

  Greek

  —

  —

  History (Revised)

  100

  97

  Home Economics

  71

  70

  Italian (Revised)

  —

  —

  376

  Subject

  Number of Pupils Presented for Standard Grade at February 1991

  Number of Pupils Assessed

  Italian-Writing

  —

  —

  Latin

  2

  2

  Mathematics

  317

  317

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  26

  26

  Music

  32

  31

  Office and Information Studies

  83

  82

  Physical Education

  9

  8

  Physics

  114

  114

  Religious Studies

  —

  —

  Russian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Russian-Writing

  —

  —

  Science

  113

  113

  Social and Vocational Skills

  4

  4

  Spanish (Revised)

  —

  —

  Spanish-Writing

  —

  —

  Technological Studies

  —

  —

  Strathclyde Region

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  7,587

  7,130

  Biology

  7,223

  7,123

  Chemistry

  8,563

  8,466

  Classical Studies

  122

  114

  Computing Studies

  5,907

  5,649

  Contemporary Social Studies

  1,700

  1,592

  Craft and Design

  6,631

  5,893

  Drama

  286

  262

  Economics

  208

  193

  English

  26,985

  26,250

  French

  10,882

  10,615

  French-Writing

  9,535

  7,195

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  3

  2

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  27

  12

  Gaelic (Learners) Writing

  17

  12

  Geography (Revised)

  5,507

  5,021

  German (Revised)

  1,699

  1,663

  German-Writing

  1,579

  1,231

  Graphic Communication

  113

  107

  Greek

  9

  7

  History (Revised)

  3,380

  3,047

  Home Economics

  5,343

  4,926

  Italian (Revised)

  90

  89

  Italian-Writing

  79

  65

  Latin

  599

  566

  Mathematics

  27,268

  26,695

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  3,618

  3,223

  Music

  2,432

  2,283

  Office and Information Studies

  5,503

  5,320

  Physical Education

  4,301

  4,096

  Physics

  7,527

  7,447

  Religious Studies

  185

  166

  Russian (Revised)

  31

  30

  Russian-Writing

  29

  23

  Science

  8,065

  7,727

  Social and Vocational Skills

  2,411

  2,230

  Spanish (Revised)

  398

  377

  Spanish-Writing

  379

  278

  Technological Studies

  1,923

  1,771

  377

  Tayside Region

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  1,108

  1,051

  Biology

  1,059

  1,042

  Chemistry

  1,180

  1,163

  Classical Studies

  —

  —

  Computing Studies

  1,333

  1,304

  Contemporary Social Studies

  510

  478

  Craft and Design

  933

  859

  Drama

  19

  19

  Economics

  30

  25

  English

  4,492

  4,388

  French

  1,787

  1,740

  French-Writing

  1,627

  1,314

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  —

  —

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  5

  5

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  2

  2

  Geography (Revised)

  1,044

  994

  German (Revised)

  493

  476

  German-Writing

  483

  402

  Graphic Communication

  35

  34

  Greek

  4

  4

  History (Revised)

  238

  207

  Home Economics

  833

  746

  Italian (Revised)

  3

  2

  Italian-Writing

  1

  1

  Latin

  102

  100

  Mathematics

  4,458

  4,349

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  401

  361

  Music

  480

  454

  Office and Information Studies

  603

  579

  Physical Education

  811

  751

  Physics

  1,161

  1,147

  Religious Studies

  42

  36

  Russian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Russian-Writing

  —

  —

  Science

  1,189

  1,154

  Social and Vocational Skills

  417

  396

  Spanish (Revised)

  68

  67

  Spanish-Writing

  65

  50

  Technological Studies

  514

  483

  Western Isles

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  128

  128

  Biology

  130

  128

  Chemistry

  173

  173

  Classical Studies

  —

  —

  Computing Studies

  161

  156

  Contemporary Social Studies

  10

  10

  Craft and Design

  58

  57

  Drama

  —

  —

  Economics

  —

  —

  English

  469

  463

  French

  129

  127

  French-Writing

  123

  72

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  102

  101

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  131

  129

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  91

  68

  Geography (Revised)

  —

  —

  German (Revised)

  6

  6

  German-Writing

  5

  5

  Graphic Communication

  —

  —

  Greek

  —

  —

  History (Revised)

  —

  —

  Home Economics

  80

  79

  Italian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Italian-Writing

  —

  7

  378

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Latin

  —

  —

  Mathematics

  469

  465

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  —

  —

  Music

  40

  38

  Office and Information Studies

  120

  119

  Physical Education

  67

  65

  Physics

  155

  152

  Religious Studies

  —

  —

  Russian (Revised)

  —

  —

  Russian-Writing

  —

  —

  Science

  151

  148

  Social and Vocational Skills

  —

  —

  Spanish (Revised)

  —

  —

  Spanish-Writing

  —

  —

  Technological Studies

  50

  50

  Total for all Regions

  Subject

  Number of pupils presented for standard grade at February 1991

  Number of pupils assessed

  Art and Design

  17,750

  16,714

  Biology

  15,859

  15,643

  Chemistry

  18,295

  18,064

  Classical Studies

  181

  166

  Computing Studies

  14,953

  14,490

  Contemporary Social Studies

  3,625

  3,447

  Craft and Design

  13,759

  12,640

  Drama

  589

  557

  Economics

  449

  422

  English

  58,750

  57,482

  French

  22,895

  22,412

  French-Writing

  20,402

  16,104

  Gaidhlig (Revised)

  107

  105

  Gaelic (Learners) (Revised)

  278

  264

  Gaelic (Learners)-Writing

  196

  147

  Geography (Revised)

  14,407

  13,498

  German (Revised)

  5,769

  5,646

  German-Writing

  196

  147

  Graphic Communication

  365

  351

  Greek

  32

  30

  History (Revised)

  9,149

  8,472

  Home Economics

  11,758

  11,030

  Italian (Revised)

  132

  130

  Italian-Writing

  112

  97

  Latin

  1,099

  1,055

  Mathematics

  59,065

  57,732

  Modern Studies (Revised)

  8,325

  7,610

  Music

  5,988

  5,659

  Office and Information Studies

  11,445

  11,126

  Physical Education

  9,884

  9,465

  Physics

  16,959

  16,771

  Religious Studies

  605

  555

  Russian (Revised)

  68

  67

  Russian-Writing

  66

  57

  Science

  16,901

  16,361

  Social and Vocational Skills

  4,800

  4,557

  Spanish (Revised)

  642

  615

  Spanish-Writing

  603

  465

  Technological Studies

  5,206

  4,872

  Crofters
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the total amounts of money awarded under the crofter building grants and loans scheme in each of the past five financial years; what is the amount
  379
  awarded so far in the current financial year; and what were the amounts awarded specifically to fishermen who are not crofters for each of the same years.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The approved expenditure under the crofters building grants and loans scheme in each of the past five financial years and the first six months of the current financial year is set out in the table.

  Total Approved Expenditure

  Approved Expenditure—fishermen feuars

  £

  £

  1986–87

  3,402,000

  64,000

  1987–88

  3,885,500

  121,500

  1988–89

  2,977,500

  121,500

  1989–0

  3,586,500

  94,500

  1990–91

  4,027,500

  31,000

  April 1991 to 30 September 1991

  2,175,000

  31,000

  Red Deer
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent studies he has received and considered relating to the red deer population; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The most recent study of this nature is the report on "The Management of Wild Red Deer in Scotland", commissioned by Rural Forum. My right hon. Friend considers that this report is a helpful contribution to public debate and is timely in view of the current review of deer legislation. It will be studied in detail in the context of the review.

  Scottish Food
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action his Department is taking to promote Scottish food and drink, both in the United Kingdom and abroad; and whether he has any plans to help fund a body similar to Scottish Food Promotions Ltd.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Government support for the industry's marketing of food and drink is provided through Food From Britain, which is accountable to all four Agriculture Ministers. In Scotland, additional public support is provided by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The Scottish Office provides specific forms of assistance for exporters and is supporting the National Farmers Union of Scotland's plans for comprehensive quality assurance systems on farms. Since the closure of Scottish Food Promotion, SE and HIE have commissioned Trade Promotions (Scotland) Ltd. to arrange a Scottish presence at major trade fairs. There are no plans to set up another company to perform other functions of SFP.

  School Reports
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action is being taken by his Department to monitor the implementation of recommendations made in HM inspectorate of schools' reports on individual schools.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  After a sufficient interval to give an opportunity to act on a report—usually a period of 380
  several months after publication—the inspectorate mounts a follow-up inspection to discuss the report and any action which has been taken on it with the director of education and the head teacher.

  School Meals
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many children are receiving free school meals in each of the education authorities in Scotland expressed as a percentage of the total number of children taking school meals.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information requested, taken from the 1991 annual school meals census return, is as follows:

  Percentage of children taking school meals who receive free meals

  Number receiving free meals

  Percentage of total receiving meals within each Region

  Borders

  650

  12·2

  Central

  5,170

  29·7

  Dumfries and Galloway

  1,769

  14·1

  Fife

  6,432

  24·9

  Grampian

  4,375

  14·0

  Highland

  2,881

  22·1

  Lothian

  12,330

  28·2

  Strathclyde

  61,169

  39·7

  Tayside

  6,199

  28·2

  Orkney

  179

  9·2

  Shetland

  160

  5·9

  Western Isles

  601

  23·6

  All Scotland

  101,915

  30·7

  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by educational authority the number and percentage of secondary schools which now operate a cash cafeteria system for their pupils for the midday meal.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information requested, taken from the 1991 annual school meals census returns, is as follows:

  Number of secondary schools operating a cash cafeteria system

  Region

  Number of secondary schools

  Number offering cash cafeteria system

  Percentage

  Borders

  9

  9

  100

  Central

  19

  19

  100

  Dumfries and Galloway

  16

  16

  100

  Fife

  19

  19

  100

  Grampian

  38

  38

  100

  Highland

  27

  23

  85

  Lothian

  51

  51

  100

  Strathclyde

  182

  177

  97

  Tayside

  32

  32

  100

  Orkney

  6

  2

  33

  Shetland

  9

  1

  11

  Western Isles

  16

  6

  38

  All Scotland

  424

  393

  93

  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans his Department has to improve the diet of Scottish schoolchildren.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  An objective of health education in schools is to encourage pupils to adopt a well-balanced
  381
  and healthy diet. The place of health education in the curriculum is being reviewed as part of the 5–14 development programme.

  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any plans to reintroduce the nutritional requirement for school meals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Nutritional standards for school meals have never been prescribed in Scotland.

  Cumbernauld High School
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action has been taken by his Department to monitor the implementation of the recommendations made by HM inspectorate of schools' report on Cumbernauld high school in 1990.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Cumbernauld high school was inspected in January and February 1990, the inspectorate report was published in June 1990 and a follow-up inspection was made by the inspectorate in January 1991.

  Corporal Punishment
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has had from Kilsyth primary school board concerning corporal punishment; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The school board wrote to me on 29 October advocating the reintroduction of corporal punishment in schools as a deterrent of last resort. Following a judgment in the European Court of Human Rights in 1982, the legal safeguards covering the administration of corporal punishment by staff in Scottish schools were withdrawn and this form of sanction was abolished.

  Fish Farming
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what support his Department has given to the fish farming industry in Scotland since 1979.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The Department has given support to the fish farming industry in various ways.

  The Scottish Office provides scientific advice and research through the marine laboratory in Aberdeen. Spending on relevant research has amounted to some £4 million in the last five years.

  The Department also provides supplementary funding to fish farmers seeking grants from the European Community (EC Regulation 4028/86). Such assistance has amounted to £1·321 million to date. In addition, financial assistance has been provided through Highlands and Islands Enterprise and its predecessor for fish farms, fish processing investment, and for other forms of assistance, estimated at some £34 million since 1979.

  The Department has also committed funding under the integrated development programme and the agricultural development programme for the Scottish islands for fish farming amounting to £4 million in total since 1982.

  Royal Observer Corps
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what training facilities will be available to local authorities taking on the responsibilities of the Royal Observer Corps; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what arrangements have been made to ensure the maximum use of existing expertise and equipment during the transfer of Royal Observer Corps duties to local authorities; how many volunteers will be sought; which authorities have already developed parallel arrangements and what those arrangements are; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what plans have been made for the transfer of Royal Observer Corps duties to local authorities; by what date the transfer is expected to be complete; who will undertake these duties in the interim period; and if he will make a statement;

  (4) if additional finances will be made available to local authorities in order to carry out the role of the Royal Observer Corps; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Following the statement on the Government's emergency planning review made on 10 July 1991 by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, columns 393–96, preliminary discussions have been held with local authorities in Scotland on what new monitoring arrangements may be appropriate following the standing down of the Royal Observer Corps and what role the former ROC volunteers might have in these new arrangements. While no conclusions have yet been reached on these matters, the aim will be to make as much use of ROC resources as possible.

  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement concerning the future plans for Royal Observer Corps centres at Raigmore, Inverness, and the RIMNET system on Tiree.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Home Office has responsibility for the Royal Observer Corps facility at Raigmore. Officials of my Department are considering with their opposite numbers in the Home Office whether an alternative civil defence use for the centre might be found.

  The radioactive incident monitoring network system on Tiree is one of 16 sites throughout Scotland established under the national response plan to cater for the response to nuclear incidents occurring overseas. There are no plans to discontinue the use of the site on Tiree and it will continue to be part of the network.

  College Management
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what added costs will arise from the change in management of colleges in the Further and High Education (Scotland) Bill because of the requirements under section 20 of the Value Added Tax Act 1983.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  An accurate assessment of the colleges' liability for value added tax after 1 April 1993 will be made when a precise breakdown is available of the sum to be transferred to the Secretary of State's budget for the funding of further education colleges.

  Football (Policing)
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing, for each year since 1986,.(a) the total number of police officers on duty at Scottish Football League and Premier Division matches in Scotland, (b) the total attendance at Scottish Football League and Premier Division matches in Scotland and (c) the total number of police officers as a percentage of the total attendance at Scottish Football League and Premier Division matches in Scotland and (d) the total number of police officers in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  This information is not held centrally, but I will write to the hon. Member.

  Civil Defence Budget
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total annual budget for civil defence provisions for 1991–92 and for each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish Office Home and Health Department's annual budget for civil defence provision over the period in question has been as follows:

  £ million

  1978–79

  0·8

  1979–80

  1·1

  1980–81

  1·4

  1981–82

  2·4

  1982–83

  3·7

  1983–84

  6·5

  1984–85

  7·5

  1985–86

  5·4

  1986–87

  5·3

  1987–88

  5·8

  1988–89

  6·1

  1989–90

  7·0

  1990–91

  7·9

  1991–92

  7·6

  Rural Enterprise Programme
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is now able to announce the outcome of the review of the operational areas for the business development scheme of the rural enterprise programme.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I am pleased to announce today that the rural enterprise programme's business development scheme, which aims to help farmers and crofters develop new businesses, will now be extended into two additional areas of the Highlands and Islands. The new areas are Dunoon/Cowal, Oban/Lorn and Mid-Argyll/ Kintyre, and Badenoch/Strathspey and Upper Moray. Locally based project officers will be appointed as quickly as possible and I hope the first awards for approved projects in the new areas will be made by spring 1992.

  The response to the BDS from the four existing operational areas of south-east Sutherland, West Ross, Lochalsh and Lochaber has been most encouraging, with some 30 projects already approved and many more under consideration. The REP offers generous levels of support and I am very pleased at the response so far. I hope that farmers and crofters in the two new operational areas will also respond positively to this opportunity which aims to
  384
  make agricultural producers in the highlands and islands more secure in the face of growing pressures to reduce agricultural support.

  Sheltered Housing
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will increase resources for Scottish local authorities to be able to increase their sheltered housing provision; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 7 November 1991]: Resources totalling £454·5 million were announced in March for housing capital investment in authorities' own stock in 1991–92. It is for local authorities to decide how best to deploy the resources available to them to meet local housing needs, including the need for sheltered housing provision if this is seen as a priority in their areas.

  Wild Birds
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state which sites he intends next to designate as special protection areas under EC directive 79/409 on the conservation of wild birds, and which sites he intends to so designate before 1 December.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 8 November 1991]: Consultations are taking place about the designation of eight special protection areas at present. It is not possible to say which site will be designated first or to give dates for possible designation.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Hospital Laundry Services
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the Eastern health and social services board rejected the tender for laundry services in the Royal group of hospitals.

  Mr. Hanley
  The only tender received for the laundry services contract in the Royal group of hospitals unit of management was from the in-house contractor. Since that tender price substantially exceeded the present cost of the service, the Eastern health and social services board quite correctly decided in this particular case not to award the contract but to re-tender the work within 18 months.

  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the reasons for there having been only cross board and in-house tenders for laundry services in the Eastern health and social services board.

  Mr. Hanley
  All reasonable steps are taken to generate private sector interest in laundry services contracts. The small number of commercial firms with the capability of and interest in undertaking laundry contracts in Northern Ireland have decided not to submit tenders for contracts in EHSSB. Such decisions are a matter for them and I do not intend to speculate as to their reasons. However, the absence of private sector competition in this particular case does not prevent the board from achieving the objective of competitive tendering which is to test the cost-effectiveness of the service.

  Civil Defence
  Mr. Kilfedder
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement regarding civil defence measures in the event of a nuclear explosion either in peace or war.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  I am currently reviewing civil defence arrangements in Northern Ireland in the light of the answer which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary gave to a question from the hon. Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) on 10 July,Official Report, columns 393–96. While the new arrangements will be similar to those being developed for the remainder of the United Kingdom, some variations will be necessary to take account of different organisational and administrative structures within the Province.

  CRISP Programme
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the criteria for benefiting under CRISP—the community regeneration initiative special project—programme and urban development grant, indicating any change in those criteria in the last year, and list the persons and bodies which administer the same.

  Mr. Hanley
  The CRISP initiative is targeted on towns and villages with populations below approximately 10,000 in areas of particular disadvantage and is available to community groups and district councils.

  Urban development grants are available for developments in specified areas of Belfast and Londonderry where the intention is to let or sell the completed projects and for refurbishments or new buildings within these areas aimed at achieving physical and economic regeneration.

  There has been no change to the criteria for the UDG scheme or CRISP in the last year.

  These programmes are administered by the Department of the Environment.

  Grant outside Belfast and Londonderry is provided under the urban development programme which is funded by the International Fund for Ireland and I have asked the chairman of the fund to write to the hon. Gentleman. I will place a copy of his letter in the Library.

  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the towns and villages that have benefited and will benefit from the CRISP—community regeneration initiative special project—programme and urban development grant, giving the total amount and population in each case.

  Mr. Hanley
  The moneys committed under the CRISP programme which is funded by the International Fund for Ireland and the Department of Environment, are shown in the table:

  Town

  Amount Approved

  Population (Approximately)

  £ million

  1. Coalisland

  2·700

  3,800

  2. Castlederg

  1·570

  2,900

  3. Carrickmore

  1·880

  1,000

  4. Keady

  1·500

  3,200

  5. Belleek

  1·890

  1,000

  6. Dromore (Co. Tyrone)

  0·670

  1,000

  7. Belcoo

  0·314

  1,100

  8. Newtownhamilton

  0·600

  1,200

  386
  It is not possible to say which applications will receive approval in the future.

  The urban development grant scheme applies only to Belfast—population 280,972—and Londonderry—population 94,721. At 31 October 1991, £68 million had been committed or expended on approved projects in the two cities.

  Grants outside Belfast and Londonderry are provided under the urban development programme which is funded by the International Fund for Ireland. I have asked the chairman of the fund to write to the hon. Gentleman and I will place a copy of his letter in the Library.

  Care Standards
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library copies of specifications for care standards required by the four units of management in the Eastern health and social services board.

  Mr. Hanley
  Service specifications for three services—catering, domestic and laundry—have been individually prepared for all nine units of management in the Eastern health and social services board. A sample copy of each of the three services has been placed in the Library.

  School Nurses
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many school nurses were employed in Northern Ireland in(a) 1975, (b) 1980, (c) 1985 and (d)

  Mr. Hanley
  The information requested is given in the table.

  Number of Staff1

  Whole time equivalent

  1975

  68

  Not available

  1980

  92

  82·2

  1985

  94

  79·0

  1990

  101

  81·3

  1The figures show the number of staff in post at 31 December of each year

  Chronic Pain
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at which clinics sufferers of chronic pain can be treated within the national health service; what is the extent of funding for treatment of chronic pain; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  Treatment for sufferers of chronic pain is provided at out-patient clinics in the following hospitals in Northern Ireland:

  Eastern Board:

  Belfast City, Royal Victoria, Musgrave,

  Ulster, Mater, Bangor.

  Nothern Board:

  Waveney, Coleraine, Whiteabbey.

  Western Board:

  Altnagelvin.

  Southern Board:

  Craigavon, South Tyrone.

  A clinic is also provided for outpatients on a weekly basis at the Queens university department of anaesthesia and there is a clinic for in-patients at the Belfast city hospital. Information about the extent of funding for the pain relief service is not held centrally.

  Cardiac Operations
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are currently waiting for cardiac operations at the Royal Victoria hospital, Belfast; what is the average waiting time; and what proposals there are to reduce the waiting time for such operations.

  Mr. Hanky
  There were 991 people waiting for cardiac operations at the Royal Victoria hospital, Belfast at the end of September 1991 and I have set out below the details of how long they have been doing so. The recent completion of the £1·5 million extension to the cardiac recovery area at the RVH will permit an increase in the number of operations and an additional cardiac surgeon and supporting staff will be appointed soon to support this increased workload. Boards are also actively considering the possibilities of purchasing further operations from outside Northern Ireland. The Western board has already taken an initiative this year in buying additional cardiac operations for its resident population from hospitals in London.

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  Senior Management

  12

  12

  16

  16

  31

  31

  (12)

  (12)

  (16)

  (16)

  (31)

  (31)

  Middle Management

  190

  191

  196

  185

  255

  244

  (182·5)

  (184·58)

  (180·57)

  (177·03)

  (246·81)

  (234·09)

  Medical

  10

  13

  14

  11

  13

  13

  (5)

  (6·7)

  (7·7)

  (4·7)

  (6·7)

  (6·7)

  Nursing

  182

  174

  193

  206

  689

  679

  (152·53)

  (166·12)

  (177·15)

  (177·19)

  (614·45)

  (605·36)

  Social Workers

  94

  94

  113

  105

  106

  106

  (85·96)

  (86·52)

  (104·12)

  (96·12)

  (97·12)

  (97·12)

  Social Work Assistants

  58

  52

  54

  50

  50

  50

  (55·81)

  (51·33)

  (51·95)

  (47·95)

  (47·95)

  (47·95)

  Support Staff

  457

  422

  470

  397

  649

  645

  (335·89)

  (324·9)

  (358)

  (304·85)

  (506·79)

  (505·08)

  Notes:

  1. Whole time equivalent figures are shown in brackets.

  2. The figures show the number of staff in post at 30 September of each year.

  3. Figures for 1990 and 1991 include staff in Muckamore Abbey hospital which prior to 1 April 1990 was a separate unit of management.

  4. Medical figures do not include registrars, senior registrars and consultants who are not on the unit payroll.

  Residential Homes
  Mr. Clifford Forsythe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of(a) residential care homes and (b) nursing homes in operation for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Hanley
  The information is as follows:

  Year

  Residential care homes1

  1979

  Not available

  1980

  234

  1981

  241

  1982

  246

  1983

  257

  1984

  253

  1985

  255

  1986

  266

  1987

  289

  1988–89

  2302

  1989–90

  2337

  388

  Patients waiting for admission by months waiting

  Months

  Patients

  0–2

  125

  3–5

  81

  6–8

  78

  9–11

  68

  11–23

  168

  24+

  471

  Total

  991

  North and West Belfast Unit of Management
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list in tabular form for the years 1986 to 1991 the numbers in post in the North and West Belfast unit of management in the grades(a) senior management, (b) middle management, (c) medical, (d) nursing, (e) social workers, (f) social work assistants and (g) support staff.

  Mr. Hanley
  The information requested in respect of the North and West Belfast community unit is set out in the table:

  Year

  Nursing homes3

  1979

  13

  1980

  11

  1981

  12

  1982

  12

  1983

  15

  1984

  18

  1985

  32

  1986

  46

  1987

  64

  1988

  90

  1989

  129

  1990

  164

  1 Includes both homes operated by health and social services boards and homes in the voluntary and private sectors.

  2 From 1988 information on residential care homes has been collected on a financial year basis. All other data on such homes are in relation to end of year.

  3 Figures at 31 December each year.

  DSS Benefit Advisers
  Mr. Clifford Forsythe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by local office the number of DSS benefit advisers appointed since the new DSS Benefits Agency was set up.

  Mr. Hanley
  Social security operational matters are the responsibility of Mr. Alec Wylie, chief executive of the Social Security Agency. He has written to the honourable Gentleman and copies of his reply will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

  Number of people receiving supplementary benefit/income support

  May 19871

  May 19881

  May 19891

  October 19902

  Type of Home3

  HSSB

  RCH

  NH

  HSSB

  RCH

  NH

  HSSB

  RCH

  NH

  HSSB

  RCH

  NH

  Status of resident

  60 years or over:

  mentally ill4

  630

  713

  317

  720

  1,120

  1,060

  700

  1,420

  1,500

  N/A

  85

  80

  others

  N/A

  1,321

  2,533

  Under 60 years:

  mentally ill4

  469

  151

  102

  260

  140

  100

  240

  120

  120

  N/A

  41

  7

  others

  N/A

  203

  219

  Totals

  1,099

  864

  419

  980

  1,260

  1,160

  940

  1,540

  1,620

  N/A

  1,650

  2,839

  1 Annual statistical enquiry (5 per cent, sample).

  2 Special survey.

  3 Health and social services boards (HSSB) residential homes, indpendent residential care (RCH) and nursing homes (NH).

  4 Numbers qualifying for supplementary benefit/income support limits appropriate to mental disorder.

ENVIRONMENT

  Regalian Building, Vauxhall Cross
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what Government work will be undertaken at the nine-storey building currently under construction by Regalian at Vauxhall Cross on the Thames Embankment.

  Mr. Yeo
  The building is for occupation by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

  Royal Parks (Staff)
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff of the royal parks are being made redundant; and what is the total redundancy payment.

  Mr. Yeo
  A total of 342 industrial staff have received redundancy notices. It is estimated that redundancy and early retirement payments will total £3·05 million.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many current staff of the royal parks live in tied accommodation; how many will be allowed to remain when contractors take over; and what will happen to the rents of those who remain.

  Mr. Yeo
  A total of 35 current staff live in royal parks lodges. The 22 industrial staff who have received redundancy notices will be allowed to continue living in their lodges whether they are employed by contractors or not. Those who are not already paying fair rents will be required to do so with the increase being phased-in over a period depending on the size of the change.

  Supplementary Benefit
  Mr. Clifford Forsythe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of people receiving supplementary benefit or income support who were(a) residents in residential care homes, (b)residents in nursing homes, (c) residents over pension age, (d) residents under pension age, (e) elderly residents, and (f) mentally ill residents for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Hanley
  Full information is not available in the form requested. The available information for the years 1987 to 1990 is as follows:

  Methane
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates he has available for the quantity of methane loss into the atmosphere from the British gas industry.

  Mr. Baldry
  Data on United Kingdom methane emissions are published annually in the "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics," copies of which are placed in the Library of the House. The la test estimates, for 1989 in Digest no. 13, show that gas leakage from the distribution system accounted for 340,000 tonnes of methane, and venting from oil and gas platforms together accounted for a further 175,000 tonnes of methane.

  Sports Facilities (Tendering)
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on how local authorities must draw up contracts for competitive tendering of the running of sports facilities so that the private sector has a fair chance to compete; and what powers he has to ensure that fair competition is encouraged with regard to the kinds of tasks set out in the tender documents.

  Mr. Key
  Under the Local Government Act 1988 local authorities are required to avoid anti-competitive behaviour in carrying out tendering for work subject to the Act. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has sanction powers which he may use if he considers that an authority has failed to comply with the statutory requirements, including the requirement to avoid anti-competitive behaviour. In March 1991, we issued a circular (1/91) giving guidance on factors that the Secretary of State would consider in reaching a view on whether local authorities had acted anti-competitively. We
  391
  are seeking powers in the Local Government Bill to strengthen our ability to prescribe what is, or is not, to be regarded as anti-competitive behaviour. We have just issued a consultation document "Competing for Quality—Competition in the Provision of Local Services" setting out our proposals for the use of those proposed powers.

  Thames House, Millbank
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he consulted the Royal Fine Arts Commission before commencing work on the listed building Thames house, Millbank.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Royal Fine Arts Commission was consulted after minor works to remove redundant services had started but before the start of the main works.

  Wild Birds
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation banning the importation of all wild birds; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Government share the concern that has been expressed about the possible effects of trade on the wild populations of many species and about the conditions in which animals—especially birds—are transported. These are international problems which require international solutions and we are therefore pressing for stricter controls throughout the European Community and beyond.

  Conservation action must be based on sound science. Earlier this year I therefore commissioned the Government's scientific advisers, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to review the evidence as to whether the trade in wild-taken animals and plants was compatible with maintaining species at satisfactory levels. The JNCC's report was submitted on 31 July and copies are available in the Library of the House. The report gives unequivocal support for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which is the foundation for conservation controls on trade in the European Community and most of the rest of the world. The Committee does not advocate extensive bans but has made some wide-ranging recommendations for tightening the present controls. The report of the Royal Botanic Gardens submitted recently reaches similar conclusions and makes detailed recommendations on plants. We will make this available as soon as possible.

  I therefore wrote to the European Commission on 14 October, urging it to propose that the Community takes steps to:
  strengthen measures to prevent illegal trade in endangered species and to ensure that specimens of these species are used to bring conservation benefits;
  make more systematic checks on the effect of trade on species whose survival might become threatened, to ensure that it continues only at sustainable levels;
  monitor trade in more species:
  make sure that appropriate care is taken of all species listed in CITES.
  We intend to make clear the importance we attach to early progress at the Environment Council next month.

  Because of his responsibilities for the welfare of animals during transport, my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
  392
  Food, joined me in this approach to the Commission, to press for strict controls on trade in any species which are particularly vulnerable to stress and mortality as a result of transport or captivity.

  Listed Buildings (Alterations)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what bodies he consults before commencing major alterations to listed buildings.

  Mr. Yeo
  Clearance is sought from the local planning authority in line with DOE circulars 18/84 and 8/87. The local planning authority will in turn consult with various heritage bodies, though where significant proposals are concerned my Department will normally have had prior discussions with these bodies.

  Planning Permissions
  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions in each of the last 10 years has(a) the South Herefordshire district council granted a planning permission as a departure from the structure plan, (b) such a planning consent been granted as a result of an appeal and (c) if he will give the same information for other non-metropolitan district councils in England.

  Mr. Yeo
  This information is not held centrally.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment to what extent there is non-payment of the community charge in the current year; and what support he is giving to recover the unpaid community charge.

  Mr. Key
  At the end of June community charge receipts in England averaged 12 per cent. of local authorities' budgeted charge income. This figure was however affected by delays in issuing community charge bills due to the general reduction of £140 in headline charges announced in the Budget and it is not possible to draw conclusions about overall collection for the year. We will be publishing information on the second quarter of the year shortly.

  The Government strongly support local authorities' efforts to collect the community charge. We have given them wide ranging collection powers and if these are used to the full authorities should be able to collect the charge from those people who have not paid.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will immediately review community charge benefit regulation No. 89 in order that full time married students can receive poll tax relief without affecting the spouse's claim.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I have been asked to reply.

  Regulation 89 of the Social Security Community Charge Benefits (General) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989/1321) provides for excess benefits that have arisen where claimants have not declared all of their capital assets. We are not aware that this regulation has caused any difficulties in particular in relation to full-time married students.

  Non-student partners of registered students can claim community charge benefit, while the student is entitled to

  393
  relief and only pays 20 per cent. of the charge. The benefit awarded to the non-student partner takes account of the couple's joint circumstances.

  Local Authorities
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will publish a list of each local authority in England, its political control and the amount paid in attendance allowance and expenses to the highest paid councillor in each authority in respect of the most recent two years for which the information is available;

  (2) what information he has in respect of councillors' attendance allowances and expenses for each local authority in England.

  Mr. Key
  This information is not collected by my Department. Each local authority must, on request, make available for inspection a record of allowances paid and the names of the recipients.

  Mortgages
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to meet the Council of Mortgage Lenders to discuss the establishment of a code of practice for mortgage lenders.

  Mr. Yeo
  At the suggestion of this Department, the Council of Mortgage Lenders issued statements of practice on the handling of mortgage arrears and of possession procedure in February this year.

  Air Pollution
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of occasions on which the one-hour and the eight-hour World Health Organisation guideline values for ozone were exceeded at each Warren Spring Laboratory monitoring site in the last year for which data are available.

  Mr. Baldry
  The number of days during which the one hour (76ppb) and the eight hour (50ppb) World Health Organisation guideline values for ozone were exceeded at the Department of the Environment's monitoring sites in 1991 are as follows:

  WHO guideline exceedences, days

  1-hour

  8-hour

  Stevenage, Herts

  5

  7

  Sibton, Suffolk

  3

  19

  Bridge place, London

  0

  0

  Aston hill, Wales

  1

  15

  Lullington heath, Sussex

  7

  24

  Strath Vaich, Highlands

  0

  20

  High Muffles, Yorkshire

  4

  23

  Lough Navar, NI

  4

  8

  Yarner Wood, Devon

  14

  33

  Ladybower, Derbyshire

  6

  14

  Harwell, Oxfordshire

  13

  20

  Bottesford, Notts

  2

  11

  Eskdalemuir, Dumfries

  1

  12

  Great Dun Fell, Cumbria

  6

  19

  Wharleycroft, Cumbria

  4

  26

  Glazebury, Iancs

  2

  5

  Bush, Midlothian

  1

  1

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the air quality bulletin 394
  system to ensure that appropriate information and advice is provided to the public during eight-hour sustained pollution episodes.

  Mr. Baldry
  The advice currently issued during ozone episodes follows recommendations in a report by the Chief Medical Officer's advisory group on the medical aspects of air pollution episodes, published in May this year. In accordance with the group's recommendations, it is issued when hourly mean ozone concentrations exceed, or are expected to exceed 100 parts per billion. We see no reason at present to alter this practice, but the arrangements will be kept under review.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the United Kingdom-wide newspapers, radio and television stations which have agreed to print or broadcast his Department's advice on what to do if air quality becomes poor.

  Mr. Baldry
  Advice on what to if air quality becomes poor is obtained from the telephone information system and from general practitioners.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the United Kingdom-wide newspapers, radio stations and television stations which agreed to print or broadcast air quality bulletins on a regular basis.

  Mr. Baldry
  Air quality bulletin information is currently available on a daily basis on page 583 of Ceefax and in the Guardian and the (London) Evening Standard. Weather forecasts on BBC and ITV report episodes and forecasts of poor air quality. The air quality bulletins are provided free of charge to all radio and television stations and newspapers that take the weather information provided by the Meteorological Office.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to assess the effectiveness of the air quality bulletin system in its first year of operation.

  Mr. Baldry
  My Department assesses continuously the effectiveness of the bulletin system. It has been extended, improved and made more accessible in a number of ways since its introduction in October 1990. The media are making increasing use of it.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the weekly average number of calls received by his Department's air quality call line(a) in total and (b) seeking advice on what action to take if air quality becomes poor.

  Mr. Baldry
  The weekly average number of calls received on the Department's air quality call line during October 1991 was about three and on the air quality advice line, 32 over the same four week period.

  Noise
  Mr. Cartwright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the progress so far made in implementing the recommendations of his Department's noise review working party published in October 1990.

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Memberf for Burnley (Mr. Pike) on Friday 8 November 1991, at c.310–03.

  Send-a-penny Campaign
  Mr. Grist
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many pennies and representations he has received in connection with the send-a-penny campaign designed to improve the provision, cleanliness and accessibility of public conveniences; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  The Department has received 235 pennies and 88 representations. For over 100 years authorities have had an absolute discretion as to whether, and how, they provide public conveniences. We have no plans to change this.

  Hedgerows
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures the Government are planning to introduce to protect hedgerows; and when these will be presented.

  Mr. Yeo
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave today to the hon. Member for Glanford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley).

  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to bring forward detailed legislation to protect hedgerows.

  Mr. Baldry
  In July I announced the Government's revised proposals to protect hedgerows. These include two main elements: a proposed scheme to require owners and occupiers to notify intended removal of hedgerows—linked with new powers for local authorities to register key hedgerows; and proposed new incentives to promote environmentally beneficial management.

  The former requires legislation, which we shall seek to introduce when parliamentary time permits. However, the
  396
  proposed incentives scheme does not depend on new legislation and we are discussing with the Countryside Commission and others the best means of taking early steps to implement this.

  Housing Investment Programme
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has had with the Institute of Housing with regard to the allocation of the housing investment programme.

  Mr. Yeo
  The institute commented on the Secretary of State's recent proposals that more account should be taken of local authorities' performance and plans in the allocation of housing capital resources. Their views were taken into account. The Secretary of State announced on 30 October his decision to proceed to implement these proposals.

  Building Industry
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent consultations he has had with the Federation of Master Builders about the state of the building industry.

  Mr. Yeo
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no such consultations.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had from building firms about the effects of the recession on the building industry.

  Mr. Yeo
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning on 6 November 1991 at column 154.

  Housing Expenditure
  Mr. Aspinwall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of how he plans to use the increases in public expenditure on housing announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's autumn statement, and his proposals for local authority housing subsidy.

  Sir George Young
  Public expenditure on housing will be nearly £7·8 billion next year, an increase of 4·9 per cent. on previous plans, and will rise further to £8·2 billion by 1994–95. This rising programme will increasingly focus on tackling run-down council estates and providing for families in housing need. Our plans include:

  —£350 million extra over three years to provide nearly £1,200 million in total for the enhanced estate action initiative which I announced in July, and more for housing action trusts in the two later years, to continue our policy of focusing resources on the most run-down council estates;

  —the Housing Corporation's capital programme of new social housing to go on rising as planned to £1·7 billion next year and over £2 billion thereafter, to provide 120,000 homes over three years mainly for the benefit of homeless families and others in housing need;

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  Forecast outturn

  Previous plan

  Revised plan

  Previous plan

  Revised plan

  plan

  Housing Corporation (net capital)1

  1,636·7

  1,706·5

  1,706·5

  1,918·8

  1,918·8

  1,966·7

  Local authority capital2

  19,61·1

  1,845·9

  1,962·7

  1,813·5

  1,952·5

  2,002·4

  Housing Action Trusts

  10·3

  67·3

  40·1

  69·0

  86·8

  88·2

  Housing Revenue Account Subsidy

  3,751·1

  3,531·8

  3,755·7

  3,537·8

  3,695·3

  3,861·7

  Other Expenditure

  266·6

  263·3

  310·2

  255·8

  305·4

  292·0

  Total housing

  7,625·8

  7,414·9

  7,775·2

  7,594·9

  7,958·8

  8,211·0

  1Housing Corporation forecast gross capital expenditure: 1991–92 £1,731 million; 1992–93 £1,770 million; 1993–94 £2,004 million; 1994–95 £2,052 million.

  2Includes Estate Action: 1991–92 £266 million; 1992–93 £365 million; 1993–94 £407 million; 1994–95 £423 million.

  My Department is also today consulting local authorities about my proposals for the management and maintenance allowances and rent guidelines to be used in calculating authorities' entitlements to housing revenue account subsidy next year, and I have placed the consultation papers in the Library with a list of proposed allowances and guidelines for each authority. I plan to introduce important new measures to help raise standards of management and maintenance in council housing. First, I propose an average increase of 6½ per cent. in management and maintenance allowances, allowing a real improvement in service to tenants. Second, I propose further moves towards targeting allowances according to the type of housing that each authority owns and the differing management problems they face, thereby directing £93 million more to the authorities with the greatest needs. On rents, I propose increases in guidelines averaging £2·44 a week—to give a new average guideline of £27·33—and ranging from £1·20 to £4·50 a week, thus continuing our policy of encouraging authorities to charge rents that better reflect the relative value of housing provided while remaining on average well below market levels. Responsibility for setting actual rents remains with individual local authorities. Housing benefit will normally meet the whole of any rent increase for the two thirds of tenants receiving it.

  Backed by this substantial public expenditure provision, and by recent initiatives to drive up standards and secure better value for money, our housing policies will continue to focus—though constructive partnerships between all the agencies involved in providing housing
  398
  —£30 million next year for a continuation of the successful programme of new rural housing financed through local authorities;

  —£25 million over three years for bringing flats over shops back into use;

  —£70 million over three years for a new grant to help authorities meet the costs of replacing privately leased accommodation for homeless families;

  —over £1·5 billion each year in grants and borrowing approvals for local authorities' mainstream housing capital programmes of renovating their own estates, supporting housing associations, and helping low-income private owners to renovate their houses;

  —£3·75 billion in 1992–93 for subsidies to council housing, including rent rebates for low-income tenants.

  Lower construction costs—down nearly 10 per cent. since this time last year—and lower land prices are helping us to get more output from current levels of public expenditure. The table gives further details of the breakdown between main spending areas. I shall announce further details of specific programmes, and of capital allocations to individual authorities and of the Housing Corporation's development programme, over the coming weeks.

  —on encouraging owner-occupation for those who can afford it, on helping homeless families, and on widening choice and improving service for tenants especially on the most run-down council estates.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Pensioners
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals his Department were unable to trace to tell them they could make up their contributions to claim a full pension.

  Mr. Jack
  The responsibility for tracing individuals for contributions purposes is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive of the Contributions Agency. She will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the cost to the Treasury of the additional claims for mortgage interest payments from those pensioners who will be entitled to claim income support as a result of the uprating statement; and how many individuals will be able to claim such payments.

  Miss Widdecombe
  [holding answer 5 November 1991]: We estimate that fewer than 5,000 pensioners with a mortgage could become entitled to claim income support as a result of the uprating statement. The extra cost to the Treasury is negligible.
  399
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much money the Government received from pensioners through deductions from their pensions occasioned by stays in hospital longer than six weeks in each year since 1988–89.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many low income pensioners are expected to gain from the measures in the uprating statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The proposed uprating income support by a full 7 per cent. from next April will give increases substantially above the current level of inflation to around 3·5 million low-income pensioners where the claimant or partner is aged 60 or over.

  Furthermore, there will be rises in addition to the uprating increase for older and disabled pensioners who receive the higher pensioner premium. Couples will get £1·50 per week extra and single claimants £1·00. This measure alone will add £60 million in a full year to the help available to low-income pensioners.

  The income support limits for residential care and nursing homes are also to be increased by £15 in nearly all cases. This rise is significantly greater than inflation and represents additional funding of £200 million per year.

  As a result of the proposed uprating it is expected that up to 400,000 people will become newly eligible to claim income support and the majority of these are likely to be pensioners.

  Pensions
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what approximate amount per week will be payable as a SERPS addition to their pension to those who have been on average earnings throughout their working life if they retire in 1991, 1992 and for each subsequent year for which forecasts exist.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The information requested is given in the table.

  The amount of additional pension payable for a man experiencing age specific male average earnings through-out his working life and a woman experiencing age specific female average earnings during her working life retiring in each year 1991 to 2061

  Year reaching pension age

  Men

  Women

  1991

  40·90

  25·45

  1992

  48·80

  30·15

  1993

  54·50

  33·70

  1994

  59·85

  37·00

  1995

  65·25

  40·25

  1996

  70·90

  43·65

  1997

  76·85

  47·20

  1998

  82·80

  50·75

  1999

  84·95

  52·15

  2000

  86·00

  52·85

  2001

  86·95

  53·55

  2002

  87·80

  54·20

  2003

  88·55

  54·85

  2004

  89·15

  55·50

  2005

  89·55

  55·90

  2006

  89·85

  56·30

  2007

  90·00

  56·60

  2008

  89·85

  56·90

  400

  Year reaching pension age

  Men

  Women

  2009

  89·35

  57·00

  2010

  90·00

  57·95

  2011

  90·55

  58·95

  2012

  91·05

  59·85

  2013

  91·50

  60·65

  2014

  91·85

  61·30

  2015

  92·05

  61·90

  2016

  92·25

  62·40

  2017

  92·35

  62·85

  2018

  92·30

  63·20

  2019

  92·20

  63·45

  2020

  91·95

  63·60

  2021

  91·65

  63·70

  2022

  91·30

  63·80

  2023

  90·65

  64·55

  2024

  90·00

  65·45

  2025

  89·10

  66·20

  2026

  88·15

  67·20

  2027

  86·95

  68·10

  2028

  86·95

  69·10

  2029

  86·90

  70·10

  2030

  86·90

  71·15

  2031

  86·95

  72·15

  2032

  87·05

  73·10

  2033

  87·15

  74·15

  2034

  87·30

  75·20

  2035

  87·50

  76·15

  2036

  87·65

  77·10

  2037

  87·90

  78·05

  2038

  88·25

  78·95

  2039

  88·60

  79·75

  2040

  88·95

  80·40

  2041

  89·30

  81·00

  2042

  89·65

  81·55

  2043

  90·00

  82·10

  2044

  90·30

  82·60

  2045

  90·65

  83·10

  2046

  90·95

  83·60

  2047

  91·30

  84·05

  2048

  91·55

  84·50

  2049

  91·85

  84·95

  2050

  92·15

  85·35

  2051

  92·45

  85·70

  2052

  92·75

  86·10

  2053

  93·00

  86·40

  2054

  93·25

  86·75

  2055

  93·55

  87·10

  2056

  93·80

  87·45

  2057

  94·05

  87·75

  2058

  94·30

  88·10

  2059

  94·55

  88·40

  2060

  94·80

  88·70

  2061

  95·00

  89·00

  Benefits
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the circumstances in which the social fund or any other benefits can be used to purchase services from the national health service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  Social fund payments for medical items are specifically excluded from the scope of the fund. People in receipt of other social security benefits are free to choose how they wish to spend their money. Income support or family credit recipients are entitled to free prescriptions, optical tests and dental treatment.

  The provision of NHS services is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what policy he follows in exercising his discretion
  401
  to round benefit rates up or down under section 63(5) of the Social Security Act 1986; and what exceptions have occurred to that policy since 1986.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The rounding rules of all benefits are reviewed annually as part of the uprating exercise. No established practice exists which would pre-empt our discretion in this matter.

  SERPS
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals are in receipt of a state earnings-related pensions scheme pension higher than £60 a week.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The most recently available statistics, based on a 10 per cent. sample of those in receipt of retirement pensions in March 1991, indicate that no one in that sample was in receipt of an additional pension (SERPS) higher than £60 per week.

  Residential and Nursing Homes
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision his Department is making to provide for the shortfall between the fees charged by residential homes and nursing homes and the level of income support under community care; and what assistance his Department can give to those who meet the normal qualifying conditions but whose fees are above the benefit limit and who are unable to meet their charges in full.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The present system of income support limits will be preserved for existing recipients who are resident in homes when the new community care arrangements are introduced in April 1993. As now, under those arrangements there will be limits to the level of benefit available for different types of care and these will be reviewed regularly. Subject to the normal qualifying conditions, people whose fees are at or below the limit will have their charges met in full.

  The current income support limits for the various categories of residential and nursing home care represent the maximum amounts available. Any additional assistance—for example, that provided by relatives or charitable organizations—is, however, disregarded in the calculation of income support entitlement. This provision will continue under the new arrangements from April 1993.

  Under the present arrangements, as an alternative to placing people in their own residential accommodation, local authorities have powers to place people in private residential care homes and meet their fees in full, recouping from the resident an assessed amount towards the charge where appropriate. LAs can also make weekly cash payments in certain circumstances to people in independent homes where the fees are more than the appropriate income support limit. This provision will continue under the new community care arrangements after April 1993 for those residents with preserved income support rights.

  Funeral Expenses
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the current cost of providing funeral expenses to those pensioners on income support; and what is the number who have secured such help.

  Mr. Scott
  In the last full year for which records are available (1990–91) 12,702 awards of funeral payments were made totalling £7,631,107 to pensioners on income support; in the first six months of this year 6,015 awards have been made totalling £4,094,645. Funeral payments from the social fund are also paid to people who are receiving family credit, housing benefit and community charge benefit.

  Mental Handicap
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on how income support for the mentally handicapped is calculated regarding training, education, employment and other day care elements now; and how it is planned to be changed after 1 April 1993.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Income support is calculated in accordance with the relevant regulations by reference to the individual's circumstances including any recognised extra expenses, and other income or capital. Mentally handicapped people undergoing training, education, employment or receiving day care are eligible for income support on the same terms as other disabled people. There are special rules to enable disabled people to retain the disability premium during training and to encourage them to take up employment or advanced education. Severely disabled young people may be entitled to income support while undertaking full-time non advanced education or if they are unable to participate in youth training. These special rules are likely to continue after April 1993. The provision of day care by local authority social services departments and community care arrangements from April 1993 are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.

  Residential Care Allowance
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will detail expenditure on income support residential care allowances for the years 1988–89 and 1990–91 by the different residential and nursing home categories for each benefit area.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Because of the sample size of the data collected on the number of residents and expenditure in residential care and nursing homes it is only statistically sound for the larger categories of care. Information is not available for expenditure split into areas. The available data are shown in the following table:

  Estimated expenditure

  £ million

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  Residential care

  Elderly

  269

  301

  312

  346

  Very dependent elderly

  75

  114

  145

  184

  Mental handicap

  116

  126

  139

  187

  Physically handicapped below pension age

  33

  56

  68

  82

  403

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  Total (including other categories)

  556

  658

  740

  888

  Nursing homes

  Elderly and others

  201

  267

  230

  378

  Terminal illness

  17

  74

  168

  369

  Total (including other categories)

  322

  446

  529

  984

  Lone Parents
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to increase the amount of earnings disregard before benefits for lone parents are affected.

  Mr. Jack
  The earnings disregard for lone parents of £15 was increased in housing benefit and community charge benefit in October 1990 to £25. We have no plans for further change at present.

  Homeless Families
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what account was taken of the need of children of homeless families in bed-and-breakfast accommodation to have a balanced diet in the review of the arrangements for income support of homeless families.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Since April 1989 people in board and lodging accommodation have been treated in the same way as most other recipients of income support. They therefore now receive housing benefit to cover the cost of their accommodation and also standard income support personal allowances and premiums to meet their day-to-day living expenses.

  The income support rates, including premiums, are regularly reviewed and from April 1992 the Government propose to increase these by a full 7 per cent.

  Family Credit
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking to improve the service given to self-employed people seeking help through family credit.

  Mr. Jack
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington, South (Mr. Butler) earlier today.

  Cold Weather Payments
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures he has taken to improve the working of the cold weather payments scheme.

  Mr. Scott
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 7 November.

  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much was paid out on cold weather payments over the last winter period; and what was the cost of administering these payments.

  Mr. Scott
  In 1990–91, 1,430,000 cold weather payments were made, at a cost of almost £8·6 million.404
  Administration costs were approximately £3.6 million last year, but they will reduce considerably this coming winter because payments will be made automatically by national computer rather than clerically.

  Child Support Act 1991
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration has been given to the impact on black communities of the provisions in the Child Support Act 1991.

  Mr. Jack
  The provisions of the Child Support Act 1991 will apply equally and be administered equitably in respect of all persons who are habitually resident in the United Kingdom. The Government consulted widely on the proposals in the White Paper "Children Come First" including the Commission for Racial Equality. A consultation document containing details of the proposed contents of the regulations to be made under the Act, was published on 1 November. A copy has also been sent to the Commission for Racial Equality. A full list of all the organisations being consulted was given in my reply to the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) on 7 November. The Government will consider carefully all comments on the consultation document before the regulations are finalised and laid before Parliament next year.

  Family Credit
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking to improve the service given to self-employed people seeking help through family credit.

  Mr. Jack
  There are already over 50,000 families on family credit, around 15 per cent. of the caseload, where the main earner is self-employed. The average payment of family credit in these cases is £44·10 a week, compared with £28 a week for families where the main earner is an employee.

  We have commissioned a research study, which is being carried out by the social policy research unit at the university of York, into family credit for the self-employed. The study, which is well advanced, with information due to become available during next year, will enable us to determine what changes in assessment and procedures are called for in order to further improve the way we handle claims from the self-employed.

  Severe Disability Premium
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimate for the number of people in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) Derbyshire who will no longer be eligible for severe disability premium after 11 November.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The arrangements in Great Britain, including Derbyshire, should ensure that no one who has secured the premium prior to 21 October will lose it after 11 November. The arrangements made in Northern Ireland are the responsibility for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for severe disability premium
  405
  were made in each of the years since its conception, and at what cost; how many reviews for non-award were requested; and how many were accepted.

  Miss Widdecombe
  [holding answer 5 November 1991]: The severe disability premium is a component of income support, housing benefit and community charge benefit, and is not the subject of a separate claim. Information on the number of reviews for non-awards is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The number of people not receiving income support but receiving housing benefit and community charge benefit, which included the severe disability premium, is not available prior to May 1990. However, the figures for May 1990 are 9,000 people for housing benefit and 17,000 for community charge benefit. The number of people receiving income support which included the severe disability premium on a particular day is as follows:

  May

  Number

  1988

  35,000

  1989

  45,000

  1990

  62,000

  Source: Annual Statistical Enquiry.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total full year cost of increases in income support limits for people in residential care and nursing homes announced in the last two years.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The estimated full-year cost of the April 1991 increase in residential care and nursing home limits is £225 million and for the April 1992 increase, £190 million.

HEALTH

  Paediatric Pathologists
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paediatric pathologists there are in the United Kingdom.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not held centrally. All regions were required to have at least one paediatric pathologist in post by 31 March and to have conducted a review of the need for further posts by 1992. All regions have met these objectives except in one case where there has been difficulty in filling the post.

  National Health Service Charges
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the current average levels of charges for(a) glasses, (b) dental treatment, (c) eye tests and (d) dental checks; how many of each took place in each of the last five years in Nottingham health authority; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Since July 1986 all spectacle dispensings, and since April 1989 a large proportion of sight tests, have been carried out privately. No information is collected on the levels of private charges. The maximum charge for lenses prescribed by the hospital eye service is £63·15.

  The average patient charge for a course of dental treatment paid by patients paying the full charge in the
  406
  financial year 1990–91 was approximately £26. There are three levels of dental examination for which the associated patient's charge is £3·75, £5·25 and £12.

  It is not possible to provide figures on a comparable basis for the number of sight tests carried out over the period requested as figures are not collected on the number of sight tests carried out privately.

  The numbers of dental examinations and dental treatments provided under the general dental services in Nottinghamshire family health services authority in the last five years is shown in the table.

  Dental examinations

  Dental treatments

  1985

  635,560

  692,120

  1986–87

  652,660

  715,870

  1987–88

  651,480

  724,580

  1988–89

  671,930

  761,950

  1989–90

  623,049

  722,966

  The figures in 1988–89 were boosted by the announcement during the year of the proposed introduction of a charge for dental examinations from January 1989, and depressed in 1989–90 because people had brought forward their visits to the dentist. The evidence suggests that the number of dental examinations in England and Wales is now returning to the level it had reached before the announcement of the charge was made. The number of courses of dental treatment carried out in England has increased by 4·9 million, or 18 per cent., since 1979.

  Residential and Nursing Homes
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to ring fence those resources his Department considers necessary for local authorities to meet the fees for those in residential and nursing homes either(a) to meet current demand or (b) the demand expected under community care.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No. It is for the local authorities to decide on the right balance between spending on residential, day and domiciliary services in the light of the needs of people in their area and, where they support people in homes in the independent sector, to negotiate fees with home owners.

  Optical Charges Vouchers
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if will make it his policy to increase the value of vouchers for optical charges in line with charges made by manufacturers to opticians.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  It is already our policy to set voucher values with reference to nationwide average manufacturers' prices.

  Prescription Charges
  Mr. Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost of extending to disability working allowance claimants entitlement to the remission of prescription charges.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The estimated cost would be about £2 million.

  Pharmaceutical Price Retail Scheme
  The Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the £4 million pharmaceutical price retail scheme ceiling over which an annual financial return was required from the pharmaceutical industry was last approved; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Pharmaceutical suppliers with sales of £4 million or more to the national health service have been required to submit annual financial returns to the Department under the terms of the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme since 1984. The present scheme is due for renegotiation next year.

  Divorces
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has concerning the total number of children whose parents have been divorced in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The number of children of divorcing couples in England and Wales is shown in the table:

  Children aged under 16

  Children aged 16 or over

  1990

  152,877

  68,181

  1989

  148,162

  68,405

  1988

  150,176

  70,120

  1987

  148,911

  68,394

  1986

  151,964

  71,394

  1985

  155,740

  71,152

  1984

  148,600

  71,620

  1983

  155,562

  70,987

  1982

  158,268

  68,455

  1981

  159,403

  66,572

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total number of divorces in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The information is shown in the table.

  Divorces in England and Wales

  Number

  1990

  153,386

  1989

  150,872

  1988

  152,633

  1987

  151,007

  1986

  153,903

  1985

  160,300

  1984

  144,501

  1983

  147,479

  1982

  146,698

  1981

  145,713

  Disabled People
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the implementation of sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friends the Members for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Field) and for Cannock and Burntwood (Mr. Howarth), on 22 March, at columns 254–55. 1 made it clear
  408
  that the community care reforms have largely overtaken the provisions of these sections. The Government intend to review the need to implement these sections after several years' experience of the community care arrangements.

  Organ Transplants
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have taken place between himself and representatives of the United Kingdom transplant authority about improving the system by which health regions exchange human organs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State discussed this matter during a visit to the United Kingdom transplant support service authority on 7 November. Human organs for transplantation are allocated by the authority in accordance with criteria agreed by the medical profession. The authority has arranged for meetings with the profession to consider ways of improving the system to ensure that organs available for transplantation are distributed as effectively and equitably as possible.

  Patients Charter
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new and additional resources he has committed to meeting the objectives of the patients charter, excluding from his reply the costs of the publication and its preparation and distribution.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Making services more responsive to patients, which is the key aim of the charter, means doing things differently and more effectively. All the charter standards are already being achieved somewhere in the NHS. We want to bring all parts of the service up to the standards of the best.

  Residential and Nursing Care
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will outline the timetable from 1993 onwards for transferring to local authorities the moneys currently spent by the Benefits Agency on residential and nursing care.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  There will be a single formal transfer of resources from the Department of Social Security to local authorities in the 1992 public expenditure survey, covering the years 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96. Provision for both social security and local authorities in subsequent surveys will be determined in the light of the declining number of cases with preserved entitlement under social security rules and the rising demand for local authority services, including demographic changes.

  Nasogastric Feeding Tubes
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will arrange for nasogastric feeding tubes to be available on prescription from general practitioners.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The resource and other implications of making nasogastric feeding tubes available on GP prescription are under consideration.

  General Practitioners
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what decisions he has taken about payments to general practitioners who achieved higher targets in health promotion clinics, minor surgery, immunisations and vaccinations and cervical cytology.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington, South (Mr. Butler) on 7 November at columns 259–60.

  Bexley District Health Authority
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the funding of Bexley district health authority.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Since my previous reply to my hon. Friend on 14 May 1991 at column 134, we have received no representations.

  Abortion
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when an official from his Department visited the Merseyside nursing home abortion clinic in Parkfield road, Liverpool, to inspect and approve its new method of disposing of the bodies of aborted unborn babies, introduced on 1 November; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  No visit has been made in connection with this particular aspect of the clinic's operation.

  HIV
  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-haemophiliacs in the United Kingdom have contracted HIV infection as a result of contaminated NHS blood/tissue transfers; and how many of those became infected before the introduction of the screening of donations in October 1985.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  [holding answer 5 November 1991]: There have been 50 reports in England, Wales and Northern Ireland of HIV infections in people who received blood or tissue in the United Kingdom before screening of donations was introduced in 1985. There have been no reports of infection occurring due to blood transfusion since then. One HIV infection occurred in 1986 due to tissue transfer.

EMPLOYMENT

  Delta Programme
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give, in relation to the European Commission's DELTA 91 programme(a) the names, organisations and areas of expertise of the members of each of the DELTA programme's technical evaluation committees, (b) the titles of the proposals which have been accepted for funding by the Commission and (c) the names of each organisation participating in each proposal.

  Mr. Forth
  The European Commission is responsible for the administration of the Telematics programme, of 410
  which DELTA 91 is a part. Member states have agreed to maintain confidentiality until the Commission publishes the results of the selection process. This is likely to be in December.

  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether the organisation appointed to act as DELTA 91 United Kingdom technical assistance unit made any bids for funds under the programme, either as a main contractor or as a partner; and how much the organisation which acted as DELTA 91 United Kingdom technical assistance unit was paid to provide that service.

  Mr. Forth
  Member states have agreed to maintain confidentiality about all applications to the Telematics programme, of which DELTA is a part. The DELTA 91 United Kingdom technical assistance unit was appointed after full competitive tendering, in line with public purchasing policy. The value of contracts are commercial in confidence and are not disclosed.

  Special Needs Training
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will show both at 1991 prices and as a percentage of the total training budget, the amount allocated for training for people with special needs for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Jackson
  Information on expenditure on training for people with special training needs is not separately identified.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will show what proportion of the budget for the TECs is allocated to provide training for people with special needs.

  Mr. Jackson
  The proportion of training budgets allocated to provision for people with special training needs is the responsibility of individual training and enterprise councils and is determined by local needs and priorities.

  Wages Underpayment
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employers have been prosecuted for underpayment of employees in each year since 1980.

  Mr. Forth
  The number of employers prosecuted for paying their employees less than the statutory minimum remuneration required by the appropriate wages council orders is detailed in the table.

  Year

  Number of employers prosecuted

  1980

  8

  1981

  8

  1982

  4

  1983

  2

  1984

  2

  1985

  2

  1986

  2

  1987

  3

  1988

  9

  1989

  9

  1990

  7

  1991

  112

  1 To date.

  411
  These figures include two prosecutions in Wales, one in 1987 and one in 1988.

  Hoiger Subir Majhi
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will obtain information from the Health and Safety Executive about the activities of the executive in connection with the accident to Hoiger Subir Majhi at Ambrosia creamery, Lifton, Devon, on 28 November 1990, and if he will make a statement on the reasons why it was decided not to undertake legal proceedings.

  Mr. Forth
  The Health and Safety Executive were notified by telephone of the accident to Mr. Majhi at 3.35 pm on Thursday 29 November 1990. HSE determined the steps being taken by the company to carry out its own investigation into the accident and obtained an assurance that the machine would not be brought back into use until HSE were satisfied that it was safe to do so. The following day HSE obtained assurance that the necessary steps had been taken to safeguard the machine and that a thorough investigation was continuing. HSE therefore arranged to visit the factory on Tuesday 4 December to investigate the accident.

  HSE's inspector was given notes of the investigation undertaken by the company and copies of statements taken. He interviewed a number of people at the factory and saw a video recording of the machine taken by the company after the accident, and discussed the accident with the senior union representative on site. Safety representatives had been involved in the company's investigation from the outset. The inspector was not able to interview Mr. Majhi at that stage because he was in hospital.

  The company sent a memo on safety to all staff and introduced a new system of machine checks to prevent a recurrence of the accident.

  Having considered all the evidence, a prosecution was not brought by HSE because:

  (a) there was doubt whether danger which gave rise to the accident was reasonably foreseeable within the terms of the Factories Act.

  (b) it was not possible to determine how and whom might have been responsible for the damaged guard mechanism; and

  (c) the company has a generally good approach to health and safety and responded quickly and effectively to the accident.

  Building Societies
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the Health and Safety Executive is satisfied that pneumatically operated safety screens now being installed on customer service counters by building societies can be operated with proper regard to the safety of staff and public; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  The Health and Safety Executive's experience of this type of screen to date is not sufficient to allow them to comment on it. It is for employers and others with duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to ensure that equipment used in their undertakings does not put the health and safety of their staff or the public at risk.

  Manual Handling
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects the Health and Safety Commission to publish the consultative document on manual handling; what period will be allowed for consultation; and when he envisages the regulations will be laid before Parliament.

  Mr. Forth
  The Health and Safety Commission's consultative document on the manual handling of loads was published on 7 November; a copy has been placed in the Library. The Commission has invited interested parties to comment on the proposals set out in that consultative document by 9 March next—that is, within four months. The European Community directive on manual handling requires member states to implement it by 31 December 1992; it is my intention that regulations will be made and brought into effect in time to meet that deadline.

  Health and Safety Executive
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current budget for overseas travel for the Health and Safety Executive; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  Health and Safety Executive's expenditure on overseas travel is not a separate item, but is provided from within a general HSE travel and subsistence budget which takes account of the need for, for example, work in connection with EC matters. Some of HSE's overseas travel is reimbursed by the European Commission; that carried out by the nuclear installations inspectorate is charged out to the nuclear industry.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the number of health and safety inspectors employed by the executive in each division; how many are full time and part-time; what vacancies exist in each category; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  The information requested is as follows, at 1 November 1991:

  HSE Division

  Number of Inspectors

  Field Operations Division

  914·5

  Nuclear Installations Inspectorate

  164·0

  Technology and Health Sciences Division

  136·5

  Inspectorate of Mines

  38·5

  Offshore Safety Division

  57·0

  Railway Inspectorate

  28·0

  Resources and Planning Division

  8·0

  Safety and General Policy Division

  12·5

  Special Hazards Division

  16·0

  Health Policy Division

  9·0

  Executive Support Branch

  13·0

  Hazardous Installations Policy Branch

  6·0

  Research and Laboratory Services Division

  1·0

  Of these, 1,387 worked full time and 34 part time, part-timers being counted as half units. Targets for each inspector category are set for the end of the planning year. The number of vacancies calculated against the 1 April 1992 targets are given in the table:
  413

  Inspector occupational grouping

  Number of vacancies

  Agricultural

  0·0

  Factory

  17·0

  Specialist

  0·5

  Mines

  0·0

  Quarries

  4·0

  Nuclear Installations

  10·0

  Railway

  7·0

  Offshore Safety

  61·0

  Considerable efforts are being made to fill inspector vacancies, particularly those for offshore safety inspectors. Thirty-four successful candidates have joined or are shortly expected to join HSE as offshore safety inspectors from a recruitment competition earlier this year. Two competitions are currently under way and 19 further successful candidates have already been selected from these. There are currently 12 successful candidates for factory inspector posts waiting to join the organisation and applicants for factory and nuclear installations inspector jobs will shortly be interviewed.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will obtain from the Health and Safety Executive information about the activities of the executive in connection with the crane failure at St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly, on 13 July 1991; and what steps have been taken to prosecute those persons responsible for overloading the crane and causing a crane to be operated without an effective safe load indicator.

  Mr. Forth
  The Health and Safety Executive was informed about the accident by police a few hours after it happened on Saturday 13 July.

  The police told HSE's Plymouth office that the crane which had overturned while offloading a cargo container was in a dangerous condition with its rear wheels in the air and the jib resting on the jetty and the sea bed. HSE's inspector wished to visit the scene of the accident directly, but was prevented from doing so by heavy fog which had led to the suspension of commercial sailings and flights to the island. The inspector was not in the circumstances able to visit the scene until Monday 15 July.

  Police advice was that it was imperative that the crane should be made safe as the area surrounding it could not be closed off. HSE's inspector therefore briefed the police by telephone on how to ensure the crane's safe retrieval and the recording of the information needed to establish the cause of the accident.

  Making the crane safe involved some dismantling, and during this process part of the jib became detached and sank to the sea bed. This loss of part of the jib and damage to other parts of the crane sustained during the overturning meant that it was not possible for FISE to gather the evidence needed to establish if the crane was overloaded or not, and thus to mount any prosecution in this case. An automatic safeload indicator was, however, seen on the crane.

  Textile and Footwear Industry
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the numbers employed in the textile and footwear industries per month, by industry, using the latest figures, for each month of 1991.
  414
  Mr. Jackson
  The number of employees in employment in the textile and footwear industries in Great Britain were as follows:

  Thousands

  Unadjusted for seasonal variations

  Footwear

  Textile

  SIC Group 451

  SIC Class 43

  1991

  January

  44·2

  185·4

  February

  44·0

  186·4

  March

  43·4

  182·6

  April

  42·6

  183·2

  May

  42·1

  182·2

  June

  41·7

  181·1

  July

  41·4

  183·7

  August

  40·6

  183·2

  EC Legislative Competence
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what legislative competence the EC has in respect of deciding, by majority voting, matters relating to(a) maternity leave and (b) the length of the working week, and under what legislative authority.

  Mr. Forth
  It is for the European Court of Justice in the final analysis to determine such matters.

  Existing directives which are concerned with terms and conditions of employment have been based on article 100 of the treaty of Rome—establishment or functioning of the common market—or article 235—measures necessary to achieve the objectives of the Community but which are not provided for elsewhere in the treaty. These articles require unanimity in the Council.

  The European Commission has cited article 118A—health and safety of workers—as the proposed legal base for its draft directives on pregnant workers and working time. Under article 118A, the Council may adopt directives through qualified majority voting.

  Building Industry
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has had concerning redundancies in the building industry.

  Mr. Forth
  This Department has had a number of representations about employment in the building industry. A wide range of training, enterprise and employment measures are available to help unemployed people.

  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of redundancies in the building industry for the first three quarters of 1991.

  Mr. Forth
  It is estimated that there were 3,066 confirmed redundancies in the construction industry in Great Britain in the first quarter of 1991, 3,423 in the second quarter and a provisional total of 2,079 in the third quarter of 1991.

  Working Time Directive
  Mr. Randall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the Council of Ministers meeting on the draft directive on working time.

  Mr. Forth
  The Labour and Social Affairs Council met on 6 November 1991. The draft directive on working time was not discussed.

WALES

  Pembrokeshire Health Authority
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received concerning the application for national health service trust status from Pembrokeshire health authority; how many have been in support of the application; and how many against.

  Mr. David Hunt
  A total of 101 representations have been received during the consultation period of which 50 did not support the establishment of the trust. I intend shortly to announce my decision having taken into account the comments received, alongside the individual merits of the application.

  Nebulisers
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated cost of providing nebulisers free of charge to all NHS patients requiring them in the present financial year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The information requested is not available centrally; this is a matter for individual health authorities. District general managers have been reminded of their duty under section 1 of the National Health Service Act 1977 to provide health service free at the point of delivery to NHS patients except where there is statutory provision for charging.

  Long-term Unemployment
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many long-term unemployed people there are in Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  On 11 July 1991 there were in Wales 27,784 claimants who had been unemployed for more than 12 months.

  Uniform Business Rate
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the amount of unpaid uniform business rate in each of the counties of Wales since its inception.

  Mr. David Hunt
  National non-domestic rates came into force on 1 April 1990. The information available is given in the following table:

  Arrears of non-domestic rates at 31 March 19911

  County Area2

  Arrears

  Amount due3

  (£.000)

  (£.000)

  Clywd

  4,597

  51,292

  Dyfed

  2,202

  36,564

  Gwent

  4,039

  60,400

  Gwynedd

  1,378

  23,610

  Mid Glamorgan

  4,885

  55,589

  Powys

  393

  9,473

  South Glamorgan

  1,916

  59,217

  West Glamorgan

  2,111

  55,307

  Total Wales

  21,521

  351,452

  1 As reported by charging authorities.

  2 Charging authorities grouped in county areas.

  3 Gross amount due less discretionary reliefs. Figures shown are provisional.

  Pembrokeshire Health Authority
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in relation to the Pembrokeshire health authority's application for trust status(a) the date on which he received the application, (b) the date on which he will announce his decision and (c) the criteria he will use to reach his decision.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The application was received on 16 July and the three months' public consultation commenced on 1 August. I expect shortly to announce my decision whether to establish the trust. This will take into account:

  (a) the comments received as a result of public consultation; and

  (b) the individual merits of the application in demonstrating the benefits and improved quality of services to patients; the involvement of professionals, especially consultants in senior management; management capability and capacity, and the financial soundness of the potential trust.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the hospitals in Wales that propose to opt out or establish a NHS trust or have expressed an interest in doing so; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  To date only Pembrokeshire has submitted an application to become an NHS trust. An announcement listing those units or hospitals invited to prepare an application to seek trust status in April 1993 will be made in a few weeks.

  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much of the financial contribution received by Pembrokeshire health authority, towards costs incurred through preparing an application for NHS trust status, has been used for public relations.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The contribution made available to Pembrokeshire health authority was to help towards costs incurred in preparing the application, associated printing and during the consultation period.

  Adult Education
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to develop the provision of non-vocational adult education classes in Wales and increase the access to vocational classes for mature students in Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The development of and access to adult education is currently the responsibility of the local education authorities, the university of Wales and a number of voluntary organisations.

  Patients Charter
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new and additional resources he has committed to meeting the objectives of the patients charter in Wales, excluding from his reply the costs of the publication and its preparation and distribution.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The patients charter for Wales builds on existing good practice within the NHS. Some of
  417
  the guarantees and standards in the charter are already being achieved by health authorities in Wales. Where the objectives in the charter are not presently being achieved, health authorities will need to use the resources allocated to them.

  GP Fundholders
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a list of those GP fund-holding practices in Wales which have set up private companies for aspects of their patients' care.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  There are none.

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish for each family health service authority area in Wales(a) the total number of GP practices, (b) the number of fund-holding practices and (c) the percentage of Welsh patients registered with a GP who belong to a fund-holding practice.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The information is as follows:

  Family health service authority

  Number of GP practices

  Number of GP fund-holders

  Clwyd

  74

  1

  Mid Glamorgan

  106

  4

  South Glamorgan

  76

  1

  West Glamorgan

  65

  1

  Gwent

  95

  —

  Gwynedd

  55

  —

  Powys

  19

  —

  Dyfed

  70

  —

  Some 3 per cent. of patients in Wales are covered by the seven fund-holding practices.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his practice to answer hon. Members to whom he has replied to a parliamentary question with an undertaking to write, within one week of his reply.

  Mr. David Hunt
  My practice is to write to hon. Members as soon as possible.

  Community Services Managers
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will give a list of community services managers, or their equivalents, within the health service in Wales, together with their grades and pay scales and any appropriate qualifications;

  (2) if he will give a list of unit general managers within the health service in Wales together with their grades and pay scales and any appropriate qualifications.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to my letter of 7 November, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Unit General Managers
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his practice to require health authorities to report to him the reasons for any dismissals from the post of unit general manager within hospitals in Wales.
  418
  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  No. As I said in my reply on 17 October 1991 contractual matters pertaining to general managers fall entirely within the operational responsibilities of the employing authority.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Abattoirs
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of small abattoirs currently not up to EC hygiene standards which will qualify for permanent derogation.

  Mr. Maclean
  All red meat abattoirs in Great Britain currently operate under licences granted by local authorities. With the exception of abattoirs approved for intra-Community trade, records are not routinely mentioned by the Department on the site of individual abattoirs. However, annual statistics derived from State Veterinary Service visits indicate that there are some 222 abattoirs in Great Britain which are eligible to qualify for a permanent structural derogation from the EC single market rules contained in Council directive 91/497/EEC. EC rules on hygiene and inspection apply to all abattoirs whether or not they qualify for a derogation.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of small slaughterhouses and cutting plants currently not up to European Community hygiene standards which will qualify for temporary derogation until the beginning of 1996.

  Mr. Maclean
  Council directive 91/498/EEC enables member states, subject to approval by the EC standing veterinary committee, to grant temporary structural derogations to red meat slaughterhouses, cutting premises and cold stores of all sizes which are unable to comply with single market rules by 1 January 1993. All premises not currently EC approved may apply for a temporary derogation. However, this is a commercial decision for individual businesses and it is not possible accurately to estimate the likely numbers. The Department has recently made available to businesses a detailed free information pack on the new rules, including an application form for temporary derogations.

  Wind Farms
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of grant aid which farmers can receive for the construction of wind farms from his Ministry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  Grants are available only where the main purpose of the windmill is to serve the agricultural needs of the farm for electricity. The grant rate is 25 per cent. in the less-favoured areas and 15 per cent. elsewhere. Where the supply also serves a domestic dwelling or provides surplus power to another farm or an electricity company grant is paid on three quarters of the eligible costs.

  Pesticides
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the present restrictions on the use of Atrazine and Simazine pesticides.
  419
  Mr. Maclean
  United Kingdom use of Atrazine and Simazine are subject to statutory conditions of use such as maximum application rate, minimum harvest interval and operator protection requirements. Use of any pesticide in an unapproved manner is an offence under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986.

  Fishing Industry
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what funds he has set aside for 1991–92 to fund a decommissioning scheme for the fishing industry.

  Mr. Curry
  None, but as I indicated in reply to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) on 5 November, at column 77 the Government are ready to consider industry proposals for decommissioning and the necessary funding provided these form part of a wider conservation package aimed at reducing fishing effort.

  Food from Britain
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the level of funding given to Food from Britain in each year since 1985.

  Mr. Curry
  The information, which relates to the amount of Government grant for each financial year mentioned, is as follows:

  £ million

  1985–86

  6

  1986–87

  5

  1987–88

  4·1

  1988–89

  4·2

  1989–90

  4·5

  1990–91

  4·5

  Sheep Dips
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will review his policy concerning the requirement of a single autumn dip for sheep; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  Future arrangements will be considered when the results of this year's dip, which ended on 2 November, are available.

  Non-fat Milk
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will place a copy of the European Commission reasoned opinion on regulation 164 relating to non-fat milk bulk distribution in the Library.

  Mr. Curry
  Reasoned opinions are confidential between the Commission and Government, being preparatory to possible court proceedings. It is established practice therefore not to publish their contents.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the new environmentally sensitive areas he intends to designate and how many existing environmentally sensitive areas he intends to expand; and if he will make a statement.
  420
  Mr. Curry
  I plan to increase expenditure on environmentally sensitive areas in England by £75 million over the next three years. I will be making announcements concerning the designation of new areas and the improvements in the existing ESAs shortly.

  Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of recorded cases of spongiform encephalopathy in cats, with relevant dates.

  Mr. Maclean
  The number of recorded cases of spongiform encephalopathy in cats in Great Britain listed by date or clinical onset of the disease is as follows:

  Number

  November 1989

  1

  January 1990

  1

  February 1990

  1

  March 1990

  2

  April 1990

  1

  May 1990

  1

  June 1990

  2

  July 1990

  1

  September 1990

  2

  October 1990

  4

  December 1990

  1

  March 1991

  1

  May 1991

  1

  June 1991

  1

  August 1991

  1

  Report not yet received

  1

  Total

  22

  Cymag and Spannit
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the agricultural uses of(a) sodium cyanide (Cymag) and (b) chlorpirifos (Spannit).

  Mr. Maclean
  Sodium cyanide (Cymag) is a vertebrate control agent. It is not approved for agricultural use in the United Kingdom.

  Chlorpirifos (Spannit) is approved for agricultural use on the following crops:

  Calabrese or

  Calabrese at drilling or transplanting

  Kale or

  Kale at drilling or transplanting

  Drilling Carrott Potato

  Swede or

  Swede at drilling or transplanting

  Turnip or

  Turnip at drilling or transplanting

  Plum

  Apple

  Pear

  Currants (black, white and red)

  Currants (bushes)

  after harvest

  Gooseberry

  Strawberry

  Strawberry (plants)

  421

  after cropping

  Raspberry

  Narcissus bulbs Forestry (cut logs)

  Winter wheat

  pre-emergence or

  post-emergence

  Barley

  Oats

  Spring wheat

  Grass

  Maize

  Sweetcorn

  Pea

  Oilseed rape or

  Oilseed rape at drilling

  Broccoli or

  Broccoli at drilling or transplanting

  Cabbage or

  Cabbage at drilling or transplanting

  Cauliflower or

  Cauliflower at drilling or transplanting

  Brussels sprout or

  Brussels sprout. at drilling or transplanting

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of cases of BSE in cows born after the ban on the inclusion of ruminant protein in cattle rations.

  Mr. Maclean
  Three.

  Sheep (Import Bans)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those countries presently operating an import ban on sheep from the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Curry
  The information requested is as follows:

  Argentina

  Australia

  Austria

  Brazil

  Canada

  Chile

  Malaysia

  New Zealand

  Sweden

  Tunisia

  Turkey

  United States of America

  Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

  Fanned Salmon
  Sir Hector Monro
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action the Government are taking to remedy the disturbance of the salmon market and to protect the farmed salmon industry from unfair competition.

  Mr. Curry
  The EC Commission adopted on Friday 8 November a regulation which introduces a scale of minimum import prices for imports into the European Community of fresh, chilled or frozen Atlantic salmon. The regulation came into force on 9 November, and will run until 29 February 1992.
  422
  I very much welcome this positive response by the Commission to the strenuous representations we have been making to secure a floor in the market, as protection against the threat of price collapse caused by unfair competition from Norwegian imports. Our producers have been left to struggle for too long, while huge stocks of frozen salmon have built up in Norway and consignments have been offered for sale at prices which have undermined the market. This has posed a severe threat to United Kingdom salmon farmers and to the economy of the rural areas where they operate.

  I hope the measures that have now been introduced will restore stability to the market during the important pre-Christmas period.

  Tecnazene
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will bring forward proposals to restrict the use of the fungicide Tecnazene.

  Mr. Maclean
  Tecnazene is under review by the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides. Ministers in the six Departments responsible for pesticides will decide jointly on any appropriate regulatory action on the basis of expert advice from the ACP.

  Milk Marketing Boards
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the monopoly powers of the milk marketing boards; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  Under Community law the United Kingdom is authorised to grant the milk marketing boards the exclusive right to buy from producers in their area the milk which they produce and market without processing, provided it satisfies certain minimum requirements. This right is coupled with an obligation on the boards to purchase the milk in question.

  Farm Assistance
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the proportion of the support provided by consumers/taxpayers directly and indirectly to farmers and horticulturalists which goes to the 1,000 largest owners of agricultural land, excluding woodland and rough grazing.

  Mr. Curry
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stamford and Spalding (Mr. Davies) on 6 November, (Official Report, columns 165–66).

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give for England and Wales the amount of aid distributed to hill farmers under each category of assistance for each year from 1978–79.

  Mr. Curry
  This information can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

  Wyandotte Birds
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the destruction of rare Wyandotte birds following a court case brought against their owner, Mr. Clem Shaw, by Shropshire trading standards department.

  Mr. Maclean
  I am not aware of any destruction of Wyandotte birds owned by Mr. Shaw; nor has the Department issued any instructions for their slaughter.

  Cattle
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will encourage a system of passports for finished cattle at auction;

  (2) what information he has of the present usage of the system of passports for finished cattle at auction.

  Mr. Curry
  I understand that a "passport" system for cattle is operated in a number of member states of the European Community. Proposals for a common system of livestock identification are expected to be put forward by 424
  the European Commission to the Council of Agriculture Ministers. I have no plans to introduce changes to the system of cattle identification in the United Kingdom in advance of agreement on those proposals.

  Rapeseed
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much rapeseed in the EC is used for animal feed; what is the cost to EC funds of using this feed; and if he will publish a table showing the total subsidies paid by the EC on ingredients to animal feed and the total value of feed produced.

  Mr. Curry
  In 1990–91, around 6 million tonnes of rapeseed were processed in the EC. The majority was crushed for oil and meal. Only the meal, which makes up around 60 per cent. of the seed by weight, is used in animal feeds. Some 290,000 tonnes of rapeseed were directly incorporated into animal feed. Expenditure on EC support subsidies for rapeseed in 1989, the latest year for which final figures are available, was 1,288 mecu—£843 million.

  The other information requested is not available.

  KATYN MASSACRE
  KATYN MASSACRE
  FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL, 4th NOVEMBER
  FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL, 4th NOVEMBER
  POLITICAL UNION: MINISTERIAL MEETING, 4th NOVEMBER
  POLITICAL UNION: MINISTERIAL MEETING, 4th NOVEMBER
  VIETNAMESE MIGRANTS TO HONG KONG
  VIETNAMESE MIGRANTS TO HONG KONG
  SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED
  SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED
  ROAD SAFETY
  ROAD SAFETY
  TRANSPORT SCHEMES: EC INTERVENTION
  TRANSPORT SCHEMES: EC INTERVENTION
  NON-FOOD USES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: RESPONSE TO REPORT
  NON-FOOD USES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: RESPONSE TO REPORT
  RURAL ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SCHEME
  RURAL ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SCHEME