Written Answers of 15 November 1991

TRANSPORT

  United States Cabotage Regulations
  Mr. Warren
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to obtain the agreement of the United States Government to eliminate their cabotage regulations preventing United Kingdom airlines from developing feeder networks within the United States of America; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Discussions with the United States Government are taking place about possibilities for the liberalisation of transatlantic air services. Our aim is to remove unnecessary regulation and obstacles to fair competition between airlines, and United States cabotage restrictions are among those being discussed.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Clubs (Registration)
  Mr. Mallon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many convictions have been obtained as a result of prosecutions brought under article 39 of the Registration of Clubs (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 since 1 February 1988;

  (2) how many prosecutions have been brought under article 39 of the Registration of Clubs (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 since 1 February 1988.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested is as follows:

  Prosecutions

  Convictions

  1988

  3

  —

  1989

  1

  1

  1990

  —

  —

  11991

  —

  —

  1 Figures not yet available.

  Owen and James Carragher
  Mr. Mallon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date the firm of Robins AHW Ltd., loss adjusters, was appointed to deal with compensation claim ASC 24337/45 submitted on behalf of Owen and James Carragher.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The letter of appointment was issued on 13 September 1991.

  RUC Constables
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average annual wage received by a constable in the RUC; and how much overtime he or she is likely to do during 12 months.
  674
  Dr. Mawhinney
  I am advised by the Police Authority for Northern Ireland that the annual average wage received by a constable in the RUC is £30,370. This figure includes allowances and average overtime of 540 hours per year.

  Economy
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the current financial subvention made to Northern Ireland; and if he will break it down into the relevant parts of the economy that benefit.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 14 November 1991]: The figures for the subvention from the United Kingdom to Northern Ireland for 1990–91 are as follows:

  1990–91 outturn £ million

  Grant in aid under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973

  1,066

  Expenditure by Northern Ireland Office

  699

  Expenditure by Northern Ireland Court Service

  28

  Contribution from the Great Britain National Insurance Fund

  225

  Total Subvention

  2,018

  The grant in aid is a general contribution to revenue and is not hypothecated to any particular area of public expenditure.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Airports (Terrorism Checks)
  Mr. John P. Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for he Home Department what is his policy on counter-terrorist checks at airports.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  Under schedule 5 to the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, the police may examine and detain any person who has arrived in or is seeking to leave Great Britain or Northern Ireland by ship or aircraft for the purpose of determining whether he or she appears to be or to have been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Controls unde schedule 5 to the 1989 Act are operated selectively by special branch officers at designated airports throughout the United Kingdom. The Government believe that port controls are an essential part of the national response to the threat of terrorism and they must remain in place as long as the circumstances require.

  Mr. John P. Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what level of Government resources were devoted to counter-terrorist checks at Cardiff Wales airport six months ago; and what is the level at the current time.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  It is not the practice to disclose the size of special branch units at ports and airports. However, the costs of such units are met by the respective police authorities, subject to the payments of specific grant by my Department at a rate in the case of provincial forces of 51 per cent.

  Illegal Drugs (Wales)
  Mr. John P. Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the South Wales constabulary on the penetration of illegal drugs into Wales from abroad.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No. Police forces throughout the United Kingdom make every effort to tackle drug trafficking.

  Glanely School
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place a copy in the Library of his report and conclusions on his visit to Glanely comprehensive school on 6 November; and if he will supply a copy of the same report to the chairman of the education committee of South Glamorgan county council.

  Mr. John Patten
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the outstanding number of cases before the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board; and how much compensation has been paid for each year in the last 10 years.

  Mr. John Patten
  At the end of October 1991, 80,404 cases were outstanding of which 58,645 were awaiting decision by a member of the board or the staff, 10,020 were awaiting the applicant's response to an offer, and 11,739 were awaiting an oral hearing.

  Compensation paid in each of the last 10 years was as follows:

  £

  1981–82

  21,976,696

  1982–83

  29,444,675

  1983–84

  38,820,772

  1984–85

  35,293,451

  1985–86

  41,559,996

  1986–87

  48,241,764

  1987–88

  52,042,581

  1988–89

  69,381,286

  1989–90

  72,721,563

  1990–91

  1109,330,303

  1 Provisional figure.

  Immigration
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases since 1989 the Home Secretary has overturned a decision by immigration officers at the ports following representations by hon. Members to allow passengers into the country.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Staffordshire Police
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what immediate steps he intends to take to remedy the understaffing of the Staffordshire police force; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  My right hon. Friend has approved eight additional police posts for Staffordshire as from 676
  1 October 1991, bringing the establishment to 2,211. There were 15 vacancies at the end of October, bringing the force within 1 per cent. of its establishment.

  It is for the Staffordshire police authority to determine the level of manpower required, subject to my right hon. Friend's approval. The authority has made an application for 20 additional police posts in 1992–93; my right hon. Friend will make an announcement on the allocation of additional police posts for 1992–93 shortly.

  Isle of Man
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent agreements have been reached between Her Majesty's Government and the Isle of Man about adjustments of territorial waters.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  As my right hon. Friend announced on 1 August, Her Majesty's Government and the Isle of Man Government have agreed terms for the extension of the provisions of the Territorial Sea Act 1987 to the Isle of Man. An order in Council extending the territorial sea around the Isle of Man from three to 12 miles came into force on 2 September.

  Police Discipline Appeals
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time take by appeals tribunals considering police discipline measures in England and Wales; and what proportion of recommendations made by them are(a) accepted and(b) rejected by him.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  During the year ended 31 October 1991 it took an average of 14·7 weeks for an appeal tribunal to make its recommendations known to my right hon. Friend. Over the same period my right hon. Friend accepted the recommendations in 30 cases (81 per cent.) and rejected those relating to the level of punishment in 7 (19 per cent.).

  Operation Burlington
  Mrs. Golding
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will supply the figures for the number of people(a) arrested,(b) charged and(c) convicted of a criminal offence under Operation Burlington conducted by the Metropolitan police in 1991;

  (2) if he will list the offences under which people were charged when arrested under Operation Burlington conducted by the Metropolitan police in 1991.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that under Operation Burlington and its successor, Operation Taurus, 817 people have been arrested, of whom 702 have been charged with one or more of the following criminal offences:

  Offence

  Charge

  Begging

  Section 4 Vagrancy Act 1824

  Possession of Offensive Weapon

  Section 1 Prevention Crime Act 1953

  Possession of Pointed Articles in Public

  Section 39 Criminal Justice Act 1988

  Drunk and Disorderly

  Section 91 Criminal Justice Act 1967

  Theft

  Section 1 Theft Act 1968

  677

  Offence

  Charge

  Possession of Drugs

  Section 5 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

  Possession with Intent to Supply Drugs

  Section 5 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

  Obstructed during search for Drugs

  Section 23 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

  Drunk and Incapable

  Section 12 Licensing Act 1872

  Place of Safety Orders

  Section 23 Children and Young Persons Act 1963

  Assault, Actual Bodily Harm

  Section 47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861

  Assault, Grievous Bodily Harm

  Section 20 Offences Against the Person Act 1861

  Grievous Bodily Harm with intent

  Section 18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861

  Common Assault

  Section 39 Criminal Justice Act 1988

  Burglary

  Section 9 Theft Act 1968

  Obtaining by Deception

  Section 15 Theft Act 1968

  Assault on Police

  Section 51 Police Act 1964

  Criminal Damage

  Section 1 Criminal Damage Act 1971

  Robbery

  Section 8 Theft Act 1968

  Blackmail

  Section 21 Theft Act 1968

  Affray

  Section 3 Public Order Act 1986

  Threatening Behaviour

  Section 4 Public Order Act 1986

  Disorderly Behaviour

  Section 5 Public Order Act 1986

  Wanted on Warrant

  Circulated by various forces

  Murder

  Offence of Common Law

  Conspiracy to Defraud

  Section 1 Criminal Law Act 1977

  Hippy Convoys
  Mr. Jopling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidance to police forces on means of improving the information which is passed between police forces on the existence and movement of hippy convoys during the summer months.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No. I understand that chief constables already make arrangements for the collection and dissemination of such information.

  Executive Agencies
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on answering parliamentary questions in respect of bodies given agency status.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  I or the responsible Minister will reply on agency policy issues and on any other matters which do not fall within the responsibility of the chief executive. The chief executives will reply on matters within their areas of responsibility, because they are best placed to do so. This policy is described in the framework documents of the United Kingdom Passport Agency and the Forensic Science Service, copies of which were placed in the Library in April. It has been recently restated in the Government's reply to the seventh report from the Treasury and Civil Service Committee (Cm 1761).

  Police Establishment
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the authorised establishment figure for each police force in England and Wales; and what was the actual strength on the last day for which figures are available.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is set out in the table.

  As at 31 August 1991

  Authorised Establishment1

  Strength

  Avon and Somerset

  3,081

  3,068

  Bedfordshire

  1,085

  1,091

  Cambridgeshire

  1,209

  1,226

  Cheshire

  1,889

  1,893

  Cleveland

  1,502

  1,476

  Cumbria

  1,175

  1,174

  Derbyshire

  1,812

  1,716

  Devon and Cornwall

  2,865

  2,870

  Dorset

  1,272

  1,302

  Durham

  1,378

  1,369

  Dyfed Powys

  944

  946

  Essex

  2,875

  2,881

  Gloucestershire

  1,164

  1,169

  Greater Manchester

  7,028

  6,963

  Gwent

  1,009

  1,002

  Hampshire

  3,175

  3,183

  Hertfordshire

  1,669

  1,656

  Humberside

  2,007

  2,021

  Kent

  3,020

  3,021

  Lancashire

  3,203

  3,210

  Leicestershire

  1,814

  1,822

  Lincolnshire

  1,198

  1,203

  Merseyside

  4,701

  4,644

  Norfolk

  1,409

  1,401

  Northamptonshire

  1,142

  1,138

  Northumbria

  3,560

  3,488

  North Wales

  1,352

  1,340

  North Yorkshire

  1,408

  1,380

  Nottinghamshire

  2,344

  2,327

  South Wales

  3,168

  3,143

  South Yorkshire

  2,998

  3,004

  Staffordshire

  2,203

  2,218

  Suffolk

  1,205

  1,200

  Surrey

  1,659

  1,676

  Sussex

  2,964

  2,976

  Thames Valley

  3,685

  3,718

  Warwickshire

  1,008

  1,011

  West Mercia

  2,024

  2,029

  West Midlands

  6,910

  6,874

  West Yorkshire

  5,281

  5,193

  Wiltshire

  1,099

  1,199

  City of London

  798

  802

  Metropolitan

  28,554

  28,193

  Totals

  125,846

  125,216

  1 Police establishments are those approved for 1990–91, so as to be compatible with the latest strength figures. Establishments for 1991–92 were increased from 1 October 1991.

  Auto Crime
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons convicted of taking away vehicles without consent were given custodial sentences of up to three years' imprisonment in each of the five years before the penalty was reduced to six months in the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

  Mr. John Patten
  The information requested is given in the table. Of those sentenced, about 3 per cent. in each year received a sentence of over six months in custody.
  679

  Number of persons sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for offences of unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and unauthorised taking of conveyance other than motor vehicle or pedal cycle by sentence length 1983 to 19881 England and Wales

  Sentence length

  Offence

  Year

  Total sentenced

  Total immediate custody

  6 months and under

  Over 6 months and up to 1 year

  Over 1 year and up to 18 months

  Over 18 months and up to 2 years

  Over 2 years and up to 3 years

  Over 3 years

  Unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle

  1983

  25,615

  5,886

  5,134

  516

  161

  59

  12

  4

  1984

  22,673

  4,564

  4,006

  430

  83

  28

  15

  2

  1985

  23,159

  4,828

  4,171

  472

  121

  50

  13

  1

  1986

  21,993

  4,398

  3,766

  464

  105

  47

  16

  —

  1987

  21,331

  4,052

  3,382

  485

  146

  28

  11

  —

  11988

  20,496

  3,658

  3,022

  491

  103

  36

  6

  —

  Unauthorised taking of a conveyance other than a motor vehicle or pedal cycle

  1983

  172

  3

  2

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1984

  167

  3

  3

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1985

  90

  6

  5

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1986

  92

  6

  3

  2

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1987

  62

  4

  1

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  11988

  78

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1 These two triable-either-way offences were reclassified as summary offences under the Criminal Justices Act 1988 (12 October 1988).

  Prisoners (Police Cells)
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest available figures showing the average number of prisoners being held in police cells per day in each police authority area.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The average number of prisoners held in police cells in each police force for the period 28 October to 8 November are as follows:

  Number

  Avon and Somerset

  42

  Bedfordshire

  26

  Cambridgeshire

  23

  Cheshire

  40

  Cleveland

  19

  Cumbria

  27

  Derbyshire

  38

  Devon and Cornwall

  31

  Dorset

  8

  Durham

  23

  Dyfed

  26

  Essex

  18

  Gloucestershire

  8

  Greater Manchester

  230

  Gwent

  25

  Hampshire

  27

  Hertfordshire

  18

  Humberside

  54

  Kent

  33

  Lancashire

  89

  Leicestershire

  35

  Lincolnshire

  16

  City of London

  2

  Merseyside

  81

  Metropolitan

  142

  Norfolk

  21

  North Wales

  14

  North Yorkshire

  34

  Northamptonshire

  26

  Northumbria

  57

  Nottinghamshire

  29

  South Wales

  61

  South Yorkshire

  92

  Staffordshire

  11

  Suffolk

  13

  Surrey

  5

  680

  Number

  Sussex

  55

  Thames Valley

  36

  Warwickshire

  12

  West Mercia

  38

  West Midlands

  85

  West Yorkshire

  104

  Wiltshire

  22

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are being kept in police cells as a direct result of the dispute at Her Majesty's prison, Cardiff.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  The industrial action at Cardiff was temporarily suspended with effect from 5 November. On 8 November, the latest date for which figures are available, 178 prisoners in police cells were from courts in Cardiff prison's catchment area.

  Joyriders
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if persons killed or injured by joyriders are covered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  [holding answer 7 November 1991]: The criminal injuries compensation scheme applies where injury or death is caused by a deliberate attempt to run the victim down. Otherwise, claims for compensation for death or injury arising from the use of a stolen vehicle are dealt with by the owner's insurers or by the Motor Insurers' Bureau.

HEALTH

  District General Hospitals
  Sir Michael Neubert
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district general hospitals there are currently in each of the health districts in Greater London; and what are the numbers of residents in each of those districts.
  681
  Mr. Dorrell
  There is no agreed definition of a district general hospital. Acute hospital services may be provided to a district from single site or multiple site general

  District Health Authority

  June 1990 Populations (in thousands)

  March 1991 Number of hospitals with

  acute beds

  more than 100 acute beds

  North West Thames RHA

  Barnet

  310·0

  3

  2

  Harrow

  192·5

  1

  1

  Hillingdon

  235·5

  3

  3

  Hounslow and Spelthorne

  282·3

  3

  2

  Ealing

  293·3

  1

  1

  Parkside

  380·2

  5

  2

  Riverside

  280·7

  7

  3

  North East Thames RHA

  Barking, Havering and Brentwood

  447·8

  5

  3

  Hampstead

  112·0

  2

  1

  Bloomsbury

  127·7

  19

  3

  Islington

  173·6

  2

  1

  City and Hackney

  195·8

  3

  2

  Newham

  208·6

  2

  2

  Tower Hamlets

  166·9

  2

  2

  Enfield

  264·3

  2

  2

  Haringey

  192·8

  2

  1

  Redbridge

  234·8

  3

  2

  Waltham Forest

  213·4

  3

  1

  South East Thames RHA

  Bexley

  220·2

  1

  1

  Greenwich

  215·9

  3

  2

  Bromley

  300·1

  3

  3

  West Lambeth

  154·3

  3

  1

  Camberwell

  212·0

  3

  2

  Lewisham and North Southwark

  318·0

  5

  2

  South West Thames RHA

  Croydon

  319·4

  1

  1

  Kingston and Esher

  180·8

  2

  1

  Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton

  236·5

  1

  1

  Wandsworth

  187·0

  5

  1

  Merton and Sutton

  332·9

  4

  1

  Pensioners
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates he has made of the number of additional pensioners in receipt of the retirement pension who will be in receipt of income support arising from the recent uprating statement and as a consequence will be eligible for(a) free eye tests,(b) free dental check and(c) any other health entitlements, giving the number and projected costs by category and funding source in each case.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  A breakdown by age is not available.

  Cot Deaths
  Mrs. Currie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice is now given to parents on the avoidance of cot deaths; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what progress is being made in reducing the incidence of cot deaths.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The rate of cot death has been coming down over recent years, from 2·35 per 1,000 live births in 1988 to 1·81 in 1990. We welcome this reduction, and hope to see a further reduction following the advice
  682
  hospital facilities which may or may not be supplemented by specialist or single specialty hospitals. The available relevant information is given in the table.

  contained in a press release issued by the Government's chief medical officer on 31 October. The press release was widely taken up in the national press.

  The advice that is now given to parents is that the risk of cot death can be reduced if babies are not placed on their tummies when they are going to sleep. This advice is based on the recommendations of a group of experts set up by the chief medical officer to advise him on the results of several recent studies carried out in this country and abroad.

  The chief medical officer took the opportunity to reiterate advice which had been offered previously: to keep babies warm, but avoid overheating; to avoid tobacco smoke; and to ensure good ventilation and to follow good hygiene.

  The Health Education Authority is ensuring that this advice is incorporated in the text of its publications the "Pregnancy Book" and "Birth to Five", copies of which are distributed to first-time mothers and parents. All health professionals are being sent a letter from the chief medical officer and chief nursing officer respectively setting out the new advice in more detail. Contact between parents and health professionals is the key channel for communicating advice on reducing the risks of cot death. The Department is considering urgently whether any further action is needed.

  Brompton Hospital
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the investigations made at the Brompton hospital into the use of NHS services for private patients.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I understand that no substantive evidence has been found to support such allegations.

  Pharmaceutical Plants (Inspections)
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish inspection reports on pharmaceutical plants for the years 1986 to 1988 carried out by the Medicines Control Agency.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Section 118(1) restricts the disclosure of "any information with respect to any manufacturing process or trade secret" obtained on inspection. Details of inspection reports on pharmaceutical companies by the Medicines Control Agency are not, therefore, published.

  Childcare
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much free childcare provision is available through the state.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The information available centrally about total local authority provision of day care for the under fives is set out in the table. Information is not collected centrally about how much of the total provision is free. Following the implementation of the Children Act 1989, the Department will be collecting information about provision made for children under eight.

  Number at 31 March 1990

  Children on the register of local authority day nurseries

  32,413

  Children placed and paid for by local authorities in non-local authority day nurseries

  1,788

  Children on the register of local authority playgroups

  2,525

  Children placed and paid for by local authorities in non-local authority playgroups

  11,556

  Places with childminders sponsored by the local authority

  1,889

  Children placed and paid for by local authority with registered childminders not provided by the local authority

  5,492

  Ships (Public Health Reports)
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reports made by port health officials into matters relating to public health on ships passing between the United Kingdom and the United States of America and departing the port of Southampton were made public in the year 1990.

  Mr. Dorrell
  None.

  Drugs
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend the patent life of new drugs developed in the United Kingdom.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The United Kingdom, along with some other member states, considers the present EC proposals to be overgenerous, but is committed to working constructively towards a satisfactory outcome.

  Social Work Students
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make available to local authorities the specific funding for social work student placements which is available to voluntary and private agencies;

  (2) what action he is taking to ensure that local authorities provide an adequate number of social work placements for students on the course leading to the Diploma in Social Work.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  It is the responsibility of local authorities as employers to ensure that they have adequate numbers of suitably qualified social work staff. Authorities must, therefore, plan to make available sufficient good quality practice placements for students on social work qualifying courses and to honour agreements to do so into which they have entered as partners in Diploma in Social Work programme provider consortia.

  Funding for practice placements is made available to local authorities through the revenue support grants, and we have also allowed authorities to use the training support programme to fund additional placement days. In recognition of the importance which we attach to securing practice placement provision, we have provided CCETSW with £1·85 million (rising to £2·5 million in 1993–94) for a practice placements initiative which will enable additional practice teachers to be appointed.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration has been given to using the training support programme for social work student placements in local authorities.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Practice placements for social work students are already eligible expenditure under the training support programme. In 1990–91 over 16,800 additional practice placements days were funded from TSP.

  Medical Negligence (Legal Action)
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many national health service consultant obstetricians are currently facing legal action relating to possible medical negligence; and if he will also give the figure for orthopaedic consultants in the national health service.

  Mr. Dorrell
  This information is not held centrally.

  Medical Accidents
  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to setting up an arbitration board to consider compensation in medical accident cases; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  A consultation document entitled "Arbitration for Medical Negligence in the National
  685
  Health Service" was issued by the Department on 29 October. Comments are requested by 31 January 1992: detailed consideration will be given to these responses. Copies of the document are available in the Library.

  Sir Michael McNair-Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been paid out by regional health authorities as medical accident indemnity since the present scheme started; and how funding to regional health authorities reflects the carrying of indemnity on the regional health authority budget.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Between January 1990 and March 1991 it is estimated that English health authorities spent about £60 million on costs associated with legal claims for clinical negligence against doctors and dentists in NHS hospitals. This includes payments of damages to plaintiffs, legal and other fees, and in-house expenses. Prior to January 1990 these liabilities were borne by the medical defence organisations. Figures for the financial year 1991–92 are not yet available.

  Health authorities meet these costs from within their overall resources. Most regional health authorities operate pooling or other arrangements to assist district health authorities with the costs of large settlements. In addition the NHS has access to funds set up by the medical defence organisations as part of the agreements when these liabilities were passed to the NHS. Between January 1990 and March 1991 payments of some £9 million were authorised from these funds to English health authorities to help meet the cost of settlements.

  World Health Organisation
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Her Majesty's Government has yet decided on their preferred candidate for the position of chainnan of the World Health Organisation general assembly in May 1992; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  It has been the practice for a number of years for the post of President of the World Health Assembly to be rotated between the six regions of the World Health Organisation—that is, European, Eastern Mediterranean, African, South East Asian, Western Pacific and American. It is left to the region whose turn it is to hold the Presidency to decide which candidate to put forward for nomination to the World Health Assembly. Candidates are normally elected unopposed. In 1992 it will be the turn of the eastern mediterranean region to nominate a candidate for the Presidency.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Pensions
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on the level and type of national insurance rebates for those who contract out of the state earnings-related pension scheme for the 1993–98 quinquennium.

  Miss Widdecombe
  We are awaiting the Government actuary's report on his review of the contracting out rebate before determining what the rebate should be for the 1993–98 quinquennium.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, further to his reply of 7 November,Official Report, column 240, how many of the parliamentary questions which were not answered due to disproportionate costs were(a) matters answered by the benefits agency and(b) matters answered by the Department both as a number and as a percentage of total questions answered.

  Miss Widdecombe
  All 70 questions were answered by Ministers of the Department. These questions represent approximately 3 per cent. of the 2,157 answered during the year. However, 29 answers concerned matters which are the responsibility of the Benefits Agency which represents about 1 per cent. of the questions answered.

  Iraqi Students
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received from Scottish local authorities which are funding Iraqi students in Scotland in the form of section 12 payments under the Social Work (Scotland) Act who have no other income following the freezing of Iraqi Government assets in the United Kingdom; and if he intends to introduce social security reforms to provide for students from abroad in an emergency situation such as war.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I met representatives of Strathclyde regional council and Glasgow district council on 30 September 1991. There are no plans to change the existing provisions in the income support rules relating to students from abroad.

  Benefits
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the extra costs(a) to local authorities and(b) to his Department of those additional benefits including (i) poll tax benefit and (ii) housing benefit payable to pensioners as a result of their becoming eligible for income support as a result of the recent uprating statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  [holding answer 5 November 1991]: Depending on the numbers of newly eligible pensioners who choose to claim, the total extra cost of their gains through income related benefit provision could be as much as £35 million in a full year. Any costs arising out of extra benefit provision by local authorities will be financed by central Government through the usual subsidy arrangements.

  Source: Modelled using data drawn from the 1986–87–88 Family Expenditure Surveys.

ENVIRONMENT

  Compulsory Competitive Tendering
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he intends to bring forward to compensate local authorities for the initial costs incurred as a result of extending compulsory competitive tendering.
  687
  Mr. Portillo
  None. We expect that any initial costs incurred in preparing for compulsory competitive tendering for additional services will be more than offset by the savings that will result from competition.

  Gloucestershire County Council
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the financial position of Gloucestershire county council.

  Mr. Key
  My right hon. Friend and other Environment Ministers have received a number of representations,

  Gloucestershire County Council

  Central Government Support1

  Block grant in respect of current year £'000

  Relevant specific grants £000

  Non-relevant specific grants £000

  Transport supplementary grant £'000

  County precept £000

  1980–81

  239,170

  8,835

  6,544

  312

  88,004

  1981–82

  70,732

  10,075

  7,838

  325

  77,631

  1982–83

  71,059

  11,287

  7,725

  418

  84,809

  1983–84

  69,411

  12,641

  7,552

  380

  88,983

  1984–85

  70,413

  14,018

  7,887

  1,670

  92,691

  1985–86

  67,710

  14,945

  8,121

  1,138

  102,313

  1986–87

  71,477

  17,361

  9,630

  861

  122,068

  1987–88

  70,837

  19,919

  9,818

  942

  134,365

  1988–89

  70,422

  22,001

  10,185

  1,077

  155,288

  1989–90

  64,202

  25,505

  13,958

  1,563

  169,580

  Specific grants in AEF

  Specific grants outside AEF

  County precept

  31990–91

  —

  27,516

  17,824

  —

  273,940

  41991–92

  —

  30,177

  22,530

  —

  298,500

  1 In 1980–81, only the needs and resources elements of Rate Support Grant were paid directly to the County. Between 1981–82 and 1989–90 only the Block Grant element of Rate Support Grant was paid to the County. Domestic element, Domestic Rate Relief Grant and Rate Rebate Grant were paid directly to the Districts' Rate Funds. From 1990–91 only Specific Grants are paid directly to the County General Fund. All other grants are paid into the Districts' Collection Funds which is used to fund expenditure by different tiers of authority. It is therefore not possible to say what proportion of the county precept is funded by central Government support, or from other sources.

  2 Needs and Resources Elements of RSG before adjusting for National Pools.

  3 Revised estimate.

  4 Budget estimate.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information is available to his Department on the financial position of Gloucestershire county council.

  Mr. Key
  The financial information available to the Department for all local authorities includes all the information necessary to calculate grant entitlement and standard spending assessments, authorities' budget estimates for previous years and statements of outturn expenditure for the years to 1989–90. These figures show that in 1989–90 Gloucestershire overspent against their budget by £6·7 million, or 3 per cent.

  Social Work Students
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what level of funding for social work student placements has been assumed within the revenue support grant settlement.

  Mr. Key
  The local authority finance settlement provides for an appropriate level of spending by local authorities on their various functions. The resources made available are not attributed to particular activities.
  688
  including correspondence from county councillors and hon. Members regarding external support for the council. The most recent correspondence received was from my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Knapman) and a constituent of his on the subject of support for the fire service.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by how much the(a) central provision and(b) other funds available to Gloucestershire county council have changed each year since 1979.

  Mr. Key
  The available information is as follows:

  Docklands Light Railway
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what powers the London Docklands development corporation has south of the River Thames; and how it is intended London Docklands development corporation will run the proposed docklands light railway extension to Lewisham.

  Mr. Portillo
  Section 136 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 provides that the object of an urban development corporation shall be to secure the regeneration of its area. I consider that an extension of the Docklands light railway to Lewisham will contribute to that object.

  Noisy Parties
  Mrs. Maureen Hicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further measures he has under consideration to deal with noise nuisance from noisy parties.

  Mr. Baldry
  The working group set up to consider whether there is a need for further measures to control
  689
  noisy parties, announced by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside on 10 September met for the first time on 6 November.

  The members of the group are Mr. Richard Ashworth, chief executive (environmental health and trading standards), Merton London borough council; Mr. David Horrocks, head of environmental health services, Brentwood district; Mr. Ron Hadfield, chief constable, West Midlands police; and officials from my Department and the Home Office.

  The group are currently considering the extent to which existing legislation to control parties causing excessive noise might be used more effectively. The group expects to go on to consider whether amending legislation may be required.

  Direct Labour
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take against those local authorities whose direct labour organisations made significant financial losses in 1989–90.

  Mr. Key
  Statutory notices under the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 and the Local Government Act 1988 were served on 26 local authorities between July and October this year in respect of financial failure in 1989–90. The Secretary of State has now considered the responses of the 11 authorities on whom notices were served at the beginning of July. He has today given directions under section 19B and section 14 of the 1980 and 1988 Acts respectively to Barrow-in-Furness borough council in respect of major new construction, Harrogate borough council (refuse collection, building maintenace, and highways work), Shepway district council (building maintenance), and the London borough of Tower Hamlets (highways work).

  He has decided to take no further action in respect of financial failure in 1989–90 against Epsom and Ewell borough council (vehicle maintenance), the London borough of Redbridge (building cleaning), West Devon borough council (refuse collection), North Tyneside metropolitan borough council. (vehicle maintenance), Shepway district council (highways work), the London borough of Camden (minor new works), and Salford city council (in respect of anti-competitive behaviour).

  He is still considering the responses of the London borough of Camden, Copeland borough council and Salford city council, all in respect of building maintenance work, and expects to announce his decisions shortly. He is also considering responses from a further nine authorities on whom notices were served on 30 July.

  Deer (Richmond and Bushy Park)
  Mr. Jessel
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he proposes to contract out the deer management in Richmond and Bushy parks.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Management of deer is a specialised and skilled operation. We have made it clear that we would not contract this out unless we could guarantee the welfare of the animals. Following consultation with the British Deer Society we have concluded that we should continue to 690
  undertake deer management in the Richmond and Bushy parks. We will therefore continue to employ three gamekeepers.

  Nature conservation is an important element in the management of Richmond and Bushy parks and the gamekeepers will continue caring for wildlife generally. The management of the contracts and the work carried out by the contractor's staff will also take this into account.

PRIME MINISTER

  Draft EC Treaties
  Mr. Benn
  To ask the Prime Minister under what legal authority he would sign any treaties agreed at Maastricht; and what force such treaties would then have in British law.

  The Prime Minister
  Signature of any treaty agreed at Maastricht would be an Executive act and as such would have no force in the United Kingdom law. Ratification of any treaty is a prerogative act, exercised by the Government on behalf of the Crown. Before the United Kingdom could ratify any treaty signed at Maastricht, its provisions would need to be incorporated into United Kingdom law by amending the European Communities Act 1972.

  European Central Bank
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the potential benefits and penalties that would arise from the full operation of a European central bank as currently proposed in the Dutch draft treaty for economic and monetary union.

  The Prime Minister
  That judgment can be made only if and when the adoption of a single currency becomes a realistic prospect. Under the treaty now under negotiation the earliest date envisaged for the introduction of a single currency is some years away. It will be for the Government and Parliament to assess at that stage the potential benefits and penalties of a European central bank.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions he has declined to appoint a special adviser nominated for appointment.

  The Prime Minister
  The appointment of special advisers is a matter for the relevant Minister in consultation with me. It would not be appropriate to give the information requested.

  Political Advisers
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answers of 5 November,Official Report, column 42 and 11 November,Official Report, column 353, listing current political advisers, if he will list the names of the advisers alongside the Ministers and Department which they serve.

  The Prime Minister
  The special advisers (political) who are currently serving are:
  691

  Name

  Department

  Minister

  Mr. K. Adams

  Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

  Minister

  Mr. H. Harris-Hughes

  Cabinet Office (including No. 10)

  Mr. J. Hill

  Cabinet Office (including No. 10)

  Mrs. S. Hogg

  Cabinet Office (including No. 10)

  Mr. A. Rosling

  Cabinet Office (including No. 10)

  Mr. N. True

  Cabinet Office (including No. 10)

  Miss B. Wallis (part-time)

  Cabinet Office (including No. 10)

  Ms. S. Hole

  Cabinet Office (Chief Whip's Office)

  Chief Whip

  Mr. P. Moman

  Cabinet Office (Privy Council Office)

  Minister of State, Privy Council Office

  Mr. J. R. M. Gardner

  Defence

  Secretary of State

  Mrs. T. Keswick

  Education and Science

  Secretary of State

  Mr. D. Ruffley

  Education and Science

  Secretary of State

  Mr. T. Collins

  Employment

  Secretary of State

  Mr. G. Black

  Energy

  Secretary of State

  Mr. A. Kemp (part-time)

  Environment

  Secretary of State

  Lady Strathnaver

  Environment

  Secretary of State

  Ms. A. Broom

  Environment

  Jointly to the Ministers for Local Government and the Inner Cities; Environment and Countryside; and Housing and Planning

  Mr. E. Bickham

  Foreign and Commonwealth

  Secretary of State

  Mr. M. Fraser

  Foreign and Commonwealth

  Minister of State for Foreign and. Commonwealth Affairs

  Ms. L. Campey

  Health

  Secretary of State

  Mrs. K. Ramsay (part-time)

  Health

  Secretary of State

  Mr. R. Marsh

  Health

  Secretary of State

  Mr. T. Kerpel

  Home Office

  Secretary of State

  Mr. C. M. Grantham

  Home Office

  Jointly to two Ministers of State (the Right Hon. John Patten and the Right Hon. Mrs Rumbold)

  Mrs. E. Laing

  Privy Council Office

  Lord President of the Council

  Ms. S. McEwen

  Privy Council Office

  Lord Privy Seal

  Mr. A. Young

  Scottish Office

  Secretary of State

  Mr. I. Stewart

  Social Security

  Secretary of State

  Mr. Anisfield

  Trade and Industry

  Secretary of State

  Mr. J. Mayhew

  Trade and Industry

  Secretary of State

  Mr. P. Miller

  Transport

  Secretary of State

  Dr. W. Robinson

  Treasury

  Chancellor of the Exchequer

  Mr. A. Ross-Goobey

  Treasury

  Chief Secretary

  Mr. W. Lightfoot

  Treasury

  Financial Secretary

  South Africa
  Mr. Richard Page
  To ask the Prime Minister what steps the Government are taking to help prepare black South Africans for a role in public administration under a post-apartheid constitution.

  The Prime Minister
  Our growing aid programme for black South Africans emphasises education and training as the key to enabling black people to play their rightful role in a post-apartheid South Africa. In this context, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Overseas Development has announced the Government's plans to help to train those who may become officials within the new political system. This help is open to black South Africans of all parties and to those without political affiliation. We have invited nominees from various political groups, including the African National Congress, the Inkatha Freedom party, the Pan-Africanist Congress and AZAPO, as well as from non-political bodies. A course for potential senior officials will start in January at the Civil Service college. My right hon. Friend is preparing plans for further help in this area.

  Environmental Policy
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the priority Her Majesty's Government attache to environmental policy against the Government's other policies.
  692
  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 14 November 1991]: The Government aim to integrate environmental concern into all policies, as explained in detail in the White Paper, "This Common Inheritance" (Cm 1200) and "This Common Inheritance: The First Year Report". (Cm 1655)

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Ministerial Visits
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many(a) nursery schools,(b) primary schools,(c) universities,(d) polytechnics and(e) colleges of further education he has visited in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Eggar
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science has visited a number of varied institutions in the past twelve months, including five primary schools, seven universities, three polytechnics and four colleges of further education.

  Standard Spending Assessments
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the local education authorities to which he has sent information or advice regarding the past, current or future component of the standard spending assessment for adult education and local education authority the amounts so specified.
  693
  Mr. Eggar
  My right hon. and learned Friend has sent no information or advice on this matter to local education authorities.

  Undergraduates
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many undergraduates from the United Kingdom were attending courses in(a) EC countries and(b) non-EC countries in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  Estimates prepared by the United Kingdom Erasmus Student Grants Council show that, in academic year 1990–91, some 4,800 United Kingdom domiciled students were studying under ERASMUS arrangements in a higher education institution of another EC member state as part of their United Kingdom undergraduate course.

  Information on other United Kingdom students studying abroad is not available centrally.

  Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools
  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing the numbers of members of Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools in each category of job function which will be lost when Her Majesty's inspectorate is reduced to the level proposed in his statement of 27 September 1991.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Detailed decisions of this kind have not been taken and need not be taken at this stage. The figure of 175 is the best estimate that the senior chief inspector and I have made of the eventual size of HMI when they assume their full duties after a suitable transitional period.

  LEAs (Employees)
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information is available showing the numbers of teaching and non-teaching employees of each local education authority in 1991.

  Mr. Fallon
  Numbers of teaching and non-teaching staff employed by local authorities are collected regularly by the joint staffing watch, managed by representatives of local and central Government.

  Figures for the education service within each authority for March 1991 are now available and have been placed in the Library.

  Class Sizes
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the number of primary school pupils in class sizes of one to 15, 16 to 20, 21 to 25, 26 to 30 and 30 and over, by local education authority for each school year since 1979–80.

  Mr. Eggar
  It is not possible to provide all the information requested for the number of years stated because of disproportionate cost. Tables showing the number of pupils taught by one teacher in classes of sizes one to 30, 31 to 35, 36 to 40 and 41 and over in maintained primary schools in each local education authority in England for the years 1988 to 1991 (provisional) are being placed in the House of Commons Library.

SCOTLAND

  Scottish Ambulance Service (Mileage Allowance)
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the effect of the decision by the Inland Revenue to tax the profit element of the motor car mileage allowances paid to the voluntary car drivers used by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  We greatly appreciate the work undertaken by the voluntary car drivers and the contribution which they make to the community.

  The Inland Revenue's decision mainly affects those volunteer drivers who exceed 4,000 miles per year who will be liable for income tax on the profit element of their mileage allowance. The new tax arrangements will be phased in gradually over a number of years. Only one quarter of the profit element for the period 6 October 1991 to 5 April 1992 and for 1992–93 will be taxed, one half for 1993–94 and three-quarters for 1994–95. Tax will therefore not be payable on the full amount of the profit element until 1995–96.

  I have, however, agreed that mileage allowances for voluntary car drivers should be substantially increased. The new rates are:

  27·7p per mile for motor vehicles up to 1500cc and

  33·2p per mile for motor vehicles over 1500cc.

  This represents an increase of nearly 10 per cent. These rates will be kept under review and are backdated to 1 October 1991.

WALES

  Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make it his policy to increase the hectarage payments made under the hill livestock compensatory allowance to the level of the limit set by the European Community;

  (2) if he will make it his policy to increase the level of headage payments for(a) cows,(b) hardy breeding ewes and(c) other ewes in both severely disadvantaged and disadvantaged areas.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The payment arrangements for the hill livestock compensatory allowance scheme are considered within the context of the autumn review of economic conditions and prospects for our hill and upland farmers. The HLCA payment arrangements to apply from 1 January 1992 will be announced as soon as possible.

  Road Improvements
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the total expenditure by his Department on local road improvements, at constant prices, in each year between 1979 and 1990.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Expenditure on local roads in Wales is the responsibility of each county highway authority. Capital expenditure on new construction and improvement and current expenditure on highway maintenance, structural maintenance (including bridges), lighting, street cleaning, and other highways purposes, at constant prices are:
  695

  Road construction index 1st quarter 1990 prices (£ million)

  Capital

  Current

  Total

  1979–80

  53·5

  72·8

  126·2

  1980–81

  61·6

  81·4

  143·0

  1981–82

  62·9

  113·7

  176·6

  1982–83

  83·5

  99·7

  183·2

  1983–84

  73·1

  109·7

  182·8

  1984–85

  67·5

  108·4

  175·9

  1985–86

  74·7

  103·1

  177·8

  1986–87

  83·1

  120·9

  204·0

  1987–88

  79·8

  111·5

  191·2

  1988–89

  60·8

  111·0

  171·8

  1989–90

  73·3

  124·6

  197·9

  11990–91

  78·3

  133·9

  212·2

  1 Provisional.

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the outstanding applications for road bypass schemes before his Department, and the date on which each application was initially submitted.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Trunk road bypass schemes are added to the programme as a result of route and feasibility studies and have been listed in successive editions of "Roads in Wales". Current plans are given in the supplement to "Roads in Wales: Progress and Plans for the 1990s" published in February.

  Applications from local authorities for transport grant support in 1992–93 include bypass schemes. These are under consideration and an announcement will be made shortly.

  Nurses
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total number of nursing posts filled in Wales in each year from 1986 to 1990.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  Information on the whole time equivalent (wte) number of nursing and midwifery staff in Wales is given in the following table:

  wte1

  1986

  27,187

  1987

  27,764

  1988

  27,920

  1989

  28,037

  1990

  28,093

  1 At 30 September.

  The increase of 906 in the number of nurses in the Welsh NHS in just four years is an indication of the Government's commitment to improving the NHS.

  Home Improvement Grants
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will list the specific criteria and allowances in means tesing applicants for mandatory and discretionary home improvement grants.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  Details of the test of resources are contained in "The Housing Renovation etc. Grants (Reduction of Grant) Regulations 1990 (SI 1990 No. 1189)" (as amended) copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.

  Sheep Scab
  Mr. Geraint Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of sheep scab there were in Wales during the last 12 months; what were the corresponding figures for 1970 and 1980; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  In the last 12 months 14 cases of sheep scab were reported in Wales. No cases were reported in 1970 and 1980.

  Aberystwyth Harbour
  Mr. Geraint Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to develop the harbour at Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire during the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Ceredigion district council has submitted a bid for additional resources under the projects of regional or national importance (PRNI) scheme to enable them to provide infrastructure works prior to development of a marina. This bid, together with all others received under the PRNI scheme is presently being considered.

EMPLOYMENT

  Enterprise Allowance Scheme
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many applicants have been accepted under the new enterprise allowance scheme; and if he will give the figures by regional or local authority area.

  Mr. Jackson
  New flexibilities in the operation of the enterprise allowance scheme were introduced on 1 April 1991 for existing TECs. TECs going live after that date were able to use the flexibilities when they became operational.

  In the current financial year, to 15 September, 22,294 people in England and Wales have started a new business with the help of an enterprise allowance. A regional breakdown of these entrants is shown in the table. It is not possible to give a breakdown of entrants by local authority area.

  Region

  Participants

  Northern

  1,375

  North West

  3,397

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  2,770

  West Midlands

  2,238

  East Midlands and Anglia

  2,541

  South East

  2,387

  South West

  2,560

  London

  3,163

  Wales

  1,863

  Training, Cumbria
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons were on ET sponsored training programmes in each travel-to-work area in Cumbria for each month since January 1990.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information is not available in the format requested. The following table gives the numbers of people in Employment Training (ET) in the area covered by Cumbria training and enterprise council for each month from January 1990 to September 1991.
  697

  Period ending

  ET in training (actual in period)

  January 1990

  1,380

  February 1990

  1,368

  March 1990

  1,369

  27 April 1990

  11,250

  25 May 1990

  1,088

  22 June 1990

  1,154

  20 July 1990

  1,099

  17 August 1990

  1,095

  14 September 1990

  1,169

  12 October 1990

  1,371

  9 November 1990

  1,385

  7 December 1990

  1,548

  4 January 1991

  1,470

  1 February 1991

  1,548

  1 March 1991

  1,615

  29 March 1991

  1,375

  27 April 1991

  1,145

  25 May 1991

  1,019

  22 June 1991

  960

  20 July 1991

  849

  17 August 1991

  782

  14 September 1991

  771

  1 Estimate.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what study he has made of the extent to which the recession in British industry is influencing the decision of employers acting as work experience providers for young people under the YT programme in the county of Cumbria.

  Mr. Jackson
  In Cumbria, as in other parts of the country, training opportunities are dependent on employers' participation in the training programme. With my support TECs are actively promoting the commitment of employers to investment in training. The Government are committed to ensuring the availability of suitable training for young people under the terms of its YT guarantee.

  School Leavers
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many school leavers for the year 1991 were awaiting places on YT schemes as of mid-September 1991.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish the range of payments made by TEC's to managing agents under ET in the counties of Northumbria, Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire, Surrey and Kent, separately.

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

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing, for Greater London and for each TEC area in London, the number of youth training and employment training places which were available 12 months ago, and are available for and 698
  specifically targeted at(a) people with learning difficulties,(b) people whose first language is not English,(c) people with physical disabilities and(d) ex-offenders.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information is not available as requested.

  All ET and YT places are available to the four groups of clients listed, provided that they meet the eligibility criteria for the two programmes.

  The Government have guaranteed that all young people who are under 18 and not in full-time education or a job and are seeking training are offered and if necessary re-offered, a suitable youth training place. The Government remain committed to ensuring that the YT guarantee is met and has ensured that adequate funding is available to do so.

  The Government require that an ET place is provided for people in the Government's guarantee and aim groups who wish to enter ET. The guarantee group is those aged 18 to 24 who have been unemployed for six months or more but less than 12 months, the aim group is those aged 18 to 49 who have been unemployed for two years or more and those people with disabilities, regardless of the length of time of the latters unemployment.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the number of YT and ET places available now and 12 months ago in the area of each TEC in London, and the total for Greater London, and also the comparable figures for the number of places occupied.

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

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish estimates for each TEC area in London, and for Greater London as a whole, for the numbers of people eligible now and 12 months ago for YT and ET places.

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

  All young people in the 16 and 17 age group are eligible for YT if they do not stay on at school, do not go on to further education, or do not have a full time job.

  The following table shows numbers in the 16 and 17 age group by training and enterprise council (TEC) area in London. Many of these young people will have other options available to them.

  The Government have guaranteed that all young people who are under 18 and not in full-time education or a job and are seeking training are offered and if necessary re-offered, a suitable youth training place. The Government remain committed to ensuring that the YT guarantee is met and have ensured that adequate funding is available to do so.

  The information requested relating to ET is not available. However, the Government require that an ET place is provided for people in the Government's guarantee and aim groups who wish to enter ET. The guarantee group is those aged 18 to 24 who have been unemployed for six months or more but less than 12 months, and the aim group is those aged 18 to 49 who have been unemployed for two years or more and those people with disabilities, regardless of the length of time of the latters unemployment.
  699

  Estimates of 16–17 year old population

  TEC

  1990

  1991

  Aztec

  12,400

  11,900

  Centec

  11700

  11,450

  Cilntec

  7,600

  7,200

  Letec

  29,400

  28,400

  North London

  17,500

  16,800

  North West London

  10,550

  10,200

  Solotec

  24,700

  23,500

  South Thames

  20,200

  19,400

  West London

  21,500

  20,900

  London

  155,550

  149,750

  Source: London Research Centre.

  Tributyltin Oxide
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter from J. D. McGuinness and the Health and Safety Executive on tributyltin oxide.

  Employees whose pay was not affected by absence and whose gross hourly earnings (excluding overtime) were less than specified amounts April 1991

  Less than £3·40

  Less than £4·00

  Less than £4·50

  Less than £4·80

  Less than £5·40

  Numbers in sample

  Per cent, of total

  Numbers in sample

  Per cent, of total

  Numbers in sample

  Per cent, of total

  Numbers in sample

  Per cent, of total

  Numbers in sample

  Per cent, of total

  Aged 16

  Males

  Full time

  213

  89·1

  223

  93·3

  231

  96·7

  232

  97·1

  235

  98·3

  Part time

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Females

  Full time

  144

  84·7

  158

  92·9

  163

  95·9

  164

  96·5

  170

  100·0

  Part time

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Aged under 18

  Males

  Full time

  626

  81·0

  691

  89·4

  727

  94·0

  742

  96·0

  759

  98·2

  Part time

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Females

  Full time

  487

  73·7

  581

  87·9

  614

  92·9

  631

  95·5

  648

  98·0

  Part time

  314

  77·9

  361

  89·6

  376

  93·3

  379

  94·0

  387

  96·0

  Aged 18–20

  Males

  Full time

  1,394

  39·6

  2,107

  59·8

  2,569

  72·9

  2,784

  79·0

  3,062

  86·9

  Part time

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Females

  Full time

  1,330

  38·8

  2,150

  62·7

  2,648

  77·3

  2,855

  83·3

  3,122

  91·1

  Part time

  307

  59·7

  407

  79·2

  456

  88·7

  472

  91·8

  484

  94·2

  Aged 21–24

  Males

  Full time

  812

  11·5

  1,745

  24·7

  2,666

  37·7

  3,144

  44·5

  4,098

  57·9

  Part time

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Females

  Full time

  1,080

  16·0

  2,085

  31·0

  3,007

  44·6

  3,592

  53·3

  4,491

  66·7

  Part time

  345

  46·4

  487

  65·5

  581

  78·1

  619

  83·2

  667

  89·7

  Source: New Earnings Survey.

  Note:"—" denotes information not available.

  Invoice Payments
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his Department's survey of the Government's performance in paying invoices, particularly to small and medium-sized companies.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Government believe that it is important that all organisations recognise their responsibilities to their suppliers by settling accounts on time. I
  700
  Mr. Jackson
  Yes. The letter from Dr. J. McGuinness to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was sent on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive in May 1990. It is a covering letter, sent with a copy of the publicly available Tributyltin Oxide review for information purposes. A copy of the review and accompanying letter, will be made in the Library.

  Earnings Statistics
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the number and percentage of people, working full-time and part-time earning less than(a) £3·40 an hour,(b) £4·00 an hour,(c) £4·60 an hour and(d) £5·20 an hour respectively; and if he will give the information separately for men and women and, in each case, those aged (i) under 17 years, (ii) under 18 years, (iii) 18 years to 20 years and (iv) 21 years to 24 years, respectively.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information available from the 1991 "New Earnings Survey" closest to that requested is given in the following tables.

  recognise that Government should itself set an example to both the private and public sectors. All Government Departments are committed to ensuring that they pay within agreed terms or, if there is no contractual provision or other understanding governing the timing of payment, within 30 days of receipt of goods or a valid invoice, whichever is the later. Furthermore, my hon. Friend, the Minister for Small Firms, has offered to follow up individual cases of delayed payments to small firms by Government Departments.
  701
  During the financial year 1991–92, major spending Departments are undertaking surveys of their payment performance and making a return to the Department. The surveys will encompass payments to businesses of all sizes. The results will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year.

  Employment Action
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the number of employment action places in London which were(a) established and(b) occupied, for each training and enterprise council area in London and for Greater London as a whole.

  Mr. Jackson
  Contracts for employment action are for the number of participant weeks to be delivered rather than the number of places. The exact terms of such contracts must be commercial in confidence.

  For London as a whole we aim to have sufficient provision in place by March 1992 to help about 4,400 people. I am confident that we will meet that target.

  We have instituted a system for collecting management information, including numbers of participants in place. The first returns from that system will be available shortly.

  Travel to Interview Scheme
  Mr. Moate
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the working of the travel to interview scheme for people seeking employment; how many people have received help with travel costs in each of the past four years; what is the average amount paid; and what help residents in the Faversham constituency may receive for travel to London for job interviews.

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

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Industrial Tribunals
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the numbers of industrial tribunal members; and how many are(a) black,(b) Asian and(c) women.

  Mr. Jackson
  I have been asked to reply.

  There are 1,599 members of the industrial tribunals, of whom 382 are women. Information on the racial origin of members has been systematically collected only since 1986 and is not available in the form requested. However, of the 1,599 lay members we estimate that there are 50 from the ethnic minorities: 18 Afro-Caribbean, 15 Asian and 17 whose particular racial origin is not currently recorded.

DEFENCE

  Wrens
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the number of Wrens at sea on Royal Naval ships on 1 November.
  702
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The total number of members of the Womens Royal Naval Service serving in seagoing ships of the Royal Navy on 1 November 1991 was 330, comprising 31 WRNS officers, 15 officer cadets and 284 WRNS ratings.

  Hangar, Cardington
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department expects to raise from the sale of the five acre hangar at Cardington, Bedfordshire; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The former No. 1 and No. 2 airship hangars at Cardington, Bedfordshire, were disposed of in 1986 and 1989 respectively. The sum realised from their disposal is a matter of commercial confidentiality.

  Boards of Inquiry
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure that when Ministry of Defence board of inquiry reports are released by order of a judge, they are not restricted to professional advisers.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is common practice in legal proceedings to confine disclosure of documents to the parties and their professional advisers. It is, of course, for the courts to decide the precise terms of any order for the discovery of documents.

  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in the last year his Department has been ordered by a judge to release documents relating to a board of inquiry report following the death of a service man; what has been the response of the Ministry; and whether all the requested papers have been handed over unabridged.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Department has been subject to an order for discovery to include a board of inquiry report on only one occasion in the last year in the case of Russell Edward Ferrante (Administrator of the Estate of Simeon Mervyn Ferrante deceased)v. Secretary of State for Defence. In that particular case the Department has made every effort to supply documents covered by the order to the plaintiff. Correspondence between respective solicitors on the terms of the order continue.

  Anglo-French Nuclear Missile
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will publish details of the arrangements being made to supply tritium and plutonium for the recently announced Anglo-French air launch nuclear missile;

  (2) what is the source of the tritium and plutonium to be used in the warhead to be fitted to the recently announced Anglo-French air launch nuclear missile; and who is to be the primary contractor to supply the tritium and plutonium.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  There has been no recent announcement of an Anglo-French air-launched nuclear missile. We are continuing to study options for the replacement, in due course, of our WE177 free-fall bombs. No final decision has been taken.

  Army (Operating Costs)
  Mr. Churchill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated annual operating cost of(a) an armoured regiment,(b) a regular infantry battalion and(c) a Territorial Army infantry battalion.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Operating costs vary according to a unit's composition and its precise task at the time. Estimated annual operating costs for 1991–92 are as follows:

  United Kingdom £ million

  BAOR £ million

  Armoured regiment

  15·0

  15·0

  Infantry battalion

  12·5 to 15·0

  17·0

  TA Infantry battalion

  2·0

  —

  These figures do not include either civilian support costs or the procurement costs of major weapon platforms operated by these units.

  Army (Manpower Reductions)
  Mrs. Heal
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence between what dates colonels and colonels commandant of the Army's regiments and corps were consulted about the proposed reductions in manpower.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  All regimental colonels and colonels commandant were involved between 4 June and 2 July 1991 in the formal consultative process which took place before decisions were taken upon how the reductions in the combat arms should be achieved. The representative colonels commandant of the logistic corps were similarly consulted on the logistic support review as it developed.

  Trident
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the cost of cancelling(a) the entire Trident submarine programme,(b) the fourth Trident and(c) the building projects at Coulport and Faslane, under the liquidated damages clauses in the contracts.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The costs of cancellation of the Trident programme as a whole, or of any element within it, would depend on the timing of the cancellation and would reflect the contractors' properly incurred liabilities at the time of termination. These costs should be less than the total amount committed, which currently stands at about £6 billion.

  Former Ministry Property, Gosport
  Mr. Viggers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action his Department is taking to assist in the resolution of the problems arising from the collapse of balconies at blocks of flats and maisonettes at Rowner, Gosport, which were originally owned by the Ministry of Defence and are now in private or local authority ownership.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Ministry of Defence officials met Gosport borough council officers on 10 October 1991 to discuss the problem and agreed to attend a further meeting once the final report from the Building Research Establishment had been received. I understand that the 704
  council now has the report; my officials will meet council officers in the near future. My Department will of course consider sympathetically any proposals for the future of the properties put forward by the council.

  Gulf War (Friendly Fire)
  Mr. Amos
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in the light of information handed to Her Majesty's ambassador in Washington by the United States Administration on the Warrior/A-10 incident in the Gulf war regarding British service men killed by friendly fire, if he will now launch a further inquiry into this matter to clarify the apparent contradictions in evidence; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No. As I made clear in the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Mr. Oppenheim) on 24 July at column 706, the board of inquiry was unable to resolve a conflict of evidence on the passing of a target grid reference to the A-10 pilots or establish why the Warrior vehicles were misidentified. The letter from the United States Administration to Her Majesty's ambassador in Washington confirms that all relevant information was passed to the board of inquiry and that no new evidence is available. A copy of that letter was placed in the Library of the House on 12 November.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Public limited Companies
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to introduce legislation to require all public limited company auditors signing the audit report to state whether the firm within the preceding five years has been criticised by his Department's inspectors.

  Mr. Redwood
  No.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry following the provisions of the Companies Act 1989, from what date auditing firms will be able to set up limited liability companies.

  Mr. Redwood
  Since 1 October there has been no statutory bar on the appointment of a limited liability company as a company auditor provided it is eligible for appointment under the rules of its recognised supervisory body.

  Supervisory Bodies
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to appoint an independent ombudsman to hear complaints against the recognised supervisory bodies.

  Mr. Redwood
  No. When recognising the supervisory bodies my right hon. Friend was satisfied that they met the statutory requirement to have effective arrangements for the investigation of complaints against them.

  Textile Industry
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will see a delegation of hon. Members to discuss the textile industry.
  705
  Mr. Leigh
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Industry and Technology has arranged to meet a delegation early in December.

  Post Office
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to reduce the £1 threshold of the letter monopoly.

  Mr. Lilley
  As stated in the citizens charter, we propose to reduce the Post Office's letter monopoly from its present level of £1 to a level much closer to that of the first-class letter stamp. This will require legislation.

  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the negative external finance limit targets achieved by the Post Office for each year since 1979, together with the cumulative amount expressed(a) as a total and(b) at April 1991 prices.

  Mr. Lilley
  Negative external finance limit achievements by the Post Office since 1979 appear in the table(a) at outturn and(b) at April 1991 values. With effect from 1989–90, pay bill creditors have been excluded from working capital for the purposes of the external finance limit calculation. The effect of this adjustment is expected to be neutral in the long term. Figures adjusted to take account of this change are also given from 1985–86, the earliest date for which this information is available.

  (i) Outturn

  (ii) Adjusted

  (a)

  (b)

  (a)

  (b)

  £ million

  £ million

  £ million

  £ million

  1978–79

  17

  43

  —

  —

  1979–80

  34

  74

  —

  —

  1980–81

  8

  15

  —

  —

  1981–82

  13

  22

  —

  —

  1982–83

  60

  94

  —

  —

  1983–84

  62

  93

  —

  —

  1984–85

  100

  143

  —

  —

  1985–86

  75

  101

  82

  110

  1986–87

  93

  121

  136

  177

  1987–88

  80

  100

  79

  99

  1988–89

  102

  121

  60

  71

  1989–90

  102

  112

  0

  0

  1990–91

  0

  0

  0

  0

  746

  1,039

  357

  457

  Machine Tools Industry
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to bring about increased investment in the machine tools industry and to prevent further redundancies.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 11 November 1991]: The Government can best help the machine tool industry by providing a stable economic framework based on low inflation. In the past year inflation has fallen from 11 per cent. to about 4 per cent., allowing interest rates to fall by 4·5 percentage points. Output is set to rise in the second half of this year and to rise still faster in 1992, with manufacturing growing faster than the economy as a whole.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Civil Service Pensions
  Mr. Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to extend the arrangements made by the civil service pension scheme for the payment of pensions to the widows of post-retirement marriages to include those widows of such marriages whose husbands retired before 6 April 1978.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The Government's position in respect of the payment of pensions, under the civil service pension scheme, to the widows of post-retirement marriages has not changed since I replied to a similar question from my hon. Friend on 14 December last year. There are no plans to extend the present arrangements so that account is taken of pensionable service before 6 April 1978.

  Banks (Interest Rates)
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to require the banks in their annual reports to reveal the highest interest rate charged by them during the year.

  Mr. Maples
  No. The rate of interest charged by banks depends on the particular circumstances in which funds are being lent and I do not think it would be appropriate to require banks to publish such figures.

  Inflation
  Mr. Lawson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average underlying rate of inflation, defined in terms of the retail prices index excluding mortgage interest payments, between June 1985 and October 1991.

  Mr. Norman Lamont
  Between June 1985 and October 1991 the retail prices index excluding mortgage interest payments increased at an average annual rate of 5·3 per cent.

  Cardiff Wales Airport (Customs)
  Mr. John P. Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will instruct Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to restore permanent customs cover at Cardiff Wales airport.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The permanent customs cover at Cardiff Wales airport has not been withdrawn. The staff have been re-located for reasons of efficiency to other premises outside the airport but will continue to fulfil the same functions as prior to their re-location.

  Iraqi Assets
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to release the assets of the Iraqi Government in the National Westminster bank in London; and if he will negotiate with the Iraqi Government to ensure that this money is not removed from Britain but is used to fund Iraqi students studying in the United Kingdom and allow them to repay loans received from local authorities since the freezing of Iraqi assets.

  Mr. Maples
  The United Nations Sanctions Committee has informed national Governments where Iraqi assets are
  707
  held that they have discretion to unfreeze them to pay for approved humanitarian purposes. There could be no question of unfreezing assets for purposes incompatible with United Nations decisions.

  The Bank of England will, however, continue to consider applications to debit Iraqi accounts for living, medical, educational and similar expenses in the United Kingdom of residents of Iraq. So far, no such applications have been received to meet the fees of students sponsored by the Iraqi Government.

  Drug Smuggling
  Mr. John P. Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to improve the control of illegal drugs coming into the United Kingdom at Cardiff Wales airport.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The recent national review of anti-smuggling controls which has taken place within the Customs and Excise department has directed resources far more towards areas of risk and has increased the flexibility of staff to address those risks. Flexible anti-smuggling teams are being used at Cardiff Wales airport and these have improved the controls to combat the importation of illegal drugs both there and in other parts of the executive unit.

  Companies
  Mr. Hayward
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to amend the tax laws relating to groups of companies.

  Mr. Maude
  There are various tax provisions which treat a group of companies as if it were a single company. Two weaknesses in the legislation have come to light where tax benefits could be enjoyed by companies in a way that does not properly reflect commercial reality. We intend to introduce provisions in the next Finance Bill to correct these defects.

  The first point concerns circumstances in which there are "arrangements" in existence in respect of shares and whether they are taken into account in determining whether a group of consortium relationship exists between two companies. This issue was considered in the case of J. Sainsbury plc v. O'Connor in which judgment was given by the Court of Appeal earlier this year. The effect of that judgment was that, for the purposes of the provisions of schedule 18 to the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 about one company's entitlement to profits and assets of another, share "arrangements" mean arrangements to vary rights attaching to particular shares but not, as the Inland Revenue had previously thought, arrangements involving changes in the ownership of shares. The legislation we propose introducing will extend the definition of arrangements to cover cases where arrangements exist for the whole or part of a company's holding of shares or securities to be disposed of to, or otherwise effectively reduced in favour of, another party. This is the way the Inland Revenue used to interpret the law. The new legislation will, if passed by Parliament, take effect for arrangements which come into existence on or after today.

  The second point concerns the transfer of assets between companies in the same group. When this happens, any capital gain is generally deferred. When a company leaves a group still holding an asset on which gains have been deferred, a charge can be raised to recover the tax on the deferred gains. But when a company leaves a group in
  708
  the course of the winding up of another group member, the company may be able to benefit from a defect in the law and avoid paying tax on those deferred gains. The legislation correcting this defect will, if passed by Parliament, also take effect where a company leaves a group on or after today.

  The Inland Revenue will consult interested parties about the details of both aspects of this new legislation. We intend to publish draft clauses to help those consultations. Further details are in a press release issued today by the Inland Revenue.

  Citizens Charter
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details of all the additional charters in the various service areas which arise directly from the citizens charter; and when each of the new charters will be published.

  Mr. Maude
  [holding answer 14 November 1991]: I have been asked to reply. To date, 12 charters have been published:

  Education

  The Parent's Charter (England)

  The Parent's Charter in Scotland

  A Charter for Parents in Wales

  Health

  The Patient's Charter (England)

  The Patient's Charter in Scotland

  A Charter for Patients in Wales

  Revenue

  The Taxpayer's Charter (Inland Revenue)

  The Taxpayer's Charter (HM Customs & Excise)

  National Insurance

  A Contributors' Charter

  An Employers' Charter

  Employment

  Redundancy Payments Service Charter

  Justice

  The Justice Charter for Scotland

  Further charters to be published include tenant's charters. Benefits Agency customer's charter, and charters for passengers, jobseekers and customs and excise businesses.

  Charters are an important way of informing citizens about their entitlements, the standards of service they can expect; and what to do when things go wrong.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  EC Social Charter
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom has ratified the European social charter of the Council of Europe; if he will list the member states of the Council of Europe which have ratified the charter; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The United Kingdom ratified the European social charter of the Council of Europe on 11 July 1962 and was the first state to do so. Since then, the charter has been ratified by Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. The United Kingdom regards the charter as an important statement of
  709
  economic and social principles which recognises that the same obligations can be met through a diversity of systems and practices.

  Draft EC Treaties
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will state the number of new articles proposed in the material for draft treaties proposed by the Dutch presidency of the European Community; and if he will state the number and scope of new treaties which would be required to implement these draft proposals other than amendments to current treaties;

  (2) if he will list the numbers of those articles of the current version of the treaty of Rome which would be amended, replaced, or repealed by the current Dutch texts of draft treaties on economic, monetary and political union.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The draft treaty amendments on economic and monetary union circulated by the Netherlands Presidency on 28 October and the draft treaty on the union issued by the Presidency on 8 November comprise a comprehensive account of which articles of the treaty of Rome it is proposed should be amended, replaced, repealed or remain unchanged. In addition, the latter includes a number of new articles relating to the establishment of a European union, as opposed to the European Community. It is intended that all these amendments and new articles should be included in one treaty. Copies of all of these proposals are available in the Library of the House.

  If these proposals were retained in any treaty signed by the United Kingdom, then United Kingdom law would need to be amended to ensure that legal provision existed for us to meet our treaty obligations before ratification of the treaty could take place. We anticipate that this legislation will take the form of an amendment to the European Communities Act, 1972, adding to the definition of "the Community Treaties" therein those provisions of the Maastricht agreement which amend the Community treaties.

  EC Foreign Ministers Meeting
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the EC Foreign Ministers conclave meeting held in Noordwijk between 12 and 13 November.

  Mr. Hurd
  At their conclave in Noordwijk on 12–13 November, Foreign Ministers discussed the latest Netherlands Presidency draft treaty on political union. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I represented the United Kingdom.

  I made clear, as did others, that nothing could be agreed until everything was agreed, and that if the package on the table at Maastricht was not acceptable to the United Kingdom, we would not agree it.

  The conclave made useful progress in some areas. A broad consensus emerged on a number of treaty articles, including a number of our own proposals. These included a power for the European Court of Justice to fine member states who failed to comply with its judgments; a strengthening of financial accountability in the Community; and other non-legislative powers of the European Parliament. There was broad consensus on a text on citizenship, which safeguards the right of member
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  states to determine who should be a national. The proposal to establish a consultative regional body was broadly endorsed.

  There was a detailed discussion of proposed extensions of Community competence and qualified majority voting. No agreement was reached and this issue will be considered again at a further conclave on 2 December.

  It was recognised that several other issues would be resolved only by the European Council at Maastricht. These included:
  the legislative powers of the European Parliament;
  proposals to strengthen inter-governmental co-operation on interior and justice matters, in a separate "pillar" of the union treaty;
  a common foreign and security policy, with a possible defence dimension.'

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  European Legislation
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what consideration he has given to the impact of the granting of veto powers in the European Parliament on the scrutiny process of European legislation in the House.

  Mr. MacGregor
  [holding answer 11 November 1991]: The proposals under consideration in the intergovernmental conference on political union to extend the powers of the European Parliament would, if agreed, have no direct impact on the process of scrutiny of European legislation in the House. The Government have made clear in the intergovernmental conference the importance they attach to effective scrutiny of proposals for European legislation by national Parliaments and has tabled a draft conference declaration to this effect.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Wild Birds (Imports)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what action he is taking to investigate the reasons for repeated high mortality of certain species of imported wild birds including humming birds;

  (2) whether, following the recent report by the joint Nature Conservation Committee, he has exchanged information with exporting and other importing countries concerning the mortality of imported wild birds;

  (3) what measures he intends to take to reduce the rate of mortality among wild-caught birds which are imported into the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Government share the concern about the mortality levels of birds in trade, which we consider unacceptably high. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment and I wrote recently to the European Commissioners for the Environment and Agriculture, urging that action should be taken through the Community to ensure much stricter controls on this trade. We have asked, among other things, for measures to be drawn up to address the problem of trade in species which are particularly vulnerable to stress and mortality as a result of transport or captivity. In relation to the conditions of transport, the Community has recently agreed a new directive on the protection of all types of animals including birds during transport. This contains some important new provisions including a requirement for
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  air transport to be carried out in accordance with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines. It also, following pressure from the British Government for specific action on this issue, requires the Council to adopt further conditions on transport of wild birds.

  Carcases of birds dead on arrival or which die in quarantine are examined at veterinary investigation centres for evidence of infectious diseases which could spread to the national poultry flock. During these investigations it has been established that the most common cause of death is considered to be stress associated with malnutrition, dehydration, adverse environmental condition or enteropathies. Other specific causes of death recorded are salmonellosis, psittacosis, mycotic pneumonia and colisepticaemia. In relation to nectar feeders such as hummingbirds mortality is considered likely to be associated with difficulties in adapting to an artificial feeding regime.

  The Department is reviewing animal health conditions and health certification requirements for imports to ensure that only birds which are healthy and fit to travel are exported from their country of origin. Senior ministry veterinary officials have visited a number of major exporting countries to discuss with their veterinary authorities various animal health and welfare matters, the standard of health certification and the conditions under which future imports of captive birds would take place, and have made it clear that we will cease to authorise imports from countries which fail to co-operate. Letters have been sent to airlines to emphasise the importance of complying with IATA rules and of reviewing their handling procedures. There is an ongoing review of quarantine premises and their operational standards, the level of veterinary supervision and stocking rates. Additional training has been instituted for official veterinary officers responsible for approving and supervising quarantine premises.

  Copies of the Ministry's annual mortality statistics among imported birds are circulated widely to various interests including importing and exporting countries.

  Bovine Spongiform Encaphalopathy
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 11 November,Official Report, column 421, what were the dates of birth of the three cattle; and what research he has undertaken of possible causes of BSE in these cattle.

  Mr. Maclean
  The dates of birth for these cattle were September 1988, November 1988 and June 1989. Detailed epidemiological investigations are being carried out into these cases to establish whether there has been any inadvertent feed contamination and assess the potential for maternal and horizontal routes of infection.

  In the case of the animal born in November 1988 our inquiries have almost certainly ruled out a feed source. As its dam also had BSE we cannot rule out the possibility of
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  maternal transmission. Even if it was, the advice we have had from the independent Tyrell committee is that all the necessary safeguards are in place and there should be no change of policy or approach. Inquiries into the other two cases are not complete.

  Farmers
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the number of farmers who stopped farming in the 10 months to the end of October 1991.

  Mr. Curry
  This information is not available.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list any proposal in the matters being considered by the intergovernmental conferences on economic, monetary and political union which are directly or indirectly relevant to the common agricultural policy; and if he will list the changes envisaged in the relevant articles of the present treaty of Rome.

  Mr. Curry
  No changes to title II (Agriculture) of the treaty of Rome are being considered by the intergovernmental conferences. However, the administration of the common agricultural policy will be affected by the United Kingdom proposals, accepted by the conference, to strengthen financial accountability and compliance with judgments of the European Court of Justice.

  Triazophos
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans his Advisory Committee on Pesticides has to alter the maximum residue level of triazophos; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  The Advisory Committee on Pesticides is currently considering triazophos. I shall take account of its recommendations in determining the appropriate maximum residue level.

  Citrus Fruits (Pesticides)
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what testing is carried out on soft citrus fruits and sweet oranges to assess pesticide residue levels at their port of entry; whether they are refused entry if they contain pesticide residues above the maximum residue levels; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  Citrus fruit are monitored each year by the Government's working party of pesticide residues. Where residues in such produce are found in excess of maximum residue levels follow-up action is taken with the authorities in the supplying country to ensure that the problem is resolved.